180 Gallon Mbuna Reef Build
- Thread starter IndovinaVI
- Start date
so the warden saw the late-night quick setup of the fx5 intake & outlet tubes I ran through the side of the stand- tubes were too big to fit between the wall and stand.. So we went out to west marine and got a few 90deg parts and some hose clamps. switched out the ribbed fx5 tubes and set up a 1-1/4(1" internal) outlet to the fx5 and a reducer from the 1-1/4 to 3/4 vinyl tube to two Rena spraybars linked together. MUCH MUCH BETTER!
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Continuing the build journal-
I set out to the HD last week cause I had the itch to throw more money at cutting up some expensive wood
The canopy is a mock-up from the one at the LFS that they were trying to sell me finished for $470. This is what I'm trying to mimic:
the rough plans of the build are pretty simple:
I am no fool to piss that away, but understood that the time I'd have to put into this thing would be worth something, and looking back I would've bought it! But anyways- the top would hinge upwards 180 degrees from around 7" from the front and rest on top of the canopy. The wood I chose closely matches the stand & will have the same finish on it once completed. Rough estimates ~ $100 to build, including tools/supplies.
Secondly, earlier in the week I went in to look at some of the PAR38 led bulbs they had to offer. I read several online sites on DIY par38 led setups and it sparked my interest in the new lighting setup for my tank. I found these at $43 each: dimmable 5000K 1300 lumen spotlight and couldn't refuse getting it to try. The worst case was return it if I didn't like it.
Now I searched everywhere for a 6500K color temp for optimum plant growth but seen writeups from 2011 with the same color temp prove successful, and my experience with led colors always appear higher than they say- and couldn't really hurt to take it home and see how it looked in comparison.
What do you think? par38 alone:
Side by side left: 10k halide/right: par38
SOLD! I like it- sign me up for 3-6 more!
I set out to the HD last week cause I had the itch to throw more money at cutting up some expensive wood
The canopy is a mock-up from the one at the LFS that they were trying to sell me finished for $470. This is what I'm trying to mimic:
the rough plans of the build are pretty simple:
I am no fool to piss that away, but understood that the time I'd have to put into this thing would be worth something, and looking back I would've bought it! But anyways- the top would hinge upwards 180 degrees from around 7" from the front and rest on top of the canopy. The wood I chose closely matches the stand & will have the same finish on it once completed. Rough estimates ~ $100 to build, including tools/supplies.
Secondly, earlier in the week I went in to look at some of the PAR38 led bulbs they had to offer. I read several online sites on DIY par38 led setups and it sparked my interest in the new lighting setup for my tank. I found these at $43 each: dimmable 5000K 1300 lumen spotlight and couldn't refuse getting it to try. The worst case was return it if I didn't like it.
Now I searched everywhere for a 6500K color temp for optimum plant growth but seen writeups from 2011 with the same color temp prove successful, and my experience with led colors always appear higher than they say- and couldn't really hurt to take it home and see how it looked in comparison.
What do you think? par38 alone:
Side by side left: 10k halide/right: par38
SOLD! I like it- sign me up for 3-6 more!
The best thing about the par38s is the wiring is SIMPLE! I've had my share of mounting and making a million solders..
So after standing at the HD for nearly an hour and a half with the wife pacing back and forth end to end I finally got the pieces sorted out and measured.
I went with these:
4x8 sheet (top and braces only)
and 8.5 feet of this:
@ just under $5 a foot the poplar cost the same as the plywood! But the plan was to keep the visible sides looking good. I also grabbed a 12' piece of redwood 1x3 trim and a couple of 1x2s for the bracing. Took my little diagram with me to the saws and had the gentlemen at HD make the cuts for me. I tried my hardest to inspect all their measurements before they cut without getting in the way- and managed to do so the first few cuts. But when it came to the sheet of plywood it called for the other saw with another dude- sadly he cut a half an inch too short and tried to play it off by holding the measuring tape angled..uh oh.. nope! try another 45$ piece.. I wasn't going to buy that one
Pieces of plywood (only took 40% of the original), 8.5 feet of poplar, some redwood trim @ $11, 2 -8 ft 1x2's, a small can of Kilz interior/exterior white weatherproof paint, a 6' piano hinge $15, some wood glue and a box of 1-1/4" deck screws. Grand total: $136
OUCH- over budget, well it's too late now.. I've already cut it all up
This is how it looked at home pieced next to each other:
I began setting it all up, clamped together @ 90 degrees to drill small holes for the screws and a wider one for it to counter sink, laying down a strip of glue and using both the clamps to align and the screws to hold it together. Repeat on the second side.
So after standing at the HD for nearly an hour and a half with the wife pacing back and forth end to end I finally got the pieces sorted out and measured.
I went with these:
4x8 sheet (top and braces only)
and 8.5 feet of this:
@ just under $5 a foot the poplar cost the same as the plywood! But the plan was to keep the visible sides looking good. I also grabbed a 12' piece of redwood 1x3 trim and a couple of 1x2s for the bracing. Took my little diagram with me to the saws and had the gentlemen at HD make the cuts for me. I tried my hardest to inspect all their measurements before they cut without getting in the way- and managed to do so the first few cuts. But when it came to the sheet of plywood it called for the other saw with another dude- sadly he cut a half an inch too short and tried to play it off by holding the measuring tape angled..uh oh.. nope! try another 45$ piece.. I wasn't going to buy that one
Pieces of plywood (only took 40% of the original), 8.5 feet of poplar, some redwood trim @ $11, 2 -8 ft 1x2's, a small can of Kilz interior/exterior white weatherproof paint, a 6' piano hinge $15, some wood glue and a box of 1-1/4" deck screws. Grand total: $136
OUCH- over budget, well it's too late now.. I've already cut it all upThis is how it looked at home pieced next to each other:
I began setting it all up, clamped together @ 90 degrees to drill small holes for the screws and a wider one for it to counter sink, laying down a strip of glue and using both the clamps to align and the screws to hold it together. Repeat on the second side.
so excited that I found a 72" piano hinge for only $15 I overlooked the trouble of having to screw it all in.
oh, no biggie.. over 30 minutes and a couple of bud lights
starting it off I spilled all the screws on the floor when cutting it out of the package before I could count them, and collected them in sets every time I realized I was short some. Came to a grand total of 74 -that thing is never coming back off.. I don't even care about staining under it!
Rough finished project:
Not too shabby! End of business today- but not before lifting this beast for a test fit!
Hinge lift:
Not too bad! Went to bed, exhausted and woke up to find the sides bowing out due to the lack of bracing.
Pulled the towel out too quickly, I'll have to think of a game plan to remove the outward bow..
In the mean time- I held the par38 over the tank where it looked good, so I marked it and screwed it in to get a test view of all four lights. The bulbs are dimmable so I picked up a dimmer switch, a housing and cover and some low-profile light sockets and wired them up.
That is one bright light!
Here's two over the tank:
Then all four:
oh, no biggie.. over 30 minutes and a couple of bud lights
starting it off I spilled all the screws on the floor when cutting it out of the package before I could count them, and collected them in sets every time I realized I was short some. Came to a grand total of 74 -that thing is never coming back off.. I don't even care about staining under it!Rough finished project:
Not too shabby! End of business today- but not before lifting this beast for a test fit!
Hinge lift:
Not too bad! Went to bed, exhausted and woke up to find the sides bowing out due to the lack of bracing.
Pulled the towel out too quickly, I'll have to think of a game plan to remove the outward bow..In the mean time- I held the par38 over the tank where it looked good, so I marked it and screwed it in to get a test view of all four lights. The bulbs are dimmable so I picked up a dimmer switch, a housing and cover and some low-profile light sockets and wired them up.
That is one bright light!
Here's two over the tank:
Then all four:
so my home-made blue led moonlights were going out and decided to give these a try-
http://www.lowes.com/pd_394982-3-72344_4294935637__?zipCode=90505&masthead=true&firstReferURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lowes.com%2Fpd_394982-3-72344_4294935637__%3FproductId%3D3701926%26Ns%3Dp_product_avg_rating%7C1&catalogId=10051&catalogId=10051&productId=3701926&findStoreErrorURL=StoreLocatorDisplayView&selectedLocalStoreBeanArray=%5Bcom.lowes.commerce.storelocator.beans.LocatorStoreBean%4026042604%2C+com.lowes.commerce.storelocator.beans.LocatorStoreBean%4027022702%2C+com.lowes.commerce.storelocator.beans.LocatorStoreBean%4028002800%2C+com.lowes.commerce.storelocator.beans.LocatorStoreBean%4028fe28fe%2C+com.lowes.commerce.storelocator.beans.LocatorStoreBean%4029fc29fc%5D&Ntt=&langId=-1&langId=-1&URL=TopCategoriesDisplayView&mastheadURL=TopCategoriesDisplayView&Ns=p_product_avg_rating%7C1&storeId=10151&storeId=10151
sylvania linkable led light strip that displays 16 colors plus white and dims- $49 plus 2 $25 add-on kits.
figured I'd give it a shot-
WOAH SIIIIICK! The red turned out AMAZING! I am starting to like it when it's fully dimmed. End of business day.
Woke up the next morning and took it all apart to finish it up properly- finish the internal bracing, and weatherproof paint the interior. My hopes were to finish the trim on the outside but after removing 2 hours worth of lighting and wiring, half way finished through the second coat of paint work calls and I gotta go- I'm beginning to see a trend.. I mean they are paying for this expensive hobby..
Here's how it sat for nearly two days.. nothing over the tank and fish unfed.
and a mock up of the trim:
http://www.lowes.com/pd_394982-3-72344_4294935637__?zipCode=90505&masthead=true&firstReferURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lowes.com%2Fpd_394982-3-72344_4294935637__%3FproductId%3D3701926%26Ns%3Dp_product_avg_rating%7C1&catalogId=10051&catalogId=10051&productId=3701926&findStoreErrorURL=StoreLocatorDisplayView&selectedLocalStoreBeanArray=%5Bcom.lowes.commerce.storelocator.beans.LocatorStoreBean%4026042604%2C+com.lowes.commerce.storelocator.beans.LocatorStoreBean%4027022702%2C+com.lowes.commerce.storelocator.beans.LocatorStoreBean%4028002800%2C+com.lowes.commerce.storelocator.beans.LocatorStoreBean%4028fe28fe%2C+com.lowes.commerce.storelocator.beans.LocatorStoreBean%4029fc29fc%5D&Ntt=&langId=-1&langId=-1&URL=TopCategoriesDisplayView&mastheadURL=TopCategoriesDisplayView&Ns=p_product_avg_rating%7C1&storeId=10151&storeId=10151
sylvania linkable led light strip that displays 16 colors plus white and dims- $49 plus 2 $25 add-on kits.
figured I'd give it a shot-
WOAH SIIIIICK! The red turned out AMAZING! I am starting to like it when it's fully dimmed. End of business day.
Woke up the next morning and took it all apart to finish it up properly- finish the internal bracing, and weatherproof paint the interior. My hopes were to finish the trim on the outside but after removing 2 hours worth of lighting and wiring, half way finished through the second coat of paint work calls and I gotta go- I'm beginning to see a trend.. I mean they are paying for this expensive hobby..
Here's how it sat for nearly two days.. nothing over the tank and fish unfed.
and a mock up of the trim:
picked up a different power surge protector that will allow the timers to plug in, and some more wood trim- 1x2 redwood.
I began routing the wiring nicely and using nailed clamps to hold it up.. I mean when I lift this thing I want to be proud!
here is the two different packages of sylvania led setups for those who are interested:
and the extension kits (one of two)
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I began routing the wiring nicely and using nailed clamps to hold it up.. I mean when I lift this thing I want to be proud!
here is the two different packages of sylvania led setups for those who are interested:
and the extension kits (one of two)
Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
In the original led shots, it was missing a foot strand that I couldn't fit in between the honky par38s and without using the adhesive backing. This time, I laid it all out and began working out the puzzle of how to fit 10 feet of strip lights in with only 5 connectors, permanently. Easier said than done but I accomplished it and nailed down the connection points.
now as funny as it looks, I couldn't use any of the timers on the new power strip cause of how the lights plugged in.. should've thought of that sooner. Picked up another timer and solved that problem-
power off
power on
closed lid
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now as funny as it looks, I couldn't use any of the timers on the new power strip cause of how the lights plugged in.. should've thought of that sooner. Picked up another timer and solved that problem-
power off
power on
closed lid
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now for some contrast:
View attachment 887537
original marineland 50/50 20k leds
shots of the led strip lights alone:
View attachment 887538
full bright blue
View attachment 887539
red again-god the contrast in the tank is so unbelievable.. I mean you can see ALL the edges of the rock..(picture does no justice)
View attachment 887540
and just white (like this for filler day light)
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View attachment 887537
original marineland 50/50 20k leds
shots of the led strip lights alone:
View attachment 887538
full bright blue
View attachment 887539
red again-god the contrast in the tank is so unbelievable.. I mean you can see ALL the edges of the rock..(picture does no justice)
View attachment 887540
and just white (like this for filler day light)
Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
