Thanks! WIP, obviously. ;-)
Book marking, thanks @DLHDesign and thank your wife too. Happy Holidays12/21/2016 - Day 227 - Rouge Plans and Tank Bling
It's amazing how a second child really makes keeping up with everything so much harder... One of the things that I just haven't seem to had time for is writing up that cut list... And I told myself that I wouldn't update my thread without that bit of info. Net result: no update for 22 days. :-\
Well; today I decided to just get it done. (It's the holiday's, so people will understand if I don't get my actual work done, right?) My wife is also working hard to keep the children from tearing up the place as-is, so I'm not about to ask her to spend her ever-valuable time doing a Sketch-up drawing of my "fish drawer" (though, to be honest, she would likely enjoy the effort if she actually had the time, so it's still not out of the realm of possible...). So you all will just have to suffer through with my photo-based "plans". Here you go:
I didn't include the measurements for the power switch cut-out. I figure if you need one of those (and have the tools to make the cut-out), you can just use the device as a template - which is what I did, after all. The top section's height was based entirely on the need to fit my dosing pumps in there. So if you are using the Jebao pumps, it should work for you. If not, then you can alter the height accordingly (adjust the 3.5" measure on parts F and G). There's about 2.5" of clearance above the top (where my Hanna and refractometer boxes are sitting), so as long as you don't go more than that, you should be fine. If you do need more than that for some reason, then you'll need to reduce the riser height (reduce the 19.25" measure on part D).
I did not include location measurements for the rail slides. That's because I would not use the ones I have; I can already tell they will not work long-term. I "had to" guess at the overall weight and such of the final product and it came out heavier than I expected, which actually puts it over the recommended weight limit of those slides. And those are the most sturdy ones they make of that type that I could find... Were I to build this again (I'm not going to), I would look for an undermount style of slide (something like this; but not these - they aren't rated high enough and are too long to boot - 18" slides are needed). Obviously if you change the slides used, you change the mounting location of everything...
I also did not provide door-mount measurements for the same reason. If you change the location of the drawer, the door mounting location also needs must change. I made a bunch of measurements (height, side offset, gap allowance, etc.) before mounting mine on (using pocket screws from the bottom base (C) and top base (E). I was careful to get everything as square as I could, but in the end still had to adjust the position of the other two doors to get everything lined up. It goes without saying, I feel, that all the door mount hardware had been removed before the door front was mounted.
Only thing I did different from the plans was that I tried to use 3x top side braces (G) - one on the front (pictured), one on the back (not pictured, but marked as (G) in approx. location), and one in between the two pumps. I ended up removing the middle one as it didn't leave enough room for both my pumps. In the third picture, you can still see the little nub that remains from that effort (something I'll cut off someday). OH! I forgot to mention in the "Cut List" above that part G has a cutout - 3/4" x 3 1/4" (creates a 3/4" x 3/4" overhang). Either that, or reduce it's height to 2 1/2").
So there you go (sort of...). Feel free to ask any questions and I'll do my best to answer them. Oh; just to make sure it's clear: the back of the top is mostly open to allow all the power cables and dosing lines to exit, in addition to allowing a little airflow.
With all the holiday decorations out of the attic and in the garage, I've actually been able to move the new canopy into an area where I can work on it easier. Which I've been doing. Slowly. Usually at night. And by "night" I mean 1am when everyone else is asleep. But hey - progress has been made! It's still not hung up, but it's pretty darn tootin' close. Here are some current pics:
I've managed to get all the T5 wiring in place and have done the bulb burn-in. 50hrs takes a while to do when I only want to run it when the solar is paying for the electricity... Also; this is painted to match the room's trim - which is pretty close to both the tank stand and the cabinets that are all throughout the room.
I pulled down one of my three Radions and sorted out a way to mount it:
I still need to solder the wire loops to ensure that they won't slip out. The screws do a good job of trapping the wire, but I don't want these to fall into the tank (obviously). I may also dip the ends in plastic to help keep them in one piece.
The two cables do a pretty good job of holding the light in place, but allow a little bit of wiggle room so that I don't have to get them perfect.
For mounting this thing to the wall, my plan is to use three hinges attached to studs on the back side (I left a small gap to allow for this) and two (or more...) of the current Radion wire hangers for the front corners. That should get me something that is stable and appears to "float" above the tank. I'm still not sure what height to put it above the tank, but am thinking around 12" - which should give me enough room for general maintenance without having to lift it up. It's not overly heavy, really, but the less I have to move it, the better. I'm not at all concerned with being able to get enough light on the tank - I'm only running the LED's at max 40% right now, so it's mostly an aesthetic choice.
All the wires you see in the above pic (T5 power line, dimming cables, and 3x Radion power lines) will pass into the wall and down behind the cabinet (into the drawer side).
Once it's all wired up, I'll have to have a good sit-down with my APEX and Radions and figure out how to get all the lighting worked out...
Update on the Live Things:
All my DT fish are doing well. The coral-banded shrimp molted again. Everyone else is just swimming about; eating when fed and sleeping at night. I enjoy watching them for sure.
Only the Yellow and Yellow-Eye Kole have survived in the QT. They are through the TTM period and are now just under observation for another day or two before getting added in. We leave for vacation next week, so I want to give them at least a few days to settle in before we leave and a house-sitter is responsible for feeding them, etc. I've got no concerns about them; both are eating frozen foods well, swimming about strong, and show no signs of any disease.
Coral are doing well enough. Most of my SPS Are still more brown than anything else, so I still have some work to do. I've not done as good a job as cleaning as I would like, so my params are a little off-kilter. Which is making the LPS happy, so at least there's that. All-in-all, things are going well enough in the coral department.
Oddly; my chaeto all died over the course of a week. I'm not totally sure why, to be honest, but I'm pretty sure it's related to my reduction in maintenance. My params are under control (off-kilter, but stable), however, so I'm not in any big rush to replace it. I still run my fuge light at night, which I may not actually need to be doing, but I've not wanted to fiddle much with it...
Same to you; and all!
Indeed! All part of being a reefer... ;-)
In general, as time goes on I'll likely ramp down the Radions some and ramp up the T5's, but we'll see...
Glad it could help! Obviously, I'm not adverse to writing long rambling posts... ;-) Be sure to start your own build thread - it's great for helping to stay engaged as you move through the process, if nothing else.
Thank you!
Thanks; appreciate it!
