A Golden Reef Tank (v2)

[halmus]

This month, I'm focused on prototyping and building the electronics that will control the hood movement. I'm using a stepper motor to maintain precise control of the rotation of the lead screw which also guarantees precise control of the hood's position at all times.

I'm prototyping everything on the bench first so that I can build out the software to integrate all of the switches and indicator LED's with the motor's movement. I will have physical buttons under the hood and a few other locations around the filtration room to open, close, pause, and emergency stop movement of the hood.

I'm also adding this remote control key fob that also duplicates the functionality of the physical buttons.

The next step is to mount everything on PCB's and install in the acrylic project box I built.

 

[Benson0219]

Wow... just read through you whole thread. Very impressive. Are you an engineer??? The precision is amazing on your build.

 

[halmus]

Thanks Benson. Yes, I do have an engineering degree although I'm not currently using my degrees as intended in my profession.

I have a majority of the components permanently mounted now. I still have to install everything in the project box. I guess it will be next weekend before I have this fully assembled and running. I hope it will be done then so I can start woodworking again over thanksgiving to finish the hood facade.

 

[Benson0219]

Your woodworking is on par with your tank design and construction...

 

[halmus]

Thanks benson.

Putting the hood facade on will be a huge capstone in this project. Let's hope the manufacturer's specs for the ball bearing glides are accurate and the whole thing doesn't collapse under the weight when extended.

 

[Benson0219]

Keeping my fingers crossed for the façade to work as projected!!!:rollface:

 

[Eauturquoise]

Realy nice project !!

 

[SharkaThon]

Amazing looking build! Just tagging along to see this beauty full up and running!

 

[halmus]

Keeping my fingers crossed for the façade to work as projected!!!:rollface:

Thanks! I need all the luck I can get. I hope I'll have the electronics on the hood complete by the end of the long thanksgiving holiday. Nothing ever goes quite as planned.

Realy nice project !!

Thank you.

Amazing looking build! Just tagging along to see this beauty full up and running!

Thanks for tagging along. If all goes as planned, I'll start introducing coral by the new year.

 

[halmus]

The hood automation system is finally in place. I'll be using the remote control 99% of the time to open and close the hood. There are buttons on the main control unit but it's located near the ceiling. I added additional terminals on that unit so that some time in the future, I can run wires to buttons on the main "control station" if you could call it that. There will be a dedicated panel there as an interface for the hood movement. For now, I'll use the remote. Here are two vides:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a34ReiFgRjU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a65ldN4KCpk

I am so stupidly busy either finishing up one project, starting another, or cleaning up after myself with this build. The videos aren't that good. I did take better video but I don't have the time to edit them together, remove a bunch of background noise, and make it professional.

If anyone has any questions, let me know. For now, I'm finishing up a small acrylic project to hold all of my extra long reefing tools for the extra deep tank. Maybe next weekend I can start on the woodwork for the hood. What you see in the videos is 1/8" acrylic with the paper backing still on. I'm lining the inside of the hood with those as a moisture barrier.

 

[tripdad]

Vid's are cool, hood mechanism looks good. Your getting closer every day, will be nice to see it filled.

 

[halmus]

Vid's are cool, hood mechanism looks good. Your getting closer every day, will be nice to see it filled.

Thanks Scott! The tank has water now. It's been on cruise control since August or September. I can't remember that far back. This project has been a non-stop blur of activity. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I've told myself that after I have the woodwork installed on the hood, I can start adding coral. The tank will have been sitting wet for 5-6 months at that point. The refugium is growing in, coraline is making an appearance, and I have three happy Bartletts stretching their fins in the lonely display.

 

[halmus]

One last small project for the holiday weekend. I built a holder for some tools with a little drip tray at the bottom. Now, I'm cleaning up the filtration room from the latest round and another major cleaning of my shop to prep for the hood.

 

[vanburen]

This looks great! I have hooks on my stand door but have been wanting to add a drip cup underneath. I think you just motivated me to finish it!

Love your setup. Reminds me of the nuclear submarine I was on a long time ago, in a good way. Very professional plumbing!


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[halmus]

This looks great! I have hooks on my stand door but have been wanting to add a drip cup underneath. I think you just motivated me to finish it!

Love your setup. Reminds me of the nuclear submarine I was on a long time ago, in a good way. Very professional plumbing!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks Vanburen. I'm pretty happy with the plumbing. Surprisingly, it mostly works! I have to rework a few of the return lines because they suck too much back into the sump before the siphon breaks. I hate trusting check valves but I have a creative idea to use a check valve that will hopefully be fool proof. I'll post pictures and details if it's a success. I'll forget that I mentioned this publicly if my floors end up soaked.

Not much to update. I'm battling nuisance algeas in the refugium. Seems odd right? Don't I want algea to grow there? Well, I'd like the more ornamental and attractive algeas to outcompete the ugly slimy stuff and that isn't happening. Slimy junk is suffocating the ornamental algeas.

I've also been back to woodwork finishing the hood facade. Hopefully that will be dry enough to install this weekend. And doors over the dry bar area. They're a pain but should be beautiful when complete.

 

[stonecold]

Your setup is THE most slickest that I've seen. AWESOME job!!!

 

[halmus]

A Golden Reef Tank (v2)

Your setup is THE most slickest that I've seen. AWESOME job!!!

Thanks stone cold!


I did a test run of the hood. I was worried about the added weight of the woodwork slowing down or stopping the automated hood action. Something went right! It still works.

I put one final coat of poly on the hood and now as soon as I can find some extra muscle, I'll install the hood. My wife is too short and skinny to help lift it. She doesn't have the table muscle I've been growing the last few years.

Pics soon, I promise.

 

[halmus]

...and in other news, I think the nuisance algea I am fighting is actually Dinoflagilates. (Spelling?)

I've been doing massive water changes all along, running GFO and Carbon in separate reactors which each hold a gallon of media. That's a lot of media!

So, I'm a little surprised to get this problem so early with almost 0 bioload. I know the BRS pukani is notorious for leaching phosphate. But 125 gal water changes every week prior to this even happening?

I suspect that the mangroves or algeas I ordered for the refugium brought in my ReefSTD.

Four days of total blackout wasn't enough. It came right back. So, I'm going almost entirely blackout on the display and fuge. I'm running Dino X which I found at BRS. I'm following their recommended 20 day schedule. I'm elevating the PH. I only turn the lights on long enough for the poor Anthias to come out and eat twice a day. Otherwise, I'd tarp the whole thing and let it sit for a month.

Early January, I'll crank the lights back up and see what happens.

 

[karimwassef]

Dinos are a disease of immaculate reef keepers... check out the big Dino thread...

Basically, with severe constraints on N and P, the normal algae base crashes and the environment regresses to a pre-algae chemistry where dinos flourish and actively use chemical warfare to stop algae from gaining a foothold.

This keeps the tank in a perpetual crashed state and you can't reset without regaining the normal chemical and biological balance with algae. This means adding nutrients to promote normal algae and restart the cycle.

This happens to those of us who are so anti-algae that we keep the water so clean that dinos take over... you're in good company

 

[lsouth913]

Definitely