LakerFan Posted January 29, 2003 Share Posted January 29, 2003 Sweet looking setup! I only wish I had the same DIY skills that you do! Link to comment
bdmiller Posted January 29, 2003 Share Posted January 29, 2003 Benj420, Great work on the hood and stand. You wouldn't happen to have instructions or plans on building that hood would you? Ross posted unbeleivable instructions on his hood, which I was going to copy. But I would love to have an open top like yours. It would make routine maintenance much easier. Thanks. Link to comment
Benj420 Posted February 1, 2003 Author Share Posted February 1, 2003 2/1/03 One step closer to being done. I went to Lowes and got them to cut me two pieces of glass. One 8x9 and one 8x8.75. I could have cut them myself, but Lowes will do it for free and if they break it, I don't have to pay for it. I used my diamond grinder bit to round the bottom corners so I didn't have to disturb the bottom silicone seal in the tank, and to fine tune the overall fit. Once that was done I ground off all of the sharp edges on the top for safety. I attached the shorter baffle 4" from one end with silicone and did the same with the taller baffle, 2.5" from the other end. 4" just fits a mag drive 2 return pump, and 2.5 inches is just about the minimim width that I could still get my hand down into to seal. 3" would have been better, but I wanted to leave as much fuge space as possible. I wanted to set it up in its finished location this weekend, but right now I'm having an attack of lazy and am not sure it will happen. sump/fuge drying: Testing the overall system for waterflow. It works great. Expenses: $4.07 glass baffles for sump $3.29 medium tube of silicone, although small would have been enough Originally posted by bdmiller You wouldn't happen to have instructions or plans on building that hood would you? Didn't do that for this one, but I'm going to be making another one soon and will take pictures and have a description of every step of the actual hood construction. I will start another thread and post a link here. Originally posted by LakerFan Sweet looking setup! I only wish I had the same DIY skills that you do! It's part practice, part having the right tools, and part stupid luck. It's really not that hard if you know how to use the tools. I always say that I didn't make the hood, the tools did, I just set them up. I can spend 20 minutes adjusting a saw, so I can use it for 2 minutes. Thanks for all the comments everyone, I will keep you all posted as further developments occur. Link to comment
Lunchbucket Posted February 1, 2003 Share Posted February 1, 2003 very very nice!! looks great. what you planning on keeping in there? Lunchbucket Link to comment
homerman4 Posted February 2, 2003 Share Posted February 2, 2003 It looks very nice. Good luck Link to comment
Benj420 Posted February 9, 2003 Author Share Posted February 9, 2003 2/09/03 - Setup Day I finally got everything together (almost) and dragged everything into the office. Now I have something to waste my day at work doing. Here are some pictures right after setup: Still very cloudy. but all systems are a go. The cabinet is doing exactly what I want it to do, hiding. A view with the cabinet door open. Here you can see the part that's still incomplete, there is a bottom shelf that will hold the freshwater topoff pump and rubbermaid tub. The topoff pump will be triggered by one of Physh1's float switches. I could have installed those today too, but I ended up getting hungry and decided that it would be a good diversion from work tomorrow, so I'll save it for then. I scored at Lowes last Sunday Morning. I was the only fool to venture out in the driving snow and wind, but was rewarded for my effort. 13w PC lights for clipping on to the side of your monitor for a lighted copy stand or some such nonsense. No wonder they were on clearance. $20 marked down to $10 down to $6.00, down to $3.00. I bought 8 of them and will use them on future projects, inculding one for the sump in this project. Additional Expenses $16.99 AquaClear 301 for fw topoff pump $42.00 Timers and misc electrical equip $25.00 Top Off Float Switch $3.00 13w PC Light (Lowes Clearance) That's about it. Now all I have to do is wait for it to cycle, and then start adding some life. Over the next few days I will take some more in-depth pictures and try to put together a comprehensive list of costs and materials. It is all going according to plan......- Dr. Evil Originally posted by Lunchbucket very very nice!! looks great. what you planning on keeping in there? So far I have collected: sinularia (green) orange, burgandy, and green/yellow zoos xenia green buttons green stars several colors of mushrooms I will introduce the above slowly and see how it goes, if all is well I might get crazy and put a clam in there. As always, if anyone would like to donate anything to the cause, I will accept. Alternately, naked pictures of your wives or girlfriends would suffice. Link to comment
reefitis Posted February 9, 2003 Share Posted February 9, 2003 how much did you say you sell one of these setups for? hehe, j/k very nice setup Link to comment
Benj420 Posted February 11, 2003 Author Share Posted February 11, 2003 2/11/03 The dust had settled and I added my "seed" sand today. The water is a little cloudy from that, but you can start to get the idea about what I'm going to do with the rock. Link to comment
FK3 Posted February 11, 2003 Share Posted February 11, 2003 dude you stole my computer:P I have the same setup from dell. dont those speakers kick A**? btw, I love that screensace too: Link to comment
FK3 Posted February 11, 2003 Share Posted February 11, 2003 oh yeah, the tank is looking very cool Link to comment
Type-H20 Posted February 14, 2003 Share Posted February 14, 2003 Man, I really like your set up....Very NICE WORK! I've been hangin' around this site for a while now and Tanks like yours and Glazers keep me coming back for more......I'm in the planning stages of setting up my own 2.5 right now. Good luck with your tank! Keep us posted...........and I'll post some pics of my tank when I get it together. Link to comment
freakaccident Posted February 19, 2003 Share Posted February 19, 2003 I like the rock setup. Great buy on the PC lights too. Link to comment
Benj420 Posted February 27, 2003 Author Share Posted February 27, 2003 2/26/03 Two and a half weeks in, and I decided to add a few pieces that were getting crowded in my 20 gallon. I have cut apart the big mat of orange zoos and glued them to to a piece of tonga branch along with some of the few burgandy zoos in my collection. That piece is also in the 20 and seems to be a favorite of the stupid bastard emerald crab in that tank. He keeps trying to pull the polyps off, so it may get moved a little earlier than planned. Also, in the past two weeks I have changed a few things. I have decided that the small rubbermaid tub that I have selected for a fresh water res might be a little small. I have 7.5 inches on the right side of the cabinet and am going to try to find a tall trashcan, or plastic gas can type container to put there and use the bottom shelf for storage. I also returned the crappy timers for digital intermatic timers. they are $30 each, but WORK. The 100 watt heater was replaced with a 25 watt model. The 100 didn't fit right in the collection chamber in the sump, and it didn't hold a consistent temperature in such a small volume. That's what I get for trying to use something I already had and save a few bucks. The 25 works much better and I can close the lid on the sump now. Enough chatter, on with the high bandwidth pictures (my lament for those on dialup). Not bad for the morning after moving them to their new home. Link to comment
Lunchbucket Posted February 27, 2003 Share Posted February 27, 2003 nice man...really comming along good!! MORE PICS MORE PICS. any problems w/ you overflow or plumbing??? just wondering if everything is going according to planned Lunchbucket Link to comment
blulegend Posted March 4, 2003 Share Posted March 4, 2003 Very, VERY nice from a fellow DIYer. Link to comment
DeskJockey Posted March 4, 2003 Share Posted March 4, 2003 DAMN DOOD!! That looks great! That was a great idea with the overflow pipe! Keep up posted with more pix =) Link to comment
Benj420 Posted March 7, 2003 Author Share Posted March 7, 2003 3/6/02 A few days later and I am going on vacation starting tomorrow. I hoped to have the freshwater topoff tank installed, but one thing led to another and I never got around to it. I will probably just use a 3 gallon bucket I have for now and put in something more permanent when I get back. I took the "zoo log" and a small mushroom in today and put them in the 2.5. One thing I forgot was my digital camera, so I will try to remember it tomorrow and get some more still pictures. Since I didn't have that, I did a little time lapse photography of the newly introduced zoos with my crappy webcam. Like click on the photo for the video 'eh? Orange Zoos Opening Burgandy Zoos Pusling Link to comment
Raise Posted March 7, 2003 Share Posted March 7, 2003 How much would you charge to make one of those?? Without lighting id gladly pay $100. Lemme know, im dead serious! You should sell those on a larger scale, they'd do SO GOOD. I want one! Ray Link to comment
tgrupert Posted March 8, 2003 Share Posted March 8, 2003 very nice. I hope 3 months from now when the fuge gets more mature you can get a tiny fish like a goby. Link to comment
The Unit Posted March 8, 2003 Share Posted March 8, 2003 Is the over flow loud???i see that type of overflow at fishstores and i can barley think....i just cant imagin it being quiet...BUT VERY NICE TANK!!! Link to comment
Benj420 Posted March 9, 2003 Author Share Posted March 9, 2003 Originally posted by Raise How much would you charge to make one of those?? Without lighting id gladly pay $100. Lemme know, im dead serious! You should sell those on a larger scale, they'd do SO GOOD. I want one! I will be selling hoods and bases, with and without lighting in the very near future. Anyone that is interested should send me an email or PM. Originally posted by tgrupert very nice. I hope 3 months from now when the fuge gets more mature you can get a tiny fish like a goby. I don't think I'm going to put any fish in this system. I originally designed it to be coral only since there are times when I will be away for 10 days at a time (like right now). I could use an auto feeder, but probably won't. Originally posted by The Unit Is the over flow loud???i see that type of overflow at fishstores and i can barley think....i just cant imagin it being quiet...BUT VERY NICE TANK!!! No, actually it's really quiet. I attribute it to the following: 1 - relative small volume of water 2 - offset in overflow keeps water from splasing 3 - end of overflow extends into sump by about 4 inches 4 - the glass lid keeps a lot of the sound surpressed 3/8/03 I took a few more still pictures yesterday and finally installed the float switch and a temporary freshwater bucket. The float switch is made by Physh1 and was ~$25.00 + shipping I believe. It works great, I highly recommend one for your tank. I ordered the sump model, but in retrospect should have ordered the hang on model. A few seconds with the heat gun and bada-boom bada-bing I was in business. The 2.5 now has the following contents: ~2lbs LR Orange Zoos Burgandy Zoos Green Button Polyps Greens Star Polyps Small Mushroom (purple with bumps) Here are the high bandwidth goodies: Float switch installed in the return pump chamber of the sump/fuge Temporary bucket for freshwater, I will replace once I return from vacation. Full Tank 1 Full Tank 2 Full Cabinet showing new digital timers (before float switch installation) Link to comment
tgrupert Posted March 10, 2003 Share Posted March 10, 2003 this tank is officialy off the heezy (for sheezy) Link to comment
Benj420 Posted June 12, 2003 Author Share Posted June 12, 2003 Update 6/12/2003 The office lights being on 24x7 just didn't jive with the tank, so I have decided to move the whole shootin match home to my kitchen. I have cut a hole in the coutner top and and installed the sump in the lower cabinet. I lost some of the zoanthids in the process, but have them in a "recovery tank" and they are on the mend. I will hopefully have some pictures to post later today. Link to comment
bertz_maru Posted June 21, 2003 Share Posted June 21, 2003 i love your setup... i will soon post pics of my tank.. hehe Link to comment
bertz_maru Posted June 26, 2003 Share Posted June 26, 2003 you have any new pics.. new additions?? Link to comment
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