imustbenuts office 65g revamp build

imustbenuts · Feb 20, 2017

Ok, I have put the sump back in service. To my delight, it is working as expected. No bubbles in the refugium.

I have also added my old Vertex in-100 skimmer. Unfortunately, this skimmer is much louder than I remember. Lots of vibration and noise from the air suction. I am considering trying to quiet it down or I may just use a different skimmer. Will run it at night and weekends when I'm not in the office for now.

I also decided to drill and tap a hole for 1-1/4" plug in the first drain chamber. I didn't make the top removable over this chamber and had no way to fish anything out of the chamber that may end up stuck inside. So, now I will be able to unscrew the plug to access the chamber.

imustbenuts · Feb 20, 2017

Moved the light over today.

imustbenuts · Feb 22, 2017

Went down to the local plastic shop and picked up some polycarbonate from the scrap pile. Cost $5 and only used half of it to make 4 lids for my sump and top off res.

They fit great. Over sized the lid a 1/4" and routed an 1/8" rabbit so it fits down in the opening and is held up by the lip.

Preme · Feb 22, 2017

Awesome scape!!! Is this going to be SPS dominated?

imustbenuts · Feb 22, 2017

Rex said:
Awesome scape!!! Is this going to be SPS dominated?

That is the plan at the moment. getting really close to adding coral. I want to wrap up the wiring in the sump before going crazy. If I don't do the cable management now I won't ever get to it. So, my reward after cleaning up is stocking the tank!

imustbenuts · Feb 23, 2017

Made some changes to my Maxspect Razor. I wanted to reduce the direct LED light and create more indirect light. So I decided to make LED covers more like a diffuser. I cut some of the scrap polycarbonate to size, sanded then sprayed it with Rust-Oleum frosted glass.

These are the original 120* reflectors.

This is my new cover

I still think the tank is getting plenty of light and it has greatly reduced the disco effect and shadowing. So far I'm liking it.

The iPhone makes it look more blue then it really is. Looks much better in person.

imustbenuts · Mar 3, 2017

This video is to show the shimmer. The shimmer is more subtle since I frosted the LED covers. Shot on iPhone 6. Color not a great representation of the actual color.

revhtree · Mar 3, 2017

Nice idea! Do you have any before and after par values?

imustbenuts · Mar 3, 2017

revhtree said:
Nice idea! Do you have any before and after par values?

@revhtree i don't have any par values. I have wondered what the difference is as well. Since I was running the light at about 60% before, I'm not too worried about it. If I can get my hands on a par meter at some point, I will post the results. If you know of someone in the San Diego area that would like to get some use out of their par meter have them contact me.

imustbenuts · Mar 7, 2017

Am finally getting a diatom bloom. It started the end of last week. Excuse the cloudy water. I just got done blowing off the rocks with a turkey baster

imustbenuts · Mar 14, 2017

Converted one of my Avast reactors to a kalk reactor. Lowes had 1/2" mpt x 1/4" push connect fittings. I used 3 with a 1/2" threaded coupler. Also picked up 1/4" od plastic tubing from local plastic shop. I was going to use 1/4" push connect check valve but drilled a hole in the coupler as a siphon break. It has worked well, so, no need for the check valve.

You can see in the above pic the water level in the ATO container is below the water level in the reactor.

imustbenuts · Mar 22, 2017

What an ugly time. I hope it passes soon.

imustbenuts · Mar 23, 2017

Made some changes to my Vertex in-100 skimmer. Picked up a DC2000 with pinwheel impeller. Also, modified a 3" coupler to extend the skimmer neck.

Having some difficulty though and I'm not sure if it's the pump or something else.

I'm not sure what is causing the bubble level to fluctuate up and down.

imustbenuts · Mar 24, 2017

What a difference a day makes. Still need to dial it in but it is looking much better.

imustbenuts · Mar 28, 2017

It appears to be breaking in well. The bubble level is steady and the pump is relatively quiet. I should be able to get some more use out of this old Vertex in-100 skimmer.

imustbenuts · Apr 8, 2017

Update time!
I am still working on the cable/wire management. This is what I am thinking of doing.

I picked up under cabinet cookbook shelf hinges. I am thinking of attaching the controllers to a sheet of acrylic and creating a box underneath to run the wires in and out to the power supply. The hinges would be attached to the top inside of the cabinet. When I want to access the controllers the shelf will pull down. When not needed it will tuck back up.