125 reef build

[JPKeenan]

thanks for the pics! I was trying to draw out some stand plans and your pic was 99% of what I had in my head

 

[ccCapt]

Cool. Glad you found it useful.

 

[blownsvt]

great thread. wish i had a way to cut into the floor and plumb my sump in the basement just doesn't work in the place where i put my tank. I also have a 125 gallon cornerflow tank. I am getting ready to plumb it tomorrow. Still waiting on a few components to arrive like my return pump and i need to get a UV sterilizer.

What type of UV sterilizer are you using on your tank?

 

[ccCapt]

Thanks

What type of UV sterilizer are you using on your tank?

None. I never used or owned a UV unit.

 

[Smitty]

Yes, I am bringing back this long dead thread but ccCap did it by mentioning it in a more recent one

How did you attach the horizontal 2x4s (along the top and bottom front and top and bottom side) to the vertical 2x4s? Did you screw all the way down the 4" side or did you do it an an angle where they meet up? I was thinking about doing something similar and was even thinking of using the flat joist connectors but if there was something easier I would love to know.

Also, on your doors, are those pre-made or did you glue them together with rabbits and then plane them? I don't have access to anything better than a belt sander so gluing them with rabbits is out... and I'm not going to buy one of those just for a couple doors. (I hope I'm using the right term... rabbiting I think is cutting a small hole in each board and using a wafer or pin to hold them together... I guess I could drill a hole and pin them together...)

Thanks!

 

[ccCapt]

How did you attach the horizontal 2x4s (along the top and bottom front and top and bottom side) to the vertical 2x4s?

I glued and toe-nailed the vertical 2x4's and glued and straight nailed the horizontal 2x4's. It's more than strong enough. There is no lateral movement at all.

Also, on your doors, are those pre-made or did you glue them together with rabbits and then plane them?

I used tongue and groove knotty pine boards, glued them together and screwed 2 1x2 strips to the back to stabalize them. They were very easy to build.

 

[scottayy]

Wow just read through this thread for the first time. It's very evident that you are very knowledgeable and have a lot of patience and a lot of skill to make things look great.

I would like to see your wiring. I have wires going everywhere.. i couldn't see any in your pictures! Where are they hidden?

Great job!

 

[ccCapt]

Sorry I missed this ^. Pretty much everything is in the basement with the sump and I only have a few wires coming up thu the floor.

I haven't done much of anything to the setup in quite some time...until now. Since LED's seem to have become the next best thing in lighting, I decided to give them a try. I wasn't 100% sure I would like them so I only bought 2 units to try as opposed to the 3 MH's I had been running. My plan was to keep the center MH and use the LED's on each end.

There are seperate power cords and switches for the blue and white.

The unit has 30 white LED's and 25 blue LED's. They are 3w LED's running at 2w. Total power consumption, including the fans is 120w.

Only blue on.

Only white on.

All on.

Left side hung in canopy. I hung them at about 6" above the water line.

Right side.

I did some PAR measurements and I am impressed. They are about equal to Iwasaki 15k bulbs (which have higher PAR than many 250w bulbs) and they beat 250w XM 20k bulbs by quite a bit. I will be ordering the 3rd unit soon.

 

[carey]

What brand are those leds? If you dont mind me asking...

 

[Smitty]

Those look like some of the ones you get off of ebay. I'd also be interested in the name of them and what kind of lens you got. Is it a good spread in the water or more spotlighting?

Thanks!

 

[ccCapt]

I got them from my LFS and he called them "Blue Reef", even tho there is no name on them or the box. They have a 2 year warranty and they do seem to be the same as those on Ebay. I believe the diodes are Bridgelux. The spead is great. They have 120° lenses.

 

[scottayy]

I'm curious if you guys know of a good article for T5 vs MH vs LED. Is it a preference?

 

[ccCapt]

This article was published a little over a when LED's 1st hit the market. They are somewhat improved now.
Feature Article: Quantitative Comparison of Lighting Technologies: Metal Halide, T5 Fluorescent and LED — Advanced Aquarist's Online Magazine

This tests a few of the newer LED units.
Feature Article: LED Lighting Tests: Ecoray, Reef Fanatic, and MaxSpect — Advanced Aquarist's Online Magazine

 

[scottayy]

Wow, very good articles. Very scientific.