drummereef
Team RC
drummereef's 180g in-wall build
- Thread starter drummereef
- Start date
drummereef
Team RC
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
Very nice Brian! Looks great.
prop-frags
SPS Slave
Veeerrrry nice Brett!
I've got power tool envy going... we're still in the dark ages here with my hand held stuff - you're bringing the real tools! :thumbsup:
Hey, can you show us how you mounted the florescent endcaps to the rack?
I've got power tool envy going... we're still in the dark ages here with my hand held stuff - you're bringing the real tools! :thumbsup:
Hey, can you show us how you mounted the florescent endcaps to the rack?
drummereef
Team RC
Thanks prop-frags.
I don't have any fluorescent bulbs mounted to my fixture, at least at this point. The picture above is 03LightningSVT's lighting rig. 
03LightningSVT
New member
I used "L" corner brackets to mount my T5 endcaps :thumbsup:
drummereef
Team RC
drummereef
Team RC
UPDATE:
Got the rails today for the light rack. They are Stanley 8' door track rated at 150lb per rail. I bought them from McMaster-Carr. Ordered on Monday, arrived on Tuesday. Great service and cheap shipping! :thumbsup:
Got the rails today for the light rack. They are Stanley 8' door track rated at 150lb per rail. I bought them from McMaster-Carr. Ordered on Monday, arrived on Tuesday. Great service and cheap shipping! :thumbsup:
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110galreef
New member
Dude this is an amazing build!
Oh & how is the Baby?
Oh & how is the Baby?
drummereef
Team RC
Thanks 110g! The baby is doing great, thus the reason for the slow build at the moment.
He just started laughing withing the last couple days which has been awesome. Thanks for asking.
drummereef
Team RC
UPDATE:
Landed a sweet deal today. Bought a new utility sink for 40 bucks! Gotta love Craigslist. It's in the unfinished part of the basement from which I have access to the sump room. Going to make it easy to clean the skimmer nog, except for the smell.
Landed a sweet deal today. Bought a new utility sink for 40 bucks! Gotta love Craigslist.
It's in the unfinished part of the basement from which I have access to the sump room. Going to make it easy to clean the skimmer nog, except for the smell.
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drummereef
Team RC
UPDATE:
Added the eye bolts to the light rack yesterday. Going to hang the rails tomorrow so the light should be going up soon! Here's a little tutorial on how I insulated the eye bolts to minimize or hopefully eliminate any galvanic corrosion.
Because I am using stainless steel eye bolts and hardware I needed to insulate the bolts from the aluminum frame. Anytime two dissimilar metals are in contact with each other in a saltwater environment galvanic corrosion is likely to occur. Here's what I did.
First started with some tools. Piece of heat shrink tubing, ruler, and straight razor.
Cut the heat shrink to the appropriate size, in my case 1/8" or so longer than the tubing.
On either side of the tubing I placed nylon washers to act as a barrier between the bolts and the tubing.
I used a lighter to shrink the tubing onto the eye bolt.
Finished half of the eye bolt with heat shrink and nylon washer installed.
Here you can see how the heat shrink acts as a barrier between the stainless and aluminum.
Added a stainless steel acorn nut for a finished look
Bolt side
Tomorrow... rails!!!
Added the eye bolts to the light rack yesterday. Going to hang the rails tomorrow so the light should be going up soon! Here's a little tutorial on how I insulated the eye bolts to minimize or hopefully eliminate any galvanic corrosion.
Because I am using stainless steel eye bolts and hardware I needed to insulate the bolts from the aluminum frame. Anytime two dissimilar metals are in contact with each other in a saltwater environment galvanic corrosion is likely to occur. Here's what I did.
First started with some tools. Piece of heat shrink tubing, ruler, and straight razor.
Cut the heat shrink to the appropriate size, in my case 1/8" or so longer than the tubing.
On either side of the tubing I placed nylon washers to act as a barrier between the bolts and the tubing.
I used a lighter to shrink the tubing onto the eye bolt.
Finished half of the eye bolt with heat shrink and nylon washer installed.
Here you can see how the heat shrink acts as a barrier between the stainless and aluminum.
Added a stainless steel acorn nut for a finished look
Bolt side
Tomorrow... rails!!!
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prop-frags
SPS Slave
Absolutely love the attention to detail, Brett.
I didn't know about galvanic corrosion...now I wonder if I should tear mine apart and put nylon washers in! :mtool:
I didn't know about galvanic corrosion...now I wonder if I should tear mine apart and put nylon washers in! :mtool:
drummereef
Team RC
Thanks prop-frags. Have you noticed any corrosion or rusting at all?
drummereef
Team RC
Running into a little issue with where to mount the Lumen Bright Mini's. Since the tank is placed roughly 2.5" under the front (viewing) wall I'm having an issue mounting the lights in the center of the tank (front to back) at the proper height. Designed the wall before I picked out lights... whoops! :twitch:
I was under the assumption that the Mini's need to be no less than 14.5" from bulb to water. To be able to mount the lights dead center I'd be about 13.5" - 14". Am I going to see a "spotlight effect" if I hang them at this height?
My other option is to raise them up but then the lights would be 4" from the viewing glass and 1.5" from the back glass (off center). But, the bulb would be 18" from the water surface. Is this going to cause an issue with light spread?
THOUGHTS??? :worried:
I was under the assumption that the Mini's need to be no less than 14.5" from bulb to water. To be able to mount the lights dead center I'd be about 13.5" - 14". Am I going to see a "spotlight effect" if I hang them at this height?
My other option is to raise them up but then the lights would be 4" from the viewing glass and 1.5" from the back glass (off center). But, the bulb would be 18" from the water surface. Is this going to cause an issue with light spread?
THOUGHTS??? :worried:
melev
Well-known member
If I'm reading this correctly, the problem is the lights will be 1" closer to the water than originally planned because of the front wall over the tank, correct? My tank has pretty much the exact same problem, and I just opted to go higher and not sweat it. That provides spread, less heat issues, and I have room to work.
You can definitely try them out at the original plan and see how you like them, and if you have to change it later you can. A PAR meter would be really good to help determine intensity levels, and your eyes will discern if the spread looks good or if it looks spotlighted.
You can definitely try them out at the original plan and see how you like them, and if you have to change it later you can. A PAR meter would be really good to help determine intensity levels, and your eyes will discern if the spread looks good or if it looks spotlighted.
drummereef
Team RC
Yes that's the issue, but....
OK, so if I went higher (18" bulb to water) you don't think I'd have a problem with the lights being a couple inches closer to the back glass than the front in regards to light spread? I like the idea of them being higher for heat reasons and access to the tank too.
Are your LB's slightly off center front to back?
drummereef
Team RC
Oh sheets, what have I done...! :crazy1: I think I need a new tape measure since mine doesn't measure right. :lmao: Yeah, I'd love to see the pics of that Marc. Thanks for the help!
melev
Well-known member
In this first picture, look at the wall above the tank and where the VHOs are hanging in relation to the top of the tank. You can almost make out the pendants and see how they are sloped about 1/2" down on the far right side (which is the back wall of the tank)
This one is another pretty good way to see them
And here is one more
It is hard to make out the fishroom wall behind the lighting, but here you go:
Here's a picture from March 2008. So I've had these exactly two years now.
This one is another pretty good way to see them
And here is one more
It is hard to make out the fishroom wall behind the lighting, but here you go:
Here's a picture from March 2008. So I've had these exactly two years now.
