Blog Comments

Hey Crvz, I like what you did with your aquascape, the rock should color up quickly.

Looking good Crvz! You have a nice selection of corals already. Sorry to hear about the DOA.

As im sure you know, adding trace elements can speed up the growth of coralline, but very beautiful rock! I wish I had gone with the type instead of the premium Fiji.

It's marco rock, for the most part. I've had it in the sump I built curing for over 9 months, so i'm relatively confident in it's ability to handle the bioload this early. It hasnt ever been under light, though, so we'll see how it colors up (there could be some phases before coralline really sets in).

Where did you get the rock???
It looks pretty clean, and neat. Nice specimens to build with.
Thanks, Aaron

Nice Photography. Looks Clean, Thanbks for the ideas fo setting up the raceways, gives me some food for thought.
Aaron

Definitely well thought out.

Good thoughts, Mark. There is nothing behind either of the panels besides wiring. I just offset them in order to tuck wires back there and make it look a little cleaner (though, let's be honest, it's a right mess behind the panel... even though they open so I can get behind them, there are a lot of wires). I've used those DJ power switches in the past, but since I want to stick switches between the controller and the piece of hardware, those rockers were the way to go (example; my skimmer is controlled by the DC8, but I can kill power to the skimmer with a switch without killing power to the DC8).

The controller there is just the AC3 (a bit of a relic now in that blue cover), but I do have an Apex on hand that I will be installing in short order. I like the idea of the acrylic, I'll have to think about that. It'll probably go into the long list of "future work" (which currently includes, in priority order, moving the frag tank, auto water change, new shelf for AC system (if I don't upgrade to a mini-split AC), and a species tank). Once I move the frag tank, there won't be any highly credible failures that would allow for splashing on the panel, but the protection would be nice all the same.

And thanks for the other comments as well, Midnight and Red.

I love the detail you went to. The upper panel with the lighting stuff seems to be offset from the wall 4" to 5" away. What is behind the board besides wires? Your rocker switches on the lower panel are nice, giving you easy access to flip things on and off at will. Very similar to the DJ switches many use, but more DIY of course.

It might be nice to have a full sheet of acrylic in front of that main panel, hinged off once side with a cut out where the Aqua Controller is. That way nothing can spray the power center with water accidentally, but if you have to get in there, you open it up. The AC3 Pro (right?) is the one thing you might need to handle often. A sliding panel or small door over the series of switches would be another handy option.

Crvz.......omg.......well I would have to see it in person to actually figure out what is really going on there. your pictures could be either not big enough or not narrow enough field of view I hate squinting. but it sounds and looks like you have thought of most things. I do low voltage electronics as well so 110/220 is more like fourth nature to me.

I am a guy who thinks he has plenty of power as long as there is a open spot in a power strip... so my opinion is worthless, but OMG, this looks great!

Very elegant looking...

Woohoo!! That's what I like to read.

Thanks, Marc. The gap has closed almost entirely. There are a few spots I can slip 2-3 sheets of paper under, but I'm ruling that as insignificant. The lady at marineland I spoke with kept saying that "the four corners need to be supported," and that is not an issue (there's no gap at the corners). I'll probably still call them back when I get it completely full, but my confidence has risen (particularly as it is holding water). So much so that, in that last picture, you can see I dumped a box of salt in the display. Tomorrow will probably be sand day.

And what about the gap?

Looks great, Crvz!

BTW, I really like how clean and organized everything looks off to the right of the stand. Keep the updates coming.

I havent had an issue raising/lowering it thus far. While it will lean one direction a little while letting it out, I can manage it with relative ease. But, once I get the tank in, I'll check it out again and see if there's reason to adjust something. I do not expect to have to manipulate the system very often. But thanks for the thoughts!

I was thinking the same thing. unless the light fixture was pulled all the way to the ceiling it would have the tendency to lean to one side. With the hooks positioned in the middle of the frame I would be concerned with the light fixture tipping forwards or backwards. I'd also suggest having 2 independent pulley systems one on the left and one on the right, having it all tied into the tie down on the left, that way you can still control and fine tune them both at the same time. I would also use hooks on all 4 corners of the light frame to prevent it from tipping forward and backwards.

Adjusting the height of the lighting is almost a two-person job with that bicycle hanging kit. I've helped Ryan adjust his in the past over his 400g. If you don't mind doing a test run, I'd suggest you rig two different ropes so you can raise and lower it like a common Venetian blind.

You could use black rubber as your light shield.

CRVZ glad to see you are still making progress. you know us little guys love to see you alls big tanks.