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Great job on your overflow. Pictures really help those that haven't done it before.

 

I am guessing you've drilled glass before, but for whoever hasn't.....

 

I actually have never drilled glass before. But I also never replaced a toilet, sink, vanity, medicine cabinet, laid tile, etc but redid my entire bathroom in our house one weekend. And just like I got many tips off the internet and youtube to do that, nano-reef and youtube videos of people cutting their tanks shows how easy it is to do as well if you just take your time and do it correctly the first time.

 

As for the glass drilling I am taking a slight risk as I am going to do a straight bulkhead drain (no weir box) and have the bulkhead closer to the rim. I've read all of the "leave a gap the same size as the hole you are drilling" thing but the people that are installing Oceanlife Overflows and XAqua are drilling closer to the edge than this recommended guideline so I am going to take that risk as well. If I fail and the tank really doesn't work out I can always buy another tank and put in a box. After all of my latest purchases the glass is actually one of the cheaper items for the build....

Edited by Scorched_Ice7
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We'll see which layout I go with when it has water and sand in the tank.. #4 might look different when sand is added making the stem of the pedestal rock seem much shorter and then not was dramatic.

 

I just placed about my last major order in for aquarium dry goods. It was all plumbing supplies as I was really unhappy with what I found at Lowes, Home Depot and Menards.

 

And to my surprise Marine Depot added the mini accelerators. I have been checking every day or two when I heard they were getting them in "Soon" Last night they arrived, so I might be first Guinea pig to try them out.

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LED Fixture

 

Ok so my light is a 36" 24 LED Fixture using 12 3 Watt 7,000K XP R4s, and 12 3 Watt 455nm Royal Blue diodes.

 

I ordered it with a hanging kit, which never was supplied so I was refunded part of my purchase to order one myself. In all honesty I like the one I ordered seperately much more than the one they were bundling with the light. By not receiving the hanging kit though, my light had no eyelet or holes drilled to put any in.

 

So tonight I drilled the fixture and used a tapping bit to add threads for the screws. Here is my progress.

 



Holes drilled, right one is tapped

lightholesdrilled.jpg

 

Screws fit and are snug

lightscrewsfit.jpg

 

Lines dropped from the ceiling are vertical.

lightlevelvertical.jpg

 

Fixture is level. About a foot of excess cable nicely hides inside the ribs of the heatsink. It has been trimmed but I left a little extra length in case the tank is ever moved.

lightlevelhorizontal.jpg

 

lighthung.jpg

Edited by Scorched_Ice7
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I'm excited to see this!

 

As am I!

 

Plumbing parts should be here in a week or so, then I'm going to do a little wet testing before I drill the tank. I want to know the best placement for the returns as I plan to not use any powerheads.

Edited by Scorched_Ice7
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Can you do a picture with the lights on? I'm real curious on the color temp and where did you get it. I'm setting up another 12L and looking for a light.

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I've wired it a little differently since the last photo. It goes along the 1/2 wall. The cables are fairly thick and since there are 2 of them running them up the suspension wire might be difficult. It like to balance it with one cord running up each wire but the one that has to go 3 feet before it even goes up will run out of cord. There are also ballasts that would need to be mounted on the ceiling. My wife was already surprised that they let me hang the light from the ceiling. lol

 



hanginglight.jpg

 

Here is the light on. I had to take this with my dslr as the color on my iphone was nuclear blue/purple. This is fairly accurate but still looks nicer in person (as most people say)

 

t2ilighton.jpg

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I'm real curious on the color temp and where did you get it.

 

This is the light. http://www.aliexpress.com/product-gs/41524...holesalers.html

 

But I bought it off an ebay seller in the US for 235+shipping. Since the light kit wasn't included that I ordered I was refunded $30 that I spent at BRS for the hanging kit shown above. The only extra cost I had was buying a tapping bit to drill the holes.

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Nice setup!

 

I'll be following along as I will soon (hopefully) be able to get a 3' setup in my office too!

 

I do have a question for you. How is the hanging kit mounted to the ceiling? I ask because I too have a hanging kit and need to mount mine to the ceiling in my office. However, my ceiling is a drop ceiling.

 

I have no idea how the hanging kit is suppose to work. Any insight on yours would help me out :)

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Nice setup!

 

I'll be following along as I will soon (hopefully) be able to get a 3' setup in my office too!

 

I do have a question for you. How is the hanging kit mounted to the ceiling? I ask because I too have a hanging kit and need to mount mine to the ceiling in my office. However, my ceiling is a drop ceiling.

 

I have no idea how the hanging kit is suppose to work. Any insight on yours would help me out :)

 

Thanks Ccapasso

 

Here is how my light is attached to the ceiling. Not very typical for an office, but we work in the warehouse district in downtown Minneapolis so almost every building has exposed beams.

 

ceilingmount.jpg

 

Most kits include almost all the hardware to mount to most ceilings. Wood screws, drywall anchors, etc... But for a drop ceiling you will probably need something like this.

 

highbay.jpg

 

And you put the loops over the metal frame of the drop ceiling. There are carabiner like clips that have cable as well. And ones that loop on themselves are are adjustable and removeable.

 

ZF-30ZZ%20w%20Cable.jpg

 

Suspension kits are really easy to install but if you need more help check this video out, which shows the loop method you'll probably use for the drop ceiling.

or this video which shows using suspension cable on more standard ceilings. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7e2uQkyxdc...feature=related

 

Good Luck!

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really impressed with this build. great job man

 

Thanks jrmiller,

 

Your build is fun to follow as well. Your friend did a great job on the stand.

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This has got a great start to it. Nice build, love the clean look and scape. Looking forward to seeing some water in the tank.

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This is a really sleek build, nice work! Any chance of a link to the seller you got the light from? Tried a search that went nowhere (well, everywhere actually).

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Thanks Ccapasso

 

Here is how my light is attached to the ceiling. Not very typical for an office, but we work in the warehouse district in downtown Minneapolis so almost every building has exposed beams.

 

ceilingmount.jpg

 

Most kits include almost all the hardware to mount to most ceilings. Wood screws, drywall anchors, etc... But for a drop ceiling you will probably need something like this.

 

highbay.jpg

 

And you put the loops over the metal frame of the drop ceiling. There are carabiner like clips that have cable as well. And ones that loop on themselves are are adjustable and removeable.

 

ZF-30ZZ%20w%20Cable.jpg

 

Suspension kits are really easy to install but if you need more help check this video out, which shows the loop method you'll probably use for the drop ceiling.

or this video which shows using suspension cable on more standard ceilings. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7e2uQkyxdc...feature=related

 

Good Luck!

 

Thanks a lot!

 

Here is the mount kit that I have:

 

IMAG0568.jpg

 

IMAG0569.jpg

 

The first picture I believe is for the ceiling and the second I believe loops through the heatsink.

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Thanks a lot!

 

Here is the mount kit that I have:

 

IMAG0568.jpg

 

IMAG0569.jpg

 

The first picture I believe is for the ceiling and the second I believe loops through the heatsink.

 

I haven't seen that one before, but the part with the little plunger that lets you adjust the length (Which is your first pictures) usually is close to the light. And I image those clips are used to attach it to your light instead of the screw in version I have. The loop (Second Picture) has a screw that lets you release the cable to go over your ceiling frame. Or you would use it on hooks screwed into the ceiling.

 

You can honestly set it up any way that works for you. If the top pictures bracket hangs on the ceiling and those loops in the second picture can be attached with your fixture go for it.

Edited by Scorched_Ice7
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