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new 75G getting build


TheNorthernLight

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TheNorthernLight

for now I'm just going to post a bunch of pics, and add comments tomorrow... (it's 1AM, and I gotta work in 5 hours!)

 

frontview_samplehood.jpg

(sample hood, only some test sheets of plastic laid to test the look)

 

hiddenballasts.jpg

(where I placed the MH ballasts, allows for better heat disipation)

 

sideshelf.jpg

(this is the layout of my "service shelf" , that my father helped build,

the entire thing is getting encased in the PVC sheet plastic you

see on the above tank shot, 3 doors will be in the front).

 

(more...)

 

topuptankstand_closed.jpg

(top up tank stand, in normal position)

topuptankstand_rolledout.jpg

(top up tank stand, rolled out when I want to "service" it modify it)

 

texture_closeup.jpg

(here's a close up of the PVC plastic sheet, to see the texture of it, btw almost nothing sticks to this side of the stuff. uber easy to clean!)

 

more to follow later...

 

spyrule :ninja:

 

 

btw,

 

here is a quick photoshoped image of what the final setup will look like ...

 

samplewithcover.jpg

 

 

Let me know what you think

 

 

spyrule :ninja:

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NaughtyCashew

Awesome, looks like a great start! I've been considering that lunar tracking thing too. Almost makes me want to do some of my things over again.

 

Good luck!

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Excellent Spyrule :D

 

Cant wait to see the finished product...you are well on your way for a one of kind

custom setup... :bowdown:

 

Izzue

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TheNorthernLight

EDIT: Due to broken links I had to fix all my posts, and now they don't allow as many attached photo's per segment, so I had to take some from my original and add it to my next comment... here's what was the 2nd 1/2 of the first post :

 

(continued...)

 

singlelight.jpg

(single 175W MH light being tested, first test I've done, confirms wiring is good)

bothlightson.jpg

(this is with both lights on, and plastic removed in MH potion of reflectors)

 

lights_noflash.jpg

(just a shot with both MH's with no flash added from camera)

 

waterlevel.jpg

(the water level in the tank)

 

I have still to hook up the 4 x Power Compact 55W lights (2 x 50/50's and 2x .03 actinics), then my reefkeeper 2 will get hooked up in the power center section

for lighting control.

 

2 x 120mm Antec fans with get used for the lighthood, These have been replaced, because they didn't really work out well. They would never go into high speed, no matter the temperature. So I used some standard 120v 120mm 115 CFM / fan setup, that is plugged into my Reefkeeper 2, which turns them on/off based on temperature. BEST setup I have found. Period.

 

1 x Lunar Tracker moon light system

I was considering these for a long time, however, after talking to a few people, turns out these

can actually cause mass coral spawns if the timing is done for awhile. That's bad in small tank. Could kill 1/2 of everything if I wasn't aware of the spawn. So I will not get this device, besides it now looks like he doesn't offer it anymore anyways.

 

As for the lighthood...

 

I've also had a few friends tell me it looks like a submarine pen! LOL!.

 

spyrule

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I've also had a few friends tell me it looks like a submarine pen! LOL!.

 

hehehe...

 

Since I love to cook...looks like a nice grill and smoker combo to me--lol

But looks like the only thing its gonna cook is some AWESOME corals.

That is one nice rig with complete LUmina output...

 

Izzue

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TheNorthernLight

I hope so, it been nearly a year in the "making". Slowly gathering up the money, buying things here and there. making plan, changing them, finding something "better", or more often worse! :)

 

Ah well, final fruition of a rediculous amount of mental work.

 

I think I've spent 100 plus hours just thinking of what I want to do...

 

insane!!! but ... ahh well... all is well that ends well.

 

spyrule :ninja:

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TheNorthernLight

Me again,

 

ok so some things that I didn't post last night, that I want to show....

 

first off, my future refugium, currently my sump...

 

sump.jpg

 

That's a coralife 125G protien skimmer. got it brand new, have not yet tested

it but I am looking forward to it.

 

Plus this sump, will be split up into an actual refugium in the near future, but until then, this is where it stands... or rests .... :P

 

anyway, next is my newest purchase ... a REEFKEEPER 2 :

 

RK2interface.jpg

 

(the interface for the reefkeeper 2, only comes in blue, but tells me my

temp, pH, time of day, what channels are currently on, and what

wavemaker scenario is running)

 

rk2powerbar.jpg

(this is the powerbar for the RK2, extremely usefull, and is currently

being used for my 20G for testing.. so far so good).

 

 

THINGS TO DO :

 

1) finish wiring each PC connection on the light hood, and powerline.

2) trace outline of the lighthood for side panels.

3) mount and wire 120mm fans.

4) setup power center on the 75G

5) setup 20G freshwater top off tank

6) run RO/DI tube from kitchen behind fridge through 2 walls and into the

top up tank.

7) fill tank with salt , start the mix!

8) rinse 80Lbs of sand in buckets and slowly fill the 75G

9) add pre-cured LR (has been curing for 6 months!!!

10) let system "cycle" for 2 weeks while monitoring water for usual.

11) move my fish over, let acclimate to the new environment.

12) after 2-3 days, move the rest of my livestock (mostly corals) over.

 

13) post the "new beginnings" shot.

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TheNorthernLight

sorry, they are hosted off of my personal website, which I sometime take offline when I play online games. usually only broken for a few hours.

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TheNorthernLight

Hello again!,

 

ok so some updates....

 

If you look t this picture:

 

overflowbox_inside.jpg

 

you see the shot of my overflow box. The part that is important in that picture, is that the

skim box, is actually twisting along its horizontal axis, due to the pressure on the front

vertical wall from the overflow tubes (bent 1/2" tubing).

 

So here is a side picture of the device before I glued the 1" wall to the front.

 

overflow_side.jpg

 

This is a picture of when I was done glueing it to the front (I used cyano acrylate

to glue it).

 

1inchwall.jpg

(you can see the side of the 1" wall atached to the inner overflow box., no more

twist!!!)

 

A LOT more to follow ...

 

cheers,

 

spyrule.

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TheNorthernLight

ok,

 

So I finished the Power Compact hookups last night, Now all I have left is to finish the refugium, get it fully operational. Then All I need to do is rinse my sand, and add it to my tank.

 

I allready have about 55-75Lbs of LR in the tank. I don't know how "live" it really is though... it was in a rubbermaid container, with only 2 powerheads, and minor gas exchange for nearly 9 months, with only a %50 water change about 1/2 through.

 

However, I measured the water before I move the rock over, and their was 0.1 Amonia, and 0 for Nitrites/ates. So I'm not too worried.

 

Even if it takes 6 months, I don't plan on suddenly adding a lot of livestock. So I should be fine.

 

Anyways, Pics to follow in the next few days.

 

Cheers,

 

spyrule :ninja:

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  • 2 months later...
  • 7 months later...
TheNorthernLight

Ok,

 

havn't checked up on this forum post in awhile, and only now realize that the pic links are all broken. Sadly, a lot of the pics we're stored on my server HDD that crashed quite awhile ago, so I'm not sure if the pics are recoverable. However I will be posting some updates to this project, since I have been on a slow progress with it.

 

A few minor updates:

 

1) some new livestock that I have since added, and lost some too.

 

2) some new corals as well, none lost (knock on wood!)

 

3) finished my auto-top off water system. from tap, to ro/di to

reservoir to tank. All automated, self-regulating, redundant safety

throughout.

 

4) re-wiring of my lighthood... I'll explain more soon...

 

5) anything else that I cant currently think of.

 

 

I will endevour to find and fix all the missing photo's, or re-take them,

as best I can. more to come...

 

spyrule.

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TheNorthernLight

quick update,

 

cheap plug for my most current FTS :

 

< link removed, no longer avail. > :(

 

enjoy, as mentioned before more photo's to follow.

 

spyrule

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TheNorthernLight

So an update to all the above posts:

 

Ok, so tank has now been running for nearly a year now (may 2006), and a few things have changed since the original setup idea.

 

First, the custom made overflow box, broke! :( I was attempting to do maintenance on it, and I had emptied the inside box of water. The problem is that the box became boyant when it was empty and snaped the support hooks, which then allowed for the outside box, to fall, spill about 2 gallons of water all over the place, and broke itself.

At that point, I had had so many frustrating experiences with it, that I took the abs parts out, and tossed the rest of it in the garbage.

I then went out and purchased a H.O.B. overflow box, rated for 300G flow rate. It works rather well, but I doubt it could actually DO 300 gallons. I'll take some shots of it tonight.

 

Then The original fans I had purchased for the light hood, a set of 120mm Antec PC fans, that had a temp. based self-regulating speed controller built into each fan. However after 6 months of fiddling with the stupid things trying to get them to go to high speed, I gave up. Ripped them out, and replaced them with 2 120mm , 120vac 1/2 amp 115 CFM flow fans, that are relatively quiet. These are plugged into my Reefkeeper 2, which controls them based on water temperature. they turn on at 80.5, and turn off at 79.0 degree's Once the fans kick on, the water never rises above 80.8 degree's now, before declining to 79, usually within, about 2 hours.

 

Then a few weeks ago I purchased a float switch controlled solenoid switch for my RO/DI unit. I modified it to add a power switch, a float switch override switch, and a green "on" light when the solenoid is open.

My RO/DI unit is then hooked up to a 20G High reservoir tank, that only fills 1/2 way, about 3" below the backup "emergency-off" float switch.

 

Then from This reservoir, I use a JBJ Auto Top-Off unit, which monitors my refugium for low/high settings which then pumps from the reservoir to my refugium. Also the plumbing is setup to prevent any type of back syphoning.

This setup has been the single best "thing" that I have been able to do out of all the DIY stuff that I have done.

 

ok, gotta get back to work, more to follow tonight... hopefully with some photo's.

 

spyrule.

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  • 1 year later...
TheNorthernLight

Ahoy,

 

Wow, I nearly forgot about this thread... funny what you find with searches.

 

Sadly I seemed to have misplaced the broken images. I will attempt to find/replace them with a more

permanent host.

 

As an update....

 

Tank is still running great... Albeit I am now planning on a 120G 48x24x24 tank (either dual overflow

AGA tank, or a custom Acrylic tank). Plus a custom made 1" square steel tubed stand, and a new 50Gallon refuge. Plus I intend on replacing my current lighthood, with an off-the-shelf light, that has a much more esthetically pleasing look (not a dremel job like mine was!).

 

This time I will remember to post a new thread when I get it started. I know it's not nano, but who doesn't love the look of a new tank!.

 

Cheers,

 

Spyrule. :ninja:

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