New Tank build out (1 Viewer)

[AquaNerd]

what kind of lights (brand/wattage) are those john?

 

[decimal]

wow that ting is looking better everyday. i cant wait to see it fired up in all its starphire glory

 

[jdeveaux]

what kind of lights (brand/wattage) are those john?

2 x 250 Watt PFO DE 1 x 150 Watt PFO DE - All on Ice Cap Electronic ballast.

I run a 20k bulb for the 150 and 14k for the 250's and I have, will have, them setup to simulate a sun rise sunset schedule. I might eventually trade out the 150 for 4 T-5's but the jury is out on that one. Right now I just want to get water in this thing

On my fuge I'm going to use the 110 Watt T'5 lights I took out of my RSM. The fuge is 17 Gallon's.

I still need to mount the natural white moon lights and nighttime blue viewing lights.

Regards,

 

[AquaNerd]

wow, overkill on the fuge lighting, but everything else is cool. just get a cheap-o light from home depot, they work really well.

 

[jdeveaux]

wow, overkill on the fuge lighting, but everything else is cool. just get a cheap-o light from home depot, they work really well.

Yea I know. I may not use it I may use the ballast to run some 36" T5's in the stand for on demand lighting when I need to work in the stand. My fuge is pretty deep though so the light might not be overkill.

Thanks,

 

[AquaNerd]

what do you plan on putting on either side of the tank with all that extra space? maybe some nanocubes or some other smaller tanks? that would be cool. maybe a seahorse tank on one side and a nano on the other (with some corals and small gobies).

 

[jdeveaux]

Once the tank is established I will be adding a seahorse tank. That is already planned into the configuration but one side I'm keeping open for pannel access to the electrical equipment. With out the Sea Horse tank the total operating volume of the tank should be right around 164 gallons, and then the Sea Horse tank will add an additional 37-45 gallons.

That won’t happen until next year though. I've already blown my budget and i still want to add an Aqua controller III to the system. 8O

That will just need to go on my Christmas Wish List.

Good News the doors are done and I've started staining them so I hope to be working on the the plumbing next weekend after the meeting.

It is going to be so unbelievable to finally get water in the system.

The plan is to just fill it with the hose to perform a final leak test and flush out plumbing *carp*, then drain and begin adding the RO/DI water. I'm building a drain into the plumbing so I just need to turn a ball valve whenever I want to do a water change or just drain water.

Hopefully our next tank tour will be for the SW side of town in the Spring

Thanks,

 

[AquaNerd]

yeah, my christmas list is growing and growing. i guess it's no longer a list but a novel .

instead of a ball valve, how about a gate valve. they aren't as hard to open as the ball valves and allow for a more precise control. just a thought.

 

[jdeveaux]

Finally... It has been a busy day today.

I managed to get the 2 120v 20 amp circuits run and installed, without falling through the ceiling again. Still need to finish tacking everything down.

The doors are also now finished and installed...

Phase 2 starts tomorrow. Time to start plumbing this bad boy and connecting power to the lights.

I'm leaving the trim until the very end.

Have a great evening,

 

[AquaNerd]

super fancy john...looking very promising. i smell an addition to any future tank tours.

 

[jdeveaux]

Quick update... lots more to go. Working on the plumbing today.

The lights are in and wow they actually worked on the first try

Pardon the mess it's a construction zone right now. And disregard the light color I just through in some old bulbs. I will be running 2 x 250 Phoenix 14k and 1 x 150 XM 20k in the final setup.

Regards,

 

[MarkieB]

Awesome!

I will be soooo glad when I reach the stage you are at now!

 

[jdeveaux]

Finally the day has arrived... Tomorrow I will be putting water in my tank. I finished the plumbing tonight and now I just need to let everything set then double check my connections.

I still need to anchor some cables down as well as other tedious tasks but nothing is preventing water from getting into it any longer.

Wiring picture for the lights...

 

[jdeveaux]

Well the tank finally has water in it 8)

But as things usually go Murphy jumped in to help...

The one bulk head that was the hardest to get to ... I think most of you know where this is going..

This connection was actually easy to get to before I got ahead of my self and added the rest of the plumbing. Needless to say I'm really glad I opted to take out the carpet and put the tank down on the tile with a gasket around the tank to hold the water in.

Other problems encountered included the sudden discovery that some of the older pumps I bought used are some of the loudest pumps I've ever heard.

well it has been a long night and I need sleep. Good night...

 

[crvz]

Looks great, John! And it wouldnt be a tank build if you didnt lose water on the floor, so let's hope we got that behind us.

-chris

 

[Guest]

build out

Holy Shish-K-Bobs, looks like a maze of confusion ,
but I'm interested on your 120v circuitry and is it tap in wall
electrical wiring or is that plug in socket for power?, sorry haven't got a clue on the matter.

 

[AquaNerd]

very nice john.

 

[jdeveaux]

Re: build out

Holy Shish-K-Bobs, looks like a maze of confusion ,
but I'm interested on your 120v circuitry and is it tap in wall
electrical wiring or is that plug in socket for power?, sorry haven't got a clue on the matter.

The pictures make the plumbing look more confusing than it actually is.

The electrical is 2 independent 120v 20amp circuits that I ran myself and setup with GFCI circuits. Not technically difficult but a real pain in the butt from the physical aspect. It took me about 5 hours to pull them and I fell through the ceiling when I first started.

The rest of the wiring is through a DJ switch panel so I have independent switches for every device. You are welcome to come by and take a look anytime; just PM to setup a time.

 

[jdeveaux]

Looks great, John! And it wouldnt be a tank build if you didnt lose water on the floor, so let's hope we got that behind us.

-chris

I know I just wish it had leaked when I first added the water to that section but it waited until I turned the pump on then all heck broke loose. I lost about 10 gallons of water to the tile floor wish was a good test of the seal I setup around the tank to protect the carpet

Adding Salt now

 

[Guest]

build out

Can I get some sugar cane with that visit since we live so far apart
but obviously someone has been doing there homework or
either has been around the electrical aspect housing construction.