My 300g to 120g Upgrade

[DaveMorris]

Well it seems that every time I start building a project like this tank setup, I end up buying another power tool or two. This time is no different. I broke down and bought a 12" drill press. I will be building my lighting support structure out of aluminum channel and square tubing so the ability to make precise holes and cuts will be important. I have been wanting a drill press for quite some time. I am hoping to start on this part of the project tomorrow.

Today I also did some PVC shopping. It never ceases to amaze me at how much PVC costs $0.79 at a time. $120 later and I should have most, but certainly not all of the parts I need. I'll get started on the PVC plumbing part in a couple weeks when work slows down a little. This is certainly not a fast process!

[ReefMaster]

I made my light supports out of aluminum channel and don't regret it. It was a lot of DIY but the ecotech marine rail kit was a disappointment and now sits in my garage.
It's funny but all my powertools were for "the reef"

[DaveMorris]

Today while everybody was out doing their black friday shopping I got some more work done on my stand. I attached a wood divider that will act as a support for the electronics. Got everything sealed up and painted. Tomorrow I will be coating the entire stand with urethane and I will be attaching the cable management hardware as well. December should be the month to get everything set up. My work schedule should be light and I should have plenty of time to get everything dialed in the way I want it.

[Aaron]

Tagging along! Can't wait to see the finished tank


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[frostee]

Nice build I have built and painted my stands like yours but I have not used urethane over it, sounds interesting, which type do you use?

[DaveMorris]

I'm not sure of the exact brand, but I'll try to find out. I got it at Home Depot so it isn't anything special. Here are some shots of the stand in its finished state.





You'll notice in the last picture the lack of a center brace and two spots that aren't painted very well. Dave Mitchell built the stand with a removable center brace just in case I needed the extra room to place my sump inside. This was key because I designed the sump to be as big as possible. Also the hole toward the top of the divider is to allow the cable management raceway to fit. I will be mounting that part tomorrow and will get that all dialed in. I'll get the sump in and reinstall the center brace and then I will start on the plumbing. The three holes in the top are for the three drain pipes. I'm running a Bean Animal drain system. I have not yet drilled the holes for the return lines because I haven't decided if I want to use flex PVC for them or not. I also haven't decided if I will use 1" or 3/4" lines for the returns. I'll sort these things out as I get into the plumbing. It is easy either way so I'm not too concerned about it.

I also began the metal work on my lighting support. Hopefully I'll get more of that done tomorrow as well. I'll post some shots of the lighting support as I get it going.

[davocean]

Lookin' good Dave, and glad that frame worked out for you.
Can't wait to see it skinned and tank runnin'!
As for a clear I'm pretty partial to Minwax fast drying polyeurethane, think that is what I suggested to you.

[DaveMorris]

So I made some more progress today….

I got the sump in the stand and replaced the brace.

It worked out just the way I wanted it.

I also got the electrical raceways mounted...

This stuff should make everything neat and clean.

I was able to get the support frame assembled for the lighting in my hood. I am going to use two LumenMax fixtures with 150w 14,000k MH lamps along with LED supplementation. I will be re-working my StevesLEDs.com system to better fit into this set up. That project will be next. It will take a while for me to get everything soldered up again and re-done.

I think this set up will sit on my tank on four feet, one in each corner. I don't really want to put holes in the ceiling or wall since we are renting. I am planning on skinning the frame with wood and trim to match the skin on the stand.

[bbandu]

Looking good Dave

[unbereefable]

Looking good! Ever thought about making some hanging bars out of conduit? I'm thinking I'm leaning this way.

[DaveMorris]

Looking good! Ever thought about making some hanging bars out of conduit? I'm thinking I'm leaning this way.

Actually I have thought about doing something like that. I just haven't figured out how I want to do it yet. I may try to come up with a way to slide the hood on and off of two supports. I don't want it to be hanging from brackets. I never have liked the way that looks.

[DaveMorris]

Today I ordered two Coralvue Luxcore switchable electronic ballasts to go with the LumenMax fixtures that I am using as part of my lighting setup. They should arrive next Monday. I'll get the ballasts mounted in the stand and run the cables up to the fixtures. I want to keep the lighting setup as light as possible (no pun intended). Now the only thing left to buy is an MP40

[DaveMorris]

I ordered another dual driver and some red and neutral white LEDs from Stevesleds.com to build a light source over the refugium section of the sump. I'll have to come up with another ALC to control it, but that shouldn't be a problem. I should be getting them on Monday along with the ballasts I ordered from Aquacave. Next week I think I'll be spending most of my time dealing with the lighting setup. Here is the link to my build on the original LED setup:

http://www.sdreefs.com/forums/showth...r-my-300g-tank

I am basically building the same thing, but some of it will be re-worked slightly. I want to incorporate the refugium lights into the same power supply and project box so I am basically rebuilding the whole thing. Shouldn't be too tough.

[DaveMorris]

Today I bought a slightly used MP40wes from a fellow reefer on Reef2Reef. Should have it early next week. I'm going to start with one and see how long it is before I need to add a second.

[DaveMorris]

Today the UPS guy brought me some goodies:


I got my two Coralvue Luxcore switchable MH ballasts and my parts from StevesLEDs.com. I ordered 6 Luxeon True Violet UV LEDs for over the tank and 6 5000k and 6 red LEDs to build a refugium light for under the tank. I'll start working on the LED stuff this week. I'm going to mount the two ballasts in the stand along with the RKE system components. The ballasts came with lamp cables that connect to the cables on my Lumenmax pendants. I just need to order the lamps and then the MH part of my project will be complete.

Today I also picked up some more true union valves and PVC parts to build my manifold that I will be using on my return pump. I have not figured out where under the stand I am going to mount the manifold, but once I get started mounting the plumbing it shouldn't be too tough to sort out. I want to get going on the plumbing soon. So many details to get covered and I have been dealing with them a little bit at a time. I have found that when I do a little bit and then allow time to think about my approach I am able to make adjustments to the plan as I go. More updates coming soon!