Re-facing my 300DD stand and canopy

[McPuff]

A quick FTS from a few weeks ago. It's filling up nicely... and I just bought about 15 new corals. Not sure where they'll go just yet!

 

[biecacka]

Looking good!
did you get the Orpheks up? Will they be replacing all your previous fixtures.

corey

 

[McPuff]

Looking good!
did you get the Orpheks up? Will they be replacing all your previous fixtures.

corey

Thanks! I have not yet hung the Orpheks. Actually I'm upgrading a trio of V2 to V4 gen 2 which is actually pretty easy. From everything I've heard and read they will provide more coverage and light than my 9 fixtures. So I will certainly remove all 9. Also, there won't be much room above the tank since these are 24" long and they'll go front to back. Need to figure out how high to hang them as well. probably around 12-14" above the water. Will definitely provide an update once they're up and running!

Corey, didn't you buy Orpheks too?

 

[biecacka]

I did buy some used ones. james @Orphek has them and is replacing a few diodes and a board for me. I ran them for a few months before sending them off and I’m stoked to get them back even though I LOVE my halides. There is no doubt the Orpheks will grow coral and I’m excited to put them back up. They cover a lot of area!

corey

 

[McPuff]

I did buy some used ones. james @Orphek has them and is replacing a few diodes and a board for me. I ran them for a few months before sending them off and I’m stoked to get them back even though I LOVE my halides. There is no doubt the Orpheks will grow coral and I’m excited to put them back up. They cover a lot of area!

corey

Awesome! James is a very helpful guy... and I believe he's right here in Michigan (where I live).

 

[McPuff]

Quick update: I have updated the PC card for the Orpheks so they are operating as V4 gen2. BUT, I still need to upgrade the PCB LED board so they actually function as V4 gen2 as well... because I am not a fan of the V2 spectrum. So the upgrades are simply awaiting shipment at this point. Looking forward to it very much!!

As for the canopy, I've built the shell and primed it but need to paint it. Have the doors in hand, but need to prime and paint those as well. It should be a very simply process to hang the doors (going to simply use picture hangers instead of cleats due to space limitations on the canopy shell itself). Pics to come!

 

[McPuff]

Ok, the orpheks are updated and finally installed! I have also completed the canopy shell and hung that. The doors are primed and painted and just need to be hung at this point. It's taken many moons but the project is almost completed. I'm pretty happy with how it's turned out. Complete transformation really. Again, the shell can be removed completely for full access which has proven essential. It really allows the viewer to focus on the tank instead of everything around it. Will post again once the doors are hung.

 

[McPuff]

Gosh, I go many moons between updates don't I?! I hung the canopy doors a while back but forgot about this thread. I purposely left the doors off during the summer just to help with cooling. It probably was unnecessary. I have to say that I LOVE how everything turned out. Definitely a world different than when I started. I am starting to think about re-doing the canopy skeleton though as the wood is not holding up as well as I'd hoped. Should have coated in epoxy perhaps. Not only that, but if I use aluminum I can reduce the number of supports , raise the lights a bit more, and have an overall "better" frame. Just need to draw up some plans and price it out.

The plan has worked out really well thus far. The doors are easily removed since I used picture cleats for the stand and canopy (different types). There are 5 canopy doors in total... light spill is no longer an issue at all. The canopy "shell" comes off pretty easily so if I need to get way in the tank it's not a problem. I wanted simple and elegant and I think I've checked off both boxes (note: my use of the word "elegant" does not mean fancy!).

What's my next project??

 

[taliesin]

looks good. Like the new look.

 

[McPuff]

looks good. Like the new look.

Thanks! It's not perfect by any stretch... but it turned out pretty well, especially given the limitations of working on a system that is currently running.

 

[riche]

Talk to me about building the canopy?

I am looking to build a new canopy and have the need for directions lol

I’m handy and can do it but I work better with directions and design

 

[McPuff]

Talk to me about building the canopy?

I am looking to build a new canopy and have the need for directions lol

I’m handy and can do it but I work better with directions and design

I think it really depends on what you want to do. Since I wanted to create easy access and build something for a system that was already running, I had to take a different approach than most other people. I am a big fan of the "shell" approach that I used and as I stated earlier I may actually build another frame/skeleton out of aluminum at some point to improve the durability and maybe functionality (there's always something that can be improved). Let me know what questions you have.

 

[McPuff]

Wow, 5 years since my last update! The tank looks fairly similar at least on the exterior. The canopy and stand have been really functional and I'm glad I built those the way I did. I am starting plans on a new canopy skeleton though as the wood structure I have is getting a little worn and the hardware used to connect it is rusting pretty bad. I may explore an aluminum structure which should allow for various improvements (e.g., light hanging, fewer supports, etc.).

Over the past year+ I struggled quite a bit with nutrients and I subsequently lost a lot of coral. The reason? The system was doing awesome for 8+ years so I didn't change my process. The problem with that most of the cuc had timed-out, the fish were only getting bigger, and those waste-producing machines were not slowing down so by the time I started to see symptoms it was too late. The turnaround had to be slow and steady. About 4 months ago I built and installed a nitrate destroyer and it has been working like a champ. Nitrates have reduced (so far) from over 200 to under 60 (!!). Phosphate has gone down from 1.5 (!) to under 1. Obviously there is still work to do but it's coming around. Everything seems to have stabilized and is starting to improve. This was a wake up call to be more diligent stirring sand (first of all) and to understand that even though things look good, you really have to look at the numbers to get a true overall picture.

I'll wait another month or so and then start to add some more sps. My humu trigger will be finding a new home so I can add inverts to the attached lagoon (it will be sad as I've had him for 7 years). And as the big fish time-out from the 300 display they will be "replaced" with much smaller fish that also stay smaller. I'll come back and add another FTS even though the tank is pretty empty and unimpressive.

 

[McPuff]

Looking to replace the 75 "lagoon" connected reef with a 120. It's just so much bigger and requires me to re-do the entire manifold and probably the stand top as well (new, sealed wood). What would really help is the tunze flowjet 5600 that I could use as an independent return pump. I love the Stream 3 in my 300DD display and very intrigued by this return pump.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/💨...-tunze-equipment-valued-at-759-usd-💨.1167233/