daugherty
part time reefer
that looks good project
the 210 gallon in wall project
- Thread starter project5k
- Start date
project5k
Reef enthusiast
well, just got back from the LFS, got myself 4 more damsels, couple different kinds..., yea i know, i don't care right now, i think their awesome lookn, so i'll put them in the q-tank for now...
also, picked up a coralife 50/50 screw in 20 watt bulb, figured i'd just make a simple holder outta some pvc, and use a clamp light right over my zoas until i can get the big lights built... well, i found out that my GFCI works... had it in a clamp light fixture, clamped to a simple pvc stand i made, and SNAP the clamp came off the pvc, and the brand new $20 bulb, fixture, and all went bouncing off the top of the tank and right into the sump... click... gfci tripps, so i unplug the clamplight, reset the gfci and everyone looks ok for now... glad i had that ground rod in there...
so, now i have no light for the zoas, and a broke $20 bulb i cant use... damn-it.
also, picked up a coralife 50/50 screw in 20 watt bulb, figured i'd just make a simple holder outta some pvc, and use a clamp light right over my zoas until i can get the big lights built... well, i found out that my GFCI works... had it in a clamp light fixture, clamped to a simple pvc stand i made, and SNAP the clamp came off the pvc, and the brand new $20 bulb, fixture, and all went bouncing off the top of the tank and right into the sump... click... gfci tripps, so i unplug the clamplight, reset the gfci and everyone looks ok for now... glad i had that ground rod in there...
so, now i have no light for the zoas, and a broke $20 bulb i cant use... damn-it.
PRC
Stop Quoting Me!
Project,
I ended up using the industrial strength velcro strips on my fabric. They work well, at first I didn't sew it on, I just stuck one side to the tank, and the other side I stuck it to the fabric...Worked great. After about 2 weeks of me continually removing it to tinker with the tank, one side came loose. So, as you said I did one stitch in all of the velcro attached to the fabric. All fixed.
I'm glad I used the fabric though, no way I could work on the tank with a painted back wall.
I ended up using the industrial strength velcro strips on my fabric. They work well, at first I didn't sew it on, I just stuck one side to the tank, and the other side I stuck it to the fabric...Worked great. After about 2 weeks of me continually removing it to tinker with the tank, one side came loose. So, as you said I did one stitch in all of the velcro attached to the fabric. All fixed.
I'm glad I used the fabric though, no way I could work on the tank with a painted back wall.
project5k
Reef enthusiast
yea, i mean i really like the look of a painted tank, but i just dont see how i could ever work on it... and really, this deep green velvity stuff that i have gives the tank a more natural "looking off into the distance" kinda feel to the tank.....
oh, and just an update, after the incident earlier, i ran over to the "pet store" here in town... they actually had a bulb i could use, its a 10w color max bulb, but the zoas seem to like it...
oh, and everyone else is looking just fine... seems as tho the ground rod and gfci protected everyone just like they are supposed to...
oh, and just an update, after the incident earlier, i ran over to the "pet store" here in town... they actually had a bulb i could use, its a 10w color max bulb, but the zoas seem to like it...
oh, and everyone else is looking just fine... seems as tho the ground rod and gfci protected everyone just like they are supposed to...
project5k
Reef enthusiast
so i actually got off my butt today and have something to show for my time... Buddy of mine, David, came over to experiement with some filter material he wanted to try and make, and he helped me design, and build my fuge... oh, and he also brought me 3 new starter cultures of some greenery for the fuge, along with some little tiny starfish(yea i know) and some little tiny ghost shrimps that were in the algae...
all in all, a 15 gallon fuge for under a hundred bucks... used lumber i had left over from the remodel, and bought everything else i needed at tractor supply, the bulkheads i used through the tub, and the tub itself...
i tee'd in to my SCWD 's pump output and feed that up to the fuge with a valve for control.... then there is a bulkhead right in the middle of the bottom of the tub, and that feeds through and drains back to the sump...
all in all, a 15 gallon fuge for under a hundred bucks... used lumber i had left over from the remodel, and bought everything else i needed at tractor supply, the bulkheads i used through the tub, and the tub itself...
i tee'd in to my SCWD 's pump output and feed that up to the fuge with a valve for control.... then there is a bulkhead right in the middle of the bottom of the tub, and that feeds through and drains back to the sump...
Attachments
Last edited:
Rcpilot
Reef enthusiast
Little higher and you could have dumped the fuge right into the tank. Saved the pods from the impeller blades. Of course, then it would have taken a 6 foot step ladder to get IN the fuge. I might not have done it either.
But it's still cool as hell!! :bounce: Nice fuge. Got the DSB, couple strains of macro algae. Ever thought about a mangrove?
But it's still cool as hell!! :bounce: Nice fuge. Got the DSB, couple strains of macro algae. Ever thought about a mangrove?
project5k
Reef enthusiast
yea, figured out the drain right into the tank part after i had it full of water... i'm only a couple inches short of that, so my plan is to drain it, and stack some 2x4's or 2xx6's under it and raise it up a bit... then yea, dump it into the tank... i agree.. just missed it first try, and by now my feet hurt so bad, i'm done for the day...
no DSB, its only 2 inches deep in there... i've decided to not mess with a dsb for now... maybe later...oh, and that sand is some of the sand from the 75, so there should be some really good critters in there, i also poured, literally, my 10 gallon fuge from the 75 into this fuge, sand and all... snails, crabs, everything...
mangrove, yup, sure have, and plann'n for one, thats why theres so much space up above the fuge....
no DSB, its only 2 inches deep in there... i've decided to not mess with a dsb for now... maybe later...oh, and that sand is some of the sand from the 75, so there should be some really good critters in there, i also poured, literally, my 10 gallon fuge from the 75 into this fuge, sand and all... snails, crabs, everything...
mangrove, yup, sure have, and plann'n for one, thats why theres so much space up above the fuge....
Rcpilot
Reef enthusiast
Really neat. I like it a lot!
project5k
Reef enthusiast
Thanks.... I'm just hope I don't screw something up
Ted
Living one day at a time
I might be able to give you a bunch of rock and corals. It dosent look like I am going to have room for my tanks at my moms where I am currently having to live and the house is going to be sold once the wife and kids move out. So its not looking very good for my possibilities of keep reef tanks. :grumble:
project5k
Reef enthusiast
aww man, that sux, well, lemme know, maybe we can come to a longterm loan kinda thing, so if you can get a tank back up, you have a lil' something to start it with, know what i mean?
Ted
Living one day at a time
well the good news for me bad for you is it looks like I will be able to move my tanks over to my moms. So I should be able to keep them.
Hiker4twenty
Reef enthusiast
Glad to hear you'll be able to keep the tanks!
project5k
Reef enthusiast
no problem, glad to hear that you can keep them!
oh, and i did some aquascaping lastnight while i had the wife's input...
oh, and this morning's readings are all looking about what i would expect...
SG 1.025
PH 8.3
ammonia between 0 and 0.1
nitrites 0
nitrates 5ml/L
oh, and i did some aquascaping lastnight while i had the wife's input...
oh, and this morning's readings are all looking about what i would expect...
SG 1.025
PH 8.3
ammonia between 0 and 0.1
nitrites 0
nitrates 5ml/L
Attachments
Last edited:
KidJ57
Struggling Reef Addict
Is the water still cloudy or did the picture just come out a little funky?
project5k
Reef enthusiast
um, kinda yea, what happened is that i had messed with the fuge so i mixed up a little sand, and also thats not good lights, thats crappy "workshop lights" that are mounted on the ceeling of the room... plus i was experiementing with the camera... so it may give it an odd effect...
went on a kinda unauthorized shopping spree today... better to ask for forgiveness than permission and all... bought 4 sticks of 1 inch thin-walled steel tubing, some is for the new light fixture, and some is for another project... got 2 new workhorse 7 ballasts, and picked up 8 new bulbs to fill me out to a full 16 bulbs...
kinda wish i wasnt going to the zoo with the wife and mo-in-law tomorrow... i wanna get my new lights built.. hehehehe
the new bulbs... and the ones that i already have in the canopy... and a close up of the 2 little blue ones...
went on a kinda unauthorized shopping spree today... better to ask for forgiveness than permission and all... bought 4 sticks of 1 inch thin-walled steel tubing, some is for the new light fixture, and some is for another project... got 2 new workhorse 7 ballasts, and picked up 8 new bulbs to fill me out to a full 16 bulbs...
kinda wish i wasnt going to the zoo with the wife and mo-in-law tomorrow... i wanna get my new lights built.. hehehehe
the new bulbs... and the ones that i already have in the canopy... and a close up of the 2 little blue ones...
Attachments
Last edited:
KidJ57
Struggling Reef Addict
16 bulbs :shock: ...that's nutty....cool, but nutty. You going to have 8 different timers too? Tell the wife and mo-in-law your <cough>, <cough> real sick :ugh: :mrgreen: ...I want to see this thing built now too. :bounce:
project5k
Reef enthusiast
yea, not gonna happen...
why is 16 bulbs nutty? oh, and i'll end up with 5 timers... 3 of them will control the WH7's that i have, each of which run 4 bulbs, and then i have 2 smaller ballasts that will run 2 bulbs each, i figure i'll have the "whiter" bulbs on thoes 2...
why is 16 bulbs nutty? oh, and i'll end up with 5 timers... 3 of them will control the WH7's that i have, each of which run 4 bulbs, and then i have 2 smaller ballasts that will run 2 bulbs each, i figure i'll have the "whiter" bulbs on thoes 2...
KidJ57
Struggling Reef Addict
I'm not trying to say that's excessive if that's what you're worried about, I know they're necessary to obtain the necessary wattage, I just can't help picturing something that looks like the top half of a tanning bed :lol: . It's all frame of mind, my tank is a little more than a 1/4 of yours and I have 1/4 of the lights, makes sense...just SEEMS like a lot/nutty from my perspective.
project5k
Reef enthusiast
Hehehe yea I never thought about the tanning bed but your right.
Something that the wife and I were discussing just a few min ago was what to "skin" the fixture with. One thought was 1/4" plywood that I could contact cement alum foil to. That's the cheap route. The other thought I had was a sheet of alum. But that's not so cheap.
So I'd like to ask y'all for suggestions.Whaddyall think I should skin the steel structure with?
Something that the wife and I were discussing just a few min ago was what to "skin" the fixture with. One thought was 1/4" plywood that I could contact cement alum foil to. That's the cheap route. The other thought I had was a sheet of alum. But that's not so cheap.
So I'd like to ask y'all for suggestions.Whaddyall think I should skin the steel structure with?
