Neanderthalman's 40 Breeder

[ajmckay]

Wow I can't believe I've never read this thread! Anyways, excellent looking tank. I'm in the process of rebuilding a 40br (replacing the back pane) and I'm always looking for inspiration...

 

My inspiration in your case? Adjustable feet... I've got a great place for my tank right in my dining room, but I have hardwood floors in a 50 year old house and there's some leveling issues. The floor is 1/4" lower 2 feet out from the baseboards. Also there is a big hump in 4 or 5 of the boards right at the wall which makes it impossible for anything to sit level without having it sit a foot out from the wall.

 

So my questions: How have the adjustable feet worked out? Do you just have 1 on each corner? And finally, what kind of flooring do you have it on (so much weight concentrated on a few square inches makes me nervous).

 

Now it's time to go refresh myself on the AWC (still working?).

[neanderthalman]

So my questions: How have the adjustable feet worked out? Do you just have 1 on each corner? And finally, what kind of flooring do you have it on (so much weight concentrated on a few square inches makes me nervous).

 

Now it's time to go refresh myself on the AWC (still working?).

 

AWC is working perfectly. I have no complaints about the system. The only change I would have made is to have done it years earlier.

 

The feet also worked out fantastically well. Originally, this tank was designed and set up on a carpeted concrete floor. Since the move, it's now on a shiatty quality new construction floor, also carpeted. No issues with the feet, but I really wish the floors in this house wouldn't move when I walk.

 

Building code sucks. If I have had no issues on this minimum quality floor, then I'd expect it to be fine anywhere else.

 

I don't recall if I posted shots of it or not, but the four corner posts each have a hole drilled in the bottom, and a Tee Nut hammered into place. The feet obviously thread into the tee nuts. Makes it very strong and (relatively) easy to adjust. I still have to put a prybar under the stand to actually lift it, then spin the foot.

[masterbuilder]

Mmmmmmmm... love the stand. Tank is OK, would be better if it wasn't so messy!

[neanderthalman]

wat?

 

messy?

 

messy how?

[masterbuilder]

NM.... your mem is short.

 

'neanderthalman' : Please stop having messy tanks

 

LOL.... you know I love your scape.... alot actually. I have been subscribed to this thread for long time.

[Deleted User 6]

TOTM!

[bitts]

I don't recall if I posted shots of it or not, but the four corner posts each have a hole drilled in the bottom, and a Tee Nut hammered into place. The feet obviously thread into the tee nuts. Makes it very strong and (relatively) easy to adjust. I still have to put a prybar under the stand to actually lift it, then spin the foot.

 

 

thanks neanderthalman, been wondering about how to do those feet.

[neanderthalman]

NM.... your mem is short.

 

 

 

LOL.... you know I love your scape.... alot actually. I have been subscribed to this thread for long time.

 

LOL. You definitely confused me. I wasn't sure if that was a reference or genuine criticism. Wondered if maybe I had a blind spot.

 

Thanks for the kind words.

 

I promise to put some corals in there soon. I was looking at some 3/4" polished marble tiles on the weekend, for growing zoas in the foreground.

 

Gonna take some pics, and hopefully get to posting them.

[neanderthalman]

Obligatory FTS. Look at all the growth!

 

 

Do pardon the mess in the corner....

 

 

 

 

Sump. Yeah, I guess I could clean this up a bit. The floatswitches for the ATO reservoir are "temporarily" installed. I was going to Hawaii for a week and didn't want my house-sitter to need to do anything but make sure the tank wasn't broken. I have brackets made up, but I loaned my weld-on (16) to a friend. I'll get to it.

 

 

AWC Control Panel. 12V and 120V power, start, and manual bypass for all three pumps. Labeling is for schweebs.

 

 

The electrical panel still needs some work. The 12V terminal strip needs to be bolted down, I just haven't gotten a hold of any 4-40 cap screws, not that I've really tried very hard. I did find some pan heads, but the heads are too big. Need a socket head cap screw, or similar. Also would like to get all the wires tied back neatly, but it's not a priority.

 

 

RO/DI in the basement, up under the floorboards. I mounted it up high so that the head loss between the filter and the ATO reservoir was minimized - about two-three feet. Looks like I'm about due for both new resin and new prefilters.

 

 

55 gallon drum for saltwater, and a manual RO/DI tap for emergency use. The red bin has a drain on the backside, for when I inevitably forget to turn the thing off. The barrel has a float valve and ball valve, so it will shut off automatically when full, and then I can keep it off when the SW is mixed. For the winter, I have the wastewater going to a drain, but I plan to divert it to a rain barrel this summer.

 

[Deleted User 6]

 

Robot face ftw!

 

 

Setup is looking good. Is the corner where the firefish do their thang?

[neanderthalman]

Robot face ftw!

 

 

Setup is looking good. Is the corner where the firefish do their thang?

 

Thanks. I think it's mostly snail poo. The firefish are surprisingly open and brave, free swimming throughout the tank. That'll probably change if/when I add more fish.

 

The two corners (not the exact corner) have something of a gyre flow, so things tend to collect in a neat little pile. Easy to siphon out before a w/c. I siphon into the filter floss chamber to collect it, then change the water. The w/c tends to stir up some stuff in the sump, and so I give the tank an hour or two to clear and then change out the floss. Floss gets changed 2x weekly. I keep a stash of pre-cut pieces in a nearby closet.

 

I'm hoping that when I (eventually) get a skimmer in the sump, it'll disturb the flow enough to keep the stuff from settling in the sump. The other option is to throw a small powerhead down in there, but I'd rather not introduce more heat if I don't have to.

 

I'm thinking that an aquaC Urchin would be a good fit.

[bitts]

all that electicel work is awesome, but dont you have to use those silly outlets with bottun. to be up ta code, that close to water.

[neanderthalman]

Yes, you are absolutely correct. Within three feet of water, you have to use receptacles protected by a GFCI. GFCI receptacles also have a pair of terminals that allow you to connect additional standard receptacles that will also be protected by the GFCI. In this case, I have a pair of GFCIs, as I separated my power into two "channels" for redundancy. You can see them in the photo. Both channels are capable of independently maintaining heat and flow in the display tank.

 

 

 

Channel A powers the return pump, heater, which will provide enough heat and flow to keep things alive on loss of Channel B. Channel B will do the same, using the closed loop pump for flow and heat, and will also get a little heat from the halides. Seriously. It moves so much water that it actually heats it in the process.

[bitts]

damb now thats cool, im a dork, but thats flippin awesome. ok what other tricks havent you told us about. come on wise one, learn me some stuff. im still planning the next tank and want to steal more.

[ajmckay]

Redundancy FTW...

[systemtool]

tank update? This is a great build thread. Love the DIY Cabinet. I want to do a similar project to transfer my stuff from my 36g bowfront into a drilled 40breeder. My current tank isn't drilled, and I have all the parts to set up my sump (including a new octopus 110 re-circ skimmer) but I really don't want to flood the room my tank is in. It's not really a matter of IF but WHEN for a HOB overflow box.

[neanderthalman]

No real update. I was going to buy my lights...and the store I would have bought them from suddenly stopped carrying the Iwasaki 14k's. So now I'm stuck - do I order them from the states and pay the duty, or do I switch to a new bulb. Can't find another canadian online retailer who carries them - and I'm not going to waste my time on the LFS with their 18 million percent markup.

 

Perhaps to get the PAR of the Iwasaki's I should go with 10k and actually buy the bulbs for the actinics. I don't really know what to do.

[neanderthalman]

CHICAGO, IL, US 16/03/2010 4:13 DEPARTURE SCAN

16/03/2010 0:54 ARRIVAL SCAN

HODGKINS, IL, US 16/03/2010 0:17 DEPARTURE SCAN

FREDERICTON, NB, CA 15/03/2010 21:08 THERE IS AN INADEQUATE DESCRIPTION OF THE MERCHANDISE. MORE DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED

HODGKINS, IL, US 15/03/2010 12:16 ARRIVAL SCAN

EAGAN, MN, US 15/03/2010 4:39 DEPARTURE SCAN

EAGAN, MN, US 12/03/2010 22:57 ARRIVAL SCAN

MAPLE GROVE, MN, US 12/03/2010 22:01 DEPARTURE SCAN

12/03/2010 18:44 ORIGIN SCAN

US 12/03/2010 17:17 BILLING INFORMATION RECEIVED

 

FOR #### SAKE!

 

They're goddamn light bulbs! What description do you dumbass east coast sacks of shiat need!

 

[bitts]

FOR #### SAKE!

 

They're goddamn light bulbs! What description do you dumbass east coast sacks of shiat need!

 

 

 

lmao rof, but we feel your pain. you know we could take them on a "nature hike" and let the range know they fell in a mine. we tryed to get them out really we did, and we sorry we got lost on the way back. and we propably shouldnt have stopped for pizza but were here now. that might make the pain better.

[neanderthalman]

Well, apparently it flew from chicago to new brunswick and back for no reason whatsoever.

 

It just made it through customs at windsor/detroit....the route it probably should have taken in the first place. WTF!

 

I'm thinking it'll be here tomorrow. :happydance:

[neanderthalman]

Well, I got my new lights!

 

14k Ushio, and I finally bought the actinics - 2x30W VHO, 420nm peak

 

 

I...well...I don't have much to photograph, but the new lights are doing some funky stuff with the fish.

 

 

Old lights:

 

New lights:

 

 

......

 

 

HOLY ####! CORAL!

 

 

Picked up some zoas a few days ago. They're zip-tied to some 1" marble tiles, which I'm going to use like frag plugs once they start growing out. However, I'll be able to arrange them to create the 'garden' in the foreground, and the tiles won't be visible with the zoas grown out.

 

I'm trying to decide if I should incorporate some GSP in as well, perhaps at the sides. I definitely want a little red sea xenia somewhere, just...not on the rocks... Can't have it growing over the SPS.

 

Also, if anyone's looking to put together an ATO (not AWC), I set up a DIY 'kit'. More detail here.

[neanderthalman]

I have a new toy!

 

I don't know if you guys in the states have a similar store, but up here we have a store called "Canadian Tire". Now, they used to be the goto place for essentially everything. Tools, car parts, yard equipment, household goods, basically everything but toys and groceries. It's a man's store. They're a little too expensive on stuff that they probably shouldn't be selling at all, like electronics, but they sell good quality homeowner grade tools for good prices. And this stuff is constantly going on sale.

 

The other thing they have is "Canadian Tire Money". I'm sure you've got a store somewhere doing something similar, but it's basically a 1-2% cash back on your purchases, except that it's in coupons redeemable at the store for anything.

 

 

It's a few cents here and there, and many people just throw the stuff away. However, many Canadian Tire stores also have a gas station, and you get CT money there as well. In addition, if you go into the store or read the flyer, you can grab/cut out a coupon that is a "multiplier" for the gas station. Usually these are at least 7x, but often up to 10x. On a normal fill, I can get $1.50 back in CT money.

 

When you do that for a couple years, it turns into this:

 

 

I used to collect it years ago, and it sat on a shelf. My new route to work passes by a canadian tire, so now I buy my gas there again. Saved up another $15 worth since December alone. I have long dreamed of saving enough to buy a power tool of some kind.

 

So, I stopped in yesterday to take a look around, grab a coupon, and get gas. I have been thinking of setting up a simple propagation tank in my basement, so I checked out the wet tile saws which are so useful for fragging. Their low-end plastic model was on for less than half price - $70, so I bought it outright with my saved up CT money. Oh, the poor girl loved counting all that out.

 

 

It's perfect. I don't need heavy-duty, I need corrosion resistance. Saltwater + metal is bad, but this thing is almost entirely plastic so the only parts that will need to be rinsed after use are the blade and spindle. If a little salt residue is left in the reservoir - who cares? I also don't need to make precision cuts. It's for fragging!

 

I'm going to make up an acrylic guide for fragging. I figure acrylic with a slot cut in it to accommodate the blade will allow me to frag the coral without rubbing the tissue along the plastic work surface. The sliding will be between the acrylic guide and the work surface, not the coral.

 

The prop tank may be a ways out, but this was far too good of a deal to pass up!

[Mudfish]

Very cool!

[neanderthalman]

#### #### #####

 

Came home last night, frags in hand, and was surprised when floating the bags didn't set off the high level alarm. I took a look at the sump, and the water level was down several inches. WTF!?!

 

Power supply blew up. Swelled out and everything. NOT COOL. The ATO, AWC, moonlights and canopy fans are all out.

 

I have a replacement, but it's only 9V though. I know it'll operate the relays as I used it for testing, but I'm not sure about the moonlights or canopy ventilation fans. The fans are 24V, and were already operating at half-power.

[OClownsandNanos]

Just read your thread. Your overall build, your 'scape, and your new lights are awesome. Made me consider firefish for the first time! Sorry to hear about the electrical blowout, hopefully you are able to resolve it quickly. Will be following. Good luck!