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LoJack's 144 Gallon Reef
Well I figured since I did an intro thread and promised a Journal ages ago ... its time to give you folks some photos.
I've been poking around on this forum but haven't been overly active up to this point. I've been making lots of changes to my reef though, and figure its time to document them. It won't be as jammed pack as my original thread on my local forum ... but thats only because there are now too many photos to sift through lol. So I guess I'll start with the details. Thank tank is a custom built, starphire front with black silicone, Euro braced tank with a coast to coast overflow and Beananimal standpipes. Lets just get to the photos ... I know thats what everyone is going to want anyway lol |
The DIY Stand. I built the frame of the stand out of 2x6 lumber to prevent the need for a center brace.
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/ea81d723.jpg Just basic good one side plywood for the top and the inside bottom since you weren't going to see it anyway. http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/3933d4cb.jpg Then I assembled the face frames. I originally wanted to build my stand out of maple, however I live in Thompson and you can't be overly picky here. Red oak was available, so Red Oak is what I ended up going with. http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/3591cb8d.jpg Once I had the face frames completed, I began building up some pillars to add some 3D depth to the stand. This was going to be a show tank, so I had to adventure out a little further with my woodworking ability and try and a few new things. http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/932abc72.jpg This photo shows a little better how I built up the pillars http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/3fd29171.jpg And the look of the stand before I added any of the trim http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/ae4c10c0.jpg http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/7d493a6c.jpg The Rail cap that I built for the top edge of the stand could not be purchased, so I got creative with some oak and my router and made it myself. The trim that you see on the bottom of the stand is actually purchased, its the only trim I was able to buy rather than make. Its a standard 3 1/2" oak baseboard for your walls. http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/IMG_2369.jpg This photo shows the assembly of the rail cap. I designed it so that no end grain would show through when everything is finished. End Grain stains darker than everything else, and I didn't want that to happen on this build. http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/IMG_2371.jpg Then I cut pieces of oak to fill the tops of the built up material at the tops of the pillars. http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/IMG_2374.jpg a 3/4" cove bit and 1/2" 3step bit allowed me to make the trim that finished off the pillars. Here is a close up that shows each of those in one shot. The baseboard on the bottom, the cove that hides the mitres, and the step to provide a smoother transition inside of the pillars. http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/IMG_2390.jpg http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/IMG_2391.jpg Then came the stain. I went with a water based Mahogany and 3 coats of water based Poly. http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/b7e17f2e.jpg http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/28c26c79.jpg http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/0b43e3d1.jpg The Canopy was built in a very similar fashion so I won't bother with build photo's. here it is before stain and doors. http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/0c4a6361.jpg With the stain applied. I also painted the inside white with a high gloss acrylic paint. This will help to reflect more light than a dark interior would, directing the light into the tank. http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/63c9b8cf.jpg Shiny Shiny lol http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/f2de2dcb.jpg And the Canopy with Doors: http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps809166ed.jpg |
My god thats some amazing wood working skills you got there!!!! Beautiful!
Wanna come finish my stand?? |
:jaw:Wow, that's beautiful woodwork!!! Looks like you've got the canopy on a tank, so let's see some more!!!
Thanks for sharing! |
I love the woodwork!
Great Job |
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The next step I took care of was soldering up my DIY LED's. I purchased 3 heat sinks, and made 3 separate units. Each unit contained 12 Royal Blue (460nm) and 12 Cool Whites (6500K) wired into meanwell drivers controlled by RapidLED's dimmable controller. http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/460badb7.jpg http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/889aca92.jpg White Test: http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/6f8c8be1.jpg Blue Test: http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/22603889.jpg They work! Time to mount Oh wait ... pure Chaos!! http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/7757b781.jpg Chaos Cleaned up http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/658f7cca.jpg You can see that the right side is whiter than the left side. This meant that I needed to adjust the SVR2 setting on the driver for the blues on the left pendant which was taking slightly more amperage than the others. A close up of a single heat sink http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/56a167de.jpg |
Time to move back one step ... because the canopy was built after I had the plumbing done ... but it screwed up my sequence for the Journal.
So lets get to the plumbing. First the tank needed to be drilled. Plumbers putty and a bit of patience to the rescue: http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/c8fc95a6.jpg And thanks to trickery of photography ... I'm done http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/768a8e70.jpg http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/799a1b33.jpg After the holes were drilled I painted the back ... http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/6d2b9c07.jpg And then began construction on the Coast to Coast Overflow http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/373d443c.jpg And voila! http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/bab87001.jpg The pump is a Reeflo Dart (3600 GPH) http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/3cae034e.jpg http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/46fcb619.jpg http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/308222ca.jpg And because I used the Beananimal overflow ... 3 standpipes http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/78bf31ed.jpg There is also a 1" line that diverts from my 1.5" piping on the return that circulates back into the sump. This is for a filter sock. But because my overflow doesn't go to the sock, there is a 0% chance of an overflow because of a plugged filter sock. http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/a82dd8f1.jpg The return on the pump is diverted into 4 separate outlets of loc-line that have fan nozzles and locline ball valves. This gives me full control in terms of flow. If I have a piece that can't handle the high flow, I can turn down 1 of the ball valves decreasing the flow in one area and increasing it in another. http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/d904744e.jpg http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/f95e41f8.jpg |
nice bro looking really good. where is the fans for the heat sink
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Very nice work. Hope you don't mind, but I copied a couple of your corner post pics. I saw something similar on a reefcentral post a while back but couldn't find it again. I'll save it for posterity :)
An idea I saw (I can't remember where) for hanging heatsinks is run them on pocket door track. That way when you have to work in your tank you can just push them back on the rail and they're not hanging in your way. Just a though if you hadn't seen it done. |
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I thought about actually doing a thread dedicated to just the stand and canopy ... because I have 10 times as many build pics as I showed here. Most people are interested in the tank and the livestock, so I focus on those when sharing on the forums. As for the pocket door rail, thats a stellar idea. I am fortunate enough to have a rather tall canopy, and my heat sinks hung high enough that they have never been in the way while working in the tank. My hanging set up is very caveman ... but it does the trick and is hidden inside of my canopy. |
So here's a full tank shot showing the finished Canopy
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/ecc8a52e.jpg |
And then I started adding some of the livestock to the tank ... slowly but surely. Keep in mind I had a sump stocked with fully cured rock from another tank ... so my cycle was non existent.
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/f103bace.jpg http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/3d8e0026.jpg The first piece of SPS in the tank ... Pocillipora http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/992551c7.jpg Toadstool Leather Frag http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/dc07972f.jpg 5 Heads of Green CandyCane http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/0f001cec.jpg Right side rock work: http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/9aa4c0a1.jpg Full tank shot: http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/9010f928.jpg |
Seriously, that stand and canopy is off the hoook! You got mad skills bro. And I love that aquascape. Well done!
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Lego lvl expert! That aqua scape is so damn fine.... I might have to issue you a ticket sir!
~Tony |
Some of the Fish ...
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/a13bc2d1.jpg ORA Sunrise Dottyback http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/b89348ea.jpg http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/51a5c9b7.jpg http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/12aea9d5.jpg And a couple of Land Sharks for Fun !! http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...k29/file-1.jpg |
Love the setup! Big fan of dry rock here. Also very sharp and crisp shots of fish.
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great photos!
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Thanks guys!
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Right side of tank
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/8959d6bc.jpg Pink Fox http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...k29/file-2.jpg Hulk Green Acan http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...k29/file-3.jpg Euphyllia Cristata http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...k29/file-6.jpg Triple threat shrimp shot http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...k29/file-7.jpg ORA Neon Dottyback http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...29/file-10.jpg Toadstool Leather http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...pse546d59e.jpg Favia Frag - not sure which type. It was shipped to me as dragon soul, which I clearly didn't get ... but its pretty nice nonetheless. http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps474acad9.jpg |
Left side of tank
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps3710e6c3.jpg Toadstool Frag http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...psc022a1d2.jpg |
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Ctenochaetus binotatus "Blue Eyed Tang"
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...psa15079f4.jpg http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps6ff1727b.jpg http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps6330a330.jpg http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...psf7c8820d.jpg http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...pseeba787f.jpg |
Tank looks great and that is one sharp looking tang!
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Wow . What an beautiful tank . Great job on the stand and canopy. I was wondering what type of paint did you use and what shade of blue is that?
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Wow very impressive tank and stand. I love the colour of the stand. Great job this will be an amazing tank when it gets filled in. I might have to build a canopy now for my tank after seeing this.
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I'm not sure what the color is. Its just a premixed rustoleum roll on paint that I got from Canadian Tire.
Thanks for the kind words! |
Superb tank design and some of those frags I would kill for
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Well done thats a killer aquascape!!!!!! :biggrin:
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Figured I could probably provide a few more photos
I went through a lighting change. I recently switched from LED back to T5. I have one piece in the tank that has adapted phenomenally to each change. Here is the piece the day I put it in the tank. It was a throw away browned out unidentified frag http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps6923044b.jpg Under my White and Blue LED's it started to settle in and show a little bit of color: http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps58308120.jpg When I added UV and Cyan to my LED's the colors really started to change http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps4b1cd0a9.jpg And a few months later under the same lighting http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps0f693721.jpg And then with the switch to T5. I've lost the teal color, but the growth has been much better under T5 than it ever was with LED's http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...psa2974f09.jpg http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...psf74be5f1.jpg |
A few other changes. I just got home from a 3 week stay in Winnipeg. I had a friend check in on my tank a couple of times to fill my ATO reservoir and feed the tank. Some of the changes were amazing. I should learn the lesson and keep my hands out of my tank more often.
Here is a frag that I got from J&L on one of my orders. They didn't provide an ID with it, and based on the colors its tough to know for sure. I'm leaning towards Red Planet based on the tabling and the polyps. Here it is: http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps1070157e.jpg I moved it higher into the rockwork before leaving and this is what I came home to: http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...psc6d2052a.jpg Significant growth in my opinion. It also is giving me confidence that its a frag of Red Planet. The color is changing to red, plus its got a green tint to it that you can't really see in the photo. Anyhow, another frag from the same order. It showed up browned out with almost no polyp extension. No Identification either. The polyps were the size of salt grains: http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps19cb287f.jpg And then 3 weeks later when I returned. It had overgrown its plug already and look at the color and polyps. Biggest transition while I was gone for sure! http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps96f5ac13.jpg I don't have a before photo of this one, it was just much deeper in color when I got home so I thought I'd post a picture of it as well. http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps309b4cca.jpg |
Was playing with the camera today, thought I'd provide a photo update to the thread.
June 2012: http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/9010f928.jpg Approximately June 2013 http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps13539bc0.jpg Current (Sept 30th, 2013) http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps7941b270.jpg |
And a few other shots from today that were okay.
Female Lyretail Anthias, it was the only decent fish shot I could get today http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps38ad92a9.jpg The unknown blue tip acro (my most successful transformation) http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps2018eb42.jpg Amazingly bright, yet surprisingly slow growing orange digi frag http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...psfd7f3cc0.jpg And a panned out shot of the tank where it stands in my basement http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...psd0f87244.jpg |
Very cool progression shots!
Sent from my SGH-I747M using Tapatalk 4 |
June 2012
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...29/file-16.jpg September 30th, 2013 http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps9a59a37a.jpg |
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