Paleoreef103 Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 I am not too familiar with these either, however I don't think they come in 18" 20 watt lengths anyways. Which is a hard size to find. Any info would be great. They aren't quite on the market yet, but they will be soon. Pretty exciting as current bulbs are fair quality at best, plus you get a lot more color options with UVL bulbs. Link to comment
Aegeon Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 Sweet build, I'll definitely be following. I've got a similar setup in the works, with a 7.5g rimless cube as a sump. I chose to go with a Tunze 9002 skimmer. I was surprised how small it is, fits great even in my 12" cube sump. The water level in my sump tank should be at about 8" in the skimmer chamber, and the Tunze requires 7" - 8.5", so you may want to consider it if you're running 7" in your sump. Since my tank isn't up and running yet, I can't personally attest to the Tunze's performance, but I read a ton of very positive reviews before buying. I'd also considered the Remora Nano, but the Tunze is smaller, and supposedly quieter and performs just as well or better. Just my 2c. Keep us posted! Link to comment
pismo_reefer Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 I saw the tank and was like, "Nice fuggin' tank!"... Then, I saw the light... Link to comment
AJ_Tsin Posted June 11, 2010 Author Share Posted June 11, 2010 I saw the tank and was like, "Nice fuggin' tank!"... Then, I saw the light... Thanks I'm pretty excited for this one. In other news. I picked up the gorgeous glass today! Here is it all wrapped up stay tuned for details and a build journal.... it has all been custom cut and drilled to fit the stand perfectly! Look for more updates soon... Link to comment
AJ_Tsin Posted June 11, 2010 Author Share Posted June 11, 2010 omgomgomg My thoughts exactly. Just did a home hardware run! Gonna start some assembly tonight. Continue over the weekend. Pics to come of all of this. Link to comment
jakeh24 Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 holy a 6 bulb t5 over 13 gallons of water Link to comment
spanko Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 Take a lot of pictures of the glass assembly........please oh please oh please! Link to comment
AJ_Tsin Posted June 12, 2010 Author Share Posted June 12, 2010 Take a lot of pictures of the glass assembly........please oh please oh please! Well the tank is assembled. The silicon is a bit messy but its nothing a razor-blade wont fix once its cured. It's actually quite a difficult process to build a tank especially with only one set of hands. When you are doing it all yourself is very easy to get silicon everywhere! Nonethess here is a little walkthrough on what I did. First all of the necessary tools and equipment were gathered and purchased. 1. Non Toxic Marine 100% Silicon and a gun to apply. 2. Duct Tape 3. Paper Towel 4. Acetone 5. Single Sided Rasorblades 6. Newspaper 7. A garbage bag. Once I had all of the supplies it was time to go to work. First make sure you are working on a level surface. 8 strips of duct tape were laid face up under the bottom pane of glass. This allows quick assembly and the duct tape is a must for support while the silicone drys. Use Acetone on paper towel to clean the glass edges before applying silicone this will ensure a firm seal. Then silicon was applied to two adjacent edges of the bottom pane as well as one side of the back pane. Once the silicone is applied you only have a couple minutes to place the glass because the silicone dries quite quickly. So I quickly built the back corner of the tank and then supported it by pulling the duct tape tight. Once the wall is built another bead of silicon is applied to the inner seam of the tank. This seam is then smoothed out with a single swipe of an index finger to make a nice round edge inside the tank. It is important to only smooth with your finger once because after a couple mintues if you try to do it again it will be too late as the silicone will get clumpy. Don't worry if you get silicone on the tank walls because you can trim it all up with a razor blade once it is cured. Repeat the same procedure with the other two walls. Once all the seams were filled and the edges squeezed together as tight as possible with duct tape it was left to dry. So there it is, the first steps of the display tank assembled. Hope this helps anyone looking to build a glass aquarium. I will be filling it with fresh water tomorrow to check for leaks... -A. Link to comment
spanko Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 Do you trim the excess silicone before or after the water test? I have seen others place a tape line along where the silicone is going to go so they can take the tape off after silicone is applied giving a nice even edge. Is this not something you have tried or recommend? Link to comment
AJ_Tsin Posted June 12, 2010 Author Share Posted June 12, 2010 Do you trim the excess silicone before or after the water test? I have seen others place a tape line along where the silicone is going to go so they can take the tape off after silicone is applied giving a nice even edge. Is this not something you have tried or recommend? I took some time to trim the silicon this morning. I don't think taping it would make any difference because you still have to cut the silicon where you taped and if you try to pull off the tape it might peel more silicone than you want. This is my first time trying this assembly process so I am still figuring things out. My silicone seals are definitely not as neat as I would like them but they aren't bad for a first try. I defiantly don't recommend doing this alone. It is next to impossible to get a nice neat silicone seal while holding the panes in place. All while taking breaks for pictures! I will continue trimming the silicone up and tidying the edges before adding water. Pictures to come of the water test and then plumbing build. Link to comment
AJ_Tsin Posted June 12, 2010 Author Share Posted June 12, 2010 More Updates! Water test is underway. The tank is holding water fine and there seems to be no leaks I will leave it overnight to be sure. I also installed the two bulkheads. I temporarily added a Hydor Flow deflector to one bulkhead but I think I will only use Loc-Line tubing for the return as it looks like I will have a Vortech MP10 on the side for water motion. Looking into building or modding an overflow also this weekend. Here it is: Also you can see how clean I got the silicon edges after a couple intense hours or razor-blade cleaning and trimming. I have been patient with this tank for the past month or so but now that its built it will be no time before its up and cycling. Thanks for reading, - A. Link to comment
lilopop11 Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 This would be great VSV dosing again TJ ? Link to comment
AJ_Tsin Posted June 13, 2010 Author Share Posted June 13, 2010 This would be great VSV dosing again TJ ? Of course. The only thing in the sump will be a heater, a skimmer, and a return pump. VSV all the way. However I may look to some sort of biomedia eg: n/p reducing pellets the reasoning behind this is because it's an office tank I will not be able to dose carbon on the weekend. Link to comment
AJ_Tsin Posted June 13, 2010 Author Share Posted June 13, 2010 Nicely done my friend. Thanks for following along, and for all the compliments. Stay tuned for plumbing, overflow, and return updates. I also have to figure out how to hang the light soon as well. Link to comment
AJ_Tsin Posted June 15, 2010 Author Share Posted June 15, 2010 Here are the overflow drawings. A member from Reefescape.ca Gweeto has been kind enough to manufacture and this overflow box for me. When its done pics to come.... Link to comment
AJ_Tsin Posted June 16, 2010 Author Share Posted June 16, 2010 Well here's something worth looking at... This system is going to be beautiful. If I wasn't already anxious enough to get it up and going I am now. Sexy. Link to comment
spanko Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 WOW, sexy, modern, just really nice! Link to comment
NaClCrocodile Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 In regards to taping off with silicone - you take the tape off while it's still wet. You'd have to be really careful if doing it in a whole tank, but it's what I do to keep my overflows' silicone lines clean. I tried to let it dry and then pull it off but that wasn't as effective. I'm interested in the N/P removing pellets, I wonder if they'd work well in the phosban section of a BRS Dual Reactor (instead of phosban). Link to comment
AJ_Tsin Posted June 16, 2010 Author Share Posted June 16, 2010 WOW, sexy, modern, just really nice! Well thanks Spanko, I can always count on you for a good comment or two. - Cheers... In regards to taping off with silicone - you take the tape off while it's still wet. You'd have to be really careful if doing it in a whole tank, but it's what I do to keep my overflows' silicone lines clean. I tried to let it dry and then pull it off but that wasn't as effective. I'm interested in the N/P removing pellets, I wonder if they'd work well in the phosban section of a BRS Dual Reactor (instead of phosban). Hmm I could see how the Taping may help if the Silicon was still wet... I will definitely post a lot regarding my use of VSV or N/P Reducing Pellets. I would plan on running them in a phosban reactor of some sort. Two Little Fishies or BRS would be the usual suspects. Link to comment
mdannyg Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 i wasn't so sure how that would look as a stand when you first showed it, but now with the tank on it, yes. very nice. Link to comment
nanoreef-R Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 Needs more Mame Design Nano Overflow Link to comment
AJ_Tsin Posted June 16, 2010 Author Share Posted June 16, 2010 i wasn't so sure how that would look as a stand when you first showed it, but now with the tank on it, yes. very nice. I had a vision all along, but I admit when I first built the stand in the office, I was a bit skeptical as well. I think it turned out very well though. I am now debating painting the back wall of the tank white instead of black. Has anyone seen this before I am not sure how it will look. I think a worry would be noticeable algae however I would definitely keep system clean enough so that no algae would show up. Also If you notice the middle picture, the tank is about 5 inches shorter than the stand. I Will be creating an all white rectangular cap that covers this portion. I built the tank so that the plumbing will be drilled down through the stand rather than behind and all the pipework can be hidden within the white box that fills the back side of the rectangle. Link to comment
AJ_Tsin Posted June 17, 2010 Author Share Posted June 17, 2010 Needs more Mame Design Nano Overflow Ha. I dunno about that. Just standard acrylic here.... Those overflows are certainly cool though. Just look too much like a science project for my taste. Link to comment
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