5g all DIY build.

[kyrin01]

Minus the Premade tank... lol.

But here it goes. Some of you may have seen my spray bar and false wall build in the DIY section so bare with me for the first few posts. I am going to cosolidate the entire build here from the ground up!

 

[kyrin01]

Here is the Link to the Spraybar for the 5g.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1742211





This is the Link for the False Wall and sand bed.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1743979

I will Pick up Here from this point... so all my updates from each thread will be posted here from now on.

Hope you enjoy the ride and hopefully i can inspire some new ideas for people!

 

[kyrin01]

Lights

Lights

Alright everyone, i wanted to try to get a T5 retro kit to build into the hood but could not find anything under the 24" length. So i had to go with 14" Compact Flourescents. I bought 2 of these for a total of 56w of light for my 5g.
https://02c6328.netsolstores.com/ProductImageGallery.asp?ProductID=18&GalleryItem=1

I got the bulbs in 50/50, A3/10k. Hopefully it will turn out to be a slightly blue, and the A3 should make some corals fluoresc!

Im excited.... So you think 56w for a 5g is to much? comes out to 11.2wpg :uzi:

 

[cubical]

Can't wait for pics!
Those lights should work great. 11.2 wpg sounds crazy but they're only pcs and the reflector is not that good.
I just set up a 12" rimless glass cube lit up with two 50/50 Current PowerBrite LED strips. Lots of ripple and very bright. Uses 8 watts! I will work on pics!
Best regards

 

[mattskims]

How wide are those lights? Isn't that going to be a lot of light spillage on a 5g?

 

[kyrin01]

Cubical: I am going to be making my own reflectors out of actual mirror so ALL the light will be directed into the tank.
Also the tank is only 8" deep so even tho they are compact flourescent that's still a Lot of light in a small area.

Mattskims: They are 14" long so when centered there will still be an inch on the ends.

 

[kyrin01]

EDIT: double post

 

[kyrin01]

This is where i started making room for the magnets to hold the bottom down.

Clipping out the places where the magnets are going.

Here is the locations of the magnets. I took a knife and carved the foam out so the magnets sit flush with the eggcrate.

Ok here is some of the back wall!


Before starting.

The goods.

Right after foaming. (still VERY tacky)

15 minutes later im adding textures.

More in a little while.

 

[kyrin01]

Alright time for my next update.

Forgot to post this pic of the foam wall on my last update. so here...

Ok Now some Epoxy fun time!!

The goods.

Pouring.

Mixing.

Embedding magnets.

Brushing the whole bottom.

Now we wait.

Alright. Next up I finish the back walls sides!

 

[kyrin01]

Alright everyone... i think i will be getting this Skimmer. Its the Tunze 9002 Nano Skimmer.

Get payed friday so i have a few days to think about it still.

 

[Anthrax15]

Haha, for some reason I love your gloves.

I like what you are doing so far. Very clean and tight. Ive always wanted to build a foam wall and may do that on my next tank after seeing yours.

Keep us updated. I think myself and everyone else on this forum Loves pictures. Lots of em!

I would go with the skimmer. If your tank is going to be 5g, it should be enough skimming. I dont think they make skimmers for that small of a tank so either way, you will have good skimming.

 

[kyrin01]

Thanks Anthrax. Yes i know everyone likes pictures that why i have so many. there is a pic of every single step ive taken so far. I plan to keep that up if i have enough room on photobucket..lol

 

[FishyBiz]

Looks great dude. I would have tried to foam some rock to the back wall.
My favorite part was how you got over spray on your deck from painting the spray bar. :lol:

 

[kyrin01]

Thanks fishy! I didnt really want to drive the 2 hours to my nearest LFS to get some rock rubble that would work. Ya i figure a little overspray would only help protect the deck from the elements even more!! (plus its already a crappy deck)

 

[reefkeeperaxm]

just saw the thread, really cool build, i'm excited to see more!

 

[kyrin01]

New update!!


I finished foaming the back wall so here is a few pictures of that.

Fresh foam on the right side.

Fresh foam on the left side.

Full frontal of the fresh Foam.

Heres is the right and left side of the cured foam.

Plus i added more foam to the bottom to make the "rocks" a little bigger.

Thats all for now. I foamed the corners of the back wall but i didnt have time for pics cuz i was at work during this whole process. :lmao:

I will get some pictures of that in a little while.

Oh and the Epoxy i put on the bottom tuesday night is STILL kindof tacky. Its rediculous how long it takes to dry out.

More updates soon.

 

[kyrin01]

Alright, heres a little preview. I am done with the foaming finally. Now i just need to epoxy it and slap some CC and sand on it.

Here is a little preview of how it looks in the tank.



FTS

Top down view

Happy thanksgiving everyone!

 

[gophilau]

I dont know you could use foaming inside the tank
???

 

[kyrin01]

ya, people have been doing it for years.

 

[maddmaxx]

I dont know you could use foaming inside the tank
???

agreed, people have been doing it for yrs. but do know, its not as beneficial as live rock. more bacteria can grow on live rock than the foam with sand