Mountains of sawdust (360g plywood, LED, Arduino build)

For those who haven't seen the posts in my local forum, the system is coming down soon. I really enjoyed the build but it's just not fulfilling in it's completed state. I will be keeping the tank itself and likely converting it to planted FW.

And no, this is not an April Fools joke.

PS, to pre-empt all the FW haters,

5008_9c00_420.gif
 
Sorry to hear you are packing it in. Starting a project is always more fun than maintaining one, so the new planted tank will be a great journey. I'm sure you will bring the same level of innovation and problem solving to the project and hopefully there aren't too many problems to solve :)
 
It's already partially emptied, most of the rock and livestock is gone. The rest will probably go in the next few weeks.

Here's the last photo I have, which was taken a few days before I started emptying it:

20130303_131741_zps2eb665a5.jpg
 
Well, the good news is that LED's grow plants too :) And....any controllers will also migrate of course. They like dimming, sunrise, sunsets, and long walks on beaches :)

I just finished a LED build for my daughters plant tank. She just loves the thing and her plants do too. This is our third go around though with her plant tanks but each one gets better and better. I think this is it until she upgrades the tank.
 
I will be retaining the LEDs, DIY drivers, and Typhon controller to run them, though with some modifications to the number and type of LEDs, yet to be determined (I'm still wrapping my head around LED applications to planted tanks).

Pretty much all other equipment is going away or getting modified. I consider this system fairly simple by modern reef tank standards, but as a planted system it's going to be even simpler.

I've started a thread over on a planted tank forum to work out the kinks in the plan, once I have some sort of final approach nailed down I'll report back here.
 
Her build was pretty simple more or less. She made a list, picked up some items, then we hit the hardware store. She may change it a bit later but for now it is has simple as using our spare meanwell's with each running 6 LED's. Six are cool white and the other six are natural white. Both are Cree's.

Simple DIY CO2 using sugar, yeast, and baking soda. I have to say this little 20 some odd gallon cube she threw together is pretty neat looking. I'll check out your thread over there and see what you are up to :)

Best of luck.
 
DWZM, my friend Bao Phan is an expert at FWP. I know we aren't supposed to linque, but here is his site, which may give you some ideas. www.boplants.com

Not only is he a FWP expert, but he also knows me personally, which means you're 1 step closer to being my real friend.
 
dread240 said:
I'll believe it when I see it :lol:
Click to expand...

Well you can go find the FS thread where I''ve been selling livestock and equipment in my local forum if you don't believe it. :lol:

thebanker said:
DWZM, my friend Bao Phan is an expert at FWP. I know we aren't supposed to linque, but here is his site, which may give you some ideas. www.boplants.com

Not only is he a FWP expert, but he also knows me personally, which means you're 1 step closer to being my real friend.
Click to expand...

Interesting, he seems to be in to tiny shrimp tanks. If I didn't have a 360g vessel in my living room that would probably be the way I'd go. :D
 
He is into them but also scapes large tanks for corporate clients. Trust me he knows what he's doing... creates driftwood out-of-tank protrusions that have flowing water and epiphyte growth, so you have plants within your plants.
 
Yeah, that's what I'm going for with this refresh. Emersed growth and things poking out of the top of the tank. I'm planning on building some mounds of rock with driftwood sticking out of them, rock and driftwood covered with ferns/moss/whatever. Then probably crypts and other slow-growing plants for a carpet. And swords/vals/etc. behind the hardscape to give a backdrop.

The 4' depth is proving to be a two edged sword. 'Scaping it as a reef came naturally but I'm having a hard time with the planted FW aquascape. Then again so far it's just in my head, I'm sure it'll work out once I actually play with it.

I was thinking about doing mockups out in my yard with a few piles of rocks and driftwood on a big table to practice. Neighbors probably already think I'm nuts so there's nothing to lose.
 
Awesome Build! Great thread! Congratulations on a job well done!

Building a wood, external overflow-box, I was searching your thread to find out how you dealt with the countersunk holes in the wood, before water-proofing them. You had a post where you referenced finishing those holes, but I didn't find a specific description of what you did to finish the screw holes. Did you fill the "dips" produced by the counter-sunk screw holes with Gorilla Glue, or did you just fill them up with epoxy? I think Garf.Org used a method of: (1) laying down the first coat of epoxy over any gaps, holes, or other imperfections in the wood; (2) applying auto-body filler (e.g. "Bondo") to the imperfections, sanding it down smoothly; and (3) laying down all the other coats of epoxy on the finished, sanded-down auto-body filler. This method would appear to have the advantage of having the first coat of the epoxy soak into the wood to water-proof it, without its absorption/adherence being blocked by the water-proof, auto-body filler.

Given that I will be water-proofing the entire interior and exterior of the overflow-box, I still haven't figured out what to do with the counter-sunk-screw-hole "dips." Though I am using corrosion-resistant, stainless steel screws, I still want to water-proof the screw-holes and "dips" that lie atop the screws. Water getting in there from drips and splashes, could compromise the watertight seal and rot the wood from inside the screw-holes. My inclination at this point is to fill the "dips" with epoxy paint and nothing else.

Your thoughts and recommendation would be most appreciated! Thank you.
 
Last edited:
Hello SkyReef,

The method I used was to create a paste from epoxy and microballoons (though you could use any easy-sanding filler, even sawdust). I mixed it to a thick paste and used that to fill the screw holes. It's waterproof and easy to sand, and it's easy to do this when you already have these materials onhand vs. using any other type of filler.

Bondo-branded products are polyester resin. I, personally, don't like to use polyester and epoxy on the same project, I like to pick one or the other and stick with it.
 
der_wille_zur_macht said:
Hello SkyReef,

The method I used was to create a paste from epoxy and microballoons (though you could use any easy-sanding filler, even sawdust). I mixed it to a thick paste and used that to fill the screw holes. It's waterproof and easy to sand, and it's easy to do this when you already have these materials onhand vs. using any other type of filler.

Bondo-branded products are polyester resin. I, personally, don't like to use polyester and epoxy on the same project, I like to pick one or the other and stick with it.
Click to expand...

Thank you, DerWilleZurMacht. Sounds like a great idea. I already laid down a coat of epoxy on the screw holes yesterday in the first coat. However, that first coat will not completely fill up the "dip" created by the counter-sunk holes. So, on the ensuing coats of epoxy paint that I have yet to lay down, I will take your advice, by applying epoxy paint mixed with sawdust. The trick will be lightly sanding the surface of the screws to allow the subsequent coats to adhere to the first coat of paint. Maybe I will use a pencil eraser or something small and cylindrical to reach into the counter-sunk holes, to achieve that light-sanding purpose. Thank you.
 
If you're coating the whole exterior with several coats of epoxy paint anyways, I would consider filling the holes to be a purely cosmetic task. It's not a terrible thing to do but I don't think it's strictly required.
 
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