The inwall 380 starfire reborn
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badbones
Premium Member
Tom,
I don't know if you mentioned/new this, but those tracks are the exact same ones that I used in my house pocket doors. I bought them at home depot and they came with all the same hardware. Also you can buy different wheels that support more weight according to the manuals that came with my door hardware.
Just info for those that may want to do this as well.
I don't know if you mentioned/new this, but those tracks are the exact same ones that I used in my house pocket doors. I bought them at home depot and they came with all the same hardware. Also you can buy different wheels that support more weight according to the manuals that came with my door hardware.
Just info for those that may want to do this as well.
oh, nice, thanks badbones. I checked all of the Home Depots within a 30 mi radius and none of them carried any pocket door tracks or hardware (outside of built into an entire frame, at $60 per rail *shudder*).
I plan to run a slightly "different" design. The two main tracks (12' long each, overhanging the tank 2 1/2' on one side and 3 1/2' on the other, these will run parallel with the tank, roughly positioned over the center. So for full tank access I will need to move the lights to one side or the other, depending on where I need to access. This is due to space requirements on either side of the tank (2.5' and 3.5' are about all we have for available space). Each of the pair of rails will be 2 box tracks, end to end. I have some ideas about how to line them up so that the wheels transition smoothly rolling from one to the other, as needed. How I actually address that connection I won't know until I get them up, but I am not worried about it.
Sliding on that set of rails will be another set, the 5th set that we bought. It will be cut in half and each piece will run perpendicular to the tank (from front to back), spaced out to accomodate the LAIII reflectors. They will be boxed in with some 1" aluminum square stock and running between and parallel to them will be the light mover track. With this configuration the light mover should be able to move the light rack, riding on the two 3' pieces of box track, from front to back, as one unit. Then, if needed, we should be able to slide this whole assembly out of the way on the two original 12' box track sections that are parallel with the front of the tank.
Anyways, that is my plan. I may not have explained it well, and it sounds good in theory, but still need to be proven out as effective. Rest assured that I will do my best to take pictures along the way to better illustrate what I plan to try to accomplish (I just get caught up with the work sometimes and when I finally think about taking any pictures, the job is already done... so I end up with only a before and after.. no "during" shots
).
Oh, and I did not read anywhere about it being lubed.. I don't think most pocket door hardware is designed to be lubed, except maybe the heavy duty ones, like yours. I only say that because it would be troublesome to have to take the door down every time it needed to be lubed (in a normal use scenario of the pocket door hardware.. you know, if someone actually used it for a pocket door
).
I plan to run a slightly "different" design. The two main tracks (12' long each, overhanging the tank 2 1/2' on one side and 3 1/2' on the other, these will run parallel with the tank, roughly positioned over the center. So for full tank access I will need to move the lights to one side or the other, depending on where I need to access. This is due to space requirements on either side of the tank (2.5' and 3.5' are about all we have for available space). Each of the pair of rails will be 2 box tracks, end to end. I have some ideas about how to line them up so that the wheels transition smoothly rolling from one to the other, as needed. How I actually address that connection I won't know until I get them up, but I am not worried about it.
Sliding on that set of rails will be another set, the 5th set that we bought. It will be cut in half and each piece will run perpendicular to the tank (from front to back), spaced out to accomodate the LAIII reflectors. They will be boxed in with some 1" aluminum square stock and running between and parallel to them will be the light mover track. With this configuration the light mover should be able to move the light rack, riding on the two 3' pieces of box track, from front to back, as one unit. Then, if needed, we should be able to slide this whole assembly out of the way on the two original 12' box track sections that are parallel with the front of the tank.
Anyways, that is my plan. I may not have explained it well, and it sounds good in theory, but still need to be proven out as effective. Rest assured that I will do my best to take pictures along the way to better illustrate what I plan to try to accomplish (I just get caught up with the work sometimes and when I finally think about taking any pictures, the job is already done... so I end up with only a before and after.. no "during" shots
).Oh, and I did not read anywhere about it being lubed.. I don't think most pocket door hardware is designed to be lubed, except maybe the heavy duty ones, like yours. I only say that because it would be troublesome to have to take the door down every time it needed to be lubed (in a normal use scenario of the pocket door hardware.. you know, if someone actually used it for a pocket door
).strittmatter
New member
24 hours and no pictures. :lol:
ouch.. you're brutal 
ok, here are some I took this morning then
. That little HOB skimmer and Fluval 404 are really doing a pretty good job, all things considered
These were taken with just a 4' flourescent shop light on over the back right side of the tank.
All 4 vortecs are in the tank and running, well 3 are running anyways, the 4th is not cooperating. Out of 4 that I received, 2 had issues, one I was able to resolve, but I am unsure about this last one. I suspect it is related to the return from the Fluval putting lots of micro-bubbles in the water. It seems that the Vortecs don't like bubbles and don't do very well in an environment with lots of micro-bubbles. It appears that the bubles collect in the wet end between the impeller and the "protector" that goes against the glass on the inside. This causes that area to become "dry" and the unit to stop working. It seems like a bit of a design issue, but I am not going to call customer service until after I get the tank running "normally" to determine if it is the bubbles or the Vortec itself. Another oddity is that the labels on 2 of the drivers were on upside down on the driver box and another one the cable that connects it to the pump was not fully seated and the strain relief grommet was not even in place. Small complaints, I know, but after paying out $1320+ for these 4, I sort of expected them to be of a little better build quality. Since all but one are working, and that one could be due to our specific current circumstance, I will withhold judgement. I will say that the ones that do work, push quite a bit of water around, but until the multi-controller comes out to do the pulsing, wave, etc, they will not realize their true potential.
My plans for today include cleaning the garage (ugghh.. long over due, due to this project) so that I can start working on the lighting rack, and then of course working on and installing the lighting rack. I already have some ideas mapped out in my head as to how I want to set it all up, but until I start putting the pieces up I won't know exactly where everything is going to fall. Optimistically look for more pictures tonight or tomorrow morning (PST) of the tank lit by the new lighting
The rock will be here Tuesday afternoon, so hopefully some nice FTS with a "full" tank Wednesday. Once the rock is in, and the overflow combs installed (they should be here by then also) we will fill the tank up the rest of the way with water. At that point we will likely open the taps and get the existing tank water circulating through it.
I spoke to a carpernter today about assisting with the trim and access door. We will likely just find one to build the door for us and possibly matching trim and then we will just install it. This is for several reasons, time being one of the main ones.. seems that we have more of it for the installation than the carpernters do (which is odd because I constantly feel like I don't have enough time these days).
Cheers and thanks for following along
ok, here are some I took this morning then
. That little HOB skimmer and Fluval 404 are really doing a pretty good job, all things considered These were taken with just a 4' flourescent shop light on over the back right side of the tank.
All 4 vortecs are in the tank and running, well 3 are running anyways, the 4th is not cooperating. Out of 4 that I received, 2 had issues, one I was able to resolve, but I am unsure about this last one. I suspect it is related to the return from the Fluval putting lots of micro-bubbles in the water. It seems that the Vortecs don't like bubbles and don't do very well in an environment with lots of micro-bubbles. It appears that the bubles collect in the wet end between the impeller and the "protector" that goes against the glass on the inside. This causes that area to become "dry" and the unit to stop working. It seems like a bit of a design issue, but I am not going to call customer service until after I get the tank running "normally" to determine if it is the bubbles or the Vortec itself. Another oddity is that the labels on 2 of the drivers were on upside down on the driver box and another one the cable that connects it to the pump was not fully seated and the strain relief grommet was not even in place. Small complaints, I know, but after paying out $1320+ for these 4, I sort of expected them to be of a little better build quality. Since all but one are working, and that one could be due to our specific current circumstance, I will withhold judgement. I will say that the ones that do work, push quite a bit of water around, but until the multi-controller comes out to do the pulsing, wave, etc, they will not realize their true potential.
My plans for today include cleaning the garage (ugghh.. long over due, due to this project
) so that I can start working on the lighting rack, and then of course working on and installing the lighting rack. I already have some ideas mapped out in my head as to how I want to set it all up, but until I start putting the pieces up I won't know exactly where everything is going to fall. Optimistically look for more pictures tonight or tomorrow morning (PST) of the tank lit by the new lighting The rock will be here Tuesday afternoon, so hopefully some nice FTS with a "full" tank Wednesday. Once the rock is in, and the overflow combs installed (they should be here by then also) we will fill the tank up the rest of the way with water. At that point we will likely open the taps and get the existing tank water circulating through it.
I spoke to a carpernter today about assisting with the trim and access door. We will likely just find one to build the door for us and possibly matching trim and then we will just install it. This is for several reasons, time being one of the main ones.. seems that we have more of it for the installation than the carpernters do (which is odd because I constantly feel like I don't have enough time these days).
Cheers and thanks for following along
strittmatter
New member
I hope you realize i was just joking, about the pictures.
The tank looks really good. it's going to look great when you get it all trimmed out and filled with rocks. Can't wait to see it.
The tank looks really good. it's going to look great when you get it all trimmed out and filled with rocks. Can't wait to see it.
zemuron114
In Memoriam
what taking so long Tom and Jue!? hehe j/k! Looks awesome. Can't wait until you stock it!
hehe j/k! Looks awesome. Can't wait until you stock it!ok, after a long day of fighting with the box track and aluminum tubing I finished the lighting rack. I have to say that in the end it works just as I had envisioned it, although the journey to get to here was somewhat different from what I had expected .
Here is the "convenience" carrige component of our light rack. I call it that because it is the piece that allows us to move the lights out of our way and makes it more convenient to access the tank. It is the carriage that runs on the tracks that run parallel to the tank (the fixed tracks).
The carriage contains it's own set of box tracks along with the track for the light mover (in the center). Here is is "installed" :
This is the lighting carriage, that runs on the tracks on the convenience carriage (from front to back of the tank, moved by the light mover). This contains the LAIIIs and light mover.
The tie wraps on the socket end of the LAIIIs is only temporary. I will put some chain in there tomorrow. To be honest, I could remove those tie wraps and the reflector would barely move, but I put them their to help with getting the rack up in the air.
.Here is the "convenience" carrige component of our light rack. I call it that because it is the piece that allows us to move the lights out of our way and makes it more convenient to access the tank. It is the carriage that runs on the tracks that run parallel to the tank (the fixed tracks).
The carriage contains it's own set of box tracks along with the track for the light mover (in the center). Here is is "installed" :
This is the lighting carriage, that runs on the tracks on the convenience carriage (from front to back of the tank, moved by the light mover). This contains the LAIIIs and light mover.
The tie wraps on the socket end of the LAIIIs is only temporary. I will put some chain in there tomorrow. To be honest, I could remove those tie wraps and the reflector would barely move, but I put them their to help with getting the rack up in the air.
Here it is installed. The reflectors sit just 9" off the top of the tank to the bottom of the reflectors.
a bit of a closer shot of the light mover component
and here is the tank from the front.
I am testing out a IceCap ballast on the left and a PFO HQI on the right, both are running XM 10K 250W bulbs. The PFO is definitely brighter, but the IC is noticably bluer. According to Sanjay's site the PFO shoulf be pushing 9.9k and the IC 11.5k. I like the look of the IC better (not to mention the much lower wattage draw), but need to be sure that it is enough light for the tank's intended inhabitants. I need some recommendations for a good, reasonably priced, light meter, so that I can determine if the IC will work for us or not. Of course right now the tank's water level is almost 1 1/2" lower that it would be under normal operating conditions, so I would need to test it after I "topped it off" next week.
Again, looking for recommendations for a good light meter to use in our tank to determine if we have enough light with the different ballasts. Or if anyone has one that we can borrow to just test out these 2 ballast/bulb combinations in our tank.
Thanks for following along
a bit of a closer shot of the light mover component
and here is the tank from the front.
I am testing out a IceCap ballast on the left and a PFO HQI on the right, both are running XM 10K 250W bulbs. The PFO is definitely brighter, but the IC is noticably bluer. According to Sanjay's site the PFO shoulf be pushing 9.9k and the IC 11.5k. I like the look of the IC better (not to mention the much lower wattage draw), but need to be sure that it is enough light for the tank's intended inhabitants. I need some recommendations for a good, reasonably priced, light meter, so that I can determine if the IC will work for us or not. Of course right now the tank's water level is almost 1 1/2" lower that it would be under normal operating conditions, so I would need to test it after I "topped it off" next week.
Again, looking for recommendations for a good light meter to use in our tank to determine if we have enough light with the different ballasts. Or if anyone has one that we can borrow to just test out these 2 ballast/bulb combinations in our tank.
Thanks for following along
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8911851#post8911851 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jnarowe
it's so nice and clean!
Yea, but we all know that it won't stay that way for long... but hopefully the cycle will be minimized by my plzns to connect it to the established sump, etc, next week.
S'ok
, now there are even more pictures for the viewing . As for wanting to see it full and trimmed out... I can't wait either !!! . I have been exchanging Emails with a carpenter, so possibly that piece of it may start moving along soon also, and the rocks will be here next Tuesday, which might be the next update I provide (unless I go ahead and do the mesh top tomorrow ).Thanks, and Welcome to RC
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8916391#post8916391 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by zemuron114
what taking so long Tom and Jue!?
You know that I am already working up a stocking list DJ
. That is the fun part . I am sort of setting my sigths on a pair of powder blue or powder brown. I saw a pair at a public aquarium doing some sort of a dance (reminded me of the mating dance of 2 mandarins that I saw documented once). Anyways, it was breathtaking, so now that we will have a tank of sufficient size, that is one of our goals (amongst others
).Thanks.. at least now I can better explain (with pictures) what I had in mind for our lighting rack
. This is what I was trying to describe earlier . I am glad that you like my idea(s).Right now the light mover has about an 11" travel. I need to move the stop screws in a bit on the tracks to shrink and focus that travel.. probably down to 8" - 9". I won't really know what will work best until I get the rockwork layed out, then I will work on the lighting to accomodate the aquascaping.
zemuron114
In Memoriam
Pair of powder blues? That will be difficult to do since there is no way to tell by looking at them. I suppose 2 juvies at 1-2" would result in a male and female in the long run. Sounds interesting
are the only lights your using are 2 x 250 watt MH?
are the only lights your using are 2 x 250 watt MH?
so far, yes. If we go with the PFO HQI I have no doubt that they will be enough to light the tank for just about anything that we want to put into it. But would likely need some actinic supplementation to make the corals pop. The IC ballast has a sufficiently blue look to it (just enough of a hint), but the light levels don't look like they would be enough. I am looking to borrow, or if not then outright buy, a PAR meter to check the 2 different ballasts/bulb combinations and to also play around a little with with lowering the reflectors a little.
I have long stated that this tank will be set up as lean as possible for power consumption, adding the light mover to catch the portion of front to back that doesn't get the light we wanted was one way to take steps towards that goal. 5 watts for the mover versus 1 or 2 more lights (or moving to 400W lights as Sanjay did on his tank). To this end having to add actinic supplementation would be counter, so I am really hoping to figure a way to get the ICs to work out.
As you can see from the picture, the 2 lights provide plenty of coverage on thir own, but I am worried about the intensity if I go with the ICs. I need to decide soon so that I can order the second ballast (I already had one IC and PFO from our Prop tanks).
I have long stated that this tank will be set up as lean as possible for power consumption, adding the light mover to catch the portion of front to back that doesn't get the light we wanted was one way to take steps towards that goal. 5 watts for the mover versus 1 or 2 more lights (or moving to 400W lights as Sanjay did on his tank). To this end having to add actinic supplementation would be counter, so I am really hoping to figure a way to get the ICs to work out.
As you can see from the picture, the 2 lights provide plenty of coverage on thir own, but I am worried about the intensity if I go with the ICs. I need to decide soon so that I can order the second ballast (I already had one IC and PFO from our Prop tanks).
I am now leaning towards the IC ballasts as they would be the most efficient combination/solution. If they don't give enough light and/or bring out the colors well enough I can always swap them for the PFO ballasts. Right now the IC choice will be the easiest and cheapest/least, so starting low and working up if necessary is what I am going to shoot for. To this end I will need to remount the reflectors a little closer to the water. Now they are 9" to the top of the tank, so approx 9.5" - 10" to the top of the water. I am thinking of lowering them possibly 2", does anyone have any thoughts or feedback on how high off of the water they should be ?
I am still looking for a light meter to borrow and may have one next weekend to use, but right now I am unser if I want to wait that long to begin reworking the lighting rack. After the rocks and overflow combs get here and make their way into the tank I will have a better read on how urgent getting the lights done is to me
I am still looking for a light meter to borrow and may have one next weekend to use, but right now I am unser if I want to wait that long to begin reworking the lighting rack. After the rocks and overflow combs get here and make their way into the tank I will have a better read on how urgent getting the lights done is to me
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