730g In-Wall Display
- Thread starter tgreene
- Start date
tgreene
Reefer
Okay, here's the round of pics from last night's work... The stand and inside wall are now complete enough to be able to silicone the tank into place when it arrives this next week.
All of the white board that was installed over top of the Purple Board (mildew resistant drywall) is FRP, which is a pebbletex finish fiberglass wall board that is designed for use it wet locations and most commonly seen in commercial settings such as restaurant kitchens. All of the seams and corner joints will be sealed with a bead of white silicone. We attempted to install the FRP on the ceiling too, but it was just way too much work so I elected to remove it and just paint 100% of the non-FRP surfaces with white epoxy floor paint. The floor will receive multiple coats of grey epoxy floor paint once the entire project which includes building a back and side wall to create a dedicated "Fish Room" which would be separate from the remainder of the garage.
The cost for this project keeps going up and up, but if you're going to do it, it needs to be done right!
I've been so stressed out with being far too overworked in so many aspects laterly, that I was on the verge of popping a clot last night when something went wrong and I kinda snapped at my dear friends that are doing all of the construction portion for me. It was so bad that I had to jump on my bike and head out for a 30 mile ride during the height of the severe thunderstorms and tornado activity, just to be able to clear me head enough so that I would end up either stroking out or saying the wrong thing to the wrong people. Nobody did anything wrong, until I made a judgement call to do something that went horribly awry. Damn the weather, I just had to go for a ride and sometimes there's just nothing that beats clocking a bunch of miles in a torrential downpour... I specifically rode straight north towards the heart of the storms, and turned back when I hit the hail and HOT winds that were being pushed by tornados. When I rolled back in about 45 minutes later, my friend Kerri was crying because she thought I was upset with her. I really felt like crap now!!!! My new neighbor across the street who also rides walked over during to see if I just wanted to come hang out with him and keep him company, because he too was on the verge of a breakdown since his best friend had just been tragically killed. He told me that he's ridden enough to know that when someone cuts out during a severe storm, that it's for a "cleansing ride", and that he was so tempted to fir up his bike and join me. We sat in the front of his garage drinking Bourbon and Cokes until 2:00am, and hung out at the top of the parking garage for a while...
When I returned home long after everyone had left and/or gone to sleep, I immediately discovered that MY screw-up had been ripped out and replaced by my friends.
Also, rather than just having a granite sill ledge, I'm very seriously considering having the entire inset (top, bottom & sides) framed out in granite.
You can see the "Viewing/Sitting Room" in this first pic. What you can't see it the Love Seat that is burried behind a mountain of equipment. You'll notice the (8) boxes which all contain LumenMax-II pendants. These will all be for the (8) 400w Vertex ballasts that will be driving 20k XM's. Under the two stacks of pendants are the (2) Hammerhead's for individually controlled CL's.
All of the white board that was installed over top of the Purple Board (mildew resistant drywall) is FRP, which is a pebbletex finish fiberglass wall board that is designed for use it wet locations and most commonly seen in commercial settings such as restaurant kitchens. All of the seams and corner joints will be sealed with a bead of white silicone. We attempted to install the FRP on the ceiling too, but it was just way too much work so I elected to remove it and just paint 100% of the non-FRP surfaces with white epoxy floor paint. The floor will receive multiple coats of grey epoxy floor paint once the entire project which includes building a back and side wall to create a dedicated "Fish Room" which would be separate from the remainder of the garage.
The cost for this project keeps going up and up, but if you're going to do it, it needs to be done right!
I've been so stressed out with being far too overworked in so many aspects laterly, that I was on the verge of popping a clot last night when something went wrong and I kinda snapped at my dear friends that are doing all of the construction portion for me. It was so bad that I had to jump on my bike and head out for a 30 mile ride during the height of the severe thunderstorms and tornado activity, just to be able to clear me head enough so that I would end up either stroking out or saying the wrong thing to the wrong people. Nobody did anything wrong, until I made a judgement call to do something that went horribly awry. Damn the weather, I just had to go for a ride and sometimes there's just nothing that beats clocking a bunch of miles in a torrential downpour... I specifically rode straight north towards the heart of the storms, and turned back when I hit the hail and HOT winds that were being pushed by tornados. When I rolled back in about 45 minutes later, my friend Kerri was crying because she thought I was upset with her. I really felt like crap now!!!! My new neighbor across the street who also rides walked over during to see if I just wanted to come hang out with him and keep him company, because he too was on the verge of a breakdown since his best friend had just been tragically killed. He told me that he's ridden enough to know that when someone cuts out during a severe storm, that it's for a "cleansing ride", and that he was so tempted to fir up his bike and join me. We sat in the front of his garage drinking Bourbon and Cokes until 2:00am, and hung out at the top of the parking garage for a while...
When I returned home long after everyone had left and/or gone to sleep, I immediately discovered that MY screw-up had been ripped out and replaced by my friends.
Also, rather than just having a granite sill ledge, I'm very seriously considering having the entire inset (top, bottom & sides) framed out in granite.
You can see the "Viewing/Sitting Room" in this first pic. What you can't see it the Love Seat that is burried behind a mountain of equipment. You'll notice the (8) boxes which all contain LumenMax-II pendants. These will all be for the (8) 400w Vertex ballasts that will be driving 20k XM's. Under the two stacks of pendants are the (2) Hammerhead's for individually controlled CL's.
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dahenley
New member
did i miss where you are getting your tank from? you mentioned assy on site, so i was wondering that info as well. (if you can share that info)
also, you mentioned you had 2 hammerheads, for 2 closed loops, so i was wondering what kind of overflows and other specials you have for us? or do we have to wait for the pictures? just curious.
also, you mentioned you had 2 hammerheads, for 2 closed loops, so i was wondering what kind of overflows and other specials you have for us? or do we have to wait for the pictures? just curious.
tgreene
Reefer
I special order all of my tanks from Glass Cages, and only use Starphire.
I'll drill the back of the tank for (4) 1.5" CL intakes, and use (2) intakes for each pump to reduce the amount suction.
There will be (6) 1.5" drains behind (2) wideer than usual overflows. At least (1) of the drains will be feeding a Octopus FDNW-400 Skimmer, (4) will be sump supply, and I'm not sure what I intend to do with the last one just yet... Maybe I'll just tie (1) drain from either end to directly freed the skimmer. I could also have the other one capped off and ready to install a 2nd skimmer should the need arise since I have a Reeflo Orca-250 sitting here as well. I'll know more once the tank is in position and I begin drilling it.
-Tim
I'll drill the back of the tank for (4) 1.5" CL intakes, and use (2) intakes for each pump to reduce the amount suction.
There will be (6) 1.5" drains behind (2) wideer than usual overflows. At least (1) of the drains will be feeding a Octopus FDNW-400 Skimmer, (4) will be sump supply, and I'm not sure what I intend to do with the last one just yet... Maybe I'll just tie (1) drain from either end to directly freed the skimmer. I could also have the other one capped off and ready to install a 2nd skimmer should the need arise since I have a Reeflo Orca-250 sitting here as well. I'll know more once the tank is in position and I begin drilling it.
-Tim
tgreene
Reefer
The tank is being built and delivered. They drilled the overflows, but the other 20+ holes will be drilled by me.
Standard overflows are fine, especially in a tank that's 37.5" wide. They'll be mostly hidden by rock piles. Depending upon the location of the braces, I may even opt to have some rock sticking up out of the water, thus completely hiding the overflows. I will have 1000 pounds of Live Rock to work with, and since I have a wet saw I plan to cut several rocks in half so that I can glue the flat sides to the overflows.
-Tim
Standard overflows are fine, especially in a tank that's 37.5" wide. They'll be mostly hidden by rock piles. Depending upon the location of the braces, I may even opt to have some rock sticking up out of the water, thus completely hiding the overflows. I will have 1000 pounds of Live Rock to work with, and since I have a wet saw I plan to cut several rocks in half so that I can glue the flat sides to the overflows.
-Tim
SeaJayInSC
New member
Really coming together, Tim...
I completely understand about the "cleansing ride." I had forgotten all about those rides until you said something.
Wow... I had forgotten all about what that can do for a stressful situation... Boy, could I use a "cleansing ride."
I completely understand about the "cleansing ride."
I had forgotten all about those rides until you said something.Wow... I had forgotten all about what that can do for a stressful situation... Boy, could I use a "cleansing ride."
tgreene
Reefer
Really coming together, Tim...
I completely understand about the "cleansing ride."
Wow... I had forgotten all about what that can do for a stressful situation... Boy, could I use a "cleansing ride."
Today should be a huge breakthrough on progress as well. My wife and brother are cleaning and vacuuming the garage so that I can begin epoxy painting the ceiling. While they're doing that, I'm going to begin building the light rails which will hold the (8) 400w fixtures and possibly even the (2) T5 Actinic fixtures.
The lighting frame is being built out of (4) galvanized c-channels that are used in industrial applications for hanging commercial lighting. There will be(3) 10' rails held together by (4) cut-down pieces of the remaining section. The pendants will be secured with every other light being offset in order to provide the best dispersion of light. This is why I've decided to use (3) rails. This will then hang from heavy duty screw-in hooks via (4) very heavy duty turn-buckles mounted at each corner. This will allow me to have the lights dead level.
As always, I'll post pics at the end of the day. :idea:
-Tim
tgreene
Reefer
I didn't get any epoxy painting done today (will do so tomorrow), but I did get my light rack built... I also went ahead and ordered 1 more 400w Metal Halide setup since the array I decided to go with is 5 fixtures along the front row and 4 staggered between along the back. The empty space on the top right is where the other fixture will go once it's installed.
With 3,756 watts of llight over the display tank, and probably close to another 1000 elsewhere in the system, I may well end up needing a bigger chiller or geo-thermal cooling. :shock:
Rather than mounting the Actinic T5's on the light rack, I think I'll mount them high along the front wall edge, about 15" in from either edge, leaving them spaced about 12" apart in the center.
With 3,756 watts of llight over the display tank, and probably close to another 1000 elsewhere in the system, I may well end up needing a bigger chiller or geo-thermal cooling. :shock:
Rather than mounting the Actinic T5's on the light rack, I think I'll mount them high along the front wall edge, about 15" in from either edge, leaving them spaced about 12" apart in the center.
SeaJayInSC
New member
Wow... Is it possible to have TOO much light?
tgreene
Reefer
It absolutely is possible which is why I seriously contemplated using 250's instead of 400's. Since this tank is 36" tall and the lights will be about 12" above the waterline, I felt that the benefits of having 400's outweighed the negatives. Also, since I run exclusively 20k bulbs (which have a diminished PAR value over the more traditional 10k's), there is a big difference in that regard as well. What really sucks however, is that I typically replace bulbs every 90 days in order to keep the PAR values and Spectrums as high as possible.
The lights will be "banked", meaning that I'll have them broken into three sets of (3). They will be configured to turn ON/OFF at different schedules, and some will automatically be shut off if the water temp exceedes my maximum setpoint. I have a Lighthouse Pro-XLS controller that I'll be using to regulate everything.
This past week I decided to add a bank of (4) 20"x4" Vertex media reactors. These wil be hard plumbed into the system, and will push Carbon and Phosban.
As it stands I'm currently in the range of 3-4 thousand dollars over budget, but with a build this size that's really not too bad and I actually expect it to increase by close to that much more before the system goes live.
-Tim
The lights will be "banked", meaning that I'll have them broken into three sets of (3). They will be configured to turn ON/OFF at different schedules, and some will automatically be shut off if the water temp exceedes my maximum setpoint. I have a Lighthouse Pro-XLS controller that I'll be using to regulate everything.
This past week I decided to add a bank of (4) 20"x4" Vertex media reactors. These wil be hard plumbed into the system, and will push Carbon and Phosban.
As it stands I'm currently in the range of 3-4 thousand dollars over budget, but with a build this size that's really not too bad and I actually expect it to increase by close to that much more before the system goes live.
-Tim
SeaJayInSC
New member
Yikes! Metal halides, right?
Very cool! Hey, you wouldn't happen to know where I can get one of 'dem Lighthouse thingies for my systems, do you?
Dude, you're gonna be scary the day you pick up a rebreather. It'll be right up your alley - packing chemicals, programming triple-redundant sensors and electronics... May I suggest a Megalodon rebreather? That's my next big purchase...
400' and mixing trimix at it's proper concentrations on the fly for absolute minimum decompression... Yeah, that'd be right up your alley.
Yeah, 3-4k over budget, and the tank's not even on the stand yet. Good.
Remind me to never make you a project manager, k? Just kidding, of course.
When you're done with this project, would you mind putting one of these things in my house? Thank you.
tgreene
Reefer
Yep! :spin1:
The old style that I had on one of my basement systems died, and Lighthouse no longer manufacturers controllers, otherwise I would have been happy to send it your way.Very cool! Hey, you wouldn't happen to know where I can get one of 'dem Lighthouse thingies for my systems, do you?
Heh, I'm nowhere near ready to take THAT step yet!!!Dude, you're gonna be scary the day you pick up a rebreather. It'll be right up your alley - packing chemicals, programming triple-redundant sensors and electronics... May I suggest a Megalodon rebreather? That's my next big purchase...
Yeah, that'd be right up your alley.
Yeah, 3-4k over budget, and the tank's not even on the stand yet. Good.
Just kidding, of course.
You do realize that you'll have to tap into one of your off-shore accounts, don't you..?When you're done with this project, would you mind putting one of these things in my house? Thank you.
Cathy wants a new car in the worst way (Camry or Altima), and I've already easily spent more on this build than what either of those cars would cost new... It's for this reason that she keeps squashing the thought of me buying the Gixxer!!!
-Tim
tgreene
Reefer
The ceiling now has 3 coats of white epoxy paint on it, and I'll try to get a couple more coats on tomorrow morning if at all possible, because tomorrow is GO time since the tank is scheduled to arrive sometime in the morning...
We also finally got the light rack properly mounted to the ceiling (then removed it to paint), and it;'s pretty darn sweet.
I'll have GREAT pics up tomorrow after the tank arrives.
-Tim
We also finally got the light rack properly mounted to the ceiling (then removed it to paint), and it;'s pretty darn sweet.
I'll have GREAT pics up tomorrow after the tank arrives.
-Tim
seahorsedreams
New member
Great Project!
What colour paint are your tan/taupe walls?
What colour paint are your tan/taupe walls?
SeaJayInSC
New member
jdm18honda
Member
i know this is stupid but watch that door knob that would not be a good thing to smack the tank it looks it will come close to the bottom
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