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Brain Coral Pico - schgr.cube's creative container contest entry


schgr.cube

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1 hour ago, schgr.cube said:

Brainstorming here.

 

I tried a few lid options tonight, and couldn't find anything I liked and / or was comfortable with. I haven't found a cork big enough in person, but I found one online for about $8 shipped. My idea is as follows: Cork the bottom of the head, with a cutout on one edge of the cork just big enough for cables and a drain / fill tube to fit. In order to avoid the hole leaking when filled, I would want to angle the bottom of the jar slightly higher than the top of it.

 

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The head is going to be resting in the tray I pictured earlier, which will then be filled with sand, as if it had washed up on the beach like this. I will likely angle the actual face up for the light to shine through, because the side of the face is the most clear.

 

Thoughts?

I like it!  I think it's a really unique concept.  I'll be interested to see how it works out.  I think your biggest difficulty will be when you have to take the cork out to do maintenance/cleaning/adding stuff.  I think angling the open/corked end up like you plan will help with that.

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6 minutes ago, Lula_Mae said:

I like it!  I think it's a really unique concept.  I'll be interested to see how it works out.  I think your biggest difficulty will be when you have to take the cork out to do maintenance/cleaning/adding stuff.  I think angling the open/corked end up like you plan will help with that.

Thanks! The cutout at the top of the cork (which will hopefully be snug enough to not allow leaks) will also have a small tube going into the tank. This tube will be used to fill the head after I put the cork in, and drain it before I take the cork out. 

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I'm concerned that you will have a hard time water-sealing the corked end at the base of the neck if you have pressure on that area from water inside the vessel.  

 

Have you thought about making a custom base to support the head?  If you press this into something like polymer clay, you can get a custom mold to fit the head which you can then bake in the oven at home.  You can position the head at a stable angle any way you want and if you need to add additional weight to the base for stability, you can bake something heavy and oven-safe into the polyclay.

 

Just a thought.

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Have you considered finding some sort of saucer that you can combine with it and make it like those dog food/water containers? You know how when the outside water level goes down (when the animal drinks), the reserve tank fills it back up? You could find a saucer, put both underwater, flip it, and bam! It’s full of water. It won’t spill unless the lip of the head jar goes above the lip of the saucer.  Just glue the live rock/ corals to the back of the head.

 

That’s what I was going to do, but then I found my modern jar...

 

whats the diameter of the opening? Would a YETI cup lid work for a cork?

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1 hour ago, Rene said:

I'm concerned that you will have a hard time water-sealing the corked end at the base of the neck if you have pressure on that area from water inside the vessel.  

 

Have you thought about making a custom base to support the head?  If you press this into something like polymer clay, you can get a custom mold to fit the head which you can then bake in the oven at home.  You can position the head at a stable angle any way you want and if you need to add additional weight to the base for stability, you can bake something heavy and oven-safe into the polyclay.

 

Just a thought.

Yeah I was concerned about pressure as well, and I am hoping that tilting the head neck up will help a bit with that. I was going to make a base in the tray that holds the head into position, which will be buried in the sand. 

1 hour ago, JoeR said:

Have you considered finding some sort of saucer that you can combine with it and make it like those dog food/water containers? You know how when the outside water level goes down (when the animal drinks), the reserve tank fills it back up? You could find a saucer, put both underwater, flip it, and bam! It’s full of water. It won’t spill unless the lip of the head jar goes above the lip of the saucer.  Just glue the live rock/ corals to the back of the head.

 

That’s what I was going to do, but then I found my modern jar...

 

whats the diameter of the opening? Would a YETI cup lid work for a cork?

 

Haha yeah I had actually thought about that as a way of keeping the head upright. I think it would be interesting, but I would have to glue the rock and coral to the back wall and forego any sand. It’s not a terrible worst case scenario, but I am not 100% in love with it. 

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Welp, I ordered the Cork. I hope it gets here soon. I wish I could have gotten my hands on an empty larger bottle of Crystal Head Vodka! The size of the opening would have been difficult to work with, but otherwise it would be perfect! :closedeyes:

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20 hours ago, schgr.cube said:

Welp, I ordered the Cork. I hope it gets here soon. I wish I could have gotten my hands on an empty larger bottle of Crystal Head Vodka! The size of the opening would have been difficult to work with, but otherwise it would be perfect! :closedeyes:

Well you can always have a little party and empty one!

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While I am definitely being tempted by another container, I think I am fairly settled on this one. I am definitely not going to use the percolator, so I will have to inform the judges to change it back to this (for now... :rolleyes:)

 

I am getting a bit closer, and things should really come together this weekend. I just put the last coat of paint on the tray (although it only has one coat in this photo), and am working on the base that will hold the head in position. I do have a plan in regards to the cork, which will be here Friday or Saturday.

 

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I need to do a little manual labor to try to get the clarity up, and pick out a light. I am thinking of one of the cheapo amazon par 30s, but may keep poking around in the classifieds.

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22 hours ago, fishfreak0114 said:

I can't wait to see it filled! 

Me either! Should be sometime this weekend, if I play my cards right. I'm using all cured rock from my main tank, so I'll likely throw coral in immediately. It is going to be such a pain to open it and close it again, I want to leave it be as much as possible.

 

Cork will be here today, light should come this weekend I hope. I have an interesting idea for the light mounting setup that I can't wait to show off!

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On 10/11/2017 at 10:26 PM, schgr.cube said:

While I am definitely being tempted by another container, I think I am fairly settled on this one. I am definitely not going to use the percolator, so I will have to inform the judges to change it back to this (for now... :rolleyes:)

 

I am getting a bit closer, and things should really come together this weekend. I just put the last coat of paint on the tray (although it only has one coat in this photo), and am working on the base that will hold the head in position. I do have a plan in regards to the cork, which will be here Friday or Saturday.

 

23794941858_489301d2b3_b.jpg

 

I need to do a little manual labor to try to get the clarity up, and pick out a light. I am thinking of one of the cheapo amazon par 30s, but may keep poking around in the classifieds.

A severed head...so fitting for this time of year.  Visitors will think it's a Halloween decoration :D.  Very cool!!!!

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Well, the cork came in and didn't fit... :rant:

 

For this, and other reasons, I decided to take the easy way out and just flip the head upside-down:

37649239272_4863c52766_b.jpg

 

This does open up a few different opportunities, so I won't complain too much. I just made this little container to put it in, and will still be filling the container with sand. I have a matching light fixture that I will be building tomorrow. This at least should speed up my filling of the container!

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Ahh okay you did mention the sand already, I just haven’t read the thread yet. Cool beans!

 

 

I also think doing an acan garden and making it look like a brain is the way to go. But, again, I’m sure you’ve already figured out what you’re doin!

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Harrisonbored
17 minutes ago, schgr.cube said:

I thought it was 3.5”, but it must be 3.49999999” :wacko:

bummer.   I thought I still had my cork from my busted head but I can't seem to find where I put it.

Have you tried a wide mouth mason jar lid?...they're roughly in that 3.5" ballpark

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2 hours ago, JoeR said:

Ahh okay you did mention the sand already, I just haven’t read the thread yet. Cool beans!

 

 

I also think doing an acan garden and making it look like a brain is the way to go. But, again, I’m sure you’ve already figured out what you’re doin!

I hadn’t actually thought of an idea like that, I was planning on mostly mixed softies. That’s an awesome idea though! Have me rethinking everything internally now...

 

1 hour ago, Harrisonbored said:

bummer.   I thought I still had my cork from my busted head but I can't seem to find where I put it.

Have you tried a wide mouth mason jar lid?...they're roughly in that 3.5" ballpark

It’s all good, thanks for checking! And I’ve succumbed to the odd of the upside down head, which means I have a top that will work. Not a bad idea though!

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Got part of my light done, need to hang it and mount the actual socket. Also filled the stand with sand. I'm not filling the container yet as I still need to work on the clarity a little bit, although I have made some progress with it.

 

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37663098002_ef6811db1c_b.jpg

 

Going to buy one of the ABI par bulbs off Amazon tomorrow, just not sure which one yet...:unsure:

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