Building My 375gal Glass Reef

[GlassReef]

OK - enough about all the little problems I'm having. Lets talk about a happier subject - Lighting!!!

I've had this plan going through my head for months, about exactly how I'd put the lighting together. I knew I wanted an open aluminum frame: lightweight, rustproof, easy to work with, fairly inexpensive. It had to be mobile so I can move the whole thing away from the tank to get better access. I wanted MH, supplemented by T5. So I cruised the forums to see what was out there. I finally decided on four 400W dimmable ballasts from CoralVue with 12K ReefLux SE bulbs. Deciding on a reflector was a little more difficult. I originally wanted to go with the large LumenArc IIIs, but then I started hearing about the new 20” Lumen Brights. I was a little worried about the fact the Lumen Brights throw a fairly concentrated narrow beam and my tank is 36” â€"œ front to back. In the end, Mike at ReefSpecialty.com convinced me to give the Lumen Brights a try. I only wanted the T5s to cover the beginning and end of the light period (not for spectrum augmentation) so I went with four 36”, dual bulb, retro-fit kits from Hello-Lights.com.

At first I was just going to get some 1” aluminum tubing from Lowes for the light frame, and do a lot of cutting and riveting. Then I happened across an aluminum construction system. It consists of 1” tubing (with or w/o “flanges” â€"œ you’ll see in the pics) that can be fitted together with fiberglass reinforced composite connectors. I had experience with this kind of system while I lived in Europe, so I knew that they produced very strong structures. Seemed like the perfect thing for a light frame so I placed an order. Cost was comparable to what I would have paid at Lowes for regular tubing.

Here’s what I received:

Here, you can see what I meant by flanges:

The flanges are actually intended as a base for flat (ply or MDO) panels when the tubing is used to create cabinets, etc. The panels then become the top, sides, bottom, etc. of the cabinet. The pic shows a tube with flanges on both sides. Tubes are also available with no flanges or only a flange on one side. The composite material connectors are driven into the ends of the tubing. You have to use a hammer to do this as the fit is very tight. Once it’s seated it produces a very strong connection:

I cut the tube with a power miter saw and carbide tipped blade â€"œ cut like butter:

Because I was going to have a lot of right angles, I often had to miter the flange portion of the tubing at 45deg:

To be continued ….

 

[GlassReef]

To continue with the light frame …

I found some aluminum rails (made by Stanely). They’re used for sliding closet doors, etc. They come complete with rollers and hardware, and are rated for 250lbs. And, they were cheap.

So, having found everything I needed for the light frame and suspension, I ordered the lights:

The T5 ballasts are from Advance. I don’t think they’re the best out there, but they’ll do.

The T5 hardware kits from HelloLights.com are very complete. Everything required is included:

As far as the T5 bulbs are concerned, I ordered 4 10000K and 4 Actinic. All the CoralVue stuff looked to be high quality, of course, only time will tell.

I began the light frame by cutting all the tubing to the correct lengths. Cut miters, where necessary, and cleaned up all the edges. After banging all the connectors into the tubing, I ended up with a flat rectangular platform with 4 squares of equal size. The overall dimensions of the frame are approx. 90" X 30":

The squares are dimensioned so the reflectors will fit inside the tube but set on the flange. There is an extra tube along both long sides of the frame. That produces a narrow “rectangle” that will be used to hold all the T5 hardware:

More later ....

 

[EnglishRebel]

Great work. BTW I love your workshop. I have a New Yankee Workshop in my basement. I too have seen the aluminum tubing system on machines. They make great guards with Lexan windows. I think it was made in Germany. Are you going to attach a wooden canopy system to the frame?
You didn't say where you got it from.
Alan

 

[GlassReef]

Hey Alan,

I got the tube and connectors from eztube.com. I'll be putting a "skirt" around the sides and back of the frame. It will enclose the open space between the frame and the top of the tank. It's intended for elimination of stray light and as a mounting spot for cooling fans. I'll be making it out of white 1/4" expanded PVC sheet. The stuff is very light and extremely easy to work with.

If I ever get around to making the shop look presentable I'll take a few pics.

 

[EnglishRebel]

Tom
Here's mine.
Alan
http://www.shoptours.org/shop_tours/files/alan-norris.html

 

[GlassReef]

Wow!:eek1: That is one fine shop you've got there Alan. I'm definitely jealous of your sliding table (my TS is a left tilt so a slider is a problem), and the fact you have a Laguna BS s@cks.

 

[EnglishRebel]

Thanks Tom. It'll be getting some use soon with stand building. Since those photos were taken I've replaced the Delta dust collector with one from Oneida. It's a cyclone with a very large pleated tube filter that attaches to the discharge of the fan. Here's a link to one. I didn't buy the fan - I used the one from the Delta system.

Alan

www.oneida-air.com/gorilla_2hp_super.php

 

[cymbiline]

If your still having issues with leveling there is a cement material which is self leveling can't remember the name I used it in NY to level out my den floor worked great.


Everythings coming along GREAT the attention to little details before the errors are made are fantastic.

Bob

 

[GlassReef]

OK â€"œ continuing with the lights …

After I got the frame itself built, I started working on the hanger supports which will attach the frame to the stainless-steel chain that hangs down from the slide rails on the ceiling. I originally had planned on making the support plates out of aluminum, but was a little shocked at the price. I decided to use some black 3/8” acrylic sheet I had laying around. My first thought was “bad idea” because of the heat involved, but after considering it a while, I decided it shouldn’t be a problem. Also, I liked the idea of using the acrylic because it would effectively isolate any non-aluminum metallic hardware from the frame, itself. Steel touching aluminum in a wet and salty environment can cause corrosion problems.

Here is a hanger support plate. I used aluminum rivets to attach the plates to the frame. Worked great! Easy, fast, and clean:

The center hole in the plate is where a stainless-steel eyebolt will be attached to the chain from the ceiling. Here’s the plate, shown from the bottom, with the eyebolt (eye is on the top-side) attached.

And from above:

I went ahead and used acrylic sheet as a base for attaching all the non-aluminum harware to the frame. For example, here a T5 end-cap assembly has been attached to an acrylic base. I used nylon bolts and cap-nuts here. Truthfully, I probably went a little overboard in worrying about corrosion, but, we'll see:

and then riveted to the frame:

I tried to make the wiring as neat as possible. I’ve learned in the past that sloppy wiring leads to accidents and frequent repairs:

The T5 ballasts were also mounted to the frame using rivets. Worked real well and allowed the ballasts to be mounted in a way that left them exposed to air on all sides:

See next post ….

 

[poknsnok]

wow... what a great build. Nice and clean and well thought out

 

[tigerarmy40]

wow, Im really diggin your progress and cant wait to see the light rack all finished!

 

[GlassReef]

Continuing …

Some pics of construction details:

Next post please:

 

[tigerarmy40]

any possibility you could send me a link to the aluminum construction kit? I would like to price it out...

 

[EnglishRebel]

Very good job - well thought out and executed. You're right to be anal about the corrosion. Aluminum and steel in contact with each other in a salt laded environment can only lead to electrolysis and corrosion. Very neat wiring. Keep up the great post.
Alan

 

[GlassReef]

poknsnok - thank you sir. I very much enjoyed your thread.

tigerarmy40 - thanks for the compliment. I purchased the tubing and connectors (make sure you get the composit connectors and not the steel) at EZ Tube

 

[GlassReef]

Continuing with the light frame …

I decided to attach all the electrical components of the light frame to the power panel using cables with normal power plugs at both ends of the cable. I didn’t want anything hardwired so that changes and repairs would be as easy as possible. Having plugs everywhere would allow quick removal of most components. I attached two PVC outlet boxes to the frame â€"œ basically, one for components on the right side of the frame and one for components on the left.

First, I attached four 1” Sq. aluminum tubes to the frame â€"œ two for each outlet box. I had to drill 5/8” holes in the tubes, wherever a rivet was needed. This allowed the riveting tool to be used inside the tubes:

Here’s a completed outlet box:

I hooked up each MH reflector separately and the T5s all on one outlet. The other box has the two MHs on the right side, the fans on the right and the moon-lights.

Here you can see how I “double-plugged” the MH relectors to allow easy removal (you can probably tell from my, somewhat, obsessive attitude about easy component removal that I’ve had my share of problems in the past ):

Well, the result of all the cutting and riveting and wiring and swearing:

My wife says it looks like the inside of Scotty’s control room.

Just a sec ....

 

[GlassReef]

Uh â€"œ where was I ….

So it was time to build the power panel for the light frame. The lights and fans will be on their own 30A circuit (if the electricians ever get the sub-panel problems sorted out). I built a 15” X 36” backer board out of ply covered with FRP and attached it to the wall above and a little to the right of where the light frame will hang. Then I mounted the 4 dimmable 400W ballasts:

The whole system will be controlled by an AquaController III Pro from Neptune Systems. As part of that control, I mounted a DC4-HD (has 4 heavy duty controllable outlets) for the Halides, and a DC8 (has 8 normal duty controllable outlets) for the T5s, fans, etc.

All together, it looks like this:

The little blue box on the right of the pic is the Neptune Lunar Simulation Module. It plugs into the DC8’s data port and controls the moon-lights so that they control the lights according to the lunar cycle. Notice that a power line (above the panel) now connects the panel to its circuit.

I built a power “umbilical cord” to connect the light frame to the power panel. I had to make sure that there was enough slack in the UC to cater for the frame being moved out (up to 40”) from the tank. Here it is half done:

And completed and attached:

Next post ....

 

[GlassReef]

I then added the 5 moon-lights that came with the Neptune simulation package:

Well, other than the cooling fans â€"œ they’ll come later â€"œ the frame was done. All that was left was to turn it on to see if everything worked. So I did - I thought of a biblical quote here, but …

Gosh â€"œ it works. I’m making jokes, but you can’t imagine how relieved I was. It doesn't look very bright here, because of the exposure I set on the camera, but MY GOODNESS!!! - talk about a vitamin D shock ... And here are the moon-lights:

Cool, huh?

With that, gentle folks, my presentation of what I have done so far, is up to date. From here on, it’ll be in “real-time”.

 

[rogergolf66]

WOW!!!

 

[GlassReef]

A new toy arrived this afternoon and I just love toys. Apogee par meter:

Can't wait to play around with it. Anyone in the Brooksville, Spring Hill, NPR, Crystal River area who needs their lighting checked - I'd be glad to measure it for ya. You folks farther out - depends on what kinda beer you stock.