140 Gallon DSA Build

[T Diddy]

I got two of these T5 fixtures from a local electric supply house. Six 54 watt bulbs with individual reflectors. I might use them for a shallow frag tank or something. Also picked up a couple of 400 watt MH fixtures for the display tank.

 

[T Diddy]

YAHOO!! Replacement tank is going to be shipped out on Monday!:uzi:

 

[SammyJ916]

leave it up to fed ex to do something like that, i swear the more FRAGILE something looks the worse they treat it. geese sorry bro

 

[T Diddy]

Well, perhaps it is not a total loss. I will start my foam build tomorrow with the busted tank...that way when the replacement shows up I can fill it up immediately!:idea:

 

[ludnix]

I hope everything works out with the new tank, the dimensions look great!

 

[RotaryGeek]

Could you post some more info about those lights? Where did you get them and what are they called?

 

[T Diddy]

The lights pictured are T5 fixtures made by Deluce. The fixture is 2 feet by 4 feet, and comes with hanging brackets. I think they are generally used for high bay lighting, as there is no shield protecting the bulbs. I bought two of them for $150 each. They came with bulbs rated at 4500 Kelvin, so I'll be needing to replace the bulbs. They are not the prettiest, but they aren't exactly going to be on display...

A close up of the reflectors:

light info and bracket:

 

[T Diddy]

Could you post some more info about those lights? Where did you get them and what are they called?

Look in your local yellow pages for electrical supply shops...the kind of place where an electrician might go to get materials to complete a job, not HD or Lowes

 

[T Diddy]

I started cutting the egg crate for the foam/rock build, but the wife says that the basement has got to be in a finished state before I can play with the aquarium...

bedroom ready for carpet:

 

[autopro]

Did the new tank show up yet?

 

[T Diddy]

New tank showed up last Friday night. I have been busier than a one armed wall paper hanger, so not much got accomplished since then. I didn't take the crate apart, but there isn't any broken glass so I think I'm in good shape.

This is a pick of my recent egg crate fitting with an attached jungle gym in progress. The PVC will act as a sort of modified spray bar, as well as give additional support for rocks, and provide the framework for a few caves and what not. There are two separate lines that will be run by two separate powerheads on intermittent timers. I wanted to try and eliminate dead water spots and get a pseudo wavemaker effect. All of this will of course be covered by foam and rock. I plan on drilling holes through the PVC and foam...the rock wall will literally have water flowing from bunches of small directional holes. Whatever flow this ends up producing will be in addition to a mag 18 sump pump.

 

[T Diddy]

Here are a couple of recent pics of the completed rockwall plumbing. It is glued at all but 4 couplings so that I can separate the three pieces for removal/placement

Can't really tell the depth at this point. Now on to the rest of the egg crate scaffolding!

 

[T Diddy]

oops...

 

[adddo]

That looks great, looking forward to see how it turns out!

 

[T Diddy]

Thanks adddo, I sketched out a drawing of what I want the end result to look like, but the extra wide center brace required that I modify a little...it has to fit in the tank.

Starting the rock work:

 

[Pallobi]

glad to hear its being taken care of, your patience and attitude is a virtue... soon you will be on your way im sure

 

[T Diddy]

After having drilled som holes in the PVC, I wanted to see what the water flow would like like...I placed some scrap zip ties in the holes for illustration. When the rock and foam go on, I'll have straws or airline tubing in the holes to be removed after the foam dries.

Left pump:

Right pump:

 

[T Diddy]

Here is the middle section after just spraying the foam. I bought some salt for texturing, but the crystals are so small I think it would be a waste of time.


It is hard to see in this pic, but it turned out great...can't wait to get the others done and finished with resin/sand.

 

[T Diddy]

The foam grew, but I still have a few caves...nothing that a full grown tang will get through, but most reef fish would enjoy. It may be a few days before I can do anything else, trying to get the rest of the basement finished up and ready for carpet.

 

[QueenOfTheReef]

Could you post some more information about how you did the foam and what you used? That's a really great idea. I bet it will look awesome once it gets covered!