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Coral Vue Hydros

20xL mixed rimless - SELLING?


d9hp

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Hello everyone,

 

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8/6/11 FTS

 

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Edit: Reserved this post for updated FTS only

 

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Looks like you're off to a good start there! I think you'll really enjoy the pieces from marcorocks, I'm using ~60 lbs from them myself and the rock is very porous and looks great.

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EDIT: From previous first post:

 

 

Thanks for all the questions that have been answered recently. You're all tons of help. I figured I'd start my tank's thread today since I actually have made a little progress. The tank is roughly 19.5 gallons and it's from glass-cages. I think that all the points and concerns that have been raised are all valid and I don't think they're a company anyone should deal with but this was a gift and there really aren't that many other options nearby.

 

So I have to order my 2 koralias (400 nano version or whatever), heater, skimmer, and a few other random items. My LEDs are on backorder but the heatsink (massssssssive @ 34" x 7.5") is on the way as well as a ton of hardware to mount everything. Does anyone want to drill and tap 52 holes for me? Please? :lol:

 

I've got an AC70 and some test kits already.

 

It's like 100 degrees with 100% humidity today so I figured it was a good time to get my stand finished before I start graduate school next week.

 

The controller is based off an arduino and a few other little things that are explained by the screen. There are two float switches for redundancy, two switches on the stand for 'feed mode' and 'movie mode' (since the tank is in the living room / TV area and LEDs are briiiiiiight). It has loads of failsafes and two temperature sensors that help me eliminate the possibility of a false reading and the heater getting cut on/not coming on.

 

The stand's frame is made of pine and I think I'll skin it next week in .5" birch and go with an ebony or dark walnut stain. No sump on this one :angry: I'm too scared to drill it and I hate HOB overflows. The stand will have one shelf in the middle and two doors. The controller will eventually be housed in it's own box along with the SSRs I'm using - hurrah eBay $6/relay!

 

I'll show anyone the code if they're interested but it's pretty easy once you get your toes wet. Arduino is almost just english.

 

I want to have rocks and sand ordered from macrorocks.com before the end of the month and possibly hyper_boy's clownfish around Halloween, but the livestock isn't part of a timeline...

 

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So I've asked around a million times but if you had to choose between an aqua remora , MJ1200, and prefilter box vs. CPR aeroforce which would it be?

 

I know the tank isn't tall enough but it can hang below the back...it's not on a table or anything.

 

I want this thing wet and running before September 20th.

 

Hold me to it nano-reef.com!

 

-Dustin

 

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Looks like you're off to a good start there! I think you'll really enjoy the pieces from marcorocks, I'm using ~60 lbs from them myself and the rock is very porous and looks great.

 

That's awesome! That order is probably going to be placed in about ~2 weeks

 

Here's some updates on the stand!

 

LEDs come in on Thursday...

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So I was pretty exhausted yesterday when I posted those pictures and didn't really mention much else.

 

I framed it in pine...skinned it with .25" oak and trimmed it in pine as well. I'm going to stain it in a dark mahogany and put a satin poly on top for the finish. I was hoping to get the doors done today but I'm just exhausted and sore. I only have an old hand circular saw and making 45˚ cuts by hand are tiresome and laborious.

 

The controller's code is completely finished. I got the movie mode, debug mode, feed mode, and water change modes all finished this weekend and should start the wiring of everything tomorrow.

 

I decided on the aqua-c w/ MJ 1200 for my skimmer and that should arrive at the end of the week or early next week.

 

I'm considering building a canopy/pendant to house the heat sink because I really like the look of the stand and think it would look best. I'll still hang it from the cieling though...no point in having a rimless tank if you're slapping a canopy right on top!

 

I painted the back of the tank black today -- looks awesome!

 

No other updates for now. Hope things are going well on nano-reef.com!

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Great dimensions! My 3' long tank is 12g, but I sort of wish it had an extra inch or two of width (sure would've made the aquascape easier). Your tank sounds perfect. Can't wait to see more...

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Thanks! I love that 12L tank and it's actually what I was planning on doing. This tank was a gift based on that one with a little tweak so hopefully it works out!

 

Thanks for the compliment Clavius!

 

I got one of the doors done but the stand probably won't be completed for another week or so. I have to write a little more code, I found some problems with the way I was implementing my 'water change' mode.

 

The LEDs came in and although I was well prepared for them (Cree is based in Durham, NC so I'm pretty familiar with some of their other LEDs) -- I was still blown away. These things are monster bright. I can't imagine looking at some of these huge fixtures with 40+ LEDs. I am going to try and get that project started sometime early next week. The rest of my hardware should come in tomorrow and I'll update soon with some more pictures of everything.

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nice tank lot of tank with 10" height and are long-my new tank is 40x20x10

 

Thanks..I bet that's an awesome tank! I'm a bit worried about the scape do you have any pictures of what you did?

 

---Getting ready to drill and tap!

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Things are going a little slower than I had hoped. I guess it holds true that projects typically cost twice as much money and take twice as much time as you'd think. Anyways, the canopy is done and the heatsink is fitted but I still haven't mounted the LEDs. The controller box is all set and I've finished up the code for the water change.

 

// --In order to enter water change mode you have to press a momentary switch WHILE flipping a paddle switch. I figure that's the safest way to avoid an accidental call happening and me losing everything in the tank.--

 

I attached a picture of the canopy, stand, and one of the doors (both are done).

 

Everything needs to be sanded and stained and then a few more little things. I'm still shooting for the middle of September for water.

 

I should have the lights all done tomorrow and the stand should be set this weekend.

 

I got my skimmer, pumps, and heater in the mail yesterday. I went with the aqua C remora. I feel like I should have made it myself but hopefully it works well!

 

All the best,

D

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Well until there's water in this thing I don't suspect there's going to be too many folks interested in seeing constant updates but I figure this is a good way to keep up with my progress.

 

I got the LEDs all mounted with thermal paste. Busted up one bit and snapped a tap on the very first hole. I was expecting it to be way softer than steel...which it is...but you still have to be patient and careful. Lesson learned! All 52 holes and 26 LEDs sorted out and accounted for!

 

Finishing the wiring and firing these things up on Friday. The meanwells are already mounted inside the stand and wired up to the controller and their respective pots. Just have a few little things standing in my way. Stand gets sanded and stained this weekend and then things should really start falling into place pretty quickly!

 

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Thanks everyone for all the compliments! It's been some much needed motivation. Yesterday was pretty long and drained me for sure. I bought short allen bolts that I thought weren't conductive for mounting the LEDs but it turns out they are and I completely overlooked the fact that the heads were contacting the solder pads on MOST of the LED stars. Terrible. DIdn't feel like much of an engineer after that one!

 

So I was able to cut the traces on the stars and that fixed things up but it sure was a silly oversight.

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Boom. The things are bright!

 

Here they are in the canopy -- I've cleaned up the wiring some more and there will be a pretty clean connection between them and the drivers below.

 

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Ready to stain:

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Here's the command center. The controller box doesn't look too incredibly awesome but it's rarely going to be seen so I figured I could save my time there and put it elsewhere. I didn't get a good picture of the stand after the stain but I'll be sure to get some tomorrow after the polyeuro.

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Those lights are amazing, I was thinking or Moding my coralife aqualight with a heatsink and some LEDs. The electrical work looks clean and well thought out.......keep it coming!! Does it still look like the middle of sept. for water?

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Nice...get the tank filled yet?

 

More pictures please....

 

Thanks. No water in the tank yet. I am going to finish the stand today and tomorrow and try and get all the wiring finished by Wednesday to start the cycle.

 

I have 30lbs of baserock coming from ReefCleaners.org. I had planned on buying from macrorocks but they had a sale and I seriously not EVER read a single negative thing about John over there. I don't there's enough merchants out there that can claim that sort of respect...especially on the internet. So far I'm having a really positive experience and I think there's a lot to be said about a personal thank you email from someone only buying a few pounds of LR. Sorry to tangent off from the thread but I just wanted to add that little blurb in there. Really excited about getting the rock.

 

Those lights are amazing, I was thinking or Moding my coralife aqualight with a heatsink and some LEDs. The electrical work looks clean and well thought out.......keep it coming!! Does it still look like the middle of sept. for water?

 

Thanks. I think LEDs can really benefit anyone's current system. The blues are just brilliant and the MeanWell driver is pretty robust and it's so incredibly simple. I think Evil is a great source of knowledge and I definitely owe him a big thank you for my success thus far with the LEDs. I'm interested in seeing growth with these things. I haven't had a reef tank in almost 8 years and back then PC lighting was the bee's knees. Thanks for the electrical work comment! I really get OCD about that sort of thing and hate loose wiring.

 

NEW WATER ETA DATE

 

The week after labor day weekend (I'm going on vacation) is my new goal. I want water and rock and sand by the following weekend. Not a huge move forward but it's something!!!

 

REALLY! I realized that there's no reason to delay the cycle anymore than I need to and once I get the stand finished I can easily get things going. I still need to build a mount for both temperature sensors and the float switches and tackle a few little things but they can all be taken care of once things are running.

 

 

CPR areoforce is AWESOME. way better than a remora.

 

I didn't hear very much about that skimmer but it sure does look awesome. I decided to go with the AquaC so I could just buy the pre-filter box and I really wanted a surface - skimming skimmer.

 

Glad to know that one doesn't suck though!

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A few quick updates for everyone. The stand is almost ready. I still need to add hardware for the doors but otherwise it is all set and ready to go.



 

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After the poly aplication:

 

Here are my arcade style 'feed mode' and 'movie mode' buttons on the side of the stand. They aren't really seen but it sure is awesome to know they're there!



 

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Here's the stand drying with the doors sitting in place. They're a little lower than they will be once they're mounted --> *no hardware so this isn't final*



 

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I had my girlfriend hold the canopy up to get a better idea of everything. This is the first time I got excited about the stand and everything. I had to replace a kitchen sink disposer today and that slowed things down a little but there's a really good chance there's going to be water in this thing before Friday afternoon. I think that would be magic!



 

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I had my girlfriend hold the canopy up to get a better idea of everything.

 

:lol::lol: I bet she was lovin you for it too. I used to get shrugged off about my excitement in the beginning by the ol lady, but now she is just as into it as me......well in a different kind of way.

 

Great work by the way. the buttons are a great idea and i agree with a lockout for them in case of kids or bumps. Have you done any mods to the AC as far as a fuge or housing for the heater?

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The remora fits perfectly (height) on the back of a 20 Long. Only thing I'm curious about is how your hood will play with it. The one picture of the hood looks like it wants to lay on the rim of the tank all the way around, but the Remora has a pipe coming out of it that is going to demand some clearance above the lip of the tank.

 

Cool build, following along.

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