The sickness continues
- Thread starter FroMan
- Start date
FroMan
Insane in the Brain
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15154265#post15154265 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Kdocimo90
go... TO BED Matt!! Its a school night!
Go with MH's if you dont mind buying a 750$ chiller. You're going to need it.
I neglected to mention that I have a chiller that I picked up used. At the moment it is not in the plans to connect unless I really have to.
I chose not to go with MH based on electricity usage. When I set out on this build one of my objectives was to minimize electricity consumption. I don't want to have a $300 electricty bill with $200 of it for the tank. Most of what I've bought is pretty energy efficient with the ligh being the biggest draw of electricity.
Kdocimo90
Superior Member
So what exactly are you going with? a Retro T-5 set? If i hadnt mentioned it before, Aquactinics is coming out with a new Constellation T-5 Fixture (I have the first series) that has high intensity LEDS built in to make the shimmer effect like Mh's do... I'm gonna figure out a way to get them lol. I gottta sell my fixture or somethin..
FroMan
Insane in the Brain
Ive got a nova extreme pro t5 sitting in my basement waiting for the tank to go up.
i'm not as concerned about the shimmer effect, but I have contacts up at osrams NH facility that are looking at some broad spectrum white LED options for me.
Probably possible to retrofit a set of the lunar control modules to accomplish the same thing if sufficent wattage LEDs can be found.
FroMan
Insane in the Brain
updated this thread in the large tank forum......
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=15756241
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=15756241
FroMan
Insane in the Brain
Stained 180 stand
Completed doors with spar urethane applied to doors.
Spar urethane applied to 180 frame.
Completed frame in place in our family room. I'll be putting the doors on once the stand is in place and the plumbing is complete.
Next steps:
- moving the tank onto the stand
- putting epoxy down on the basement floor
- Installing (1) or (2) 20A circuits in the breaker box and running electrical lines to the corner of the basement were the sump and majority of the equipment will reside.
- Setting up the 75 gallon sump
- Starting the plumbing
I'm shooting for water by the end of October, but who knows with work
Completed doors with spar urethane applied to doors.
Spar urethane applied to 180 frame.
Completed frame in place in our family room. I'll be putting the doors on once the stand is in place and the plumbing is complete.
Next steps:
- moving the tank onto the stand
- putting epoxy down on the basement floor
- Installing (1) or (2) 20A circuits in the breaker box and running electrical lines to the corner of the basement were the sump and majority of the equipment will reside.
- Setting up the 75 gallon sump
- Starting the plumbing
I'm shooting for water by the end of October, but who knows with work
FroMan
Insane in the Brain
Just a quick update from this weekend. With the help of two friends and my wife, the tank was moved onto its stand this afternoon. :spin2:
I decided that I was going to bring the light up out of the basement. I had to move it anyway as I was starting to shuffle things around in preparation for the epoxy anyway.
The light was put up with stock bulbs from current. Man this sucker (Current Nova Extreme Pro T-5 ) is bright. It doesn't even compare to the coralife PC that I have over my 55. I just wish I could figure out what I did with the legs to lift it up off the tank. They are around here somewhere! :rolleye1:
For the engineers.... Pretty much dead nuts. 3' long Stanley level. I'm guessing that I'm somewhere between 1/16" and 1/32" off left to right. Front to back and from the corners to the center it is right on.
[/QUOTE]
I decided that I was going to bring the light up out of the basement. I had to move it anyway as I was starting to shuffle things around in preparation for the epoxy anyway.
The light was put up with stock bulbs from current. Man this sucker (Current Nova Extreme Pro T-5 ) is bright. It doesn't even compare to the coralife PC that I have over my 55. I just wish I could figure out what I did with the legs to lift it up off the tank. They are around here somewhere! :rolleye1:
For the engineers.... Pretty much dead nuts. 3' long Stanley level. I'm guessing that I'm somewhere between 1/16" and 1/32" off left to right. Front to back and from the corners to the center it is right on.
FroMan
Insane in the Brain
So it has been a while since I've posted an update to the thread. A lot has happened over the last few months that kept me from making the progress that I would have liked on the tank, but you have to roll with the punches.
This is a picture of the basement with the epoxy floor completed and the main sump stand in place. The floor came out nice, but I did notice that in different areas of the basement the epoxy was absorbed by the concrete differently. Overall I am happy with it. It is a basement after all.
Next up was an adventure in plumbing. I probably spent a good 8-10 hours working out a plan to keep things as symmetrical as possible to ensure that each side would flow equally.
My dad gave me a hand when my parents were vising over Thanksgiving. It was helpful to have another set of hands to hold things together while the glue was setting on the pipes and fittings. I finished up the plumbing for the basement sump over the next week and a half or so.
Since it was holiday time, I decided let things sit until January as I didn't have the time I wanted to double check things and I didn't want to have any leaks while I was visiting family for the holidays.
About the second week of January I started filling the sump with water. I transfered water from my storage containers into the sump saturday morning and started making more RO. I came back down into the basement to find puddles on the floor.
The used tank I had acquired for the sump had sprung a leak and I had no idea from where.
I considering draining it and reapplying silicone to the entire tank. I went back and forth on this for about and hour and decided to check the pricing on a new 75 g for the sump. One of our local fish stores, Realm of Pets, had a very good price on the tank, so I had them order me a new tank for the sump. The down side was that I lost about a week and a half. :sad2:
Fast forward to the next closest Saturday, I pick up the tank, drilled the side for the bulkhead fitting, sealed everything back up, and started where I left off..... filling water
Let me just say that filling a tank takes a LONG time. Especially when you don't have a float valve set up on the water storage system and you are only letting the water run while you are home. It took about a week, but I got everything filled up to start the "fresh water" check.
Picture of the tank full of RO/DI for a water check
Plumbing under the tank:
Sump and return plumbing:
Manifold and DC8 for the AC3. This is probably not going to be the final resting place for the DC8, but I put it on the board as a starting point.
This is a picture of the basement with the epoxy floor completed and the main sump stand in place. The floor came out nice, but I did notice that in different areas of the basement the epoxy was absorbed by the concrete differently. Overall I am happy with it. It is a basement after all.
Next up was an adventure in plumbing. I probably spent a good 8-10 hours working out a plan to keep things as symmetrical as possible to ensure that each side would flow equally.
My dad gave me a hand when my parents were vising over Thanksgiving. It was helpful to have another set of hands to hold things together while the glue was setting on the pipes and fittings. I finished up the plumbing for the basement sump over the next week and a half or so.
Since it was holiday time, I decided let things sit until January as I didn't have the time I wanted to double check things and I didn't want to have any leaks while I was visiting family for the holidays.
About the second week of January I started filling the sump with water. I transfered water from my storage containers into the sump saturday morning and started making more RO. I came back down into the basement to find puddles on the floor.
The used tank I had acquired for the sump had sprung a leak and I had no idea from where. I considering draining it and reapplying silicone to the entire tank. I went back and forth on this for about and hour and decided to check the pricing on a new 75 g for the sump. One of our local fish stores, Realm of Pets, had a very good price on the tank, so I had them order me a new tank for the sump. The down side was that I lost about a week and a half. :sad2:
Fast forward to the next closest Saturday, I pick up the tank, drilled the side for the bulkhead fitting, sealed everything back up, and started where I left off..... filling water
Let me just say that filling a tank takes a LONG time. Especially when you don't have a float valve set up on the water storage system and you are only letting the water run while you are home. It took about a week, but I got everything filled up to start the "fresh water" check.
Picture of the tank full of RO/DI for a water check
Plumbing under the tank:
Sump and return plumbing:
Manifold and DC8 for the AC3. This is probably not going to be the final resting place for the DC8, but I put it on the board as a starting point.
FroMan
Insane in the Brain
After I was happy that there were no leaks, in went the sand.
Is there something in there?
Ahhh... some clarity on the situation.
After all the dust settled out, I let things run for a good week prior to adding salt. One our local club members (SdHeath) had mentioned that he had cycled his tanks with mollies, so I figured that I would give it a try.
By the end of January the tank had salt in it and I began the cycling process. I had bought Prodibio START UP on the recommendation of a fellow reefer, so it went in after the salinity was in check and stable.
Now for the ubiquitous light picture..... I'm currently running a 72" Current USA Nova Extreme Pro T5HO with the stock bulbs.
Daylight + Actinic lighting
Actinic Only
More to come..... :fish2:
Is there something in there?
Ahhh... some clarity on the situation.
After all the dust settled out, I let things run for a good week prior to adding salt. One our local club members (SdHeath) had mentioned that he had cycled his tanks with mollies, so I figured that I would give it a try.
By the end of January the tank had salt in it and I began the cycling process. I had bought Prodibio START UP on the recommendation of a fellow reefer, so it went in after the salinity was in check and stable.
Now for the ubiquitous light picture..... I'm currently running a 72" Current USA Nova Extreme Pro T5HO with the stock bulbs.
Daylight + Actinic lighting
Actinic Only
More to come..... :fish2:
welldigger
New member
Looks good Froman. Couple questions
1. Are you going to stick with those stock bulbs for a while? I have the same fixture and was wondering what changes everybody's making on the bulb selection.
2. What are your plans to hide the lines that go along the back wall and penetrate the baseboard to get into the basement? Are you gonna box that in?
1. Are you going to stick with those stock bulbs for a while? I have the same fixture and was wondering what changes everybody's making on the bulb selection.
2. What are your plans to hide the lines that go along the back wall and penetrate the baseboard to get into the basement? Are you gonna box that in?
FroMan
Insane in the Brain
I am going to use the stock bulbs for a while. When I ordered the fixture, I also bought replacement bulbs as the club had a group buy with reef geek going on at the time. I don't remember off hand what bulbs I bought, but I did make my selection from T5 lighting thread in the lighting forum.
I haven't completely figured out what I'm going to do to hide the drain/return lines yet. I am probably going to box them in, but I'll need to be a little creative as the lines don't lie as flat as I had hoped.
Mario
Similar threads
