Alan's 300g Marineland DD Reef
- Thread starter alanmorehead
- Start date
Damn alan nice jawfish brother
Sent from my DROID2 using Tapatalk
Sent from my DROID2 using Tapatalk
jdm18honda
Member
goodl looking setup how are the cuddlefish doing i would like to see a bit more on your setup with them
alanmorehead
Member
Unfortunately, I lost all the cuttlefish. They were a lot more involved than I had planned and it was very time consuming to do the feedings. I lost one of my live mysis shrimp orders due to heat and it was difficult to find pods to supplement their diet and keep them healthy
RyanTurner
New member
Any updates on this gorgeous build?
alanmorehead
Member
I'll get some more pics and info sometime, but here's what I have for now:
Here is a video:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/103516761837210468297/albums/5729396573583962225/5733595911342724450?authkey=CI74_7rSpaWe8AE
Here is a video:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/103516761837210468297/albums/5729396573583962225/5733595911342724450?authkey=CI74_7rSpaWe8AE
novahobbies
New member
I really love that inverted piece of LR boulder on the right. That's exactly how small bommies look out on the reefs. VERY well done.
bmullikin1
New member
Love the new aquascape, looks great, clean and simple.
Agree with this comment. Aquascaping is great.
alanmorehead
Member
Sandbed is about 1.5" deep. I used some new and some old sand, so it's kind of hard to tell exactly how much is in there. I think roughly about 120 lbs of Caribsea Special Grade Reef Sand.
No issues w/ the 2 hippo tangs. Larger one is a regular blue hippo and smaller one is a yellow belly
alanmorehead
Member
I've actually been working on the tank quite a bit lately when I've found the time. I decided to convert to LEDs, changed some rock out in the display, and take care of a few other things I've been wanting to do.
Here is the LED build. I decided to go with the following:
111 Cree XT-E Royal Blues
54 Cree XP-G Neutral Whites
Meanwell dimmable drivers
Aluminum u-channel
Solderless LEDs w/ 6" connectors
I spent a few weeks doing research and planning out the build. Once I was ready to get started, I ordered the aluminum u-channel. The local stores had aluminum u-channel, but it was smaller, thinner and almost all the pieces were 4' length. I was able to find aluminum channel on Amazon relatively cheap. The best bang for the buck was 3"x2" 1/8" thick pieces. $17 w/ free 2-day prime shipping was pretty hard to beat. When they got delivered I realized that they were bigger than I had imagined. It didn't really matter though because I was mounting them to 2x6 studs and the extra material would help with heat dissipation.
I planned all the dimensions out, cut the 2 end pieces to length, drilled out 2 holes for each channel end, and bolted them together.
Here is the LED build. I decided to go with the following:
111 Cree XT-E Royal Blues
54 Cree XP-G Neutral Whites
Meanwell dimmable drivers
Aluminum u-channel
Solderless LEDs w/ 6" connectors
I spent a few weeks doing research and planning out the build. Once I was ready to get started, I ordered the aluminum u-channel. The local stores had aluminum u-channel, but it was smaller, thinner and almost all the pieces were 4' length. I was able to find aluminum channel on Amazon relatively cheap. The best bang for the buck was 3"x2" 1/8" thick pieces. $17 w/ free 2-day prime shipping was pretty hard to beat. When they got delivered I realized that they were bigger than I had imagined. It didn't really matter though because I was mounting them to 2x6 studs and the extra material would help with heat dissipation.
I planned all the dimensions out, cut the 2 end pieces to length, drilled out 2 holes for each channel end, and bolted them together.
alanmorehead
Member
I ordered 6 of the 3"x2" pieces in my first order, but then their restocking shipment turned into a 1-3 month wait and they tripled the price 
So, I ordered two of the 3x3" to complete it. This actually ended up working out perfectly because I was able to use one of the 3x3" pieces for the front facing row. Then used the other 3x3" piece for the endcaps, which made it easier to slide the rows in.
Frame is done!
So, I ordered two of the 3x3" to complete it. This actually ended up working out perfectly because I was able to use one of the 3x3" pieces for the front facing row. Then used the other 3x3" piece for the endcaps, which made it easier to slide the rows in.
Frame is done!
alanmorehead
Member
On to the wiring. I planned out my wiring (2 sets of 5x11 blues, 3 sets of 2x9 whites). I decided to lay out the leds so the wires curve back and forth (S shaped). This helped keep from crossing and bending too many wires. I used thermal adhesive to mount the LEDs
I was being supervised the whole time I was wiring:
I was being supervised the whole time I was wiring:
alanmorehead
Member
I decided on just zip tying the LED drivers to the frame. This gave me a little flexibility in case I wanted to change something.
Wiring is all done. I built a couple variable dimming cables w/ CAT5 cable, got everything cleaned up and zip tied, and ready to install.
Next up was the mounting hardware. The fixture is 72" long and the opening between my two wall studs is 73", so I didn't have much room. I decided to use 400 lb. metal clothes rod brackets and used a bolt w/ 2 nuts for the little mounting nub.
I had to shave them down a bit with a grinder, just so they would fit between the fixture and wall stud.
While I was working on the mounting pieces, I decided to weigh this beast. 62 lbs!!!
Wiring is all done. I built a couple variable dimming cables w/ CAT5 cable, got everything cleaned up and zip tied, and ready to install.
Next up was the mounting hardware. The fixture is 72" long and the opening between my two wall studs is 73", so I didn't have much room. I decided to use 400 lb. metal clothes rod brackets and used a bolt w/ 2 nuts for the little mounting nub.
I had to shave them down a bit with a grinder, just so they would fit between the fixture and wall stud.
While I was working on the mounting pieces, I decided to weigh this beast. 62 lbs!!!
alanmorehead
Member
A final test before they get installed:
The mounting plan worked really well. Here is the fixture in place. I had to use a couple PVC pieces to hold up the front end so I could run to the hardware store for some heavier duty chain.
It was pretty tough to get a good shot w/ the LEDs blinding the camera, but here it is after I got the main chain installed. I'll probably be adding a support chain or something to both the left and right sides, just for peace of mind.
I don't have any display tank pics worth posting right now. I've been moving a few things around and I actually have 2 big eggcrate shelves in there now, so it's kind of in a temporary situation. I'd like to wait a bit to see how the existing corals in there react, then I'll be adding a bunch of stuff from the frag tank back into the display. After that I'll get some DT pics posted. So far, I like the LEDs. The dimming functionality is great since I can tweak the colors to my liking and do a more gradual dusk/dawn. I ordered a couple red, green, warm white, and cool white LEDs to test with, so I'll be playing around with those soon too.
The mounting plan worked really well. Here is the fixture in place. I had to use a couple PVC pieces to hold up the front end so I could run to the hardware store for some heavier duty chain.
It was pretty tough to get a good shot w/ the LEDs blinding the camera, but here it is after I got the main chain installed. I'll probably be adding a support chain or something to both the left and right sides, just for peace of mind.
I don't have any display tank pics worth posting right now. I've been moving a few things around and I actually have 2 big eggcrate shelves in there now, so it's kind of in a temporary situation. I'd like to wait a bit to see how the existing corals in there react, then I'll be adding a bunch of stuff from the frag tank back into the display. After that I'll get some DT pics posted. So far, I like the LEDs. The dimming functionality is great since I can tweak the colors to my liking and do a more gradual dusk/dawn. I ordered a couple red, green, warm white, and cool white LEDs to test with, so I'll be playing around with those soon too.
