World's slowest custom 85g system. ...and there was coral. (p.18)

[Rollermonkey]

I just realized that I have no epoxy or coral glue.

 

D'oh!

[FlowerMama]

I just realized that I have no epoxy or coral glue.

 

D'oh!

 

Oops.

[Rollermonkey]

I guess I won't be doing my scape this weekend after all.

 

Every rock but the biggest is scrubbed, and my fingers are raw.

[Rollermonkey]

I just ordered my Kessils. (2x a360w)

 

Thanks to unadvertised pricing, I was able to save more than $100 for the pair from MAP.

 

That takes care of lighting and skimmer, and my reactors are under construction...

 

Getting closer. I think the only things I need to get this tank wet are the glue so I can assemble the scape and the second MP10.

 

Although I should probably pay off my PayPal "Bill Me Later" balance before getting the MP10.

[eww]

You can pick up Water Weld at HD. It's a two part epoxy adhesive that is reef safe. it does take a bit to set up but in our case that was a plus as you can take you time getting things just right before it starts setting up. It takes roughly 20 minutes or so. I would recommend some thin gloves though if you don't want your fingers to be white for days

[Rollermonkey]

In the boring department, I picked up 4 tubes of JB WaterWeld on the way home.

 

I think I'm going to need a lot more.

[FlowerMama]

How are you hanging your Kessils? Here's what I did with mine this week. $5 for the hangar. $4 for the cable protector.

 

[Rollermonkey]

Looks awfully high... Is that an 'n' or a 'w'?

 

I really haven't decided what I'm going to do yet. I have a couple thoughts, but I'm pretty sure I don't want to go into the wall or the ceiling to do this.

 

In a perfect world, I'd be able to mount them to the hood in such a way that they'd be able to fold down when I lift the maintenance lid, but I don't want to do goosenecks, either.

 

I wonder if I can do something with a dowel or metal pipe through the mounting ring...

[FlowerMama]

It's a W and they say 24" above. I measured wrong and it's 25". I couldn't do that w/ my Par 38 and it's definitely too close, I have to keep a piece of plastic canvas on top to help difuse the light. If I find I need it closer I'll move it down but for now I'm going w/ the recommendation. The tank is 30 long, 18 wide, 16 high. I'm gonna keep mostly mushrooms, zoas, some lps and maybe 2 or 3 sps and that's it for high light corals.

 

The ring is slightly over an inch diameter so there's certainly room for a pipe.

 

[Rollermonkey]

Um, the recommendation in the A350w user manual is 1-2 feet. Obviously, if it's at 12" and the whole surface of the tank isn't lit, you would move it up, but it doesn't have to be that high to start.

 

Isn't the 350 dimmable?

[FlowerMama]

yes. Maybe I'll lower it by a foot then. That better be my project for this weekend.

[Rollermonkey]

Personally, I'm going to start as low as I can and only move up if I absolutely have to.

[FlowerMama]

Ok, I got to work, lowering it. I'll let it dry overnight, sand it and repaint and rehook. Now it'll be 16" above the tank. Does that look better? You know, it's rough when you have tools in the garage, you've never personally used them but you remember enough from Industrial Arts in 7th grade to find the right things. And then still either learn how to use a tool, or just wing it. Now I have to figure how the sandpaper goes in the rectangular sander. Does Rollermonkey mean anything?

 

[Rollermonkey]

Very handy, you are!

 

rollermonkey...

 

Sort of.

 

When I was stationed in San Diego, I used to hang out at an alternative/late-night coffee house. The owner/barista decided one night that my nickname was Monkey, and it stuck. (Rather than complain, I owned it.) I never got a straight answer from her exactly how she decided on that, but it stuck, and to at least 50 people, that was it.

 

About the same time, I got into the hobby of roller coasters / amusement parks.

 

And the internet was just getting started... My Very first e-mail address was munkye@aol.com and my first forum screen name was for a roller coaster group and thus...

 

Rollermonkey

 

That name has now been associated with me for 15 years or so. In coaster circles, even if they haven't met me, they often know my screen name. I've been on over 1100 coasters at over 400 parks worldwide, putting me in the top 1% of well traveled enthusiasts.

 

Reefing is my new hobby, picked because I wasn't able to have pets for 20 years and doesn't require that I travel to South Africa or Australia to continue the hobby while I'm in college.

[FlowerMama]

OH man, so then for sure you've been to Cedar Point many times. Last coaster I rode was The Millenium. The year Top Thrill Dragster opened, that day, that was down so couldn't go on it. I've not been and now they have that other coaster too. Many times I go to the Cedar Point website and ride Millie! And the park is so reasonable w/ price compared to other parks. It is amazing how coasters are changing- just incredible.

 

Does it look better? Trying to do the best I can and overall I do feel I'm doing a good job, just isn't the same w/o your spouse so you find something like a hobby to take your mind off.

[Rollermonkey]

Millenium Force is my #1 steel coaster, but I don't like Cedar Point. You're a lot closer to Carowinds (Raleigh) or Dollywood (Pigeon Forge) than the Point. Both are really nice.

 

It does look better. I think tanks look best when there's no light spilling out over the top of the tank. If that means my fixture is 8" over the water and I have to run it a little dimmer, so be it. The good thing with my hood is that it's got that lip around the top so that should really prevent the possibility of lighting the kitchen floor.

[FlowerMama]

Ha- that's my fave in coasters too. I was scared before going on it but after that it was put your arms and legs up, lean w/ the coaster, I love the way the seats are more naked, the minimal bar. Of course my favorite woody is the Beast. But I didn't like the Son of Beast as much as the Beast. Boy that is extremely fun in the dark, all woodsy & black. Damn, I wanna go to a park. I haven't been to Dollywood.

[Rollermonkey]

Dollywood is an interesting place. It's very hilly and woodsy, and the big draw for many people is the shows. My friends have nicknamed it Dollyfood, because the food is all fantastic. They've got a nice selection of coasters, but it's like the anti-Cedar Point. Mountains instead of beach. Rustic instead of modern. etc.

 

It's open all the way through to New Year's if you want to make a late season trip.

 

Now I want fresh cinnamon bread from the grist mill.

[Rollermonkey]

Tonight, I opened up the PVC primer and cement and cemented the four slip fittings that don't involve the flex-PVC. My return line is flex-PVC, but it's not quite as flexible as I'd expected. It's going to make a tilted 'S' curve, from the pump to the bulkhead and I'm going to support it at one point over the pump with a basic pipe-hanger.

 

All the threaded fittings have been assembled with teflon tape except those that screw directly into the bulkheads, but...

 

I'm still short two nipples, so I'll pick them and the pipe hanger up tomorrow. I've got the two slip fittings to glue the flex-PVC into, and then I'll be ready to tape and thread the last sections into the bulkheads from underneath before I'm finally done with the plumbing.

 

Baby steps, but I'm getting there.

[FlowerMama]

The suspense will keep growing then.

 

I did my own DIY today before the Nascar race started. Yesterday pulled off the cable protector stuck to the wall, spackled, sanded, and painted the wall. I just now finished putting it up. I see my problem is not with measuring today but remembering. I wanted to be 12-14" above the tank, once the light hung it is now 10.5. Then I realized I was supposed to put the black hook not to the side of the protector but above it which makes height difference. But anyway, here it is. Now at least visually it doesn't appear as crooked even from the front. Does it look ok though?

 

 

[Rollermonkey]

Looks good.

 

(at night) Turn the room lights off and the tank light on. where does the edge of the light hit the sides of the tank? I'm aiming for the waterline.

[FlowerMama]

Alright, I'll do that later, want me to put the lights on at their brightest for ya? I know w/ the W even as high as I had it the light really spreads out far. Here's anA350W over a 50 gallon that is 100 cm wide, 50 tall and 40 deep. 1 lights it no problem at all. And of course it looks fantastic. Love this video.

 

[Rollermonkey]

Wow. That's 39 inches wide? It's missing the top corners by a little, but everything in the tank is inside the beam.

 

I wish I knew how high that light is, it looks like roughly 35cm (@14in) based on the height of the tank... I think I was right in getting two, despite my tank being 36" across because mine is deeper front to back by almost 10 inches. At 12" above the tank, I'd really miss the corners on mine.

 

I just got back from Lowes and I ought to be able to finish the plumbing tonight. I also grabbed some zip-ties to help hold stuff in place while I'm gluing the scape and some different ways to hang the flex-PVC in the stand. think I'm going to get some large ABS pipe, maybe 4 or 5 inch, and mount it to the inside of the stand to run cables east-west less obtrusively. I can cut 2-inch holes every 6 inches for wires down to the skimmer, reactors, return pump, etc.

[FlowerMama]

Here's another one. These lights are lower. Kinda hard to know what to do.

Two Kessil A350w lights hanging over a 60" wide, 24" front-to-back reef tank.

 

[FlowerMama]

Ok, here it is, the St. Louis arch over my fish tank. I put some paper in the bottom so it would reflect a little like a white bottom tank would. That's 10.5" from the bottom of the light to the tank rim.

 

 

Crap, now I'm wondering if I should've gone narrow?