boognish

Your stand looks great. The bowfront has definitely been a hurdle in this build. Lighting, lift, and canopy update: Jeremy (offroad) and I brainstormed a way to squeeze 3 t5's in for supplemental light. Mounting 2 in the canopy door and 1 across the back between the overflows. I ended up going with a lift system using pulleys and a hand-wench instead of hydraulic lifts. I was unsure what the final weight would be, so I didn't want to guess which to buy. I probably won't be getting hired on as a welder anywhere, but it's definitely going to hold. I can always replace the hand-wench with an electric wench if I come across the right one. Once I got the lift figured out, I was able to skin the beast. Here are some pics of the progress so far. No trim, stain, or paint yet, but I'm getting closer... Hinged bowfront door open. I'm using a stick to prop it open here, but will end up with gas springs eventually. This will do for now... I only have about 12 inches of clearance when lifted to the ceiling. I would have liked more clearance, but I prefer the taller stand and needed the canopy height for the 400w MHs. This will get the lights up for changing and out of the way when I need to lean in to get deeper into the tank for any reason. I've never said "That's what she said..." more often in one weekend than this past one. Every time my wife or friends saw it the first reaction was "thats so big" or "that's huge"... What else would one say? This week, I'll be coating the inside with Killz, staining the oak panels, painting and putting on the black trim. Unfortunately, I don't have a compound miter saw... Once that's done, I need to get the lights and fans installed, holes cut in the back for wiring and ventilation, then the main airflow for the MHs figured out. so close, yet so far away.

Thanks! I wanted to make it as lightweight and small as possible, but I think I've maxed out both of those parameters. I need the height to get the lights more than 6" off the water. I used Poplar so isn't really that heavy, but is sturdy enough to handle it's own weight and that of the lights, etc going into it. As far as venting it... I am planning on daisy-chaining the MH lights with 6" duct with an exhaust fan in the garage pulling air from one end of the canopy in the house, past each light, then to the garage. I don't think I will need *too* much flow, so I am going to experiment with the different fan strengths. I don't want a windstorm or tornado sound. Hydro? Any input as to what fan I should start with? The total distance will be the length of tank (6') plus about another 4 - 6 feet to the fan. Total of 12' max. Ideally, I'd like to be able to redirect the exhaust into the garage OR the house if I wanted heat, but that would require either a fan in the house or another hole back into the house from the fan in the garage.... I am considering pulling air from the garage and through, but not sure the wife will be happy with duct and holes on each side of the tank. Not sure I would either, but sending all my AC to the garage might not be a good idea either. I am going to extend the canopy on the exhaust end to hide the duct coming out the side. That side is closer to a wall on the far side of the room and shouldn't really be noticeable. Here's a 'not-to-scale' mockup I made: I am designing a pulley system to raise it. I don't want to afford the actuators that will lift this beast. Two anchored on each end and one at the bottom of the stand. I will be able to slide it off the front of the lift system for maintenance, light changing, etc. I'll diagram that soon. I need to get all the lights figured out first so I know what I have to work with.

Canopy and lighting update... I couldn't have asked for a better New Year. My dad was able to come up after Christmas and help me architect and start to build the canopy. He's a master woodworker & wood artist who loves a challenge and I value the time and woodworking knowledge I get out of it. Between my work and his 'Grand-dad time' with the kids, we managed to make some good progress. Reminder: The main functional features of this canopy are: Hold a lot of light: (3 400W MH + as much supplementary light as I can stuff in) Ventilate to the garage behind via 6" air duct Ability to easily maintain tank on a daily basis (feeding, etc so front should open). Also, the entire canopy needs to lift out of the way when I really need to dive in. Match the custom design of the stand: three faced front instead of curved like the bow-front of the tank. Much appreciation to my neighbor, Jeremy for letting us invade his home and inspect his awesome build setup and lift system, as well as doing the leg-work in Austin to find the metal suppliers. There's very little out there on custom canopies for bow-front aquariums so I'll post some pictures in hopes they help others looking for some ideas/direction in their build. Sorry I don't have 'plans'... My dad and I just don't work that way. We build using the agile method. We know where it needs to end up and get there in sprints. Sorry for the grainy/blurry iphone photos. My wife the photographer is a bit busy: This is the molding that rests on the top of the tank. The template I used to cut the tank impression out of the stand's molding is clamped to it. I used it as a guide to router out the bevel that would overlap the front of the tank. Molding cut and joined to the front 'door'. Front of the canopy propped open. I plan to attach a couple T5's in the front hinged door. The beginnings of the lift system behind the tank - We welded these steel tubes for the lift system. More on that later... I need to get the lights figured out first... Canopy upside-down with the rack system I will hang the 3 400W MH lights from. I used a 6' closet shelf and cut out the part I needed. Using chains, I'll be able to raise and lower the lights within a range of about 5 - 10 inches above the water. You hit the nail on the head, Hydro! Air cooled reflectors hung to see how much room I have for T5s. This is about the lowest they might ever be. They're just hung for horizontal spacing in this picture. I can only fit 3 of the long t5s with reflectors. Two in the front door and one behind. these reflectors are designed to be air cooled via the 6" duct flanges. I'll pull air from the house or garage and pump it into the garage or house depending on the time of year. Lights hung and front open. I'm hoping to have time to work on the lift system and to skin this canopy soon. With the workload, it wont be this week or next week...

Funny you should ask... Growing and expanding my company this year has left me barely enough time to maintain the 75 gallon, so the 175 was put on hold. Gotta love an empty tank in the living room reminding me every day that I could have a bigger, better tank... Well the company made money this year and we don't want to pay taxes on profits, so... BONUSES!! That means I get a tank controller, reflectors, and to build a canopy finally! I got the the 3 reflectors yesterday from a local hydroponics supply warehouse here in Austin and I'm planning to start canopy construction soon. (If you are looking for great lighting or hydro equipment, contact me. These guys went WAY down on price to match an online price I found without my asking. I was happy to be able to support the local economy.) Measure twice, cut once... The biggest challenge was getting the curve exactly right. I have an image on the first page of the template I created to cut the bow into the trim. I set the tank on plywood, bent a slat across the front and superglued/nailed it to the plywood in the curve. I kept it to use on the canopy. No that is not necessary. The stand build was not done with any plans and I always tend to over-build. That is something I am trying to avoid on the canopy since it needs to be as light and streamlined as possible so it is easily lifted with the lift system. Magnets - I used fairly small magnets and so far that is the only thing I think I am going to change. We have a new puppy and he got rambunctious and knocked off a door playing. I added approximately 6 inches of depth to the stand in anticipation of creating a lift system and possibly a shadowbox type of backlit area behind the tank instead of painting it black. I'll let you know if that comes to fruition... I will definitely document the canopy build here. I cannot find any info online about a custom bowfront canopy, so I hope it turns out good and helps anyone looking to build something similar. Hoping to incorporate a lift system, hinged bow area, and a way to easily replace bulbs. So far all of those plans are only in my head...

Rome (RIP) and Barkley

Brokeback Reefclub... Ang Lee's touching romantic drama of two reef enthusiasts... This is a sequel I think I'll have to miss!

PM Sent

Looking locally for a new or used refractometer before I hit the online stores.

ttt

Bump - Still looking for some shelves.

I am looking for dry rock to work into the marco rock I have for the aquascape in my new tank. I am specifically looking for pieces that have flat surfaces to create plateaus/shelves at different levels in the tank.

I'm glad the lights are OK... That box looks like Ace Ventura delivered it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4V64r3q4FuA

Sold

I have one 500ml container of Brightwell Aquatics Phosphat-r Regenerable Phosphate Absorption Resin that I do not need. I used one scoop and have that if you want to recharge it. http://brightwellaquatics.com/products/phosphatr.php Paid: $44.99+tax Asking: $30.00

Update? Are you ok, Don?

PM Sent about Reeflo Dart

The 3 main and most sensible uses for the wastewater that I have found are... 1) Route it to another ro/di system and end up having very little wastewater. I think I saw a diagram on RC for this type of setup. 2) Use it for laundry by routing it into their washing machine. 3) Fill a rain barrel and use it to water their lawns, plants, and gardens. I'm sure there are some other creative uses out there. I've been just letting it go onto the lawn since I hooked mine up last month and the lawn beside my house is looking better than the front already. I have a huge veggie garden, so I'll be collecting it in a rain barrel to try to save on the water bill this summer and keep the veggies and fruit happy. I just realized that I am transitioning from carrying buckets to and from my tank to carrying them to and from my garden... Now I'll have to automate that next summer...

I have a towel under the pump, but it is still noisy. I am starting to think something is wrong with the pump if a Mag 9.5 was too much for you. I took the heater/chiller out of the loop and still don't seem to get much pressure out of the return lines in the tank. Barely enough to ripple the surface of the water. There seems to be a lot returning into the sump, but not enough to create a visible flow through it and make use of the baffles, even. There certainly isn't enough to overflow the tank. I am going to check out the other 2 Mags I have and see what they do. I think they are 9 and 12.

I filled everything with hose-water and turned the mag-24 on. One of the return PVCs has a crack, so I need to do some patching. It seems like there is enough flow through the sump, but not enough in the display tank from the returns. I think the chiller/heater is restricting too much when combined with the split off to each side of the returns. After hockey tonight, I am going to put the chiller on it's own closed loop and see if I can get better flow into the tank. Also... the mag-24 is a bit noisy. Pump recommendations? Ones I need to avoid?

I'm not quite done with the plumbing, but I thought I'd post an update and see if anyone has any feedback before it all gets glued. The staff at the Lowes and HD by my house are getting pretty sick of me coming up a couple times a day. I should get stock and get some of this back. I also have a nice collection of PVC parts, now. It was pretty nice when I changed my mind during the process to have what I needed already as this nears the end... Forgive the blurry pixellated iphone pics. Underneath the tank: I'm sure glad I built the stand with doors that come completely off and open on the ends. It makes working underneath a breeze and working on the sump easy since it comes right out. I have a mag24 that I have never used. I know it would would be too much for the overflow to handle, so I am going to try to run the entire system off of it: Through the wall to refugium, calc reactor, UV filter (when/if needed), and chiller/heater then back to return. The Fishroom (garage behind the tank): Here's the fun part... V1 controls flow to the refugium. V2 and V3 will control flow to the calc reactor and UV filter when/if needed. V4 closed with V5 open sends water through chiller/heater and returns thru wall to tank return lines. V4 open with V1 and V5 closed = Dumps water from the sump to the curb via garden hose for water changes I had an old 20 gallon long sitting around, so I went to Fishy Business and got it drilled to use as a refugium - thanks Shane!. Just need to add a baffle/guard to prevent anything from creeping down the return line. I picked the 4 month old chiller/heater and controller up from an ARC member last month for a great deal that I can't believe no one else got before I did. Mixing Station 25 gallon resevoir I make RO/DI into that will gravity feed the sump for ATO. I manually turn the RO/DI on and off, but have a float switch connected to the RO/DI shutoff valve in case I forget to turn it off. When I need to make saltwater, I'll dump 30 - 35 gallons into the mixing barrel via the black valve, dump salt in, and turn on the pump. There is a pump at the bottom of the right PVC tube that pumps up. To mix salt, I close V1 and open V2. To finish a water change, once I have pumped enough out of the sump, I open V1 and close V2 to send new saltwater to the sump. A concern is that I will either not have enough flow with the head-pressure from the Mag24 or too much power, and have to send too much through the refugium. If so, I'll need to make some adjustments and remove/add some pumps. Possibly breaking the refugium off onto its own pump. Guess we'll see... Any recommendations or input?

Happy polyps everywhere you look!

working on it... working on it... darn CO2 regulator went out and having elec issues that cut all power to my 75 today. I 'Fonzied' the wall right above an outlet and it all came back on... that can't be good. Always something to suck the $$ out of my wallet and prevent the new tank from getting done. I have an electrician friend coming out this week to put in a new box with a few new breakers exclusively for the new tank. My current one has no room for any more breakers. I'm punching a bigger hole through the wall tonight to run the return line out to the garage, to the chiller and back in. Hockey tomorrow night, so hopefully I'll be leak testing Wednesday. I have a feeling this mag24 might be too much... SHOW ME YOUR CUSTOM CANOPIES!!! HERE

I may have posted too soon, but if this helps anyone, it's worth it. - I may have finally found something credible out there on the innerweb... http://www.thekrib.com/Filters/plumbing-misc.html search the page for "PVC vs CPVC". Looks like I may have the right pipe after all...

I am plumbing my tank and can't find a definitive conclusion on whether it is ok to use the standard (cheaper) NSF-pw PVC pipe. In all of the forums, the vote goes both ways, but I have not found anything that says why it's bad or good, what it leaches if it's bad, or much more than "I've heard this or that"... Can anyone shed some light or have a resource they could link me to?