Does anyone else enjoy DIY as much as livestock?

[WallyB]

I am new to this hobby and I’ve come to learn that the DIY portion seems to be just as satisfying as routine tank maintenance and even placing corals. I started with a heavily modded Biocube 29g that I purchased from someone getting out of the hobby. It was basically a rescue mission and I just feel really accomplished with the results. Anyways here’s Wonderwall

Before:

After:

I made a couple of brackets out of lexan and added a nice concealed top.

The Topic caught my attention off the R2R home page.

Welcome to the Hobby and you picked the best one possible for DIY.
You can DIY Electronics, Chemistry, Pumbling, Electrical, AUTOMATION, etc etc
(Just be careful on high Voltage DIY Stuff, since it can KILL YOU especially around Salt Water)...I've been only zapped once when a Urchin bit thru a power cord in tank, and lucky I was just reaching in, not deep in sump)
If you ever get an urchin (all AC cords inside tank must be covered with Urchin Shields).
GFCI is a MUST even if not doing DIY, since even manufacterers stuff have failed me for Pumps and Heaters,.
IT CAN Save your LIFE and your loves ones (Family, pets, and visitors)

However if you insist (like I do a bit, with Caution and Fear).... to play with High Voltage DIY, make sure your tank is on a GFCI protected outlet. Plus a Titanium Ground probe since GFCI will not trip without a Ground Fault.
Any AC device (2 Prong) has no Ground and may not trip a GFCI. (Proven to me more than once)

Everything I have running my Tanks is DIY, except the Apex, but it does less than everything else.
One thing in my DIY projects is I try to reuse stuff (junk), since I never throw out old Electronics, AC Adapters, Pumbing parts, etc.
FOR EXAMPLE: Never throw out a broken All in one Printer (I just leaned taking one apart, its loaded with great parts, like motors, gears, belts, wires, speakers, switches, ac adapters, etc). And I'll be looking at neighbour garbages if I see another one.
(Eg. Right Now I'm turning a broken HP Deskjet into a DIY Alk Monitor, better than a Trident, or others)

You will find that maybe DIY Aquariums stuff will probably interest you more than the dumb fish, and dumber rocks, and really hard to keep corals (when you get distracted doing DIY). Don't get me wrong, I love my dumb fish and dumb corals and rocks.

All the best, and if you are looking for DIY ideas, or advice for Cheap parts...Tricks, Do's and Don'ts (like fish/reef toxic materials, which is another risk when doing DIY)
I can certainly help you (after 25 years of Tank DIY) when I have time, not doing DIY.

I wish you a enjoyable Safe Everlasting journey with your New Hobby.

 

[siggy]

I am an industrial maintenance technician so this hobby is right up my tinkering alley. Lol I am also thrifty! I made my own ATO system and it works, but keeps flipping my breaker because I live in an older apartment complex and I think they daisy chained nearly all the outlets together, so it was overloaded.

Great Profession your in. I too am in the industrial maintenance field, DIY Daily is what we do...
Hey I have a ton of 12 or 24vdc relay cubes for your project. Shoot me a pm and Ill send you a couple

 

[Strawberry]

The Topic caught my attention off the R2R home page.

Welcome to the Hobby and you picked the best one possible for DIY.
You can DIY Electronics, Chemistry, Pumbling, Electrical, AUTOMATION, etc etc
(Just be careful on high Voltage DIY Stuff, since it can KILL YOU especially around Salt Water)...I've been only zapped once when a Urchin bit thru a power cord in tank, and lucky I was just reaching in, not deep in sump)
If you ever get an urchin (all AC cords inside tank must be covered with Urchin Shields).

However if you insist (like I do a bit) to play with High Voltage DIY, make sure your tank is on a GFCI protected outlet. Plus a Titanium Ground probe since GFCI will not trip without a Ground Fault.

Everything I have running my Tanks is DIY, except the Apex, but it does less than everything else.
One thing in my DIY projects is I try to reuse stuff (junk), since I never throw out old Electronics, AC Adapters, Pumbing parts, etc.
FOR EXAMPLE: Never throw out a broken All in one Printer (I just leaned taking one apart, its loaded with great parts, like motors, gears, belts, wires, speakers, switches, ac adapters, etc). And I'll be looking at neighbour garbages if I see another one.
(Eg. Right Now I'm turning a broken HP Deskjet into a DIY Alk Monitor, better than a Trident, or others)

You will find that maybe DIY Aquariums stuff will probably interest you more than the dumb fish, and dumber rocks, and really hard to keep corals (when you get distracted doing DIY). Don't get me wrong, I love my dumb fish and dumb corals and rocks.

All the best, and if you are looking for DIY ideas, or advice for Cheap parts...Tricks, Do's and Don'ts (like fish/reef toxic materials, which is another risk when doing DIY)
I can certainly help you (after 25 years of Tank DIY) when I have time, not doing DIY.

Trust me, I am aware of how dangerous electrical DIY can be. I am very careful and I’ve taken an electrical course in college because I am going to school to become an industrial maintenance technician. That’s really neat that you’ve reused components from junk material, it has a real Mad Max vibe haha. I love tinkering with things. I am not super sure on what is/isn’t aquarium safe, but I’ve seen a lot of people use acrylic for tank fixtures so I figured lexan would be okay. I washed it heavily as well.

 

[Anchor]

My biggest DIY is making a PVC skimmer with a home made venturi.. took me a bit to fine tune it to get little bubbles.. as the pump did not have a needle wheel. So I made the push type venturi. I Should add pictures..

 

[Strawberry]

My biggest DIY is making a PVC skimmer with a home made venturi.. took me a bit to fine tune it to get little bubbles.. as the pump did not have a needle wheel. So I made the push type venturi. I Should add pictures..

I’d love to see!

 

[WallyB]

Trust me, I am aware of how dangerous electrical DIY can be. I am very careful and I’ve taken an electrical course in college because I am going to school to become an industrial maintenance technician. That’s really neat that you’ve reused components from junk material, it has a real Mad Max vibe haha. I love tinkering with things. I am not super sure on what is/isn’t aquarium safe, but I’ve seen a lot of people use acrylic for tank fixtures so I figured lexan would be okay. I washed it heavily as well.

ACrylic is generally fine, but I have LEARNED THE HARD WHY and apply this rule of thumb...
The Sky's the limit on stuff/materials outside your tank, but when it comes to anything touching you life supporting water you have to be careful if "not made for reef tanks, by experts".

Or else you will face the 3 W's when something goes, wrong, and in this hobby things go wrong.
(W)hat is happening? (W)hy is it happening (W)hat if....what I did....
One example. I built a DIY algae scrubber inside my sump. I thought I was clever to put a mirror on the back side to reflect light. After some time my Corals started dying. What I learned is a mirror is made from Glass, and a layer of silver and COPPER, and the salt water was eatting away at the protective coating geting Copper in my tank an killing Corals.
To this day, years later I always wonder if some of the problems I have is from that mirror which leached copper into my Rocks, Silicone, etc.

 

[Strawberry]

ACrylic is generally fine, but I have LEARNED THE HARD WHY and apply this rule of thumb...
The Sky's the limit on stuff/materials outside your tank, but when it comes to anything touching you life supporting water you have to be careful if "not made for reef tanks, by experts".

Or else you will face the 3 W's when something goes, wrong, and in this hobby things go wrong.
(W)hat is happening? (W)hy is it happening (W)hat if....what I did....
One example. I built a DIY algae scrubber inside my sump. I thought I was clever to put a mirror on the back side to reflect light. After some time my Corals started dying. What I learned is a mirror is made from Glass, and a layer of silver and COPPER, and the salt water was eatting away at the protective coating geting Copper in my tank an killing Corals.
To this day, years later I always wonder if some of the problems I have is from that mirror which leached copper into my Rocks, Silicone, etc.

Oh wow, I never would have even thought of a mirror having a layer of copper. In that case I will make an effort to be more aware of what goes into my water. Thank you for that.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

Nice. So your wiring requires that both switches are in the down position to actuate the pump, right? Redundancy is a great way to have some insurance on your DIY projects haha

No not really,

It's connected to a relay just like yours and only turns on when the water is below the low float switch and only turns off when the high.

Seeing that you're an industrial maintenance technician, I sketched the simple schematic of it so you can envision it.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

Do you have the .stl files for that?

Sorry, no STL, I used acrylic and cut that out with a laser.

It's documented on page 3

Large Build - My rendition of 300

Please bear with me, I'm about to transfer my tank build over to this forum. Be prepared for mass data overload. This all began February 2018 After a bit of a hiatus, I’m ready to finally get started on a 300 gallon in wall tank. This is something that I’ve been thinking about for a very long...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[WallyB]

No not really,

It's connected to a relay just like yours and only turns on when the water is below the low float switch and only turns off when the high.

Seeing that you're an industrial maintenance technician, I sketched the simple schematic of it so you can envision it.

That will work, but let me take this chance to intro you to something different which is smart Control....(Take it or Leave it)

Float switches can get stuck, move, fall, etc Even double failures for the Shut Off. Two floats can yo-yo your water levels. Relay can fail too. What happens when you ATO hose disconnects and falls on Floor (Happened to me)

A simple little $3 controller, a DC driven AC relay, with like 15 lines of code could add some simple logic to turn on/off the pump (with single Float switch), but also give you a safety cut off, Alarm, Timer based.
The AC power could be in a proper Sealed Electrical box with a Wall Outlet for the Pump Plug.

The 2nd Float switch could be used for ALARM if overfill happens. (Basically the same as a Tunze Osmolator)

Much safer too (low Voltage Control)

Once you learn the simple programming of an Ardiuno, you'll be able to design all kind of DIY wonders.
I was introduced to Ardiuno by mistake (a kit bought for son, and Son wasn't interested), I opened the box one day and haven't gone back. Way cheaper/faster/better than like RaspberryPi.

These are the parts: (to give you an idea)

- The Ardiuno Nano Controller ($3), which could do way more than a Top up. (Runs off USB, or 5 Volt Adapter)


- A 5 Volt Driven AC/DC Relay (that handle the 120V AC Pump, or DC pump) ($5 or less each),


TWO CHOICES:
- The float switch (magnetic), ($2)


- or The Ardiuno can also driven an Optical Water Level Sensor at 5 Volts (more accurate, 1 extra wire)
- The optical Water sensor (OPTICAL), ($3.33)
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32846001263.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.555cf85baXvM9M&algo_pvid=3b83e985-ce5c-4333-a8c8-6d3327d4cb55&algo_expid=3b83e985-ce5c-4333-a8c8-6d3327d4cb55-0&btsid=24da5ee0-001d-47b7-b98e-817c24f6b726&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_9,searchweb201603_52

*** BTW ** the LAST Link above is to Aliexpress where I get most of my parts at 1/10 the price of Amazon or 1/20 the price of Hobby stores***
*** It's a long wait for shipping from China, but I stock up for future DIY project ***********

LASTLY THE CODE:

The code is something like: (If Water low, ON) (if Water Level, OFF) (If pump run longer than 1 minutes, OFF, ALARM)
You could add a push button to snooze the AUTo during Maitenance. LED for Low, Full.
Possibilities are endless with the $3 Ardiuno.

Just tossing this out there, and I'd be willing to show the Really simple wiring, and the simple code.

The ATO can be as simple as the first one I made (with extras like display, for stats, etc)
Still running on my Frag Tank.
(Cheap DC Pump so Zero Dangerous AC)
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32592701696.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.48017da3R4Fveu&algo_pvid=7a2ac263-c0e4-4bb8-bda3-2692cf6c4ef9&algo_expid=7a2ac263-c0e4-4bb8-bda3-2692cf6c4ef9-5&btsid=59df011d-abcb-4b85-b270-49dccd9058ce&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_9,searchweb201603_52

Or this one I made for a Friend, that is an AutoTopUp, but could also be a Doser with more DC Pumps (and advanced Programming)
Has plenty of Fun Light Show LEDS.

My ATOs above may be overkill, and maybe you want to avoid programming (since a computer is needed to upload code into the Controller...ONCE)

(Sorry to intrude)....At least look at Aliexpress WEB SITE for PARTS. I used to waste money, till I discovered the web site.

 

[ccombs]

I actually like the DIY side the best. I love creating systems and designing things.

Don't get me wrong, I love the fish, inverts, and corals. But a successful tank for me personally is a reflection of the hard work and DIY stuff I put in on the back end.

The tank is like a super cool cake in the window of a bakery. Yes it is attractive and awesome, but there is a whole bakery behind it that is making that possible.

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

I think i am guilty of enjoying the build part almost as much as the livestock. I wish i knew more about electronics but i can weld my own stands and make my own furniture.
I just picked up five 4x8 sheets of acrylic for my new aquarium talk about saving some serious cash...

 

[webmanny]

I think I love the DIY aspect of my tank almost as much as I love the tank itself. The best investment I did was my 3d printer. That is when things got crazy. I'll share some pictures of all of my projects later.

 

[AbjectMaelstroM]

Love DIY, even though sometimes the end money savings may be minimal or even be nonexistent. However, I've always enjoyed tinkering.

So when I decided to get in to saltwater, I decided to diy as much as possible.

So far, I've built my my own stand, it's nothing super fancy but it has plenty of room and wife approves. Sorry about the mess, everything is still under construction.

Made my own lights:

Working on thr sump now, a 40 breeder.

On the side, building a ReefPi controller to bring everything together, including power controller, ATO, temp and pH monitoring.

 

[Albert Bazaar]

I am new to this hobby and I’ve come to learn that the DIY portion seems to be just as satisfying as routine tank maintenance and even placing corals. I started with a heavily modded Biocube 29g that I purchased from someone getting out of the hobby. It was basically a rescue mission and I just feel really accomplished with the results. Anyways here’s Wonderwall

Before:

After:

I made a couple of brackets out of lexan and added a nice concealed top.

Ahh an Aquarium Fanatic's Dream Girl.Go girl go!!!Love the DIYs on YouTube.We all have done it because some of the prices are just wack for what the equipment is.Wish my ex's had your attitude.But,I always get the broken one.Joking!!!
When you have opertunity try to get a cheap piece on ebay of cast acrylic and about 1/4 or so it will help with the curling up.Just a suggestion.Your doing great!!!

 

[Strawberry]

Love DIY, even though sometimes the end money savings may be minimal or even be nonexistent. However, I've always enjoyed tinkering.

So when I decided to get in to saltwater, I decided to diy as much as possible.

So far, I've built my my own stand, it's nothing super fancy but it has plenty of room and wife approves. Sorry about the mess, everything is still under construction.

Made my own lights:

Working on thr sump now, a 40 breeder.

On the side, building a ReefPi controller to bring everything together, including power controller, ATO, temp and pH monitoring.

This is honestly amazing. Where did you get the components/recommended parts for your LEDs? That seems pretty complicated just knowing what is rated for your tank.

 

[Strawberry]

Ahh an Aquarium Fanatic's Dream Girl.Go girl go!!!Love the DIYs on YouTube.We all have done it because some of the prices are just wack for what the equipment is.Wish my ex's had your attitude.But,I always get the broken one.Joking!!!
When you have opertunity try to get a cheap piece on ebay of cast acrylic and about 1/4 or so it will help with the curling up.Just a suggestion.Your doing great!!!

Haha, my girlfriend is not crazy about how much I’ve been spending. I keep telling her, “Oh it’ll get cheaper once things stable out. Only a few more weeks of this and all we’ll have to buy is livestock!” All lies lol I’m beginning to see the depth of this hobby and that it doesn’t seem there is a point of “stabling out” in sight lol

 

[Strawberry]

That will work, but let me take this chance to intro you to something different which is smart Control....(Take it or Leave it)

Float switches can get stuck, move, fall, etc Even double failures for the Shut Off. Two floats can yo-yo your water levels. Relay can fail too. What happens when you ATO hose disconnects and falls on Floor (Happened to me)

A simple little $3 controller, a DC driven AC relay, with like 15 lines of code could add some simple logic to turn on/off the pump (with single Float switch), but also give you a safety cut off, Alarm, Timer based.
The AC power could be in a proper Sealed Electrical box with a Wall Outlet for the Pump Plug.

The 2nd Float switch could be used for ALARM if overfill happens. (Basically the same as a Tunze Osmolator)

Much safer too (low Voltage Control)

Once you learn the simple programming of an Ardiuno, you'll be able to design all kind of DIY wonders.
I was introduced to Ardiuno by mistake (a kit bought for son, and Son wasn't interested), I opened the box one day and haven't gone back. Way cheaper/faster/better than like RaspberryPi.

These are the parts: (to give you an idea)

- The Ardiuno Nano Controller ($3), which could do way more than a Top up. (Runs off USB, or 5 Volt Adapter)


- A 5 Volt Driven AC/DC Relay (that handle the 120V AC Pump, or DC pump) ($5 or less each),


TWO CHOICES:
- The float switch (magnetic), ($2)


- or The Ardiuno can also driven an Optical Water Level Sensor at 5 Volts (more accurate, 1 extra wire)
- The optical Water sensor (OPTICAL), ($3.33)
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32846001263.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.555cf85baXvM9M&algo_pvid=3b83e985-ce5c-4333-a8c8-6d3327d4cb55&algo_expid=3b83e985-ce5c-4333-a8c8-6d3327d4cb55-0&btsid=24da5ee0-001d-47b7-b98e-817c24f6b726&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_9,searchweb201603_52

*** BTW ** the LAST Link above is to Aliexpress where I get most of my parts at 1/10 the price of Amazon or 1/20 the price of Hobby stores***
*** It's a long wait for shipping from China, but I stock up for future DIY project ***********

LASTLY THE CODE:

The code is something like: (If Water low, ON) (if Water Level, OFF) (If pump run longer than 1 minutes, OFF, ALARM)
You could add a push button to snooze the AUTo during Maitenance. LED for Low, Full.
Possibilities are endless with the $3 Ardiuno.

Just tossing this out there, and I'd be willing to show the Really simple wiring, and the simple code.

The ATO can be as simple as the first one I made (with extras like display, for stats, etc)
Still running on my Frag Tank.
(Cheap DC Pump so Zero Dangerous AC)
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32592701696.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.48017da3R4Fveu&algo_pvid=7a2ac263-c0e4-4bb8-bda3-2692cf6c4ef9&algo_expid=7a2ac263-c0e4-4bb8-bda3-2692cf6c4ef9-5&btsid=59df011d-abcb-4b85-b270-49dccd9058ce&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_9,searchweb201603_52

Or this one I made for a Friend, that is an AutoTopUp, but could also be a Doser with more DC Pumps (and advanced Programming)
Has plenty of Fun Light Show LEDS.

My ATOs above may be overkill, and maybe you want to avoid programming (since a computer is needed to upload code into the Controller...ONCE)

(Sorry to intrude)....At least look at Aliexpress WEB SITE for PARTS. I used to waste money, till I discovered the web site.

What kind of program is needed to program the controller? Sorry for the late reply, I’ve read this several times and it’s a ton of great information. I appreciate you taking the time to share all of this!

 

[AbjectMaelstroM]

This is honestly amazing. Where did you get the components/recommended parts for your LEDs? That seems pretty complicated just knowing what is rated for your tank.

It's not as complicated as it may seem and the "Puck" style led arrays make it a good amount easier/cleaner to implement.

The main pucks are Chinese clones of the Radion Xr30 G4 arrays. However, I'm bypassing the red and green and instead using Mint, which combine spectrums covered by red, green, yellow and some bkue/cyan. I also wanted more violet (420-430) for pop, so I added high quality hyperviolets to the 8 that were already on the arrays. Combined they give me ~150w of lighting at full blast. My plan is to have 2 of these fixtures over my 120. With 7 channels of control, it gives a lot of room to play, but honestly I would really like to get it down to 3-4 channels once I know what I like and what works for me as far as spectrum.

Once you get your lights worked out, the rest is kinda easy. Pick whatever drivers that your leds can handle. Grab a driver board of your choice, a power supply and heatsinks.... Bam, you're in business. I went through several driver boards and I like the RapidLED boards the best as they have a good layout, allow for pull-down on/off state with a jumper, their quick connectors aren't flimsy and at the same time don't fill your swear jar when you need to disconnect wires; plus they have an on board SWC driver to power a 12v fan.

Last but certainly not least, there a lot of people on these forums that are far smarter than I am and we're more than happy to lend their knowledge and expertise.

 

[Strawberry]

It's not as complicated as it may seem and the "Puck" style led arrays make it a good amount easier/cleaner to implement.

The main pucks are Chinese clones of the Radion Xr30 G4 arrays. However, I'm bypassing the red and green and instead using Mint, which combine spectrums covered by red, green, yellow and some bkue/cyan. I also wanted more violet (420-430) for pop, so I added high quality hyperviolets to the 8 that were already on the arrays. Combined they give me ~150w of lighting at full blast. My plan is to have 2 of these fixtures over my 120. With 7 channels of control, it gives a lot of room to play, but honestly I would really like to get it down to 3-4 channels once I know what I like and what works for me as far as spectrum.

Once you get your lights worked out, the rest is kinda easy. Pick whatever drivers that your leds can handle. Grab a driver board of your choice, a power supply and heatsinks.... Bam, you're in business. I went through several driver boards and I like the RapidLED boards the best as they have a good layout, allow for pull-down on/off state with a jumper, their quick connectors aren't flimsy and at the same time don't fill your swear jar when you need to disconnect wires; plus they have an on board SWC driver to power a 12v fan.

Last but certainly not least, there a lot of people on these forums that are far smarter than I am and we're more than happy to lend their knowledge and expertise.

I absolutely love the idea of that and I’m pretty good with soldering connections and being very precise when assembling things like that. About how much did everything set you back? And what size tank do you use that for? I’m pretty sure my AI Prime maxes out around 35-40watt at full blast and like you I don’t really use much red/green. For me, my lights are set at like 100% blue and violet plus UV. A little bit of white light but I’m still fine tuning.