Complete DIY Custom 144x15x15

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Calvin,
You dont get acrylic "beads" squishing out of the joint waiting that long with #3? Like little acrylic balls coming out of the joint?

I use #4 and can only wait 30 - 45 seconds or it beads up when settling. I like a wetted out seam.

How cold is it when you are gluing. My temps have averaged 75 - 85, maybe a factor.
 
I get a little excess thickened solvent that is forced out when I pull the pins, but no beads... It's probably 70ish. But temps are dropping so I'll be moving inside for any future welds.
 
Okay, sorry for the delay, but I've made a little progress (very little) but figured I'd post an update.

I picked up 150lbs bone dry light as a feather rock (probably equal to 200-250lbs wet LR)...

Tough to get a perspective but that is a 32g trash can and a 9HP snowblower... That box is huge and a struggle just to pick up!

CIMG1427.jpg


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Vinyl tubing is connected.
CIMG1440.jpg


I also picked up some 15g drums for SW... I originally planned on using a pair of 55g drums, but they were just too big for the space I had... I'll be using 1 55g drum for FW and 2 15g drums for mixing SW. Figure 30g weekly water changes should be more than enough (over 20%).

CIMG1423.jpg
 
Thanks Joe!

Thanks, I'm hoping to get the rock work done soon so I can figure out if I have enough, and will post pics as it comes along.

I also decided to go open top and plan to try to build a pendant to hold all the lights instead... If anyone has some pics of some cool looking pendants please post. :D
 
so you have no lights - starting with scratch or do we give suggestions around some stuff you already have?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13649548#post13649548 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by calvin415
Thanks Joe!

Thanks, I'm hoping to get the rock work done soon so I can figure out if I have enough, and will post pics as it comes along.

I also decided to go open top and plan to try to build a pendant to hold all the lights instead... If anyone has some pics of some cool looking pendants please post. :D
Click to expand...
 
I'm looking for pics of others pendants... I've already said I have T-5 retros, 12 bulbs total (3x4' setups). Just looking for ideas on how it could/should look.
 
Between work, school, and a 3 year old, I think this is the longest thread I've ever looked at every page of. Granted I didn't read every word, I looked for pics and caught the occasional balls jokes....

Anyways, the basement is looking good as is the tank! I always wondered how somebody would make a tank this long.

I thought about flow in long skinny tanks before and I always wondered if it would work to have overflows and returns at both ends, with flow that would switch between each end every couple of hours. So you had the whole body of water moving from one end of the tank to the other. Could be totally unfeasable but it's a mute point anyways since you've got your closed loop setup :-)
 
Thanks Zach!

So here's the next dilemma... I'm working on creating a pendant design that will hold all the lights and ballasts, but also be sleak and clean looking. I originally though fiberglass would be the best way to approach this, but my fellow club members feel it's too risky since almost all of use have never worked with fiberglass and since I'm already on a strick budget and a failure on this will really set me back. So now I'm thinking of wrapping it in some kind of fabric, leather was an idea, but not good for the heat and water, so pleather was the next idea. Anyone have some other suggestions? Or another material I can get 12' long that will allow me to give a wrapped look? I really like the looks of the other pendants on the market and would like to keep is slim and light as possible. Please post any ideas or suggestions.
 
My suggestion would be to move the ballasts out of the pendant. I remember a few pages back that your original plan was to extend the wires to your ballasts down through the tank (from the hood). I would think you could still do something similar and make it look clean. What about having the wires all run out one end into the wall (up high, at the level of the pendant), then back out of the wall (near the floor) and into the stand. You could make the small exposed section of wires look really clean with heat shrink or even wrap it in the same material you use for the pendant. That would not only make the pendant MUCH lighter, but you could probably make it much more low-profile. I'm picturing something that is 12'x2'x3"... wrapped in a fake leather or even stainless steel would look pretty cool.

-Scott
 
I thought about that Scott, but running all those wires would be an absolute nightmare... 3 ballasts, each with 12 wires... Not to mention the confusion of extending each wire from either under the tank or in the canopy, or spending a small fortune on long harnesses. Keeping the ballasts in the pendant allows me to run just a single powercord, which can be plugged in over the tank.
 
Understand... and that's one of the biggest differences between you and I. I think trying to build a tank would be a nightmare, but running the wires sounds like a lot of fun. :D

I'm sure whatever you decide will be awesome with your craftsmanship. I also think that my first statement about being able to make the pendant much lower-profile by leaving out the ballasts is incorrect. Even if you're using the 660's (which I think you are), they are only about 3" thick, maybe less, so assuming you can mount them flat to the top of the pendant (inside of course), they should still allow a really thin pendant.

Can't wait to see what you come up with!

-Scott
 
LOL! Thanks Scott, yeah 36 wires (likely all colored the same) sounds like the worst nightmare I can imagine. ;) The ballast is 2" thick which is still a lot and will make the pendant thicker, but I think I can get away with it being about 6" thick, and 15" wide forming a single arc... At least that's the idea in my head right now. :D


Thanks Seasapience, funny to think about people across the country talking about what I'm doing out here. :D
 
Define "wrapped look." I mean if you're looking for a fabric, which is unique... I might advise against it since the things that would last might suffer from the heat. Not an expert here, but you know how you just get a feeling about things when you think of it?

How about aluminum flashing? You can get it in like 50 ft rolls so the each side would be a continuous look, and it's somewhat in-expensive. If you wanted it a painted then powdercoating could be an option I suppose, but might get expensive to powdercoat a 12' light fixture. If you pulled it off though it would look like a bought fixture :-) Look out Geisemann! haha
 
Anodized aluminum would be the way to go. You could have some louvers punched in it for ventalation. You could also lay out a nice pattern or make a template and drill holes to ventulate it.
 
I agree that some kind of aluminum would probably be the easiest way to go. Like zachofalltrades said, if done right it would look a lot more professional.
 
Okay, so here's what I'm thinking for the structure...



The center box will hold the ballast and heat sink and act as a back bone for the canopy. The bottom piece will be removable (w/ screws) to get to the ballast and the endcaps will be mounted to this. The ribs, will be mounted to the "spine" and provide support every 12" for a cover. Will aluminum flashing be too thin? Anyone ever used the stuff? Would a single piece of flashing wrapped around the skeleton be fine, or will it likely be creased/bend/dented etc? Thoughts?
 
That's pretty intense. I wonder what you could wrap it with. Here's a crazy thought: canvas?
 
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