which color plexiglass for backdrop light transmission?

soon, Melev, soon!

mud_01.jpg



my garage fishroom(more like fishcloset) is alllmost done. put the 2nd coat of mud on last night.

and I'm still waiting on my tank from AFY. Shouldn't be too much longer :) but the impatience is killing me.

I'm supposed to get my RO unit today so I can find a spot to mount it with all the other equipment I plan on housing in the fishcloset.
 
my tank has 2 corner overflows. actually works out perfeclty since the background is not long enough without the overflows.

not to worry, I am going to make tiggsy style eggcrate rockstructures using marco rock and greatstuff pondfoam and crushed coral sand. they will basically fit directly over the overflows. I'll make them as narrow as possible to allow for other aquscaping in the tank. I'm going to go for the pillars with arches kinda look so I will be covering up the backgruond with different layers of rock but I hope it should work out ok.
 
Great idea. I was actually thinking of using white acrylic and building a sort of light box to place behind my tank. I was inspired by having my aquarium by the window. I built a little screen behind the tank and during the day it glows. It is kind of surreal and makes the corals/rockwork "pop" out. Now I see this thread! Awesome.

I want to see how this works out! Keep us posted.

_MG_0021_2.jpg


48387tankupdate2.jpg
 
thats truly beautiful. like the aquascaping too.

I'm using a sheet of white acrylic spaced 1.5" behind the blue. this helps spread the light a little bit.

my build is getting there! I'm just doing some minor touchup on the mudwork in the fishcloset. I heard from my tank builder that the tank is done and stand is being worked on. As soon as I get my garage reasonably cleaned I will start experimenting with rockwork. I'll be using the marco rocks and pondfoam to make a few rock pillars.

cant seem to find the free time to mess with the LED dimmer. I got a rabbitcore microprocessor and a mosfet transistor but now stugray tells me that I actually need an optocoupler, and I haven't really finished researching it just yet.

i may end up using profilux dimmable lighting. their stick looks very promising for this kind of application.
 
I've been toying with this concept for about a year now.....I think that the concept has some real merit. The biggest obstacle for most reefers is that they will need to have easy access to the rear panel of the tank to keep the rear panel as free from algae as they keep the front panel.....or risk dimishing the illusion. In your case, I think your light source is a tad strong for a natural look.

I've been toying with a single T5 bulb above a sheet of deep blue acrylic.....but, I'm not there yet either. It really doesn't take much light to create the illusion....but, too much light can cause it to look fake. I haven't found that silver bullet material yet.....but, I'm leaning towards some sort of artist painted dark acrylic to create a more realistic look (the reflections are unacceptable to me). Good luck on your project. I look forward to see how it turns out.
 
"In your case, I think your light source is a tad strong for a natural look."

I know, thats why its completely dimmable 0-100% :)

also keep in mind that its not photographing how it looks in person (also stated already). the strange bright spot you are seeing in the photos is simply not there in person.

As stated previously I am working on a microprocessor based dimmer that will power the LEDs on a continuous curve. they may never hit 100% brightness or it might be a short peak during the day. Mostly this is going to be visible before and after MH lighting goes on. I agree it will look alot nicer once its more subtle but for now I don't have it all working just yet.
 
steve, I tried translucent blue 2051. it's fairly dark but I do wish it was a shade or two darker.

of course I had to purchase it blind since you can only tell so much from a colorsheet on your monitor.
 
Sounds good. I look forward to see the final product. Are you planning on keeping your back panel free from coraline ?

This is a pic that I took in Tahiti....and is the light blending that I've been trying to match. It's not easy getting the right color and light mix. I'm glad that you're working out some of the bugs for the rest or us.


LRdeepwatershark.jpg
 
great photo! yes thats exactly the look I am hoping for eventually.


I bought a 30" kent scraper in the HOPES of keeping the algae clean :) maybe once a week or so I will scrape it clean.


i think my acrylic sheet is a little bit too "purple blue" instead of "green blue". However, my display tank does NOT have a starphire rear panel (only front and sides), so maybe that will give it exactly the green tint that it needs :D
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12006378#post12006378 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RyanBrucks



i think my acrylic sheet is a little bit too "purple blue" instead of "green blue". However, my display tank does NOT have a starphire rear panel (only front and sides), so maybe that will give it exactly the green tint that it needs :D
Click to expand...


I know exactly what you're saying. I don't think that there is an off the shelf acrylic panel that will give us exactly what we want. It will probably require some sort of modification of a "close" acrylic sheet through appllied films or paints.
 
you can call around to plastic distributor and see if they have any in stock. maybe try A&C plastics or someone who wont make you buy a whole 4x8 sheet and then have then UPS it to you.

remember this acrylic is not TRUELY intended for LED and you might have hotspots. You would need PLEX LD to dissapate the lights better. But it looks like you got the distance down on that sample you showed earlier.

0801081626pe4.jpg
 
I got my tank up and filled with water with the background. I think it's going to work out well.

canopy_01.jpg


water.jpg


Here are the rock pieces I assembled from marco rocks and foam, that will cover the overflows and create a canyon effect:

pillars_02.jpg


those will go into my tank hopefully tomorrow, I've let the epoxy cure for about 2 weeks now. my build thread has more info but not much beyond this, I need to update it soon. Been so busy
 
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