SkiCat's Dream Build: [Saving The] Planet 180 - The Making Of An Epic Aquacultured Mixed Reef

justingraham

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See to me some of the fun of the fish tank is setting it up and thinking up answers to problems and then implementing them the build to me is the funest part I mean it’s nice having large colonies of expensive coral but that is a different kind of fun
 
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SkiCatTX

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See to me some of the fun of the fish tank is setting it up and thinking up answers to problems and then implementing them the build to me is the funest part I mean it’s nice having large colonies of expensive coral but that is a different kind of fun
I totally agree! While it is a bit more work than I originally foresaw, it has definitely been fun seeing it slowly come together. What keeps me from jumping ahead is knowing that anything that I don't do correctly now, will bug me for years, every time I think about it. So I want to get it as right as possible the first time!

It's my wife and daughter that see all the mess week after week and wonder when that awesome fish tank I've been talking about is going to have actual fish in it...And when my wife can have her half of the garage back. What's saving me is that she has her projects too...Our patio furniture is all over the back yard while she is resurfacing the floor and redoing a bunch of things back there. She can't exactly complain about my mess when her projects are ongoing... ;)
 
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SkiCatTX

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Got out my old miter saw for a bit this morning to cut the frame wood for the lights. It will be a "floating" hood, just a wrap to block the light downward, open at the top.

IMG_2140.jpeg


Step one of many.
 
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SkiCatTX

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I had a few minutes today, so I got started on the LED lighting and cable raceway routing.

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The black boxes are magnetic sensors so the lights come on when the doors are open or removed, the white switches are to turn the lights off when the doors are removed, but I don't want the lights on.
 
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SkiCatTX

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Continuing with the light mount. This is the part that mounts to the wall, with hinges to allow the hood to be raised out of the way.

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Testing the height and position of the hood over the tank, so I can place the mount on the wall correctly, and the right length.

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There is enough room inside the hood to allow me to raise or lower the lights an inch or two, but not much more, so I need to get it as close as possible to the ideal height. I'm going for 9-10" based on the BRS testing on YouTube for Gen5 Radions, and I'll assume the T5s are good with that as well.
 
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SkiCatTX

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The replacement Flex PVC arrived, so I was able to get those installed.

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There are two drains, one return, and an additional, probably for running any cables like USB to a remote Apex 832 or some other sensors for the future frag tank.

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Most of the covers back on; looks much more presentable.

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And covers back on the pipes. These will just be covered, as I wanted to get them installed so I don't have to move the tank to install them later. The stand is now approximately where it will be, so those covers on the right are where the frag tank stand will be...right now I just have a filing cabinet there.
 

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I just found this Build Thread and what an awesome setup so far.
I can relate to your build since i started mine in Nov. But not having any experience in the hobby beforehand, its all a learning curve for me. I took over the garage in early march and still don't have water in any tanks but its getting close.
I cant wait to see your rock scape.
 
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SkiCatTX

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I just found this Build Thread and what an awesome setup so far.
I can relate to your build since i started mine in Nov. But not having any experience in the hobby beforehand, its all a learning curve for me. I took over the garage in early march and still don't have water in any tanks but its getting close.
I cant wait to see your rock scape.
Thanks so much!

We're all here to learn, that's what it's all about! Glad to have you, and good luck on your build.

I'm actually most nervous right now about the scape...I have the rock, but keep putting off getting started on it...I guess I'll have to do it in the next couple weeks! ;Nailbiting
 
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SkiCatTX

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Great build so far. AGE is making me a tank right now. Excited to get my hands on it in a month or so.

Right now I am just staring at an empty stand and fishroom as I wait for the sump/filtration equipment to trickle in.

This hobby is teaching us patience!
Thanks for all the likes!

You're preaching to the choir on patience! I started looking to order the tank last August, then it took a couple of months to find a reliable to LFS to order from, then waiting on the order/build, then the stand was the wrong size when it arrived, so another month...

So, effectively I've only been "actually" working on it for a few months, but it feels like a year.

I only hope that in a couple weeks I can get some people to help move the tank from the office...
 
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SkiCatTX

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Still working on the lighting frame painting and hardware, just a few more days and I'll have that mounted on the wall!

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But while that is happening, I have been working on the stand electronics and wire routing. The LED strips are now installed and working, and I have installed quite a bit of wire raceway to route and hide away as much of the wiring as possible.

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Also, the shelves and most of the controllers and pumps are mounted, I just need to run their wires and mount the power bricks.

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DiefsReef

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Still working on the lighting frame painting and hardware, just a few more days and I'll have that mounted on the wall!

IMG_2173.jpeg
IMG_2178.jpeg


But while that is happening, I have been working on the stand electronics and wire routing. The LED stripes are now installed and working, and I have installed quite a bit of wire raceway to route and hide away as much of the wiring as possible.

IMG_2186.jpeg
IMG_2185.jpeg


Also, the shelves and most of the controllers and pumps are mounted, I just need to run their wires and mount the power bricks.

IMG_2187.jpeg
IMG_2179.jpeg
Looks great!
 
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SkiCatTX

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Light Fixture is now up!

IMG_2177.jpeg


The wall mount is pretty heavy-duty, especially the stainless steel supports, which are overkill, but I want to be sure it stays up for 5 or 10 years or more without me worrying that it might pull out of the wall or something. Plus, it allows me to adjust the lean left or right and up and down a bit to deal with sag over time or warping of the wood.

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The DX-18 T5 fixture mounted in the frame with the two initial XR-15 Gen5s (I plan for up to 5 over time).

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Aaaaand, mounted!

I started to run the power cables in the wall, but ran into and issue. I'll cover that when I solve the problem...I have a plan :)
 
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SkiCatTX

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Since I can't run the light wires yet, I started on the power cables.

I originally planned on putting UPSs and batteries inside the stand, so I installed the power outlets behind the tank. However, that's not going to happen now because the stand is completely full. It would require putting them behind the stand, which in turn would require removing all the return plumbing any time I wanted to change a battery or service them. Not to mention if water pours over the back of the tank on them...

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So, I decided to run them to the cabinet, through the wall, then back to the tank. I'll plug one extension cord into each of the two outlets, run them through the conduit, plug the UPSs into that, then run another extension cord back to the tank. This allows easy access to them for servicing and keeps them away from the water. I can also add more over time without running out of space under the tank.

Experience shows that AC UPSs only last an hour or two, but can easily power the Apex and some of the equipment through a short power outage without issue. After that, we need to rely on DC batteries.

IMG_2192.jpeg


I'm also going to put the Ecotech batteries for the M2 and MP40s here as well. They only require a tiny 12v power cable be run through the conduit to each controller driver. I'll start out with one battery each for two MP40s (or maybe MP60s), and a pair of batteries connected for one of the M2s. Earlier testing shows this will last 24-36 hours, which is plenty of time (in theory) to get a generator hooked up.
 

A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

  • I currently have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 73 37.6%
  • Not currently, but I have had feather dusters in my tank in the past.

    Votes: 66 34.0%
  • I have not had feather dusters, but I hope to in the future.

    Votes: 25 12.9%
  • I have no plans to have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 28 14.4%
  • Other.

    Votes: 2 1.0%
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