iReef
 

I'm getting a slow start but better late then never :biggrin:

Here is the "cabinet" for my tank:

http://hotimg23.fotki.com/a/70_70/254_23/iReefCase.jpg

And the left over "guts" that used to inhabit it:

http://hotimg23.fotki.com/a/70_70/25...efCaseGuts.jpg

And the cardboard mockup for the tank:

http://hotimg23.fotki.com/a/70_70/254_23/Mockup.jpg

http://hotimg23.fotki.com/a/70_70/254_23/Mockup2.jpg

I'm just waiting for my acrylic to be cut and mostly assembled. More to come soon I hope...

:mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen: I can't wait to see this build. Love the idea!!! :biggrin:

I remember seeing something like this years ago. Awesome idea to use an iMac!

I love these!

A buddy of mine had a while back.

He got it as a kit from this place.

.

NICE, wana see more

Great Idea...Love it

Rust?

I love it!! :mrgreen: You've got my vote unless someone builds one inside a new iMac... :lol:

VERY cool idea!!! Can't wait to see it built!

I was contemplating that. the only metal is that base the motherboard used to sit on. The rest is plastic. I may try to paint the metal base with some rustoleum of something as it is a perfect base for the tank.

That I would like to see :lol: May be good for some Pipefish!

Very innovative, can't wait to see how this turns out.

OKay, it's been a crazy busy month and a half but I am just squeaking in under the wire. Slight progress but still some sorting of the "cabinet" to do. Here's the update:

The tank was completed but I messed up my measurements/drawings a bit so the front panel did not fit properly. Had to kludge it a bit with some extra acrylic. it's not pretty on the side but it works and it won't be visible when all is said and done.

http://hotimg23.fotki.com/a/70_70/254_23/Tank1.jpg

http://hotimg23.fotki.com/a/70_70/254_23/Tank2.jpg

http://hotimg25.fotki.com/a/70_70/254_23/Tank3.jpg

http://hotimg25.fotki.com/a/70_70/254_23/Tank4.jpg

I also decided to make a rock wall for the back. it's made by siliconing rock to a sheet of that plastic mesh used for needlepoint:

http://hotimg23.fotki.com/a/70_70/254_23/RockWall1.jpg

http://hotimg23.fotki.com/a/70_70/254_23/RockWall2.jpg

Then the spaces are filled with insulating foam:

http://hotimg25.fotki.com/a/70_70/254_23/RockWall3.jpg

and finally the foam is coated with epoxy resin and covered with sand:

http://hotimg25.fotki.com/a/70_70/25...ckWall4188.jpg

And here it is in the tank:

http://hotimg23.fotki.com/a/70_70/254_23/Tank5.jpg

Next up was working on my LED lighting. I am still waiting on my Cree emitters to arrive but I had some cheapo chinese white emitters so they will do temporarily. I'll build a second array and swap in the mix of blue and white Crees when they arrive. Here are the various parts and the little parts box heatsink I drilled and tapped:

http://hotimg25.fotki.com/a/70_70/254_23/LED1.jpg

And the completed array powered up:

http://hotimg25.fotki.com/a/70_70/254_23/LED2.jpg

And finally the tank filled with water, sand and some rock (which has been in my frag tank and was in my 10 gallon nano before that):

http://hotimg23.fotki.com/a/70_70/254_23/Full1.jpg

I will endeavor to keep the updates more frequent and regular from now on.

Awesome work so far! Only trouble is you're going to get used to having such a sexy caninet. When the time comes to upgrade your next logical step up is to gut a cinema hd display and that's going to set you back some!

Thanks. I think maybe you mean the old Studio Display? I think the Cinema HD is an LCD monitor and that would mean a very thin tank :heh:

Here's a shot from this morning now that the sand dust has cleared. Man those LEDs shimmer alot. I'll have to see if I can get some video.

http://hotimg25.fotki.com/a/70_70/254_23/Full12.jpg

Computer shell, custom LEDs, DIY back wall. This tank is going to be AWESOME!

This is looking great! Can't wait to see more!

oh wow Ron. That's awesome. Lots of creativity and DIY. I assume that powering on the MAC would turn on the lights of the aquarium? ;)

Good thing the tank is in a Mac.. if it was in a windows box you'd always have a

tank crash! ;)

Now now Jeff, lets not get political.

Either that or you would look in the tank and see nothing but a wall of blue :lol:

What would also be nifty is if pressing the on button would play the old school MAC boot sound. There are greeting cards you can buy now that contain onboard chips that let you record a short personal greeting that plays when the card is opened. I smell a hack!

I just might have to use that one :biggrin:

Really enjoying this build. I love the originality.

Thanks everyone. My Cree emitters just arrived so I will try to get the final lighting up and running tomorrow.

I love the idea can't wait to see it with the new LED's!

I love a good LED build :biggrin:

Here's the completed LED array. Made with 2 scrap yard CPU heatskinks, 2 Cree XRE white LEDs, 4 Cree XRE Royal Blue LEDs, some scrap acylic for splash shields and a few nylon and stainless screws. The heatsinks were drilled and tapped and the LEDs are held on by the non conducting nylon screws.

http://hotimg23.fotki.com/a/70_70/254_23/CreeArray1.jpg

Total cost of the lighting was 6 LEDs at USD $5.25 each, probably about $1.00 for the heatsinks, USD $20 for the buckpuck driver and $18.90 for the 24v wall wart. Oh yeah, 24 screws at about $0.07c each. Grand total is about $78.

And here they are fired up:

http://hotimg23.fotki.com/a/70_70/25...reeArray12.jpg

It's fairly blue with this mix of LEDs. Probably close to 18,000K or 20,000K.

I'll get a shot on the tank later when my daughter drags her butt out of bed as the tank is in her room right now :smile:

Here's a shot of the tank with the new lighting. It looks more blue/purple in the picture than in person. I will have to try to figure out the white balance for LEDs:

http://hotimg23.fotki.com/a/70_70/25...lTankShot1.jpg

Are you planning on adding a fan to cool the heatsinks?

How do you access the top of the tank when it is inside the computer case?
Are you planning for a access panel on top?

The entire top of the case will be removable. But the front bezel overlaps the top in front so I am engineering something for that.

Shouldn't be necessary as I am only driving the LEDs at 350mA (the blues are rated up to 700mA and the whites up to 1000mA). I lose a little in light output but they run far cooler. The loss in lumens is not a problem in this small tank. The heat sinks get warm to the touch but not hot. I will probably run one fan in the case just to draw warm air out when everything is closed up.

Ah, I see. I understand the Cree XR-Es are still quite bright at 350mA, you should have plenty of PAR yet. They will outlast the tank itself, too :biggrin:

FTS due!! :biggrin:

Slow progress but here it is.

Got the tank in it's cabinet now :-)

http://hotimg23.fotki.com/a/70_70/254_23/iReef6.jpg

http://hotimg23.fotki.com/a/70_70/254_23/iReef5.jpg

The back of the case and front bezel come off for access to the tank.

http://hotimg23.fotki.com/a/70_70/254_23/iReef11.jpg

Here you can see the rear chambers with heater, ATO and Minijet 606 return pump.

http://hotimg23.fotki.com/a/70_70/254_23/iReef2.jpg

And I cut and hinged the top of the front part of the frame for access into the tank itself.

http://hotimg25.fotki.com/a/70_70/254_23/iReef3.jpg

http://hotimg25.fotki.com/a/70_70/254_23/iReef4.jpg

I added a bit more rock and a couple of frags. one small piece of tree coral that came off a larger one I had and a few zoa frags. I had two snails but they died. I think maybe something was leaching out of the rock wall as the pH was a bit low and the frags all closed up but two 100% water changes later the corals seem happier. I want to get it stable and make sure the coral frags and snails are happy before I go with any other type of livestock.

Anyhow, here is a shot into the tank.

http://hotimg25.fotki.com/a/70_70/254_23/iReef7.jpg

Dude that rocks!!!:mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen:

Looks pretty sweet... I don't really like the rock wall look, but yours is pretty great!

Wow very cool build, looks great!

J

Awesome job on the aquarium! I love the rock wall. can't wait to see it with fish. What do you plan to add?