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So I'm Building Stuff Again. 150g Plus Fish Room. (2 Viewers)

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Cody

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That’s an army of LEDs, boys. It’s a 60”x24” tank and I now have wall to wall LEDs. There maybe a 2” gap between each light unit. I’m excited to see it tomorrow when it lights up!

Plus, you can’t see it because they’re not mounted, but I put in the hardware for two T5 bulbs; one in the front and one in the back. You can see the driver mounted in the recessed area on the right.

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Looks nice, Wounder what kind of par you will be getting.
Oh I'm toning them down. The plan is to spam and reduce the settings. I'm going to limit PAR to no more than 400 at any peak.
 
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Yeah....these lights are inappropriately bright haha

I have them on 1% whites and 50% blues. I haven’t taken a par meter to them yet. I’m probably going to have to remove a unit. It’s just too much dang light!

Having said that, the coverage seems better than my previous setup with three black boxes and four T5s. Parts of corals are lit now that used to be shaded.
 
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OK Cody, it has been a month now...can we see some pics? :) I like this idea. Have you stuck a killowatt on the power strip to see how many watts you are pulling daily? Not that I am too concerned with power usage...I thought those lights were 200watt and at half power it shouldn't be too crazy...
 
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I think I might be doing an expansion on my fish room. I was hesitant to do so, but I think I found a way where I can do all the construction and drywall work around the existing room, then carefully take down the existing walls while the window unit is still able to keep the room chill. My head has been spinning all night with different ways to do it. I'm truly convinced at this point that I enjoy building reef tanks more than maintaining them.
 

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I think I might be doing an expansion on my fish room. I was hesitant to do so, but I think I found a way where I can do all the construction and drywall work around the existing room, then carefully take down the existing walls while the window unit is still able to keep the room chill. My head has been spinning all night with different ways to do it. I'm truly convinced at this point that I enjoy building reef tanks more than maintaining them.
So you will make a one-car garage?
 
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So you will make a one-car garage?
I will still have a garage but no cars would be able to fit in. I’m going to wall off part of my garage from left to right so that you’d have to enter the fish room to get inside the house.
 
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Alright so generator backup update.

A couple weeks ago I finally found a 9000/7200w predator generator in stock at harbor freight. Flash forward after my vacation in Miami

Yesterday, I spent way too much time at Home Depot getting supplies and waiting on a rental truck so I didn’t get much done. I’m building a 4’x4’x3’ shed to house my generator.

Today, I had to move some plants to a new location for the generator shed. I laid the bricks it will sit on, had to move them a few times to level them out and get them positioned correctly.

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The roof will be hinged and able to open so I can get inside and easily access things.

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OK Cody, it has been a month now...can we see some pics? :) I like this idea. Have you stuck a killowatt on the power strip to see how many watts you are pulling daily? Not that I am too concerned with power usage...I thought those lights were 200watt and at half power it shouldn't be too crazy...
At full power they pull about 120w. With the whites at 1% and the blues at 50% on a 60x24x24 tank, I get about 450 on the top of the rocks and about 200-250 on the sand.
 

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They make RV generators that are designed to be inside a closed space but they cost more. A normal portable generator cannot handle running from inside a box. I knew some guys that made a box to quiet the generator and even with intake and exhaust vents it burned up the generator.

What is the purpose of the box? To cut down noise or just hide it? If you make the sides screen then it might stay cool enough. Or have the sides removable so you can open it up when it is running.
 
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Generator shed update. I should finish it today. Here’s what I’ve got so far.
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This is my favorite feature of the building. I have sheets of neoprene lying around that I use to make custom gaskets with. I cut it to size and cut a cross in the openings to keep critters out but allow the electrical cable and natural gas hoses to pass through.
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Also, I have everything in except the natural gas conversion kit. They’re taking 2-3 weeks to ship due to lack of parts, but I ordered it over a week ago, so hopefully it will be here soon. Then, a plumber will hook up my quick connect T to my gas and an electrician will hook up my panel inlet and interlock switch.
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Getting the roof ready. Gotta paint then the metal goes on.
2259C731-6EC6-49AA-8EC1-8850800D5873.jpeg
 
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Got the roof on, built a ramp to get the heavy generator in, and I’m good to go. I need to put a handle and latch on the top that opens, but other than that, I’m just waiting on the conversion kit to get this sucker up and running!

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Nice progress. Think you will be up and running before me?
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That’s going to be a tight race, depending on your inspection time.
 
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