daugherty
part time reefer
i would use a sheet or polishied alum or get some solar tubes and cut them and use that
the 210 gallon in wall project
- Thread starter project5k
- Start date
project5k
Reef enthusiast
Solar tubes? What's solar tubes? Is that like those skylight things?
BL1
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project5k
Reef enthusiast
thoes arent available locally, but i get where your headed... ok, i'll have to take a look for thoes nest time i'm out...
oh, i had one other thought, tho, now that ive looked up the prices, i'm thinking that i'll either go solar tube or maybe just with the alum foil... i was thinking for just a moment that perhaps i could use that acrylic mirror, like the plastic mirrors they put in highschool bathrooms... but then i figured out that it would be over 200 bucks for a sheet of that...
let me just ask this... does anyone see any major drawbacks to the alum foil on plywood idea? i'm just thinking that with the ply, at least i have an infinite number of mounting locations for the ballasts.. they all get mounted with standoffs so that air can get all around them, and they will have fans on them as well...
something else that im pondering is what fans to use on this "canopy". at first i was thinking i could use some 4 inch computer fans i have, and then i was thinking about sometihng that might move a little more air, and be a little quieter... cause lets face it, thos computer fans can make some noise, well some of them anyway..
so i started thinking about either some cheap box fans, like an 8 inch or something, but thoes arent allways available for vey long, and i want something that if it fails, i dont have to re-engineer the thing.. so then i started thinking about fart fans for bathrooms... and then inline "booster" fans for ductwork, and so forth...
input?
oh, i had one other thought, tho, now that ive looked up the prices, i'm thinking that i'll either go solar tube or maybe just with the alum foil... i was thinking for just a moment that perhaps i could use that acrylic mirror, like the plastic mirrors they put in highschool bathrooms... but then i figured out that it would be over 200 bucks for a sheet of that...
let me just ask this... does anyone see any major drawbacks to the alum foil on plywood idea? i'm just thinking that with the ply, at least i have an infinite number of mounting locations for the ballasts.. they all get mounted with standoffs so that air can get all around them, and they will have fans on them as well...
something else that im pondering is what fans to use on this "canopy". at first i was thinking i could use some 4 inch computer fans i have, and then i was thinking about sometihng that might move a little more air, and be a little quieter... cause lets face it, thos computer fans can make some noise, well some of them anyway..
so i started thinking about either some cheap box fans, like an 8 inch or something, but thoes arent allways available for vey long, and i want something that if it fails, i dont have to re-engineer the thing.. so then i started thinking about fart fans for bathrooms... and then inline "booster" fans for ductwork, and so forth...
input?
bwaller76
Love my tanks!
lol I have two like...six or eight inch fans ive never used... dont even know if they work. Im sure they do, you can have em heh
project5k
Reef enthusiast
Oh yea? Hmm wonder what it would cost to ship 'em to 78155
Bifferwine
I am a girl
Solar tubes aren't available locally? In Texas? Seriously? All the hardware stores carry them here -- even Costco carries them!
bwaller76
Love my tanks!
lol i cant seem to find a valid answer to that... saturday morning surfing skillz are fail!
im at 83634, they weigh under a pound together.
I went out and extracted them and here are some photos... I cant guarantee they work but at the same time I cant see why they wouldnt they are in great shape and the person that owned the hood before me was using them.
im at 83634, they weigh under a pound together.
I went out and extracted them and here are some photos... I cant guarantee they work but at the same time I cant see why they wouldnt they are in great shape and the person that owned the hood before me was using them.
bjohanson1234
.........
Did you think about mounting the ballasts remotely? It will be a little less heat under the canopy.
I dont se any problem with the aluminum. Just use contact cement or something to attach it.
I dont se any problem with the aluminum. Just use contact cement or something to attach it.
project5k
Reef enthusiast
I'll pm ya and we can work the details. I'm thinking flat rate box.
Well actually I was planning to mount the ballasts on the top of the rig. So they are open to the room air. Do u really think they will be adding that much heat?
Yea I was thinking contact cement myself.
Well actually I was planning to mount the ballasts on the top of the rig. So they are open to the room air. Do u really think they will be adding that much heat?
Yea I was thinking contact cement myself.
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project5k
Reef enthusiast
so you start off with some steel...
then you chop it up, and drill some holes...
then you weld it together, mount a couple bulbs, and you start seeing what its gonna end up looking like :)
oh, and then here's one of my worm... just to say hi...
then you chop it up, and drill some holes...
then you weld it together, mount a couple bulbs, and you start seeing what its gonna end up looking like :)
oh, and then here's one of my worm... just to say hi...
Attachments
dcantucson
Reef pro
Good thing you're handy. I could never build something like that.
project5k
Reef enthusiast
Thanks. I just work till what's in my hands looks like what I picture in my head. It's not allways pretty, bit it generally gets the job done. :) I'm just wondering about the bulb connectors and thier longevity in this configuration.
project5k
Reef enthusiast
alrighty, this mornin's measurements....
ammonia = 0
nitrites = 0
nitrates = <5mg/L
PH = 8.2-8.3 (digital meter flickered back and forth between them...
calcium = 600+ (i quit at 30 drops)
also noticed that the feather dusters that were almost standing room only on my rock from the 75 have migrated to the sand... they are starting to spread out nicely...
zoas are looking as well as can be expected under the makeshift lighting i have over them for now....
well, i guess i'm off to the shop, gotta finish up that framework for my lighting...
more later...
ammonia = 0
nitrites = 0
nitrates = <5mg/L
PH = 8.2-8.3 (digital meter flickered back and forth between them...
calcium = 600+ (i quit at 30 drops)
also noticed that the feather dusters that were almost standing room only on my rock from the 75 have migrated to the sand... they are starting to spread out nicely...
zoas are looking as well as can be expected under the makeshift lighting i have over them for now....
well, i guess i'm off to the shop, gotta finish up that framework for my lighting...
more later...
project5k
Reef enthusiast
well after knocking a couple things off the honey do list, yes i litterally have a list, in a spiral, i got to go out in the shop for a couple hours and make some progress...
finished up cutting all the parts, got 'em stuck togther, got the entire thing wiped down with PRE, and shot the first coat of paint...
now i wait.
after i got done with the first coat of paint, i went and shutdown the welder and so forth... well, when i was turning off the shielding gas bottle, i noticed..... finished up just in time.. hehehe
as it sits now, i have no idea what it weighs... i'd guess maybe 15 lbs, but not much more than that i cant imagine, i'll try and weigh it later on... adding the bulbs and ballasts are whats gonna really add the weight...
finished up cutting all the parts, got 'em stuck togther, got the entire thing wiped down with PRE, and shot the first coat of paint...
now i wait.
after i got done with the first coat of paint, i went and shutdown the welder and so forth... well, when i was turning off the shielding gas bottle, i noticed..... finished up just in time.. hehehe
as it sits now, i have no idea what it weighs... i'd guess maybe 15 lbs, but not much more than that i cant imagine, i'll try and weigh it later on... adding the bulbs and ballasts are whats gonna really add the weight...
Attachments
project5k
Reef enthusiast
started the morning off going to home depot, picked up a sheet of 1/4 ply for the skin and a couple sets of all ball bearing drawer slides, rated for 100lbs each... i got a 24" set and a 16" set... for now the plan is to use the 16" ones as the control track for the light fixture to slide up the wall so that i have access to work on the tank... my plan is to counter ballance the fixture so that it stays wherever you put it in the travel of the sliders.. but i'm also gonna use some eye bolts and stuff to make a safety straps, so that no matter what happens, theres no way the fixture can fall and hit the tank.
my plan is to have the fixture stop about 1/2" above the tank, and then i'm gonna put some of thoes little rubber feets for it to actually rest on...
one thing that i'm wondering about is how hot is this fixture gonna get, and do i need to worry about how hot i'm getting the braces on the top of the tank... i'm gonna end up with about 5 inches of air space between the bulbs and the braces... i was seriously considering just glueing a reflector to the top of the brace, that way it reflects the energy, rather than heating up the brace and potentially causing it to melt... i just dont know how hot these bulbs get...
the other part of the plan is to have the actuall fixture hinged upward, so that when i need to work on the bulbs, i dont have to crawl ontop of the tank and under the lights, i can just slide the lights up, and then swing the fixture up, and bingo, instant access... just gotta remember to not lift it up like that while its on, or i'll be basically stairing at the sun at a distance of 2 feet.. hehehehe
my plan is to have the fixture stop about 1/2" above the tank, and then i'm gonna put some of thoes little rubber feets for it to actually rest on...
one thing that i'm wondering about is how hot is this fixture gonna get, and do i need to worry about how hot i'm getting the braces on the top of the tank... i'm gonna end up with about 5 inches of air space between the bulbs and the braces... i was seriously considering just glueing a reflector to the top of the brace, that way it reflects the energy, rather than heating up the brace and potentially causing it to melt... i just dont know how hot these bulbs get...
the other part of the plan is to have the actuall fixture hinged upward, so that when i need to work on the bulbs, i dont have to crawl ontop of the tank and under the lights, i can just slide the lights up, and then swing the fixture up, and bingo, instant access... just gotta remember to not lift it up like that while its on, or i'll be basically stairing at the sun at a distance of 2 feet.. hehehehe
Attachments
koda_dad
Mr. Paranoid
Wow....quite the build. Can't wait to see this in a year :)
Great stuff!
Great stuff!
tankedchemist
Reef enthusiast
by braces, I'm guessing you mean the plastic straps. To answer your question the lights are very capable of melting them. when my marineland lights were on their legs, they sat around 4" above the tank. The center strap is very melted and warped now. So be careful.
project5k
Reef enthusiast
alrighty, i'll have to pay close attention to the straps...
i'm currious, what kinda lights were your marine land ones?? how much wattage and how many fans?
my plan is to have either 4 or 6 fans, 2-3 in each end, blowing into the fixture towards the middle, where the bulbs overlap in the middle.. then just above the overlapped areas, and on the top of the light fixture, i'm thinking i'm gonna use something like a floor register(ac vent) to let the hot pressurized air up and out...
my thinking is that by doing it this way, the air that gets heated by the overlapped sections will be the first let out, and thus getting rid of a good chunk of the heat, also, by having the fans "pressureize" the fixture, they are not pulling hot salty air through the fans... the fans will just see the dryer and cooler air from the room...
just a thought...
i spent a good part of yesterday scrounging for parts, and sitting and stairing at the fixture trying to figure out how to make it tilt up for thoes times when i need to change a bulb or something... well, i think i've got it figured out now, but i gotta make another run to HD... so that'll happen later today...
i'm currious, what kinda lights were your marine land ones?? how much wattage and how many fans?
my plan is to have either 4 or 6 fans, 2-3 in each end, blowing into the fixture towards the middle, where the bulbs overlap in the middle.. then just above the overlapped areas, and on the top of the light fixture, i'm thinking i'm gonna use something like a floor register(ac vent) to let the hot pressurized air up and out...
my thinking is that by doing it this way, the air that gets heated by the overlapped sections will be the first let out, and thus getting rid of a good chunk of the heat, also, by having the fans "pressureize" the fixture, they are not pulling hot salty air through the fans... the fans will just see the dryer and cooler air from the room...
just a thought...
i spent a good part of yesterday scrounging for parts, and sitting and stairing at the fixture trying to figure out how to make it tilt up for thoes times when i need to change a bulb or something... well, i think i've got it figured out now, but i gotta make another run to HD... so that'll happen later today...
tankedchemist
Reef enthusiast
my lights are 150W MH x3, and 54W x8 actinics. I think it has 5 fans-- 3 on the top, one on each end. The fundamental problem, imo though, is that despite having marineland tank and marineland lights, the strap and the center light match up. IF they had their shit together, they'd have two straps in between the halides... but they don't. so that contributes to the issue.
