Micro-Reefs Aquariums Posted December 15, 2013 Share Posted December 15, 2013 Hi all, CHECK OUT THIS 1/2" INCH ACRYLIC THICK BUILD! Wanted to share the build of a special order that came in Thursday. Almost 16.83 gallons of 55 F degrees of Coolness! Pieces ready for cutting! Pieces are cut! Placement of dividers! Closer look of dividers! False wall dropped in! Chambers aligned with false wall! Link to comment
Dramad1 Posted December 15, 2013 Share Posted December 15, 2013 This is pretty sweet, looking good. Following along. Link to comment
Micro-Reefs Aquariums Posted December 18, 2013 Author Share Posted December 18, 2013 Update: Stomach flu kept me down all of Monday , so I went into overdrive on Tuesday! Water test commences... Dialing in the correct return pump and sponge... Finishing the cover tops... Independent tops allow versatility to display area and filter box... Connect MP10... Full blast setup and no spillage... Cover tops are placed on top... Flame polish edges and off she goes to her new owner! Link to comment
AquaticEngineer Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 This tank is gonna be a spectacular coldwater system! Can't say too much about who the build is for or what they are doing with it since its a surprise xmas present, but Mike and I both know One thing I can say, is that this tank will be getting some of the nicest coldwater livestock ever in it to go along with the nicest coldwater tank I've seen built! Link to comment
Micro-Reefs Aquariums Posted December 19, 2013 Author Share Posted December 19, 2013 Update: A STAR IS BORN! SHE IS COMPLETED FLAME POLISHED EDGES AND BUFFED! Link to comment
Dramad1 Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 Man that tank turned out awesome. The polish really makes The tank shine, nice job man! New owner is going to be stoked. Link to comment
Micro-Reefs Aquariums Posted December 19, 2013 Author Share Posted December 19, 2013 Man that tank turned out awesome. The polish really makes The tank shine, nice job man! New owner is going to be stoked. I appreciate the kinds words, a lot went into making this build. I had never done a tank past 4 gallons and this guy comes in close to 17 gallons. The owner simply placed me into a challenge. Link to comment
Micro-Reefs Aquariums Posted December 20, 2013 Author Share Posted December 20, 2013 I hope all of you enjoyed this build, she is off to her destination! 24 x 24 x24 Over sized box with plenty of padding and proper packaging will insure her safe arrival! Link to comment
waldoz Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 So where did this end up? Link to comment
Kellie in CA Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 I want one. Could this size be made with the thinner acrylic? Link to comment
Micro-Reefs Aquariums Posted January 18, 2014 Author Share Posted January 18, 2014 I want one. Could this size be made with the thinner acrylic? A eurobrace is required to move into the thinner material... Link to comment
SantaMonica Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 How cold can the water be with that thickness before condensation (say, in 50% humidity) ? Link to comment
astroman of the future Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 How cold can the water be with that thickness before condensation (say, in 50% humidity) ? use the dew point calculator. http://www.dpcalc.org Link to comment
SantaMonica Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 But that does not use the tank wall thickness. Link to comment
AquaticEngineer Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 With the DP calc its essentially like you are figuring it for a glass tank, ie: no thermal barrier. I don't remember the exact insulation factor for acrylic (its on the web somewhere in an old thread) but you can safely assume at least a 2 degree variance between inside temperature and outside of the acrylic with half inch. So if you know your tank will be running at 55 for sure,then set your dewpoint at 57 and the humidity at 50%, then it should tell you exactly what temperature would be needed to get condensation Link to comment
AquaticEngineer Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 just plugged in the numbers, if the outside of the acrylic is at 57F and the humidity in the room is 50% than you'd need an air temp of 77 or higher to get condensation. I'll see if I can get an infrared temp of the external acrylic on my tank tomorrow to see what the variance between inside water temp and outside of the acrylic is. Link to comment
AquaticEngineer Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 use the dew point calculator. http://www.dpcalc.org But that does not use the tank wall thickness. Sorry it took me so long to get back to this, had to get some actual numbers off my tank and then look up some old info. With a 1/2" thick acrylic tank you can count on having a 5 degree thermal variance between the inside water temp and the outside surface temperature of the acrylic tank. When you get into the 1" range you get double that or better, so at least a 10 degree variance. So to figure your dewpoint for a 1/2" thick acrylic tank using the DP calc, you need to know what temp you are going to run your coldwater tank at. So depending on what you plan to run your coldwater tank at, just enter the dewpoint on the calculator as 5 degrees more than your ideal water temperature. Here is a screen shot of my current parameters in regards to condensation. I run my tanks water temperature at 57F, and I know that my outside temperature of the acrylic on my tank is 62.8F (rounded to 63) and my house temperature is currently 69F, I would need to have a humidity level of 78% inside my house before my tank would develop condensation. If I had 78% humidity inside my house I'd be worried about a lot more than my tank sweating, lol. Link to comment
SantaMonica Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 So 66 degrees @ 73%, or 56 degrees @ 88%, would not condense, correct? Link to comment
AquaticEngineer Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 So 66 degrees @ 73%, or 56 degrees @ 88%, would not condense, correct? Are you talking air temps or water temps? If it was 66 degree water at 73% humidity and there was no thermal barrier of acrylic (ie: only a glass tank) then you would get condensation at anything warmer than 75 degrees air temperature. If if was 56 degree water at 88% humidity and there was no thermal barrier of acrylic (ie: only a glass tank) then you would get condensation at anything warmer than 59F degrees air temperature. This is why that 5 - 10 defree thermal barrier provided by using thicker arcylic vs just a glass tank is so important. If you used those same water temps and humidity but added a 5 degree variance of insulation (1/2" acrylic) between the water and the outside of the acrylic then your numbers would look like this: If it was 66 (+5 degree buffer of 1/2" acrylic) degree water at 73% humidity and there was no thermal barrier of acrylic (ie: only a glass tank) then you would get condensation at anything warmer than 81 degrees air temperature. If if was 56 (+5 degree buffer of 1/2" acrylic) degree water at 88% humidity and there was no thermal barrier of acrylic (ie: only a glass tank) then you would get condensation at anything warmer than 64F degrees air temperature. But the main thing to remember is that in just about any home, if you have more than 70% humidity consistantly you are going to have dangerous mold issues well before you need to worry about condensation on your tank Link to comment
SantaMonica Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 Well that helps, but I was actually meaning air temp, not water. I think humidity here goes from 50 to 80% Link to comment
frankdontsurf Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 Can't that also be used as a tropical system? Link to comment
Micro-Reefs Aquariums Posted April 24, 2014 Author Share Posted April 24, 2014 Can't that also be used as a tropical system? Absolutely! What a tropical tank that would be! Stop the press whose tropical tank is that? MG Link to comment
AquaticEngineer Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 So 66 degrees @ 73%, or 56 degrees @ 88%, would not condense, correct? Air temp was 66F Humidity was 73% Water temperature was 55F 1/2" acrylic tank No chance of condensation until humidity reaches 83% Air temp was 56F Humidity was 88% Water temperature was 55F 1/2" acrylic tank No chance of condensation until humidity reaches 100% since the water and air temperatures are almost the same. You are actually more likely to start seeing evaporation as the air temperature gets below the water temperature, which is very rare that house temps dip below 55 so evaporation almost never happens. Another bonus for coldwater, no top offs Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.