drummereef's 180g in-wall build

[drummereef]

The finished project!

 

[crvz]

Looks awesome. How easy was it to assemble with those connectors? If you had to take it apart, could you?

 

[drummereef]

Looks awesome. How easy was it to assemble with those connectors? If you had to take it apart, could you?

Thanks! It was very easy to assemble as long as you have a rubber mallet, no worries. I would say yes, you could get them apart with a couple blocks of wood and the mallet. I didn't have to use a ridiculous amount of force putting it together but they do fit snug. If you are going to use the mini pendants like mine I would definitely stiffen up the frame. Glass Reef's frame design is more robust but he also used the standard Lumen Brights, which in hindsight are probably quite a bit lighter since they don't have the glass or the outer shell. I'm going to brace mine with another piece of square tube across the front and back. It will also give me a place to route/organize the wiring.

Note: Glass Reef used EZ Tube for his frame. The connectors are longer thus fit further inside the aluminum tubing than the Esto product. I still think there would be a flex issues even with that system though (with my design). The mini pendants I'm using are just a little on the heavy side in contrast to just the reflector. Also depends on where you suspension points are. You can manipulate the flex by positioning your hangers at different places along the frame which I think is what Glass Reef did. His hangers aren't on the 4 corners, but in about a foot or so from the corners. I considered this as an option but I have some recessed can lights in my fish room that would interfere with the track.

 

[crvz]

I'm going to brace mine with another piece of square tube across the front and back. It will also give me a place to route/organize the wiring.

How's that going to attach to this frame?

 

[drummereef]

How's that going to attach to this frame?

I'm going to rivet it to the frame but I'm sure you could even cable tie it for a less permanent solution. I'll try and post a pic of what I'm thinking.

 

[airwaybill]

subscribed

 

[drummereef]

OK, here's the updated design with the added supports. The holes are where the rivets will be placed and are access points for the wiring. The ballasts will be mounted on the wall to the right so I'm going to feed the wires through the tubing towards that wall. They will then exit out the tube into an umbilical cord that connects to the ballasts. This way all the wires are secured and there's no risk of them hanging loose over the tank.

 

[drummereef]

Just ordered the support braces for the light rack. Should be here Wednesday. Also I had an issue with my skimmer so a little surprise is coming...

 

[melev]

Brett - I love your new light frame. That's going to be really nice, especially with the reinforcement to avoid it bowing in the center. That slight dip will literally make the outer pendants shine sideways to the end walls if it isn't straight.

 

[drummereef]

Brett - I love your new light frame. That's going to be really nice, especially with the reinforcement to avoid it bowing in the center. That slight dip will literally make the outer pendants shine sideways to the end walls if it isn't straight.

Thanks Marc. Got the parts in so I should be able to tackle finishing it by the weekend. I'll post some pics along the way.

 

[drummereef]

UPDATE:


My little surprise has arrived! :dance:

I had a crazing issue with my old MSX250 and luckily caught it in time before the warranty expired. Rob and Jeff at Marine Solutions are great. :thumbsup: Apparently they are discontinuing SWC products so I upgraded to a 250A with the Askoll pump since they were out of the 250's. This thing is a beast, very pleased. Thanks again to Rob and Jeff for standing behind their products!

Jayson at SWC on the other hand was NO help at all. I spoke with him via email about the issue to no avail. I was astounded with his lack of customer service. I would have figured the manufacturer would honor the warranty of a defective item, but he ignored it. Just a little warning for those wanting to purchase direct from SWC in the future. Don't count on them supporting their products. :thumbdown

In any event, here's the new skimmer!!!

 

[drummereef]

UPDATE:


Finished the light rack today. Here's a little tutorial on how I added the support braces.


First I built a jig to hold the tubing securely in the drill press.

I drilled a pilot hole to help keep the everything centered.

I needed a hole big enough to allow the head of the rivet gun to get to the bottom of the tubing so I ended up using a spade bit typically used for woodworking. It worked great! I just lubricated every pass with some silicone spray. WD-40 would also be perfect for this. Who would have thunk it.

Finished hole.

Here's a shot of the little medallion it left behind after cutting. Nice and clean.

Then I used a ceramic grinding bit I had laying around to deburr the aluminum.

More to come.....

 

[drummereef]

Here's the finished piece with all the holes drilled.

I then laid it out on the light rack, clamped it down, and pre-drilled the holes for the rivets.

Placed the rivets in the holes.

Rivet gun to secure it in place.

Finished rivet.

More to come.....

 

[drummereef]

Here's the finished light rack.

Overall it ads quite a bit of stability with a nominal amount of flex and allows me to route the wires through the tubing. I might use some rubber grommets in a few of the holes where the wiring will be to protect them from rubbing on the bare aluminum.

I believe the whole issue was from the weight of the pendants, not the connectors . Each of these pendants weighs 8.5lbs, or 25.5lbs across the 5.5' or so span of the light rack. That's a lot of weight for that length of material. As sturdy as the aluminum tubing looks, you can actually flex it with your hands. This being said, the standard Lumen Bright fixtures without the glass and outer shell would have no problem with this system. There is also the factor of where on the unit you mount the rack. Obviously the flex is compounded the further towards each end you go. But with all the weight combined and where I'm forced to mount the rack on the ceiling, I felt a little bracing is necessary in my case. And I think it looks pretty cool anyhow.

 

[crvz]

Once again, wonderful finished project. Any chance you know what the final weight of the light rack is? Or even the whole rack with the lights?

 

[drummereef]

Once again, wonderful finished project. Any chance you know what the final weight of the light rack is? Or even the whole rack with the lights?

Thanks crvz. The rack itself weighs 9.2lbs on my "human scale". So the weight of the entire rack with the pendants is approx 34.7lbs (give or take). That's what I'm saying about the weight issue. If you take a solid piece of this aluminum tubing, and span it 5-6' without connectors, with this amount of weight it will most definitely flex. I'd gander up to 1/4". Take away the reflector weight and there's no problem even with the connectors.

I ordered the rails today from McMaster-Carr. Each rail has a 150lbs capacity.
http://www.mcmaster.com/#door-hanging-tracks/=67h2y1

Still can't decide if I'm going to drill the rack for eye bolts and chain or use the cable system I had originally intended. It's basically stainless steel aircraft cable with sliding adjustable "grippers". One combination of gripper I found would allow me to hang the rack without drilling it. They are really cool but the company has an incremental order charge that really bumps up the price on small orders. Here's the link for those who may be interested.

http://www.cablegrippers.com/index.html

 

[Megabite]

There's nothing like taking your time and doing something with such careful planning. Beautiful work on all accounts. I have so much trouble with being patient.

Great work, subscribed.

 

[melev]

Very nice documentation, Brett. :thumbsup:

 

[03LightningSVT]

I'm real happy with my suspension system, I used eye bolts in the track dollies, "S" hooks for height adjustment, and turnbuckles to get everything dead nuts level

Brian

 

[drummereef]

There's nothing like taking your time and doing something with such careful planning. Beautiful work on all accounts. I have so much trouble with being patient.

Great work, subscribed.

Thanks Megabite. Yeah that and I don't have the $$$$ to finish it all at once anyway.