My spring break experiment

Ok, so I came up with a perfect solution to my wanting a rock wall and a black background. I'm going to have an eggcrate and LR rubble wall to hide my heater and MJ400 (I'll leave a hole for the output so that it can still provide flow for the tank). I think this is a great idea :) Here's what I've got so far for the aquascape and stuff:
picotank.jpg
 
Have you thought about getting a nice large thin and flat rock slightly bigger than the back of the tank. Then put it on a band saw and cut the sides square. You could even drill a hole in it for whatever needs. Heck you could even cut some teeth on the top for overflowing. I have some large ones about 1" thick in my tank that I could do that to on a little tank. But no I'm not pulling them out! :lol: But you could silicone the edges to the back wall and it would be like the homemade but with real rock and no cure time. Maybe even one of those base rock companies (reeferrocks or hirocks) might be able to get you one if you can't find live.
 
That's a great idea! I was thinking about that earlier today but then I was wondering about the water levels in the "overflow" and main tank. Would they be even? How would water circulate in the main tank if I didn't put holes in the rock? I'd need these questions answered first. If that doesn't end up working out, do you know where I can get eggcrate?
 
Hmm...definately don't have enough $$$ to do that. I think I'll stick to the eggcrate and LR rubble corner wall. Where can I get eggcrate though?
 
It was 10-20 a sheet. I'm not exactly sure. I've cut thin live rock with a hack saw and had no problem too. Not sure which blade I have on mine as I've inherited all of mine.
 
I have a copy or TFH magazine that talks about the future of reefing. They talk about LED lighting being the future of lighting large and small reef tanks. Really cool stuff let us all know if it works. They have endless color possibilities. I am at the stadium now and the new jumbo trons are LEDs there are a bunch of small squares with only 2 red led's and one green one blue. And they said it can get over 16 million colors out of those 4.
 
I am also in the process of making an LED array now. I bought some very powerful LED's they are 130,000mcd for the white and 40,000 for the blue and have a decent view angle. I will also be adding UV leds and possibly some other colors to balance out the spectrum. I think my small array could equal the power of a 70W HH by simple calculations but I am not 100% positive.
 
I am going to start with 16 LED's in a 4" x 8" array and do some testing on the light output on that and then up the number of LED's and add more color to get the desired LUX and color. I should have my LED's in 2 weeks. It really sucks waiting on shippments from china. I ordered 180 LED's so I have quite a few to play around with to get this to work. Is your array going to be used on your 24 JBJ? Also are you very good with electronics because it has been forever since Physics in college and I have forgot even simple circuits. If you are could you help me with the voltage, amp issues I am facing at the moment.
 
I read that they should be placed very close together otherwise there will be a checkerboard effect. So I don't think 16 LED's will be enough in a 4x8 array.
 
Jx is right...I'm doing 8 LEDs per square inch. The array is going to be used on a 2.5 gallon pico. I want to mess around with SPS and I don't have enough lighting in my other tanks, so I think this will be a good alternative. (by SPS I mean montis...not acros or anything)

My boyfriend is actually the one working on the lighting stuff...he's great with electricity. I should be, as I build computers, but he'd be a better one to answer questions.
 
It has begun!

Yesterday at 10 am spring break started for me. Here's what I accomplished yesterday:
holescloseup.jpg


holesontank.jpg


hood1.jpg


hood2.jpg


hood3.jpg


tank.jpg


Today my goal is to paint the back of the tank black and paint the canopy. Tomrrow I might seal the canopy if I feel like the paint is dry enough and doesn't need another coat.

I've ordered all of the materials I need (LEDs, MJ400, black sand) and now I'm just waiting on them to get here. I'll update as soon as I've made progress.
 
It's not cedar, it's redwood :) I managed to paint the outside of the hood and the back of the tank today, but I think they both might need another coat of paint. What should I use to seal them from the saltwater?
 
Redwood does the same thing. What color are you painting the wood? Any paint will seal it against salt. Just use 2 or 3 coats minimum (depending upon how it absorbs the first coat or 2).
 
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