d2mini's REAL 130g Rimless Cube Build Thread

Just thought of this dennis, dont know why but I was dreaming about your tank last night:mrgreen: Instead of opening your fixture, you can just cut the plug end off and replace it with a new plug end from a hardware store. I will get you a link to what I am talking about when I get home from work... I do have to leave in 10 minutes and am sitting still in my PJ's:shock:
 
That would be great but the cords have proprietary socket plugs on the end that plug into the two different ballasts. I could definitely just cut and splice the wires but it would be cleaner if I can manage to disconnect the individual wires from inside the metal housing.
 
Looking good Dennis.
I hate to bring this up, but how are you gonna get the Skimmer cup off and outta there?
Looks like there's only an inch of clearance. :shock:
 
dcantucson said:
Looking good Dennis.
I hate to bring this up, but how are you gonna get the Skimmer cup off and outta there?
Looks like there's only an inch of clearance. :shock:
Click to expand...

OMG!!!! :shock::shock::shock:



No, I'm just kidding. :lol:
The skimmer cup needs a half inch of clearance to remove from the base, and then there is plenty of room to get it out of the sump and stand from one of the other two doors. The space between the top of the skimmer cup and the ceiling inside the stand is a good 3" at the moment, but I'll probably need to raise the skimmer an inch to get it to skim properly based on the manufacturer info and other users. Because I have the front lip of the sump directly under the outer horizontal support of the stand, I'm about a half inch short of getting the skimmer cup out of this door.
 
d2mini said:
That would be great but the cords have proprietary socket plugs on the end that plug into the two different ballasts. I could definitely just cut and splice the wires but it would be cleaner if I can manage to disconnect the individual wires from inside the metal housing.
Click to expand...

Oh ok. Thought that they just plugged to the wall outlet. But I have a feeling opening your fixture would also void the warranty. Do you have a picture of the plug? It has gotten me intrigued now
 
No, i don't have a pic of the plugs.
You have to open the fixture on one end or the other in order to replace the bulbs. So it won't void the warranty. I have a pic of the end cap removed that I'll post in a little bit...
 
Thanks, Yote!

Ok, me gots me bulbs today! Man, props to ReefGeek !!! The bulbs came double boxed and box #2 was suspended by foam blocks inside box #1. Inside box #2 was packing peanuts. Awesome.

So here they are installed. I think I did pretty good on the first try. We'll see once I get the tank filled and stocked if I need to make any changes color wise.

Notice the T5 colors. The ATI Blue Pluses are way more blue than the UVL Super Actinics which have more of a pink tint. UVL on the inside and the two ATI on the outside.

742121269_q8Zhd-O.jpg


742121287_ZN4bv-O.jpg


742121292_8frbv-O.jpg


End cap has to be removed in order to remove the glass so you can access the bulbs.
Just the T5's again in this image.
742121319_aBB3d-O.jpg
 
Ok looks awesome!!!

The t5's should have a little hole next to where the wire goes into that you can stick a paper clip or something and release the wire. The MH I am not sure but would assume that it would be a screw terminal or something. Just make sure that you label all the wiring before you remove anything. And I know that I shouldnt have to tell you this but unplug the light first:mrgreen: Ballasts can put out up to 600 volts.
 
The light looks great Dennis. I'm not trying to criticize but why is the light at a different angle than the tank? Just wondering if you're going to be re-angling the tank?
 
David, the tank is in the room on a 45 degree angle. So if you are standing in the room facing the windows, you are standing directly in front of the corner of the tank, not one of the sides. The plumbing is in the very back corner closest to the windows. So I hung the fixture so that when you are standing there it is horizontal, just like your light is when you are standing directly in front of your tank. And the main reason I decided to hang it this way is that it places the light in front and horizontal to the overflow box. If I would have hung the light at the same 45 degree angle of the tank, one corner of the light would have been over the overflow which is a waste and not really desirable. The only downside is the fact that the front corner of the tank is going to have the least amount of PAR. But if I want any coral there it will just be something requiring less light.
 
WOW!!! Im speechless with this one.... Dennis you have a great looking tank.. Can't wait to see it with water, fish and corals..

P.S. Im going to send you a PM about pictures.
 
I just love the recovery you've got in your glass reflections. Just beautiful. Is that little red dot on the second and third pic your auto-focus? Would love to see how the tank looks in the room? I'm wondering if you are going to use this tank to take pics for your business, if so, wouldn't that make it a tax write off?

You have done a fabulous job of engineering this, Dennis, it looks wonderful.

C
 
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