Nowell's Reef Savvy Pastel Peninsula/Black Widow factory

[MaddyP]

Following! Great job so far!!

 

[Nowell]

Which bulkhead? And or sch 40

It was a 3/4" threaded-threaded sch. 40. I think the threads were not molded cleanly on either the BH or the MPT adapter. Or there was lateral tension on the joint. I've got a pair of each to play with tonight.

Update: all dry and running smoothly with hand tightening only on the problematic connection. Coming up to temp. Osmolator connected to reservoir in basement. Skimmer skimming. Tomorrow AM will hang refugium lights and move my huge roll of Chaeto over loaded with pods and some water as well. I’ll drop it in the display for a bit to dislodge some critters. They’ll arrive the easy way...

 

[lacrosseboss18]

Wow. Love the stand, tank, rock work... Cant wait to see it full of corals and fish

 

[austinl]

Great build thread, and a great fixture. What bulb combo did you decide on for the 8 bulbs?

 

[dbraun15]

Love the scape...you mentioned soft corals...are there any Carpet nems in the future(like one pictured earlier)?

 

[Nowell]

I'm going to heat form this 1/4" lid with a warp in the opposite direction so that it lays flat when humid.

This turned out pretty well. Had to use 90 elbows to get the Chaeto rolling as I wanted. This also had the benefit of pushing the bubbles away from the sump divider. Tao Tronic LED grow lights are beautifully built, cheap and effective.



@austinl I currently have 3 blue plus, 3 coral plus, and 2 actinic.

Love the scape...you mentioned soft corals...are there any Carpet nems in the future(like one pictured earlier)?

@dbraun15 Thanks for the kind words. No carpet anemone. However, I do have a surprise anemone waiting in an adjacent state for me to pick up once the tank has cycled.

 

[Kzguns]

What did you use for paint? Did you spray? Looks great

 

[Nowell]

Thanks.

Sherman Williams Emerald Satin (external visible surfaces) or Semi-gloss (internal surfaces) over Premium Wall & Wood Primer. They are proud of their paints, but a contractor buddy recommended them. Brushed on. Lots of coats on floor of stand and top to form a good barrier. I thinned everything about 10% which I feel is necessary if you don't want to see brush strokes easily. I then sanded the satin with 220ish foam blocks. This will allow me to touch it up easily and blend. I sprayed the shelves because I could not bring myself to brush anymore. I'm spraying EVERYTHING from now on.

The satin marks up easily (wife and kids....), though I just sand off the marks.

 

[AquaART]

Question. How did you cut the acrylic rounded squares? Did you make a template and then use a flush bit? I tried doing this and failed somewhat. Also, did you use the pin technique when gluing or just capillary?

 

[Nowell]

Question. How did you cut the acrylic rounded squares? Did you make a template and then use a flush bit? I tried doing this and failed somewhat. Also, did you use the pin technique when gluing or just capillary?

I use an acrylic bit to create a hole big enough to get a 1/4” spiral uncut bit in and hold on tight using my super fancy plywood router table above. Then I use sandpaper around a dowel or that drum sander bit to make it pretty.

I use pins when possible.

This sump I just cut everything with my Freud plexiglass blade. However, the first sump I made (above) I used my router table and achieved nicer seams. In the future I'm going to use a nicer router table with a fence on one side and a feather board on the other.

 

[Deep Reef]

Looks great you should be proud

 

[Clayton Jessup]

Wow @ Nowell this build is turning out amazing I love the sump, fuge and lighting as well it’s all coming together beautifully

 

[drtrash]

where did You get the electrical plug connection for Fuge light?

 

[Nowell]

Home Depot for the plug. Just wire it up.



Added two OG A. percula clowns. Tiny to maintain an appropriate scale. I have a daughter who is obsessed with clowns. She was able to see Fiji, skunk and orange fin clowns with me off Taveuni/Fiji.

Picked up a Sarcophyton elegans, some pom pom Xenia, neon green Sinularia, and a Monti cap.

Spotted the most beautiful ultra blue T. crocea I’ve ever seen. It was a neon sign among a field of blue T. squamous which would have normally looked nice on their own. The crocea made them forgettable. I’ll pair it with a Monti setosa and they will eventually look insane next to each other.

Then there’s the surprise anemone a couple hundred miles away which I’ll hopefully be able to pick up next week.

A few gobies/blennies and then I’ll be close to done (haha) and will post some more pics.

 

[drtrash]

Was it 1 piece or did you have to build it from electrical bins?

 

[Nowell]

Was it 1 piece or did you have to build it from electrical bins?

The plug opens into two pieces. You insert the wire ends into posts which are tightened. Then the two halves are screwed together. You’ll see how simple it is.

 

[drtrash]

Thanks great build

 

[MermaidTail]

Beautiful build. Big fan of your scape!

 

[Streetdoc77]

Super cool build !

 

[Kunkymonkel]

Awesome looking project