my 29 build

[james3370]

Originally posted by uncleof6
Aguahub stuff works good, I custom build mine from scratch, however use the float switches from AH. The parts I use are just different versions of AH parts, for some different funcitionality. For instance DPST, or DPDT relays.

Jim

yeah, i've heard good things about their kits. was originally gonna do the deluxe that has a 3rd float wired reverse for run-dry on the ato reservoir, but i think i'll go w/ the dual instead since BRS only sells it & i get a discount w/ them.

for the reservoir, short of building another tank like the rdsb (which i think is silly for just an ato container) i think what i have found that will fit easily are those tall oval-shaped cereal holders. i can put 2 or 3 of them side by side & use some t-fittings to have the ato pump draw from all of them at one time.....ghetto fabulous LOL

[Wett Hands]

Originally posted by james3370
[B]shots of the fans

Hiya James,

How much light escapes through those fan holes.

I imagine 2 sets of annoying circles of light on the walls on either side of my 75g from the dual MH I'll have.

Do they make louvers that will work for this?

[james3370]

Originally posted by Wett Hands
Hiya James,

How much light escapes through those fan holes.

I imagine 2 sets of annoying circles of light on the walls on either side of my 75g from the dual MH I'll have.

Do they make louvers that will work for this?

it's not running yet, but considering they will be right below & beside the lights, probably a good bit.

not sure about louvers but they do make grills that have foam filters that would probably block the light, but the fans i am using don't blow too hard, so i'm kinda leary of using those cause i think they'll restrict too much.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=220352186341

if the light creep from the fans gets too bothersome, i'll probably add those & upgrade the fans to something w/ a bit more kick

[bananaboat]

the stand looks great cant wait to see it filled

[tholton33]

update?

[james3370]

Originally posted by tholton33
update?

not much to report....at least not "visually" speaking. i got sidetracked w/ problems involving my diy led moonlights/shimmer supplementation

i did recut the closed loop intake to make it shorter, drilled a few more holes in it to make up for the removed section & repainted it. it now stops right about the edge of the bottom of the overflow box. this was done to make it easier to enclose it & the overflow in eggcrate for the rock wall.

now that i pretty much have the led situation straightened out, i think my next course of action is to finish it up along w/ the project box wiring that holds it & the fan power wiring. then probably get started on getting the rest of the lighting as far as the t5 retrofits installed on the light drawer.

also picked up some smaller pieces of rock from a local member, so i need to get started on the rock wall as well....just want to make sure the canopy is 99% done & to the "sit it on, plug it in & fire it up" stage before progressing to something else

the "to do" list is gettting shorter though

[james3370]

btw....new bulbs came in friday from reefgeek

per grim reefer's recommendation, they will be as follows:

(front to rear)
* Giesemann Pure Actinic (std ballast)
* ATI Aquablue (icecap 430 ballast)
* Led moonlights/shimmer strip
* Giesemann 6K Midday (icecap 430 ballast)
* Giesemann Actinic Plus (std ballast)

monday my aquahub ATO kit & aqualifter pump from bulkreefsupply.com should be here

[the droob]

Nice build,looking forward to some pics when its finished,maybe some thing small and simple like a small chrome door knob on either side of the top panel will put your irk's to rest.Maybe you'll look at it in a different light once it's painted !

[james3370]

here's a quick video of my moonlights/t5 shimmer bar mocked up. i had some problems with it again LOL....putting everything in the project box, i broke one of the power wires on the whites & managed to break one of the wires going to the pot for the dimable blues

i had to get a new pot & then try & figure out which wire to hook to which pin. while i was resoldering, i decided to do some molex quick-connects to facilitate taking it apart in sections in case i need to work on a component later on.

anywhoooo, here is the vid. the whites are like WOAH bright & the blues i think i can dim them down good for moonlights w/out being too bright. it is kinda hard to tell the dimming part of the blues cause as they got dimmer, the auto-focus on the camera brightened the background LOL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Bb7zon3lXQ

[james3370]

here's something else i did today......built a lil pvc structure that will be caves & swim-thru channels throughout the rock wall & side structures.

i will build the rocks up around it to cover it. the left side will be a larger structure....imagine a line like a corner overflow that one point will be about 2/3rd the way up the side & connect to around the edge of the overflow box

i have several rocks that the openings in them were about 1.5" but my pvc cutter wouldn't cut that size, so i'd have to cut it w/ a hacksaw & i wasn't down for all that manual labor. LOL .....1" just looked too small, so it's made out of 1-1/4" pvc & fittings.

should provide plenty of places to hide &/or play for the fish

[MVlk]

Gonna be some happy fishies!

[uncleof6]

Originally posted by james3370
here's something else i did today......built a lil pvc structure that will be caves & swim-thru channels throughout the rock wall & side structures.

i will build the rocks up around it to cover it. the left side will be a larger structure....imagine a line like a corner overflow that one point will be about 2/3rd the way up the side & connect to around the edge of the overflow box

i have several rocks that the openings in them were about 1.5" but my pvc cutter wouldn't cut that size, so i'd have to cut it w/ a hacksaw & i wasn't down for all that manual labor. LOL .....1" just looked too small, so it's made out of 1-1/4" pvc & fittings.

should provide plenty of places to hide &/or play for the fish

One thing I have to say James, is that you are a decent plumber. I am certain some tank night crawler will make that a good home. Might not let anything else in there....

Regards,

Jim

[Johnny C]

NICE Build... VERY impressed!

If your looking to sell the DJ Power Center, PM me.

[james3370]

Originally posted by CaliDreaminjC
NICE Build... VERY impressed!

If your looking to sell the DJ Power Center, PM me.

thanks. i started out w/ (1) 8-switch & then decided to split vital tank stuff between 2 GFCIs in case something popped, 1/2 the tank will still be up, so i sold it & bought (2) of the 4-switch versions....got 'em from amazon, but other online vendors have them. if amazon has them in stock, they will be the best price cause they ship 'em for free (but this makes them run out frequently LOL)

8-switch:
http://www.amazon.com/American-DJ-ch...1974949&sr=8-1

4-switch:
http://www.amazon.com/American-DJ-ch...1974949&sr=8-2

there is alos another vendor that sells the same 8-switch but slightly cheaper....can't remember the brand....but i think it had a lower rated built-in circuit breaker, so keep that in mind

[james3370]

was informed that my cave structure needed flow through it or it would become a dead area, so i decided to add a 2-way fitting to one of the back corner returns of the closed loop return & run some loc-line down the pvc that will stick out of the top of the rock wall. doing this led to the fact that the bottom "caves" would be at the sandbed, so this would cause a sandstorm, so i modified pretty much the entire thing LOL

the center cave will now be out of the top of the lower section of the wall. i took out the cross that was to form the caves in the left section of the wall & modified it so there wouldn't be anything at the sandbed level. the final layout of it will depend on the rocks that i will stack around it. i still need to take it out & krylon fusion spray paint it all black, but here is the new mock-up

[melev]

This is my favorite picture from the five you posted.

[Johnny C]

Nice... I'll have to look into those!

As silly as this may sound, is there enough room between the plugs to fit timers (for my lighting)? Thnx in advance!

[james3370]

Originally posted by CaliDreaminjC
Nice... I'll have to look into those!

As silly as this may sound, is there enough room between the plugs to fit timers (for my lighting)? Thnx in advance!

they're about as close together as a regular power strip, so probably not.....but you could always get those short extension cords that are made for that purpose (plugging bricks in & not blocking outlets)

3-pack: http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...ductId=2348190

[james3370]

Originally posted by melev
This is my favorite picture from the five you posted.

thanks

did ya like the cave structure itself or the craftsman cordless florescent light holding it in place the best?? LOL

....the structure will be zip-tie'd to the eggcrate to hold it up (once i get around to cutting it out)

[james3370]

painted the cave structure & cut the eggcrate. used white for the base & black for the rest. whatever isn't covered by rocks after i do the wall, i will cut off. not leaving any more than necessary at the bottom of the tank, just wanted to give a small area under the rocks so they wouldn't be sitting on sand or the glass. used the white so if the sand moves away from the rocks, the eggcrate will show less than if i had used the black there as well

[silent saab]

wow jus read the entire post so far, freaking awesome!!!!

i jus tore down my 29 to upgrade to a 50 acrylic, loved my 29g for the 1.5 yrs it was up...

very nice, cant wait to see water in it.....
-Josh

[james3370]

Originally posted by silent saab
wow jus read the entire post so far, freaking awesome!!!!

i jus tore down my 29 to upgrade to a 50 acrylic, loved my 29g for the 1.5 yrs it was up...

very nice, cant wait to see water in it.....
-Josh

funny....the tank before this one was a 50 (& this 29 was gonna be the sump), but a combination of a large tax bill & my apt complex not allowing the total gallonage on the 2nd floor necessitated my downgrade

[james3370]

think it's about time to get out the hammer & chisel & make some of these really big rocks i have into a few smaller ones & get the wall started

[MVlk]

Rock on!

[james3370]

well i started on the "wall" today....i had intended to make it more up against the back & leave more of the sandbed open, but i started trying to break the rocks i had (marco & bulkreefsupply) into smaller more managable pieces (3-4") but they kept shattering into much smaller pieces

in the end, i just stacked them up around the cave structure (modified the left side to only have 1 pipe) while still trying to leave a good portion of the sandbed open for lower light corals. i also have a fairly large (6-8") Trachyphyllia Brain Coral that i wanted to leave enough room in the sandbed for & i think there is a good spot just to the right of the centerline of the tank

i still need to trim the excess foam & then coat it with epoxy & sand. i also need to cut off the eggcrate that is exposed on the back & sides. i'm also gonna redo the sump return that has the hydor flo deflector in the middle of the tank to move it out in front of the rocks

post too long....pics in next post