PRIMARY LED lit Custom glass tank

[zachtos]

As for the spray paint and the silicone I chose, I'm relying on luck at this point to determine if they are "reef safe". The great stuff is hard to form after it is sprayed, it expands to 2 times its size in an hour and gets pretty "tacky" w/in 60 seconds. I know it looks like crap right now (literally), but it's better then bright yellow backing at the moment. I'm having a VERY hard time finding eggrate to protect the overflow compartment. I may have to cobble something up myself. No hurry though. I got a month or so till i get fish.

My plan is to cover the back wall w/ coraline algae, GSP and/or xenia. I will have a few pieces of LR in the display w/ some small softies. Planning on astreas, scarlet crab, cleaner shrimp and one clown goby. Playsand substrate from quickcrete (have used this in the past). I will have a fuge in the back w/ its own 7W 7200K PC light while the main display is lit w/ high powered LEDs (still on route). So far my project is on hold until my LEDs arrive. I will buy LR/LS late this week and start the cycle after my tropic marin salt arrives w/ my 25W heater and 150gph power head.

I will be using walmart great value distilled water and topping off w/ distilled limewater (Ball's pickling lime, 2tsp/gal). No skimming , No dosing (other than limewater and bakingsoda if needed), just weekly 10% WCs and macroalgae trimming. After displacement the tank will be a 2gallon display w/ 2 gallon sump.
It only took maybe 2 hours to drill those 130 some holes using a drill press. I would not reccomend doing it by hand. you have to set the drill at a VERY low speed if you dont want to crack/shatter your piece. Which i did crack it MANY times testing by hand drilling. One day I would like to scale this up to maybe a 30G or even a 90G if it works out well w/ my nano LED test tank.

[zachtos]

Construction Details:








final dimensions 12"Lx12"Wx10"T

[zachtos]

more construction details:




The paint made the foam curl about 1/2" up on each end, Bending the acrylic background. I siliconed it into the tank despite this and plan to shoot some great stuff directly into the exposed areas to prevent detrius buildup behind those curled edges...



Feel free to read this over and comment w/ suggestions. I will be working on the LED lighting in the next two weeks and starting my tank cycle late this week.

[areze]

I think the LEDs will work fine for you here.

I question whether LEDs could be aligned in a dense enough grid to light a tank deeper than 12-14". unless you go to 1w superflux LEDs, then you have to deal with extra heat, and the cost would be quite prohibitive.

so are you using a mix of 10mm and 5mm LEDs? I notice the different hole sizes in there. 5mm going to be blue and 10mm white?

[scbauer]

Yea, post some more info about the LED design. You may want to check some other threads, but I think people have had bad luck with that silicone. Don't quote me on that, but... As for the foam, have you seen other people use that stuff? The only thing I've seen it used for is filling gaps around window casings .

When are the LED's supposed to arrive? I'll be sure to check back then. For now, it is looking really good.

-Scott

[zachtos]

LEDs should be arriving from hongkong LATE this week. They will be 100,000mcd 10mm white LEDs @9000K. I will also wire in a moon light circuit that will probably run 16hrs/day. Those will be low intensity 410nm LEDs.

More info will come as I start the wiring.
Check my nanoreef thread for more info prior to this.

[zachtos]

I have filled my tank w/ tropic marin salt and washed playsand today. 7W PC 7200K fuge light installed. minijet 160gph as a return pump and 25W submersible stealth heater. I have not hooked up the autotopoff system yet and have yet to recieve my LEDs from hongkong yet. All of my electronic components are ready. As soon as they arrive I will begin wiring and documenting.

I plan to pick up liverock tomorrow nite and livesand to start the tank cycle.

[cutsupremetrib]

i use that great stuff in my pond.... wouldnt be brave enough to do it in my reef though

[lscaquarium]

umm, correct me if im wrong but you used GE silicone2,
not good...it has bactierial and anti fungal chemicals in it and some chemical for fast drying and low odor chemicals.

only use GE silicone1, or any of the other regular silicones.

not to rain on your parade or anything but i would check it out if i were you, i think the packaging even says not for aquarium use, on the back fine print.

[tekknoschtev]

lscaquarium, they make type 1 and 2 with the anti-mold and anti-fungus agents. This whole point has been debated to no end, and the "not for aquarium use" is a fall back or a "cover our butts" statement made by GE and many silicone manufacturers. There are different strengths of silicone, but GE Type 2 doors and windows is perfectly fine.

Before it gets out of hand though - I reccomend that people do some of their own research (and yes, they may mean waiting for the search here, or working around it with google) and decide for themselves which silicone is appropriate for their application. When I asked a while ago, I was told GE Type II Doors and Windows because Type I had the anti-mold stuff in it. Later I was scolded for using Type II and told my tank would fail and I'd have a pool of water in the living room. While its only been about 6 months - the 150 is still holding fine, all of the baffles in the sump are doing well, and the tank is rock solid with no leaks. While 6 months isnt proof in and of itself, I feel as though its safe and sturdy enough to pour my paycheck into livestock for the tank

[itZme]

Weird coincidence ... I am also waiting for my 110,000mcd white 10mm 9000k LEDs from Hong Kong for the nano cube that I have here. I am going to try LED-only lighting and will have 70- 10mm white with 30- 5mm blue lights. I already have the 5mm blue 460nm leds I will be using them to supplement the white lighting .. I have tested the blue lights only and the corals fluoresce very nicely. I planned on using 6-10 of the blues for moonlights.
I have been watching the mailbox for the lights over the last few days. I paid last week and the last shipment made it in only 5 days.

If I get them soon I will post some pics.

I am at the same stage as you. I have rock, sand, water and salt in there with pump running. I have modded the cube a bit too. I cut some fingers into the back wall to make an overflow and also blocked off all the factory holes to only allow water to reach the fuge/pump by overflowing through the fingers. I will light the fuge by LED also.

Good luck with your tank... I will be tagging along on this one.

-- itZme

[kmagyar]

Nice little project! Where are you getting your LED's?

Keith

[zachtos]

LEDs are from bestofhongkong.com. They have great prices/selection of LEDs but are very slow to ship product.

[areze]

you have that right? that site isnt pulling up for me. I know and have used on many an occasion www.besthongkong.com

their LEDs really are top notch. shipping is sporatic, sometimes its within days, and once it took almost 2 months.(that was a while ago, I think they were having some growing pains with their B2C side)

[kamla]

tagging along..
nice setup..

Good luck

[stugray]

I also hate to "rain on your parade", but I would NOT have used that DOW gap filler inside my aquarium.

Here is just a small excerpt from the Material Data Safety Sheets from the DOW website:

"6. ACCIDENTAL RELEASE MEASURES
PROTECT PEOPLE: Avoid any contact. Barricade area. Clear non-emergency
personnel from area. Keep upwind of spill. Ventilate area of leak or spill.
The area must be evacuated and reentered by persons equipped for
decontamination. Use appropriate safety equipment. Ventilate area of leak or
spill. If available, use foam to suppress vapors. For additional information,
refer to "Exposure Controls/Personal Protection", MSDS Section 8. See
Section 10, Stability and Reactivity.
MATERIAL SAFETY DATA SHEET Page 4 of 8
3/17/2004 GREAT STUFF Gaps and Cracks
PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT: Contain liquid to prevent contamination of soil,
surface water or ground water. Keep out of ditches, sewers, and water
supplies. Should the product enter sewers or drains, it should be pumped into
a covered, vented container; the cover should be placed loosely on the
container but not made pressure tight. Move to a well-ventilated area.
Emergency services may need to be called to assist in the cleanup
operation.
CLEAN-UP: Supplies of suitable decontaminant should always be kept available.
Absorb with material such as: sawdust, vermiculite, dirt, sand, clay, cob
grit, Milsorb. Avoid materials such as cement powder. Collect material in
suitable and properly labeled OPEN containers. Do not place in sealed
container. Prolonged contact with water results in a chemical reaction which
may result in rupture of the container. Place in: polylined fiber pacs,
plastic drums, or properly labeled metal containers. Remove to a well
ventilated area. Clean up floor areas. Attempt to neutralize by suitable
decontaminant solution: Formulation 1: sodium carbonate 5-10%; liquid
detergent 0.2-2%; water to make up to 100%. OR Formulation 2: Concentrated
ammonia solution 3-8%; liquid detergent 0.2-2%; water to make up to 100%. If
ammonia is used, use good ventilation to prevent vapor exposure. If you have
any questions on how to neutralize call The Dow Chemical Company. Please
refer to Disposal Information, MSDS Section 13. See Section 7 and 15 for more
specific information.
7. HANDLING AND STORAGE
HANDLING: Avoid contact of this product with water at all times during
handling and storage. Use only with adequate ventilation. Keep equipment
clean. Use disposable containers and tools where possible. Do not eat, drink,
or smoke in working area. Refer to Exposure Controls/Personal Protection,
Section 8, of the MSDS.
STORAGE: Store in a dry place. Store between 32°F-90°F (0°-32°C). Keep
containers tightly closed when not in use. Protect containers from physical
abuse. Avoid direct sunlight. DO NOT incinerate aerosol can.
8. EXPOSURE CONTROL/PERSONAL PROTECTION
ENGINEERING CONTROLS: Use only with adequate ventilation. Provide general
and/or local exhaust ventilation to control airborne levels below the
exposure guidelines. Exhaust systems should be designed to move the air away
from the source of vapor/aerosol generation and the people working at this
point. Odor is inadequate warning of excessive exposure."

And that is just a very small part.

Here's the link:

http://www.dow.com/PublishedLiteratu...romPage=GetDoc

The solvents used in that stuff is highly toxic, and I imagine that it will be leaching out for years.

I am interested in the LED lighting though. Good Luck.

Stu

[RobbyG]

Its' too late to change so just roll with it and see if the silicone works. After all I am sure you will know it's toxic after you put the first fish in so why panic before then.

[stugray]

I think the silicone will be Ok ( Home Depot also sells aquarium silicone ).

I was talking about the foam...

Stu

[MarkS]

Stugray, many people have done this is in the past with no problems. You just have to wait until it dries. The biggest problem is that it slowly dissolves underwater.

[fppf]

Yeah MSDS sheets are written for when the product is fresh and in its worse state. The bigger questions and you will need to talk to the mfgr is how long does it take for all the solvent to letch out. Plastics are the same way.

[Pyrrhus]

why not use the Dow-Corning aquarium silicone?

[zachtos]

I'm not worried about the foam, it is inert when dried and others have used it w/ success. I have picked up live rock and will post a photo of my cycling tank later. My LEDs wont be here till next week. They left hongkong dec.14.

[zachtos]

My LEDs will be here this week. they left hongkong dec.14.

Started my tank cycle 2 days ago.

[itZme]

Originally posted by zachtos
My LEDs will be here this week. they left hongkong dec.14.

Hey mine left on the 14th too. They arrived today! YAY!

Did yours get here yet?

I am now drilling all the holes and will solder them up tonight and hopefully plug it in today before bedtime (you know it may be 6:00 am before i find a need to sleep with the DIY bug going strong)

I'll let you know how it looks... hope yours come soon if they haven't.

-- itZme

[zachtos]

LEDs are still not here.

Ammonia Nitrate/ite are all 0ppm w/ only 7 days?!

I used cured live rock but didn't add any life/food. Are these readings true, is it really cycled?