500G (84X48X30)- NOW REAL !

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Sanjay,

I'm sure you will have lots of help with the lift, but if you need two more people, I'll get copps and will come up to help.

In addition, noting like a little italian style aquascape by copps to add beauty to a tank if you need help. :lol: He came over to see my new tank and had few nice suggestions. Copps may work for frags, but I'll just work for some ice cream :D

kind regards
 
Aren't you going to come and aquascape it.. O Lord of the Large Reef.

sanjay.

I could be convinced...

Some initial thoughts are:
-I would minimize the amount of rock, keep it off the back wall, and elevate it on some fibergrate for good circulation underneath to minimize the evil detritus accumulation.
Keeping the rock off the back wall (and therefore the lighting) will help keep the back wall dark, which will make the tank look larger.

-Let the corals fill in most of the height, etc.

-Hammer drill holes in some rock to make some pinnacles for table acros to grow horizontally off of. Use fiberglass rods to support the rocks. I did this to hide the side walls of my tank and I'm very pleased with the results.

-I would really focus on hiding all plumbing/ pumps from view, this is often overlooked and really takes away from the overall appearence of the tank.
Joe
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7276992#post7276992 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Justjoe

-Hammer drill holes in some rock to make some pinnacles for table acros to grow horizontally off of. Use fiberglass rods to support the rocks. I did this to hide the side walls of my tank and I'm very pleased with the results. Joe

Do you have a picture of this?
 
Well, congrats Sanjay,

Glad to see your tank made it in good shape. I am looking forward to seeing your tank progress over the next few months.
 
Sanjay,

congrats! Looks like a lot has changed since I was there. If your doing a DIY skimmer still and want to do a large diameter tube I have a couple of large acrylic cylinders to work with. They are all 7ft. but, I can obviously cut them to size. 1) 28" diameter w/1"wall, 2) is a 34" diamter cylinder with 1" wall. I have access to some other sizes if that interests you.

Jeff
 
whoa.. 34" diameter would make an interesting skimmer.!!! Right now I am making one with 12" diameter.

sanjay.
 
Any suggestion/recommendations on electrical disconnects for the lights. I am looking for something that will let me disconnect the reflectors from teh ballasts to make it easy to slide out of the way and not have to drag a bunch of wire along with it.

sanjay.
 
You might want to take a look at McMaster Carr field attachable multipole connectors. These are keyed, threaded connectors. The 0.3ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ face ones are rated for to 4 amps at up to 250 VAC, the 0.55ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ ones take up to 13 amps at 600 VAC. They have a good rating against water intrusion.
0.3ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ 4-pole -> 7209K41 (male); 7209K43 (female)
0.55ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ 3-pole -> 7152K71 (male); 7152K62 (female)
McMaster-Carr catalog pages 721, 722, 723.
These are called "micro" and "mini" connectors, but they are still fairly bulky. I donââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t know if theyââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ll take the ignitor voltage without arching between pins, though. I think that they would be OK. Another consideration is the metal parts exposed to the humid/salty air, the website doesn't say if they are all SS.
 
I am initially going with 3 lights and will see how I like them. I have 4th one in case I am not happy with the lighting.

So for now 3 will do.

sanjay.
 
Sanjay, I did it with regular old extension cord ends that you can get at any hardware store, just be sure to get good ones. Also, be sure to put the female end on the ballast side so you don't forget the powers on one day and zap yourself.
 
You can get male-female plugs at any marine store that connect together like a union. Thats if you want the connection close to the fixture. That way moisture won't corrode your metal connections in the sockets.

They use them on boats all the time. I had to use them for my Dads boat connecting some appliances to the generator.
 
Ok.. another big step out of the way.... Here is the big tank lift.

After evaluating several options, and running into physical constraints such as height of ceiling, limitations on holding it due to walls, etc. A really unique method of lifting was selected. AIR BAG !!!

Here are some of the pictures of the BIG LIFT

Tank positioned right in front of the stand.. still partially crated. Thanks Jon for the suction cups.


tanklift-1.gif


Air bag being placed under the tank

tanklift-2.gif


In the air....

tanklift-3.gif


Crate screwed into the stand.. and leveled for the slide off.. partially slid

tanklift-4.gif


Almost done

tanklift-5.gif


In its final resting place....

tanklift-6.gif



Framing almost complete

tanklift-7.gif


Still have a few issues to resolve. There are some gaps between the styrofoam and the tank around the edges... like 1/16 of an inch or 3/32.... wonder if this is a big issue or it will go away as the tank is filled with water and styro compresses some more.


sanjay.
 
wow! So you really didn't need the suction handles...great idea to use an air bag. I was surprised that the styro under my tank did not appear to compress much at all. Especially after it was filled, but I imagine that 1/16" will fill in.

I thought that glass tank manufacturers recommended not using styro under their tanks? Didn't I read that somehwere on RC? That is going to be a great tank Sanjay!
 
That is friggin impressive. Great job Sanjay!

I can't speak for any other tank manufacturer, but we do recommend the use of Styrofoam.

As for the gaps. I recommend that you try to figure out if they were compressed due to a lot of weight being in those spots or if the stand dips in those spots.

Measure the thickness of the Styrofoam in several spots to determine if it is compressed or not.

If it is compressed it is not a big deal. If it is the stand, it could become an issue. It will cause un needed stress on the glass because the Styrofoam will not compress enough to disperse the weight in that matter.
 
Awesome idea on that airbag..I'll have to remember it. I wonder if that would work on getting my 19yo our of bed in the morning?
 
Yeah we use those in the fire dept for lifting vehicles off of people and such. that is a great idea for lifting a large tank we have a system that will individually regulate 8 bags at once for precision work. It would be awesome for putting a large tank in the air.
 
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