270g Rimless Peninsula Build - Mixed Reef

[Curley]

Long-overdue Update

You know that saying about how life can throw you some curveballs? Well 2021 felt like a big-league pitcher who came to the mound with his A-game.

For a plethora of reasons ranging from major health issues, a hectic work schedule, and ridiculously long delays with the carpenters we hired, there hasn’t been too much progress on this tank.

But it’s a fresh year and things are starting to come together. For example, I started cycling the tank at the end of January!

Over the next little bit, I’ll make specific posts dedicated to what progress has been made over the past 12 months along with some of the questions I’m still wrestling with.

 

[Curley]

The Stand Surround and Light Box are 90% Complete

Starting with the custom steel frame fabricated by A.G.E. when they built the tank itself, we added wood cabinetry to tie the stand into the open-concept kitchen/living room it’s a part of. These have the same European-style paneling and matching high-gloss paint as the kitchen cabinets do. On the front side has faux cabinets that aren’t functional, but around back all three large cabinets open to access equipment, storage, and the floor drain underneath the tank.

Next we added a 4” quartz border around three sides of the tank and continued the quartz down to the floor on the far end of the tank creating a waterfall edge. Again, this helps tie into the space as the quartz matches the kitchen island. The waterfall edge is purely esthetic, but the 4” border actually has function since I can rest stuff there when working on the tank.

Finally, we mounted the custom lightbox as it has cutouts to rest on the steel beams protruding from the brick wall. In the center of the lightbox is a T channel track that supports* the Radion XR30s.

*I’ll detail how we mounted the lights in a subsequent post.

Now the exterior of the stand is almost complete. All that remains is to devise a solution to cover the gap between the back of the tank and the brick wall. I’m thinking that acrylic can be used to fabricate a 3-sided box that hides the plumbing but is easy enough to remove when I need to access the overflow. But this is still in the idea phase and any suggestions are welcome.

 

[Gundy]

The Stand Surround and Light Box are 90% Complete

Starting with the custom steel frame fabricated by A.G.E. when they built the tank itself, we added wood cabinetry to tie the stand into the open-concept kitchen/living room it’s a part of. These have the same European-style paneling and matching high-gloss paint as the kitchen cabinets do. On the front side has faux cabinets that aren’t functional, but around back all three large cabinets open to access equipment, storage, and the floor drain underneath the tank.

Next we added a 4” quartz border around three sides of the tank and continued the quartz down to the floor on the far end of the tank creating a waterfall edge. Again, this helps tie into the space as the quartz matches the kitchen island. The waterfall edge is purely esthetic, but the 4” border actually has function since I can rest stuff there when working on the tank.

Finally, we mounted the custom lightbox as it has cutouts to rest on the steel beams protruding from the brick wall. In the center of the lightbox is a T channel track that supports* the Radion XR30s.

*I’ll detail how we mounted the lights in a subsequent post.

Now the exterior of the stand is almost complete. All that remains is to devise a solution to cover the gap between the back of the tank and the brick wall. I’m thinking that acrylic can be used to fabricate a 3-sided box that hides the plumbing but is easy enough to remove when I need to access the overflow. But this is still in the idea phase and any suggestions are welcome.

Very nice build. I would make it simple and fabricate a black or white acrylic enclosure. Perhaps 2 L shaped identical pieces that fit together or similar idea.

 

[MartinM]

I’m sorry to hear about all the issues, and yes life is definitely not linear! I admire this build, I’m a stickler for clean aesthetics and this one is doing it for me! Please keep updating as life allows, and prayers for your health!

Btw when the time comes I highly recommend at least a little live rock to add diversity and reduce the chance of dinos, etc

 

[Zach B]

Wow! What a beautiful tank & build that turned out to be

 

[Curley]

Mounting the Radions in the Custom-designed Lightbox

The carpenter who built the lightbox installed a single T-track so I could hang the lights from that rather than suspending them with wires. I knew there wouldn’t be much room to maneuver up inside the lightbox and I wanted the flexibility to easily move the lights left to right (along the length of the tank).

I modified EcoTech’s RMS Mounting Bracket by drilling two holes in the plastic for the T-bolts to fit through. Then on the underside of the bracket, I fastened a stainless-steel plate to the plastic using silicone. These plates would provide extra support as the weight of the lights would be pulling down on the nut that screwed onto the T-bolt.

I’m not going to lie, sliding those T-bolts along the track was not smooth and simple. It took quite a bit of finesse to get the two bolts aligned and level so the light could be moved along the track. It was a lot of jiggle, slide a few inches, then jiggle some more. Gladly, I won’t have to move them often.

Currently, I’m thinking three XR30s should provide sufficient coverage. I have them arranged so the middle light and one closest to the overflow are positioned across the width of the tank, while the light furthest from the overflow is positioned across the length. As this will be a mixed reef system, I’m thinking the coral included in the future will be placed in zones along the length of the tank. The region furthest from the overflow side (and thus furthest from the powerheads) will likely include corals that need less flow and less light. If that assumption turns out to be incorrect, I can always add a fourth XR30.

Holes drilled into the top of the lightbox allow for the power cables to be routed upwards letting all the cables and power bricks sit atop the lightbox; however, they are hidden from view by a lip that extends along all three sides.

I have yet to dial in the light spectrum to my preference. But the plan is to start with the CoralLab AB+ template that is included in EcoTech’s Mobius app, then modify some of the individual color channels to fit my taste. I tend to prefer a bit whiter light than what I commonly see in tanks across the hobby.

More importantly, at some point in the near future I’ll get a par meter to dial in the intensity and map out the par readings at various depths and in a variety of places around the aquascape. Of course, when that happens, I’ll post my findings.

 

[Janci]

Super clean

 

[iReefer12]

How did you get A.G.E to respond to you?

 

[Kruss7]

Mounting the Radions in the Custom-designed Lightbox

The carpenter who built the lightbox installed a single T-track so I could hang the lights from that rather than suspending them with wires. I knew there wouldn’t be much room to maneuver up inside the lightbox and I wanted the flexibility to easily move the lights left to right (along the length of the tank).

I modified EcoTech’s RMS Mounting Bracket by drilling two holes in the plastic for the T-bolts to fit through. Then on the underside of the bracket, I fastened a stainless-steel plate to the plastic using silicone. These plates would provide extra support as the weight of the lights would be pulling down on the nut that screwed onto the T-bolt.

I’m not going to lie, sliding those T-bolts along the track was not smooth and simple. It took quite a bit of finesse to get the two bolts aligned and level so the light could be moved along the track. It was a lot of jiggle, slide a few inches, then jiggle some more. Gladly, I won’t have to move them often.

Currently, I’m thinking three XR30s should provide sufficient coverage. I have them arranged so the middle light and one closest to the overflow are positioned across the width of the tank, while the light furthest from the overflow is positioned across the length. As this will be a mixed reef system, I’m thinking the coral included in the future will be placed in zones along the length of the tank. The region furthest from the overflow side (and thus furthest from the powerheads) will likely include corals that need less flow and less light. If that assumption turns out to be incorrect, I can always add a fourth XR30.

Holes drilled into the top of the lightbox allow for the power cables to be routed upwards letting all the cables and power bricks sit atop the lightbox; however, they are hidden from view by a lip that extends along all three sides.

I have yet to dial in the light spectrum to my preference. But the plan is to start with the CoralLab AB+ template that is included in EcoTech’s Mobius app, then modify some of the individual color channels to fit my taste. I tend to prefer a bit whiter light than what I commonly see in tanks across the hobby.

More importantly, at some point in the near future I’ll get a par meter to dial in the intensity and map out the par readings at various depths and in a variety of places around the aquascape. Of course, when that happens, I’ll post my findings.

Any updates on this build?

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Any updates?