cmcneils reef savvy build thread

[cmcneil]

Troy i actually had some of the best colors ever running the DE ushio 10k with VHO actinics.the bulb is a crisp white and with actinics the colors were sick and growth was phenominal.thats why im really considering going back to the 10k ushio.i have to think the SE version of the ushio 10k is close to the DE bulb.plus from what i read about the lumatek ballast it has a microprocessor that senses the bulb and optimizes the watts to the bulb.i was told the 250w radium actually needs to be run at 262w to get the correct color from the bulb,so this ballast would feed 262w to the radium and etc with other bulbs.i should get the ballast next week,until then a buddy is loaning me a 175w ballast and bulb to run so i can take my led's offline and begin putting my lighting assembly together.i will be posting alot of pics in the next few days of the lighting build ;) once the heatsinks and MH reflector are all put together i will build the housing to cover it all up.i will be adding quick disconnect plugs to the back of the housing so everything just unplugs for easy disassembly and repairs or mods.

 

[GR808]

Props to Chris... whomever buys from him will not be dissappointed.. Frags probably made the longest trip it will ever make and they arrived in fantastic shape..

Thanks Chris :bigsmile:

 

[cmcneil]

thanks Rob :) glad your happy

 

[cmcneil]

I got some work done today on my lighting setup.pics are coming soon once I get home and upload them to photobucket.also my LEDs and heatsinks arrived :D

 

[rybitski]

I am curious how you made the bends on your sump. Is there a special tool or technique for this? I know for metal you would use a press brake, but I am guessing that heat is somehow involved in the process.

 

[cmcneil]

We have 4th long heating bars that are 1/2" or 1" wide.you place the sheet on the bars where you want to bend it and wait a few minutes.once it soft you just bend it and clamp it to a steel 90 degree beam and let it cool.

 

[Troylee]

Any reason why you choose to bend them instead of gluing??? I'm sure you know a bent joint is weaker and stresses the material compared to a solvent welded joint... Just curious...

 

[cmcneil]

Troy my sump is made from PVC not acrylic so it isn't weaker at all.by bending I have less thermoplastic welds to make and have less places to possibly leak.even if it was acrylic I would have still bent it to have less solvent welds to make.I don't see any reason to glue something I can bend considering it's just a sump.I have made tanks before and bent the front corners,just less glueing.

 

[Troylee]

Got cha... I always liked the looks of it myself but James "envision acrylics" kept telling me to stop haha... Right on man I never played with a PVC sump althou I have thought about it... It's a nice cheaper alternative..

 

[cmcneil]

it is cheaper but not that much cheaper.i did alot of work today on my lighting frame and here are the pics to prove it.the frame is made from aluminum angle stock and screwed together with #4 and #6 SS screws.i did alot of cutting and fitting to make the frames nice and tight,once the heatsinks and reflectors are placed in the frames they will be screwed in.

begining of the elite frame this is how i did the corners

bent and ready to screw

next i added the side heatsink frames to the elite frame

bent and ready for screws

one heatsink side all done

detail of the screws

both heatsink frames done

elite reflector added in

24" heatsinks that will be added to the front and back of the elite frame for actinics

24" heatsinks added to the framework

elite added back in :)

extra cree royal blues in needed plus optics and thermal adhesive to finish the buiild

once i get all the LED's glued on the heatsinks i will begin making the housing to enclose everything inside black acrylic.i will have quick disconnect plugs on the back of the fixture for easy removal of the components or for repairs and or additions.i went ahead and milled the slots for the sides of the housing,these will allow the air to escape the housing.i will have 4 fans blowing into the housing to keep everything cool as well.i forgot to get pics of the side plates so will have to post those later.

 

[cmcneil]

.....update.....
i got alot done today on the lighting setup.i got all my royal blues used for actinics glued down with the thermal adhesive,all wires were precut and pretinned,and soldered together.i tested all of the LED's to make sure they work and so far so good.tomorrow i am going to get a loaner 175w MH ballast and bulb and set that up.once that is done i can go up to my work and cut my 12"x8.5" heatsink in half and begin working on that part of the lighting.once cut in half and milled to size i will start glueing the LED's and wiring that up.the two pieces of heatsink will be on the left and right side of the elite reflector and provide some extra light spread for the tank.i already posted this sketchup drawing but here it is again so you can understand what m doing here.

and todays work

LED testing with a 9v battery

nice clean string of wired LED's :)

all done

let me know what you all think

 

[Just Clownin Around]

looks pretty **** slick. but after seeing the light housing for your last leds it was kind of expected. real clean work

 

[cmcneil]

looks pretty **** slick. but after seeing the light housing for your last leds it was kind of expected. real clean work

thanks Rich,this lighting will be covered just like the last one in 1/8" black acrylic.the sheet will be in monday so i should have the lighing done by friday as long as i dont run into any problems.i do think i will need four fans though so the halide doesnt warp the acrylic from the heat.

 

[GR808]

can't wait... already looking fantastic..

 

[Henry C]

Excellent thread!!!! Love the sump, looks well planned out. Following this build for sure.

 

[cmcneil]

can't wait... already looking fantastic..

Thanks Rob,I'll have some more pics today of the lighting setup.

 

[cmcneil]

Excellent thread!!!! Love the sump, looks well planned out. Following this build for sure.

Thank you Henry,I'm doing my best to make sure everything is done exactly the way I want it.I've setup alot of tanks and each time I find things I wish I did different.this time I won't have that problem(I hope) since I'm taking my time and planning everything out very slowly.the only thing I'm still undecided on is whether to get a tunze nano wavebox or vortec MP-40w.I like the vortecs but don't really like the MP-40's design.since it doesn't have a top shaft support I feel the pump is ALWAYS going to be prone to wearing out the wetside.where as the MP-10 and MP-60 are fully supported prop shafts they don't have the same wobble out issues.maybe by time I'm ready to buy the pump vortec will gave redesigned the MP-40 however I'm doubtful.

 

[cmcneil]

.......UPDATE.......

my black acrylic sheet came in today so i was able to cut up the main pieces and start glueing it together.i milled out the sides to allow airflow for cooling and will be using male/female plugs on the back of the housing for all internal components.i did the same on my last LED housing and it gives it that professional look and feel.i also got inline fuses for the LED's but instead of useing the cheap looking ones i got the ones that mount into the unit and have a little cap you unscrew to change the fuse,again it just looks more professional.i also got two 10k potentiometers for dimming my LED's and will be placing those into a remote box somewhere in my stand.tomorrow i will be cutting out the halide hole and start drilling the holes for the LED optics to pass through.i still need to get two more fans from reefledlights.com but that wont stop production at all.here are the pics from today.i have alot to do before the fixture is complete but it really wont take me more than a few days during off time at work to get it done.my lumatek 250w ballast SHOULD arrive tomorrow as well so things are really coming together.

these are the female plugs i will be using for the LED to driver connections

and the fuse holders

here is what i have done of the housing(long way to go still)

connectors and fuse holders installed

 

[Just Clownin Around]

looking good man
hey what sps do you have
i cleaned out my frag rank and got rid of some big colonies so im looking to get a few new pieces.

hint hint
trade for a vortech and some cash for a few choice pieces

 

[GR808]

Nice Chris.. Professional look is an understatement for your kind of work..
that's the exact same fuses I used on my led setup, good deal. I used 12-16ga spade connectors. I mounted them on the fan bracket. worked out great.