Swannyson7's 180g mixed reef

[TANKSALOT]

This is looking sweet!

 

[litenyaup]

This is looking sweet!

is deff comin along!! cant wait to see it up and running!

 

[swannyson7]

Got a bit more work done last week. I finished the facing on the left drawer pull out, mounted the door for the sump, and added hardware.

Here's the frame for the canopy... the next project to undertake.

I may use heating register vents in white for ventilation of the canopy, but I'm undecided. I gave up on finding a ratcheting winch or DC motor to adjust the lighting fixtures, so I'm going to use some adjustable hangars from a hydroponics store. That way I can suspend the LEDs only a few inches above the water, but can raise them up for tank maintenance.

 

[swannyson7]

This was the original plan for the plumbing... but since then I've decided to eliminate the closed loop after reading some disturbing reviews on them. I may decide to add one later on with an over the top siphon, but I won't waste one of my drain lines.

 

[swannyson7]

Another update... I got some work done on the canopy, the plumbing, and made some tank tops for any suicidal wrasses. Here is the progression on the canopy....

The side of the canopy in hinged so that the 72" T-5 fixture can slide out for bulb replacement...

A preview of the doors that still need to be mounted-

 

[swannyson7]

Here is the plumbing that I worked on a bit. It's going to have to be trimmed once it's installed, but it's a start. Everything that will be out of the water is painted for walking my wife through any problems that arise when I'm not home, but anything that comes in contact with water will be unpainted.

The red is the drain line, the green is the return line, and the yellow is the A.T.O.. The tee off of the pump return is to throttle down the return flow if necessary without adding too much resistance on the pump. The yellow fitting on that same tee allows the coil of flexible tubing to screw in for draining during water changes. The 1/2" PVC that comes off of the return line will go into a portion of the sump seperated by a baffle to create flow for frags.
I'm still contemplating using a closed loop, but I've read so many mixed reviews about them that I'm not sure. It sounds like they get clogged up with detritus and can be a real PITA when they fail. If I use one, it will be a siphon off the DT instead of drilling the bottom of the tank, but I'm probably just going to use my Koralias. I'm thinking about chiseling out some liverock to conceal them a bit (like the tunze rock), but I just don't want it to be a nigthmare to swap them out if they fail. Any thoughts?
I used the aluminum framing parts for a screen window to make covers for the tank. I ordered some mesh netting the hold in with the screen spline. It's made of translucent nylon and the holes are slightly larger than eggcrate. It should be dense enough to prevent any jumpers, but open enough that it won't hinder lighting. Here's some pics:

And fitted on the tank...

 

[swannyson7]

LEDs arrive today from Luke. I can't wait!!!

 

[swannyson7]

LEDs are here!!!! They were packages very well and talk about bright!

The center section can be turned on by itself, or just the outside portions, or the whole thing for dawn/dusk effects.

 

[swannyson7]

And now what you all came for....pics of them over the tank! Please excuse the bad pics, I was too excited to break out the SLR, so you're stuck with my P&S shots. The fixture is over the left third of the tank, while the right 2/3 is lit with 250 watt phoenix 14k bulbs on galaxy balasts and two 54watt T-5 actinics.
Here it is with just the center section on....about the same as the rest of the tank-

And with just the two outer portions and the center off-

And with the whole thing on-

As you can see, it's much brighter than the halides. The pic looks pretty washed out because the auto white balance kept adjusting for the halide portion, but the color is about a 18-20k look. I get the MH ripples on the sandbed and the color pop of LEDs. Heres a few quick shots with my P&S to try to show the colors-

 

[swannyson7]

Bump!

 

[condor]

nice, i am starting to get a little more curious about led's. they do look bright

 

[FROGMAN]

cool really cool

 

[swannyson7]

nice, i am starting to get a little more curious about led's. they do look bright

I'd say they are equal to at least a 400 watt halide if not brighter after seeing them over my tank.

 

[swannyson7]

Unfortunately, due to the unbearable heat that we've been experiencing, work on the tank was put on hold for most of the week. I did get a little bit done today though. the doors are now mounted on the canopy, I did some sanding, and I started adding the finishing trim. Another hour or two of work this weekend and it'll be ready for paint!! Here's a few pics of where it stands right now.

Unfortunately, I ran out of the trim that I'm using to hide the black pastic frame of the tank, so I'll have to head to home depot tomorrow and grab some more.
I also went on a bit of a reef tank shopping spree over to past few days, so they weren't completely wasted. I bought some Warner Marine Ecobac pellets (Solid vodka dosing to control PO4 & NO3), a couple peristaltic dosing pumps, some loc-line, GFO, filter socks, and some ATI Blue+s. I also caulked the 1x3 around the bottom of the stand for accidental spills and re-siliconed the tank. After a bit more work this weekend, I should be just about all set and ready for the move once I can round up enough people.

 

[swannyson7]

I also did a little rethinking on the sump design so that I can have a refugium and a frag setup. I think I'm just going to run a PAR38 20k LED fixture for frag lighting to grow out zoas & acans, and use a clip on flood light bulb for the refugium.

 

[gar732]

Dude, I'm there when you're ready. That thing is gonna be sick.

 

[swannyson7]

Dude, I'm there when you're ready. That thing is gonna be sick.

I won't be able to round up the manpower for a little bit probably, but if you want to come up and do some drinking this weekend in the meantime... let me know! :xd:

 

[swannyson7]

Finished the construction of the canpy today and all that's left is some sanding and paint. Also got the mesh in for the tops and put them together today. Here's some pics:
The inside of the canopy:

And the outside:

I still need to sand down any wood filler that I used to fill gaps, but after baout 30 minutes of work, it should be ready for paint.
Here's the tops for the tank:

Once I get some decent weather, I'll mount the lights and determine whether or not I need the register vents on the side of the canopy for the T5s. I don't think I'll need them with the fans I'm putting in the canopy, but time will tell...
I also put another coat of pain on the inside of the stand and got a nice new 5 foot power strip for the back of the stand:

Unfortunately, the caulk used on the 1x3 wasn't paintable, so it may not be that pretty, but it was sitting around in my tool shed, so the price was right.

 

[swannyson7]

Got a coat of paint on the canopy today. Almost ready to make the move!!!

I also water tested the tank today and it's good to go. So all that's really left is mounting the lighting and putting the baffles in the sump. It's so close I can almost taste it!!

 

[litenyaup]

lookin great!!