Hawke's Pico Lamp

[Deep Thief]

Looks pretty good so far, the wife said she wants one when I showed her.

[Growerguy]

Very nice sir! Cant wait to see it up and running. I agree the legs help a lot. It almost looks like an antique in a way, makes it even more cool in my book.

[Mustang Boy]

Thanks Mustang Boy --- I still have a bunch of stuff to do to get it up and running but it's coming together.

 

I showed my son you comment and he had a grin from ear to ear. Originally the base was just going to sit on the table. The feet make a big improvement for the presentation. He came up with that idea as we were wondering through Lowes one night buying parts. Those are actually outside corner wainscot molding pieces. I bought 2 and cut the top and bottom off each piece to get 4 feet.

 

 

he should he thought of a really good idea that most of us would have overthought. the only thing i would have done differently would be to use a square shaped lamp shade to go with the squareness of the tank

[Deep Thief]

he should he thought of a really good idea that most of us would have overthought. the only thing i would have done differently would be to use a square shaped lamp shade to go with the squareness of the tank

 

That almost looks square, its just hard to see. I could be wrong with that one. I've been wrong once or twice in my life.

[c_k_kuehne]

It almost looks like an antique in a way, makes it even more cool in my book.

Yes I agree. The tank has a very antique look since it's make out of bottle glass. A little wavy and a tiny bubble here and there. Trying to figure out how to finish the wood in a distressed look.

 

the only thing i would have done differently would be to use a square shaped lamp shade to go with the squareness of the tank

Hard to tell in the picture buts it's actually a square shade with small 45 degree corners. It had dangly beads going around the bottom but my son thought that looked too much like a shade you would find in your Grandma's house so he made me cut off the beads.

 

I also think I figured out a way to put a nice wood wrap around the lamp pole so it looks a little better going up into the shade. One big hurtle is to figure out a way of holding the hood up in the lamp shade while doing maintenance. I have a few ideas but ........... ahhh I'll figure something out.

[Mustang Boy]

Hard to tell in the picture buts it's actually a square shade with small 45 degree corners. It had dangly beads going around the bottom but my son thought that looked too much like a shade you would find in your Grandma's house so he made me cut off the beads.

 

I also think I figured out a way to put a nice wood wrap around the lamp pole so it looks a little better going up into the shade. One big hurtle is to figure out a way of holding the hood up in the lamp shade while doing maintenance. I have a few ideas but ........... ahhh I'll figure something out.

 

i see pictures can be deceiving lol

 

and have the kiddo hold the hood for you while you do maintenance it is his tank and all lol

[ThrivingNanoTang]

I would like to purchase this fine product.

[c_k_kuehne]

i see pictures can be deceiving lol

 

and have the kiddo hold the hood for you while you do maintenance it is his tank and all lol

 

My son volunteered to hold the hood for maintenance. I told him "not a chance" as I was planning to hold the hood for him. Actually I have come up a way (using magnets) for the hood to stay up in the shade while doing maintenance. Went out and got the parts today. Will have to work on that later tonight or tomorrow as it's going to take a slight modification to the hood.

 

 

I would like to purchase this fine product.

 

HHHmmmm -- not sure if anyone would want to buy this if they knew how much it cost so far. That's why I don't like budgets. I am not even willing to go back and look at all the receipts. Wouldn't want the NR community to hear me cryin

 

I am sure if I built another one I could do it for much cheaper as I now know exactly whats needed and how to do it. Unfortunately this does represent a huge amount of time as I really suck at wood working so getting it to look decent was a serious struggle for me.

[c_k_kuehne]

Did a little more work on the tank this morning.

 

Here is a one piece belly pan/back plate installed in the hood. The LED's, fan, and power jacks will all get mounted through this so all the wires are hidden underneath in the hood.

 

 

 

I came up with a way to use magnets to hold the hood up in the lamp shade for doing maintenance. Here is the magnet installed just under the lamp shade holder.

 

 

 

This is a picture of the hood being held up in the shade by the magnet. Enough room for maintenance and placing corals. Wanted to have the least amount of space possible but still be capable of regular maintenance tasks. More space makes the lamp as a whole bigger and bigger. Right now it is about as tall as you would want for a large table top lamp.

 

[Mustang Boy]

i think that is a brilliant idea but i have to ask you one thing. how hard is it to separate the magnets because you dont want the magnets too strong to where you have to really pull it apart n then have the hood come crashing down onto the tank

[c_k_kuehne]

i think that is a brilliant idea but i have to ask you one thing. how hard is it to separate the magnets because you dont want the magnets too strong to where you have to really pull it apart n then have the hood come crashing down onto the tank

 

Actually I have that problem but in reverse. Even though I used 2 x 65 lb magnets once you start separating them with something in between (the top hood piece) the strength really diminishes. Had to mod the top of the hood a bit to make it work. It sticks well but not too much. I am going to be careful with how much more weight I add to the hood to make sure it still sticks well when up in the maintenance position. Right now I have a good balance between weight and sticking ability, just need to be careful so I don't get too much weight.

[Weetabix7]

Hard to tell in the picture buts it's actually a square shade with small 45 degree corners. It had dangly beads going around the bottom but my son thought that looked too much like a shade you would find in your Grandma's house so he made me cut off the beads.

 

Actually, it turns out he's right about that.

BibleSue has 2 of those exact shades on the lamps in her living room, fancy beads and all, and she is indeed a Grandmother.

[c_k_kuehne]

Actually, it turns out he's right about that.

BibleSue has 2 of those exact shades on the lamps in her living room, fancy beads and all, and she is indeed a Grandmother.

 

I showed my son this post and he got a good laugh about the Grandma thing. I think you sort of proved in his mind that he was right about the beads.

 

I actually liked the beads -- thought it looked more antique but hey it's his tank so I tried to let him make the decisions where possible

[c_k_kuehne]

This is the Custom Water Ramp. I needed to extend the water ramp out past the false wall and to go around the lamp tube. I need to trim it up but waiting for the "glue" to cure. Also pictured is the new 2 part lamp tube.

 

 

 

And for a sneak preview --- I am going to mount a RKL in the lamp base. The only thing that will be showing is the digital 2 x 16 display and the LED status lights. This is an image of the extended button interface."M" Menu, Up Arrow, "E" Enter, Down Arrow, and "B" Back. Of course you just don't have a tank build, unless you use body piecing parts in your build

 

[c_k_kuehne]

I did a quick mock up mount of the RKL using a scrap piece of the molding. I did this to make sure my paper template had the holes in all the right places and the mounting/remote buttons were going to work correctly. The final mount will be in the front panel of the lamp base. Trying to get my ducks in a row before I start cutting on the lamp base.

 

 

 

This is my 1 lb piece of Fiji LR. It's in a temporary holding tank until I can get up and going. My son looked at that setup and asked "Can't we just enter that tank in the contest?" I was ready to kill him.

 

[Deep Thief]

My son looked at that setup and asked "Can't we just enter that tank in the contest?" I was ready to kill him.

 

Thats the beauty of kids, they are brutally honest. He could careless about what the tank looks like, he just wants to enter the contest. Tell him, "Patience grasshopper, patience." Looking good so far, I should have my pump today, Fedex says its on a truck for delivery.

[c_k_kuehne]

Even though the lamp parts are not ready yet the tanks silicone was done curing so I setup the tank temporarily as a stand alone. This allowed me to get all the equipment in place ready to go for when I finish the lamp parts.

 

Whats pictured is:

 

False wall w/ lamp tube in the middle.

AC20 w/ extended water ramp going around lamp tube.

Float switch w/ holder.

Temp probe.

3 air lines (2 clear -- 1 green) going to battery powered air pump which turns on

when it detects a power outage.

Not pictured -- Heater up under all that.

 

It's tight but it all fits. I even have enough space to squeeze in another 2 probes in the future. All this fits up under the hood. Going to wait to finish the lights and hood before I decide weather to trim down the water ramp a little or not.

 

[Deep Thief]

Even though the lamp parts are not ready yet the tanks silicone was done curing so I setup the tank temporarily as a stand alone. This allowed me to get all the equipment in place ready to go for when I finish the lamp parts.

 

Whats pictured is:

 

False wall w/ lamp tube in the middle.

AC20 w/ extended water ramp going around lamp tube.

Float switch w/ holder.

Temp probe.

3 air lines (2 clear -- 1 green) going to battery powered air pump which turns on

when it detects a power outage.

Not pictured -- Heater up under all that.

 

It's tight but it all fits. I even have enough space to squeeze in another 2 probes in the future. All this fits up under the hood. Going to wait to finish the lights and hood before I decide weather to trim down the water ramp a little or not.

 

Where the hell is the front pic showing the rock in its new home. This thread sucks without more pics.

[c_k_kuehne]

Where the hell is the front pic showing the rock in its new home. This thread sucks without more pics.

 

All in good time -- be patient.

[nemmy]

All in good time -- be patient.

 

Its been like 13 minutes. Whats the deal?

[Growerguy]

Looks good! Nice job packing all that in there. Really liking the extended AC20 ramp.

 

Hehe everyone always wants more pictures... I need to get some up of mine.

[c_k_kuehne]

Where the hell is the front pic showing the rock in its new home. This thread sucks without more pics.

 

You asked for it so here is a quick picture of day 5. Rock is in the tank along with a small Kenya Tree frag. Will probably have to shave a little off the back of the LR to make it fit better so I can get a nimble magnet in front of it. These are not the final positions just letting them chill a while and get use to the new tank.

 

I also might add a flow deflector along the upper front lip of the tank. Not sure yet going to try some experiments on that idea maybe this weekend.

 

[reef2.5]

You asked for it so here is a quick picture of day 5. Rock is in the tank along with a small Kenya Tree frag. Will probably have to shave a little off the back of the LR to make it fit better so I can get a nimble magnet in front of it. These are not the final positions just letting them chill a while and get use to the new tank.

 

I also might add a flow deflector along the upper front lip of the tank. Not sure yet going to try some experiments on that idea maybe this weekend.

 

lookin great looks like you got a nice piece of rock

[c_k_kuehne]

Last night Central GA got 4 - 5 inches of snow. Last time it snowed like this was 1977. At about 7:00 pm our power went out. The battery air pump kicked on so I knew oxygen wasn't an issue and I wrapped a blanket around the tank. By 9:30 pm the house was getting colder and with no end in sight to the power outage I decided to move the tank to a neighbors house who has a whole house generator.

 

I drained about 1/2 the water into a small bucket. I packed the tank/with filter and all the equipment into an old milk crate and took it to the neighbors. Setup the tank on their kitchen counter and me, my son and the tank spent the night. Power was off for a total of 12 hours. When we got up this morning power was finally back on so I packed it all back up and brought it home. Got home, set it up and an hour later couldn't even tell it had been moved. Although the tank did go through a few temp swings during the process the LR, hitchhikers, and frag didn't seem to mind.

 

Here is the tank packed in the milk crate ready for transport.

 

[acropora1981]

lol this is such a cool little idea!