upgrading to ~150g tank - Page 3

Chaka · 03/24/2013, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by puffin04

The finished product!

Steffen Sparks

Simply amazing señor! tank you, cant wait til its got rock and water in it

rpjaws74 · 03/25/2013, 10:07 PM

nice tank!!

pnavarro170 · 03/25/2013, 10:27 PM

Looks great man. Cant wait.

Chaka · 03/25/2013, 11:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rpjaws74

nice tank!!

Stephan can make a good tank.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pnavarro170

Looks great man. Cant wait.

thank you both. The pukani rock is amazing as well.

pnavarro170 · 03/26/2013, 12:00 AM

pics of the pukani !!???!?

Chaka · 03/26/2013, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pnavarro170

pics of the pukani !!???!?

I will post some later today, I got a tee time I have to attend too!

puffin04 · 03/27/2013, 08:59 AM

Looking Nice! WOW

Steffen Sparks

Chaka · 04/09/2013, 10:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by puffin04

Looking Nice! WOW

Steffen Sparks

Oh yeah, filling up with water now!

Quote:

Originally Posted by pnavarro170

pics of the pukani !!???!?

I will finally post some pics of the rock tomorrow. I epoxied the rock into make medium/large structures. I wanted to "copy" the rock work from a reefer, i believe named carl Swaby. I have large shelves with pillars holding the rock up. It allows for the fish not only to swim on sides and top of rock structures, but through the pillars that support the coral shelves. I also drilled the rock with 1/4" holes so i can mount plugs with acrylic rods. They are drilled everywhere. As carl swaby explains in his video it allows placement of corals where you want them to go not where the rock allows you to put them.

I have the tank filled with about 100-110 gallons of freshwater. Once it is completely filled I am gonna mix the salt. Again, ill post some pics tomorrow.

Chaka · 04/10/2013, 08:15 PM

Here are some pictures of the development. I really like how the plumbing came out. Sump still needs to be build, but just needed tank for size reference.

The three tees all have union ball valves which will be used for carbon reactor, ats, and water change/lanthanum dosing.

I am still completing return, but this time I will try an external mounted pump. 1 1/4 intake to 1 1/4 return that splits into two 3/4 inch. trying to reduce the friction loss (i know its minimal but hey why not).

pnavarro170 · 04/10/2013, 10:51 PM

sweet man, same kinda thing i would have done. glad we are to this point already.

Chaka · 04/11/2013, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pnavarro170

sweet man, same kinda thing i would have done. glad we are to this point already.

yeah, wish it was already cycling. The live rock from my 40 gallon should help jump start the process. BTW hurry and review your pump

pnavarro170 · 04/11/2013, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chaka

yeah, wish it was already cycling. The live rock from my 40 gallon should help jump start the process. BTW hurry and review your pump

dude just get a couple, my review is get em. leaving town in the morning and dont think i have time today but ill try.

Chaka · 04/11/2013, 09:20 PM

Here are some more pictures

rpjaws74 · 04/12/2013, 08:14 PM

Very nice plumming job and clean!

Chaka · 04/19/2013, 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rpjaws74

Very nice plumming job and clean!

Thank you sir!

I am done with 90% of the sump. Just waiting on one panel of glass with three 4 inch diameter holes for the filter socks. I found a place on amazon that sells the 5 micron mesh. It is way more affordable than buying the individual socks. I think I am going to make my own. The reason for the socks is I will be dosing lanthanum chloride to keep PO4 down.

I added some shrimp to the DT today and put a piece of seeded live rock in as well. I am on my way to cycling the tank. I have some substrate on order and should be here soon. Anyways just wanted to give an update.

TimGentry · 04/22/2013, 10:04 AM

What kind of pump are you going to be using on this?

Chaka · 04/23/2013, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TimGentry

What kind of pump are you going to be using on this?

I am using a water blaster hy-7000. It is way too much though. I have it dialed back to about half on a ball valve. I want to have about 7-800 gph sump flow through.

Chaka · 04/26/2013, 05:14 PM

OH YEAH!

Water in the tank, sump done, WP40 installed, substrate in, skimmer hooked up, heaters heating, decaying stuff added, and the wait begins!

Water is still a little cloudy. Skimmer and Carbon doing its thing.

You can see the gunk coming from the sand, also finished the three hole glass panel install for filter socks.

And lastly, A little sneak peak. A long time ago I built a 100g cube but soon after sold it. I bought over 600 dollars of LEDs and heatsinks for the tank. I decided to break them out of the garage and finish them. I will be adding red 660nm, UV 390-410, Green, cyan 590nm and blue ~480 (forget the blue). When finished each panel will have ~125watts power. I will have 3-4 over the tank. I have 4 right now. Here are some pics of just the royal blue and white installed.

They will be incased in an acrylic box and hung ~3 feet above water line. I will angle the outside fixtures to minimize light spilling from tank.

Chaka · 04/26/2013, 08:17 PM

Well, I wanted to give you guys a look at how powerful these bad boys are, The 2x4s block some of the light so it makes the fixture look very "beamy". Again with the current lenses (60 degree) I can mount them high above the tank. My GF was helping me and we thought the best about 45-60 cm. 60cm bleeds a little off the side of the tank. Still looks more powerful than a 250w MH 4" off the water.

Other side

Also, at 60 cm there is enough light to get more than adequate coverage with three fixtures. Four would be over kill. This means I have one more for my little man's nano build! I did see some disco effect in pictures, but when I held them at the 40-50 cm height the effect diminishes if not unnoticeable.

I will repost some pics with the full spectrum when LEDs come in.

915MANG · 04/26/2013, 09:49 PM

Very nice man.

Chaka · 04/28/2013, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 915MANG

Very nice man.

Thank you very much.

I ordered the acrylic for my DIY fixtures. I also ordered the LDD-1000H and LDD-700H for the LED build. Way cheaper than the standard driver/power supply combos out there. So when all is said and done I will have three of the following fixtures:

12 Royal Blue 60 degree lenses
12 Cree Warm white 60 degree lenses
4 Red 660nm 120 degree (no lenses)
2 Green ~520nm 120 degree
2 Cyan ~485-510nm 120 degree
4 UV 410nm 120 degree
4 Blue ~475-485nm 120 degree

All will be on individual channels to control, except the the green and cyan. They will be on the same "green channel"

advanced aquarist has a article on reef spectrum at different depths and I was trying to have the ability to make the fixture mimic a shallow reef less than 50 meters deep. It reported that the "royal blue" or 455-465nm (I think) was the dominant light source; however, it still had heavy green and slight red color. And my hope is the lack of lenses on the supplemental wavelengths will not be overpowering.

rpjaws74 · 04/29/2013, 09:22 AM

impressed with your LED built man.....but let me ask you building your own is it cheaper and better to your needs than just buying let say some Radions? None the less pretty cool you can build your own.

Chaka · 04/29/2013, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rpjaws74

impressed with your LED built man.....but let me ask you building your own is it cheaper and better to your needs than just buying let say some Radions? None the less pretty cool you can build your own.

Well I forget the original price for the 96 LEDs heat sinks and drivers, but it was like 600 dollars. Lets se if I can do this math

-96 LEDs = ~$400 (cheaper in todays world)
-3 heatsinks = $60 (price about the same when I got them)
-6 LDD-1000H = ~$45
-4 LDD700H = ~$26
-Power supply = meanwell 48v 6.5A = $25 (ebay)
-acrylic for housing = $35
DIY arduino controller = ~$100 (haha when I get it working)

So when said and done $691 so lets call it $750 when done. Thats three fixtures done and complete with dimming and sunrise/sunset. So to me the time and work is definitely worth it rather than 600 dollars a piece. And my fixtures will be way more powerful with, IMO better spectrum and future modulation.

pnavarro170 · 04/29/2013, 11:21 AM

Looks like a plan man, will be checking up with it for sure. looks sweet.

stacy_vennes · 04/29/2013, 12:11 PM

hey chaka did you get our pm we sent you?

03/25/2013, 10:07 PM	#52
rpjaws74 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: El Paso, Texas Posts: 1,340	nice tank!! __________________ rpjaws Current Tank Info: 500 glln system/ Reef

03/25/2013, 10:27 PM	#53
pnavarro170 S.T.A.R.S PRESIDENT Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: El Paso TX Posts: 3,963	Looks great man. Cant wait. __________________ 150G

03/26/2013, 12:00 AM	#55
pnavarro170 S.T.A.R.S PRESIDENT Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: El Paso TX Posts: 3,963	pics of the pukani !!???!? __________________ 150G

04/10/2013, 08:15 PM	#59
Chaka Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Las Cruces, NM Posts: 363	Here are some pictures of the development. I really like how the plumbing came out. Sump still needs to be build, but just needed tank for size reference. The three tees all have union ball valves which will be used for carbon reactor, ats, and water change/lanthanum dosing. I am still completing return, but this time I will try an external mounted pump. 1 1/4 intake to 1 1/4 return that splits into two 3/4 inch. trying to reduce the friction loss (i know its minimal but hey why not). __________________ "life's a garden....dig it!" Current Tank Info: ~150G DT, 200+ total volume in progress

04/10/2013, 10:51 PM	#60
pnavarro170 S.T.A.R.S PRESIDENT Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: El Paso TX Posts: 3,963	sweet man, same kinda thing i would have done. glad we are to this point already. __________________ 150G

03/27/2013, 08:59 AM	#57
puffin04 S.T.A.R.S VICE P Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Las Cruces, NM Posts: 1,398	Looking Nice! WOW Steffen Sparks

04/11/2013, 09:20 PM	#63
Chaka Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Las Cruces, NM Posts: 363	Here are some more pictures __________________ "life's a garden....dig it!" Current Tank Info: ~150G DT, 200+ total volume in progress

04/12/2013, 08:14 PM	#64
rpjaws74 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: El Paso, Texas Posts: 1,340	Very nice plumming job and clean! __________________ rpjaws Current Tank Info: 500 glln system/ Reef

04/22/2013, 10:04 AM	#66
TimGentry Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: El Paso, Texas Posts: 912	What kind of pump are you going to be using on this? __________________ [url=http://drugstore-onlinecatalog.com/]drugstore-onlinecatalog.com[/url] Current Tank Info: 100g Mixed Reef

04/26/2013, 05:14 PM	#68
Chaka Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Las Cruces, NM Posts: 363	OH YEAH! Water in the tank, sump done, WP40 installed, substrate in, skimmer hooked up, heaters heating, decaying stuff added, and the wait begins! Water is still a little cloudy. Skimmer and Carbon doing its thing. You can see the gunk coming from the sand, also finished the three hole glass panel install for filter socks. And lastly, A little sneak peak. A long time ago I built a 100g cube but soon after sold it. I bought over 600 dollars of LEDs and heatsinks for the tank. I decided to break them out of the garage and finish them. I will be adding red 660nm, UV 390-410, Green, cyan 590nm and blue ~480 (forget the blue). When finished each panel will have ~125watts power. I will have 3-4 over the tank. I have 4 right now. Here are some pics of just the royal blue and white installed. They will be incased in an acrylic box and hung ~3 feet above water line. I will angle the outside fixtures to minimize light spilling from tank. __________________ "life's a garden....dig it!" Current Tank Info: ~150G DT, 200+ total volume in progress

04/26/2013, 08:17 PM	#69
Chaka Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Las Cruces, NM Posts: 363	Well, I wanted to give you guys a look at how powerful these bad boys are, The 2x4s block some of the light so it makes the fixture look very "beamy". Again with the current lenses (60 degree) I can mount them high above the tank. My GF was helping me and we thought the best about 45-60 cm. 60cm bleeds a little off the side of the tank. Still looks more powerful than a 250w MH 4" off the water. Other side Also, at 60 cm there is enough light to get more than adequate coverage with three fixtures. Four would be over kill. This means I have one more for my little man's nano build! I did see some disco effect in pictures, but when I held them at the 40-50 cm height the effect diminishes if not unnoticeable. I will repost some pics with the full spectrum when LEDs come in. __________________ "life's a garden....dig it!" Current Tank Info: ~150G DT, 200+ total volume in progress Last edited by Chaka; 04/26/2013 at 08:18 PM. Reason: forgot info

04/26/2013, 09:49 PM	#70
915MANG Registered Member Join Date: May 2012 Location: El Paso, TX Posts: 950	Very nice man. __________________ Mike O YOUTUBE "915MANG" Current Tank Info: 120 Gal in progress Fish & a few corals 34G Solana

04/29/2013, 09:22 AM	#72
rpjaws74 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: El Paso, Texas Posts: 1,340	impressed with your LED built man.....but let me ask you building your own is it cheaper and better to your needs than just buying let say some Radions? None the less pretty cool you can build your own. __________________ rpjaws Current Tank Info: 500 glln system/ Reef

04/29/2013, 11:21 AM	#74
pnavarro170 S.T.A.R.S PRESIDENT Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: El Paso TX Posts: 3,963	Looks like a plan man, will be checking up with it for sure. looks sweet. __________________ 150G

04/29/2013, 12:11 PM	#75
stacy_vennes Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Posts: 252	hey chaka did you get our pm we sent you?