A Great Way to ruin a perfect wall; My 400 Gallon Project
- Thread starter SERVO
- Start date
SERVO
New member
Damn Marc, You've got a great eye! I uploaded the picture and saw that myself. I was going to point that out, but it makes it more significant that you saw that yourself. :lol:
If you are interested in the pulley, click here
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.htm...243238-3695027?_encoding=UTF8&asin=B00006JBL3
if the link doesn't work, search for bike lift.
Damn that took a LONG time. I hate fighting gravity. Putting that up made me feel like I was 80:mad2: . So, I'm pretty happy with the end result.
Without the lights
<img src="http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a12/ryanreeves/P8200278.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com">
And with the lights!
<img src="http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a12/ryanreeves/P8200279.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com">
One week in the hole. In about 2-3 I'll start to bring home some of my coral!!!!
:rollface: :strooper:
If you are interested in the pulley, click here
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.htm...243238-3695027?_encoding=UTF8&asin=B00006JBL3
if the link doesn't work, search for bike lift.
Damn that took a LONG time. I hate fighting gravity. Putting that up made me feel like I was 80:mad2: . So, I'm pretty happy with the end result.
Without the lights
<img src="http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a12/ryanreeves/P8200278.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com">
And with the lights!
<img src="http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a12/ryanreeves/P8200279.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com">
One week in the hole. In about 2-3 I'll start to bring home some of my coral!!!!
:rollface: :strooper:
SERVO
New member
I'm not worried about the wood screws. They are 4 inches long and are stuck into the wood at least 3 inches. I didn't have a drill bit long enough to get through the wood and into the rafters to sink the wood screw. My 12 HP drill can't get thru anymore using the top torque setting. I tried to use a ratchet to get a better purchase, but I couldn't move it more than one or two turns. Not going anywhere. 
If the rope starts to get ugly and frayed, I'll go to a boating store and get a coated rope, but for now, nope, not worried. When I use the fans, the room doesn't get very humid.
I can't wait until tomorrow until the halides fire up! I haven't had any light on the tank since Tuesday! :eek1:
I need to work on my top off system.
I need to decide on putting some type of timer on the fans in the wall. I do need to use them a lot, but it is a PITA to go outside into the room and turn the fans off and on every few hours. I would love to have some sensor hooked up to a humidity meter and kick on at 60%
I need to fine tune my temperature. Once the halides kick on, I'll be interested in seeing how much the temp of the water raises. I don't really want to drop the temp on the A/C unit. $$$$$$ For those of you out there in reefcentral land, what temp do you keep your A/C unit on in the Summer?
I need to complete the plumming and hook up the skimmer and refugium. I am going to run the skimmer off of the Hammerhead. There is too much flow into the tank. THe 1 inch returns can only handle 3000 GPH max!
I need to get my fish and corals and put them into there home.
Finally, I need to go to bed.:wildone:
If the rope starts to get ugly and frayed, I'll go to a boating store and get a coated rope, but for now, nope, not worried. When I use the fans, the room doesn't get very humid.
I can't wait until tomorrow until the halides fire up! I haven't had any light on the tank since Tuesday! :eek1:
I need to work on my top off system.
I need to decide on putting some type of timer on the fans in the wall. I do need to use them a lot, but it is a PITA to go outside into the room and turn the fans off and on every few hours. I would love to have some sensor hooked up to a humidity meter and kick on at 60%
I need to fine tune my temperature. Once the halides kick on, I'll be interested in seeing how much the temp of the water raises. I don't really want to drop the temp on the A/C unit. $$$$$$ For those of you out there in reefcentral land, what temp do you keep your A/C unit on in the Summer?
I need to complete the plumming and hook up the skimmer and refugium. I am going to run the skimmer off of the Hammerhead. There is too much flow into the tank. THe 1 inch returns can only handle 3000 GPH max!
I need to get my fish and corals and put them into there home.
Finally, I need to go to bed.:wildone:
cduran02
New member
I keep our AC on 78~79 during the evening and 80 ~ 81 during the day. I strongly sugest getting a digital thermostat if you dont already have one. I have the riteTemp digital thermostat I picked up at home depot (you even get a $500 (I think thats the amount) tax break for it). You can also set that thermostat to turn on and off based on the relative humidity in the house. So you could hook it up to a fan to have it turn on when the humidity goes up.
Servo,
Looks fantastic, I assume you just found the metal for the light rails at a home depot or something?
Thanks a ton for the bike lift link, I have been trying to rig somehting like that up from scratch for a while now, but am not very mechaninclly inclined and this REALLY helps out!!!!
You've done one of the best jobs I've seen from start to finish---congrats!!
Steve
Looks fantastic, I assume you just found the metal for the light rails at a home depot or something?
Thanks a ton for the bike lift link, I have been trying to rig somehting like that up from scratch for a while now, but am not very mechaninclly inclined and this REALLY helps out!!!!
You've done one of the best jobs I've seen from start to finish---congrats!!
Steve
SERVO
New member
cduran02
Thanks for the input! I will look into that.
Pondfrog; Thanks for the kind words. This project has been very frustrating from start to finish, but when it is all said and done, I will be very very happy (and proud like a father once I get to show off it's majestic features during a DFW-MAS tank tour
).
Assembling the fixture is easy, while the end result is really light. (seriously; no pun intended) I wanted something very compact and clean looking. I didn't want to individually hang the pendants. I went to Lowe's and picked up some angle iron in the hardware section (a total of 4 pieces; 2 of six foot long one inch and 2 six foot long 3/4 inch angled iron). I measured out the distance of the tank, calculated where I wanted the halides to hang and drew up cross bracing. The toughest part is cutting the 3/4 inch perfect lengths with limited saws. I took a jigsaw and measured out the distance for my template and made 8 pieces. I assembled the edges, squared it off, and drilled two holes at diagonal locations (One to hold Grandma and the other to hold the Devil):lol: . You can get a hand held pop rivet tool for 18 dollars, shoot you can even return it after your project if you want, but you will probably end up re-using it. I then assembled the cross braces. When I had the basic structure constructed, I needed a good way to hand it. I wanted to distribute the wieght through the 1 inch sections and not put excessive strain over any 4 rivets so I assembled square angled iron pieces underneath as close to the edges as possible. In the end, it took me about 2 1/2 hours (excluding trips to Lowe's) to assemble. The project was really simple and satisfying. It was a pain in a** to hang the damn thing
. Looks cool now!
Thanks for the input! I will look into that.
Pondfrog; Thanks for the kind words. This project has been very frustrating from start to finish, but when it is all said and done, I will be very very happy (and proud like a father once I get to show off it's majestic features during a DFW-MAS tank tour
).Assembling the fixture is easy, while the end result is really light. (seriously; no pun intended) I wanted something very compact and clean looking. I didn't want to individually hang the pendants. I went to Lowe's and picked up some angle iron in the hardware section (a total of 4 pieces; 2 of six foot long one inch and 2 six foot long 3/4 inch angled iron). I measured out the distance of the tank, calculated where I wanted the halides to hang and drew up cross bracing. The toughest part is cutting the 3/4 inch perfect lengths with limited saws. I took a jigsaw and measured out the distance for my template and made 8 pieces. I assembled the edges, squared it off, and drilled two holes at diagonal locations (One to hold Grandma and the other to hold the Devil):lol: . You can get a hand held pop rivet tool for 18 dollars, shoot you can even return it after your project if you want, but you will probably end up re-using it. I then assembled the cross braces. When I had the basic structure constructed, I needed a good way to hand it. I wanted to distribute the wieght through the 1 inch sections and not put excessive strain over any 4 rivets so I assembled square angled iron pieces underneath as close to the edges as possible. In the end, it took me about 2 1/2 hours (excluding trips to Lowe's) to assemble. The project was really simple and satisfying. It was a pain in a** to hang the damn thing
. Looks cool now!
bulldogfish
New member
Hey servo
Isn't that aluminum?
Isn't that aluminum?
peterlin98
Premium Member
Hey Ryan,
It is looking great! Post more pictures.
Peter
It is looking great! Post more pictures.
Peter
melev
Well-known member
Ryan, I keep my tank room at 78F during the summer, and 80F during the winter. Last summer I had to keep it at 76F, but since the tank isn't getting higher than 80F now, I don't have to cool it that much.
Working with aluminum is really easy. It took us a couple of hours to buid the light rack over my tank as well.
Working with aluminum is really easy. It took us a couple of hours to buid the light rack over my tank as well.
SERVO
New member
Yup BDF, it is aluminum. Thats the oxymoron, they call it angled iron. Go figure. Very easy to work with. So here is what it looks like with the Halides blasting. 4 400 Watt bulbs burning away. Right now, I have 6500's in them, but will be changing to 10K once I get some coral in the tank.
Thanks Peter. I have a long way to go to get the tank up to standard to yours!!! :fish2: :fish1:
I will post more pictures once I finish the plumbing. I need to get the calcium reactor set up and running.
<img src="http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a12/ryanreeves/P8210001.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com">
Thanks Peter. I have a long way to go to get the tank up to standard to yours!!! :fish2: :fish1:
I will post more pictures once I finish the plumbing. I need to get the calcium reactor set up and running.
<img src="http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a12/ryanreeves/P8210001.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com">
Martin's Reef
New member
I just wanted to say that your thread has been most helpful as I just got my 375 gallon in this weekend and getting ready to start my self. Your tank is BEAUTIFULLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!:fish2: :fish1:
Great job!
Martin
Great job!
Martin
ReeferMonkey
Premium Member
Are you still going to get some backing and the industrial-strength velcro like we talked about? I think either black vinyl or black acrylic would work best.
Are you going to supplement the 10kK with actinic? If not you may want to look hard at the Phoenix 14kKs. Hell if you supplement with enough VHO actinic you could keep the Iwasakis.....
Are you going to supplement the 10kK with actinic? If not you may want to look hard at the Phoenix 14kKs. Hell if you supplement with enough VHO actinic you could keep the Iwasakis.....
MeuserReef
Welcome to the next level
SERVO-
Awesome tank... beautiful home. My mermaid and I will be tinkering with an in-wall setup soon (much smaller scale). Thanks for all of your time explaining things. I cannot wait to see it STOCKED!!!!
(sorry for reviving the mermaid thing... LOL)
Awesome tank... beautiful home. My mermaid and I will be tinkering with an in-wall setup soon (much smaller scale). Thanks for all of your time explaining things. I cannot wait to see it STOCKED!!!!
(sorry for reviving the mermaid thing... LOL)
SERVO
New member
Nathan,
I plan on using black Fluted Polypropylene Board secured to the back with velcro. That is currently at the bottom of the todo pile
. The FPB is cheap and will blend in well. If I don't like the corregated look of it, I'll get acryllic sheets.
Believe it or not, I've got 6500's over the tank. I am not planning on supplimenting with anything, but I am planning on changing the Kelvin! I am fearful of using anything that I haven't personally seen. I've seen 20's, 10's, 12's (20's LOL) and 6500, but nothing else. Didn't some bulb manufacture just release some new temp?
I'm really stressing out about hooking up my Ca reactor and calibrating it. I have never used on before. I don't have the time to tinker much. Further more, I don't want to repurchase anything. I plan on using the pH meter from an aquacontroller, but don't really have the money to do so now. I cant really get the reactor going without a pH meter.
MeuserReef; Thanks! This is a fantastic site for all of us! Sharing of experiences has allowed me to be able to put together a post like this. I remember when I was "planning" for this about 4-5 years ago. I told my wife that this would end up costing around 10K. HAaaaaa Haaaaaaa Bahhhhh Haaaaa haa ha hhhh ughhhhh mmmmmm wahhhhhhhh ahhhhhhh wahhhhhh wahhhhh
I plan on using black Fluted Polypropylene Board secured to the back with velcro. That is currently at the bottom of the todo pile
. The FPB is cheap and will blend in well. If I don't like the corregated look of it, I'll get acryllic sheets. Believe it or not, I've got 6500's over the tank. I am not planning on supplimenting with anything, but I am planning on changing the Kelvin! I am fearful of using anything that I haven't personally seen. I've seen 20's, 10's, 12's (20's LOL) and 6500, but nothing else. Didn't some bulb manufacture just release some new temp?
I'm really stressing out about hooking up my Ca reactor and calibrating it. I have never used on before. I don't have the time to tinker much. Further more, I don't want to repurchase anything. I plan on using the pH meter from an aquacontroller, but don't really have the money to do so now. I cant really get the reactor going without a pH meter.
MeuserReef; Thanks! This is a fantastic site for all of us! Sharing of experiences has allowed me to be able to put together a post like this. I remember when I was "planning" for this about 4-5 years ago. I told my wife that this would end up costing around 10K. HAaaaaa Haaaaaaa Bahhhhh Haaaaa haa ha hhhh ughhhhh mmmmmm wahhhhhhhh ahhhhhhh wahhhhhh wahhhhh
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