220 Inwall - Plan

[melev]

Yes, plus when I turn off a switch, it can turn off multiple outlets, as explained on that page.

Some stuff is still to large, but I found 1' 3-pronged extension cords at Fry's Electronics that can work out when there just isn't enough room.

You seem to be moving along at a good pace. Looking forward to seeing what you get done next.

 

[bheron]

Ah, yea, I remember reading that. I can probably figure out how to do this (have been reading up on home wiring on the side recently). And I checked prices and it doesnt seem too bad.

With that said, you think it would be just as good to use some extension cords, as you mentioned? I've been dying for a good home DIY electric project, but this might be too big to start out.

Thanks! My goal about 6 weeks ago was thanksgiving, and I think I'm gonna hit it. Aside from a birthday party tomorrow night, I dont have anything in my way until I pick up the wife at the A/P Sunday at 1. Stay tuned!

 

[bheron]

Phew - Update

Phew - Update

Alright, 4 hours later.....

Before I aquascaped, I realized I wanted to get my Tunze Stream 6080's setup. Didnt take took long to figure out how to mount these:

Ok, now, BIG MISTAKE I made here. After getting them setup I got so excited to see them run and I also wanted to see how much sand they would kick up. Well, I left them on too long and, by the time I was ready to aquascape, I had another sandstorm!!!

AGGGGGGG :mad2:

So (Ive done this before) I had to Aquqscape in the MURK. Darn!

First, anticipating the mess I was about to make, I found some tarps in my basement and did this:

That made up for my above stupidity.

Next, I carefully laid all all the LR I had - about 220 pounds here:

Pretty cool! Also, I made some holders out of PVC to sit the rock upon:

Oh, and I also used these I just got with my order from MD:

-- You know, they say they're 36" in long so I was like, cool, my tank is 30" deep. Well, I didnt account for reaching "across". its 30" straight down. But reaching around the tank I still ran out of glove room on occatins!

And So I went to work. This was near impossible, so, I just did the best I could and....hopefully...this mess will clear up soon so I can make adjustments. From what I could see rollface: ) through the murk, it looks cool!

Yea, well, thats all I have for now. Taking a break to eat something. Hoping tomorrow its a little cleared up. Not sure if this is dumb, but I turned the Tunze's back on as well as the main filter system and skimmer. I figure, might as well make this thing fight through the murk.

IN the meantime, I have to go figure out this lighting system. Should be interesting. Will post pics on that tomorrow!

Until then. :bum:

 

[melev]

Well, it will settle down quickly with the LR you added.

 

[bheron]

Update:

Well, spent most of the day yesterday putting together these lights

Wow, what alot of work. I actually completed all the wiring - endcaps, ballast, power harness. And got a set fo them to work. Getting the bulbs to stay in the endcaps is tough b/c the endcaps are so sensitive!

Anyway, I completed wiring for three sets of lights, up to (2) IceCap 660s and (1) 430:

Also, I picked up my Cloroplast background from my buddy. Heres a shot of one of the sections:

I had him cut it in specific sections so that a) its not too big to work with, and b) there wont be any seams. I'm gonna use velcro to attach it to the tank and will have pics of that later (thanks marc! :rollface: )


And here's a shot of the tank and aquascaping I did the other night as it looks today:

Cant tell much from these photos, hopefully it clears up more in the next day and I can finish the aquascaping.


Ok, while I wait for this sucker to clear, I want to harness up these lights. I've had a couple ideas but then, last night, as I was looking at the egg crate I got for the top of the tank I got an idea.....

....What if, I connected the lights directly to the eggcrate itself? I was thinking, in order to get into the tank I need to be able to move BOTH the lights and the eggcrate. Why not connect them together?? I think I'm gonna try it:


Here's what I was thinking:

Thoughts on that one?

 

[tgunn]

Bryan,
You want to make sure that the bulbs fit snugly into the encaps. From what I read, the best way to mount them is to fix one side, say the right. Then, put in a bulb and the left endcap. Then, mount down the left encap while firmly holding the left endcap so that there's a bit of pressure forcing the bulb into the left and right endcap snugly. This will ensure the best possible connection and prevent any problems. Mine always light no problem after installing a bulb.

I think mounting to the eggcrate would work as long as you're able to affix the endcaps firmly into place and the eggcrate doesn't flex around. If need be you could always make a frame out of 2x2s to attach the lights to that just fits over top of the eggcrate; that would sure that the encaps are help firmly in place and that the frame won't flex.

The aquascaping is looking great so far! Good idea to use little pieces of PVC as "feet" for the liverock. I'm sure the sandstorm will settle down soon enough. I find now that my tank has been running for a while the silt in the sand doesn't get kicked up quite as easy. Even with over 6000 GPH running in my display there's no sandstorm.

Tyler

 

[bheron]

Hey Tyler, I think I follow you on the assembly instructions. Thanks.

Also, I see your point about the "flexing". if, for any reason, the light assembly were to flex, that would wreak havoc on the bulbs! Hmmm, have to continue thinking on this one.

Oh - side note - I was in Sprawlmart last night getting a bday gift, and i stopped by the crafts section and picked up a few pieces of that netting you told us about! cool - $0.24 for one sheet.


PS - an edit to the above, I wanted to use the eggcrate, something plastic, versus wood for durability purposes. Whatever wood I used I need to treat with both Kilz and paint. Using some sort of plastic would be ideal in that respect.

 

[tgunn]

Hey Tyler, I think I follow you on the assembly instructions. Thanks.

Also, I see your point about the "flexing". if, for any reason, the light assembly were to flex, that would wreak havoc on the bulbs! Hmmm, have to continue thinking on this one.

Oh - side note - I was in Sprawlmart last night getting a bday gift, and i stopped by the crafts section and picked up a few pieces of that netting you told us about! cool - $0.24 for one sheet.


PS - an edit to the above, I wanted to use the eggcrate, something plastic, versus wood for durability purposes. Whatever wood I used I need to treat with both Kilz and paint. Using some sort of plastic would be ideal in that respect.

No problem.

I see the point about durability against moisture. I suppose angle-aluminum painted would probably stand up against the moisture well. And it would certainly be strong enough and resist flexing...

I used a plastic enamel paint for my canopy; it seems to be holding up quite well so far. It didn't even require priming and it's marine grade... i believe it was called "Rustoleum Colors in Plastic"...

Yup, it's super cheap isn't it? BTW, Michaels has it in black; I picked up a sheet of that the other day while my wife was buying scrapbooking supplies there.

Tyler

 

[bheron]

Thanks Tyler.

Yea, the more I think about it the more this idea stinks. The eggcrate will surely flex and ruin everything. Whats' "angle-aluminum"? Sounds expensive and hard to cut

Back to the drawing board. I will probably go wood unless I can find a cheap, lightweight, plastic alternative.

 

[Stile2]

Hey Bryan,

I have been lurking on your thread for a while. Great job, looking really good.

I really like the aquascaping

In this picture.

Is the sand being blown off the bottom?
Could it be that one or both of your Tunzes are pointed slightly downward and causing your sandstorms?

Keith

 

[bheron]

Hey Keith, thanks for the comments!

Yep, thats the sand being blown in a pile by the Tunzes. Whats happening, actually, is that they're both meeting in the center and then converging downward. It will be a tedious process to get it just right. Roger from Tunze suggested way back maybe putting one on a timer to run every hour for an hour. I dunno. It'll take some tweaking!

 

[bheron]

Hey, speaking on this eggcrate topic....

I was thinking, I just spent all this $$ on a great lighting system. Wont the eggcrate decrease the effectiveness of my lighting somewhat? It must effect it a little bit, maybe alot? Maybe no eggcrate?

 

[mcdonaldtj]

Tyler,

Great job so far on the aquascaping, I do have a question why are you going with the eggcrate unless you are going to get a fish that likes to jump you are going to loose quite a bit of par on your lighting.

V/Tim

 

[Stile2]

Could you build a basic rectangular frame from .5"x.5" square tube aluminum? Then hang that from the ceiling or frame above your tank. That would hold all of the T5's and be rigid enough and you would be able to pull them up to work on the tank.

Just an idea.

Keith

 

[tgunn]

Thanks Tyler.

Yea, the more I think about it the more this idea stinks. The eggcrate will surely flex and ruin everything. Whats' "angle-aluminum"? Sounds expensive and hard to cut

Back to the drawing board. I will probably go wood unless I can find a cheap, lightweight, plastic alternative.

Angle-aluminum is basically a piece of aluminum folded into an L shape; they should carry that kind of thing at Home Depot...

I agree, you'll probably lose some of your light with the egg-crate. You could always keep it around to build frag-racks for your sump.

Tyler

 

[Cprowler]

Hi guys,

Iv'e been lurking since the beginning also, you've done a great job Bryan it looks great! It's given me lots of ideas for my 120 upgrade.

I think I read a post about egg-crate and that it redirects the light, I did a quick search and here is a thread that is similar.

 

[melev]

Looks like you are having fun now. Let me know when you need some help.

 

[bheron]

mcdonaldtj -

Great job so far on the aquascaping, I do have a question why are you going with the eggcrate unless you are going to get a fish that likes to jump you are going to loose quite a bit of par on your lighting.

- Hey Tim, thanks for the comments (see updated pics of the aquascaping below). Yea, thats the only reason I want to use the eggcrate. This setup will be heavy on the fish and lighter on the corals. And I hear so many stories about fish jumping ship. I've never lost one and dont want to. But, the debate continues....

Keith -

Could you build a basic rectangular frame from .5"x.5" square tube aluminum? Then hang that from the ceiling or frame above your tank. That would hold all of the T5's and be rigid enough and you would be able to pull them up to work on the tank.

- Well, youre exactly right. After reading your comment I immediately remembered our good friend Weatherson's (TOTM) setup. He used some kind of tube aluminum with rivets to secure it. I could never replicate his work, but I really think I'm gonna check that out at HD today. I have no idea 1) if they have the material 2) how much it costs and 3) if I can construct something similar. But, right now, thats the way i'm looking - constructing something very simple out of hollow aluminum tubing. Thanks for the feedback!

Tyler - thanks. I got it. Will have to look for that specifically at HD today! Also, if I dont use the eggcrate I'm definitely returning it - cost over $20 for the two sheets!!

cprowler - thanks for the nice feedback. Glad to know this has helped you. Actually, about a year before I started this setup, I did exactly that - lurked on some of the amazing threads here. That would be my best point of advice to anyone, actually.

I checked out that thread you posted. Very interesting. Not only does it confirm my suspicions, but it also makes me more confused!

- Right now, I may be leaning away from the eggcrate. I was thinking, my light setup will cover about 80% of the top of my tank, I think. So I might have an automatic "fish jumper preventer" built in with it!

melev -

Looks like you are having fun now. Let me know when you need some help.

- Haha. I'm laughing b/c A) I always need help and B) youre always there to help!!


UPDATE:

Ok, with only three days to go until my Thanksgiving deadline, I'm almost done!

- Finished, for the most part, the aquascaping last night! Wow, it was so much easier to do this when the water was clear. I turned off all the pumps and came up with this:

Right side:

Center and Left Side:

Finally, view from the corner:

Not sure if its visable, but one of the cool hitchikers I got is on this rock, albeit upside down. Its called something like an "albemone" os someting? I think there 'good':

I see some hermits and snails in there, and also a few worms in the sand already! Oh, and a good number of pods that I've already caught in the filter media. All good stuff!


I think the fishies who've made it along this whole trek since May will be going into their new house tonight!!!!!!!!!!

More later

 

[tgunn]

Bryan,

Looking good! I'm glad you made the tank viewable from the left side; there's so much more to be seen viewing the tank from multiple angles like that.

If you're worried about jumpers, you can always use some of the plastic cardboard or some other material to make a "wall" to go along the back and other side of the tank; something easy to remove.. Then if the fish jump they'd just hit the wall and fall back into the tank (providing they don't get hung up on a brace or something)... The egg-crate would work well for that too..

Nice rocks and aquascaping! You sure got some nice pieces there, and it sounds like a great variety of hitch-hikers and life. I only wish my live rock was this live!

Tyler

 

[bheron]

Thanks Tyler. Glad you can tell from the pics how good the 'scaping came out. Yea, my original rock was made up of marshall island, kaelini, and fiji. Then the new stuff i got was just as cool and diverse. I cant say how glad i am you guys convinced me to get LR and base. sooooo different. I still have some more pieces to add, too. And, down the road will want to get another 50-100 lbs in the sump and fuge for flitration purposes.

So, youre saying I could use my lights to cover most of the tank and then use something like the cardboard around the borders?