Lucas's Rimless Shallow Reef - Long overdue update!

Don't add water until the silicone is solid. Great looking work so far. Let the silicone cure for a week since you have so much work to do before testing and putting to use.

 

Thanks man... I waited 5 full days, and the silicone turned from milky white to more of a translucent haze, about what I expect when it is cured.

I picked this up at Lowes... 100% silicone is reef safe, right?

Thanks John. I took your advice and waited a little while longer. There were a couple of bubbles in one of the vertical seams (less than 1mm), and when I filled the tank, they expanded a little. I'm pretty sure it will be ok, just a little unsightly for me (OCD, of course:).

Alot has happened since I posted last... its amazing... wife and kids come back home, and my priorities end up shifting... who would've thought? :

- Stand moved inside and in final resting place
- Tank is finished. Silicone trimmed and tank leak checked.
- Plumbing is done.
- Lights are hung.
- All electrical is complete. Equipment panel is looking mighty fine, IMO.
- Reefkeeper is completely programmed. THAT took a lot longer than I thought. I guess it's my OCD way of doing things, but if I'm paying good money for a controller, it better do it the way I want. The RKL and I had a few stern talkings... 'Nuff said.
- RODI currently in the tank, will hopefully have enought to add salt and mix overnight. Aquascaping (and birth!) tomorrow!!!!

I downloaded this cool app for the iPad, the Clinometer. Basically, it tells you rise over run (ex: 1" rise over 12" run), great for leveling in multiple dimensions. So, I just had to brag.

Example screen shot of when something is not level:



My tank on my stand (note, the numbers fade the closer to level you get, ie, no numbers equals completely level): ;D



Oh, and the above reply to norg was a joke, I did use reef safe silicone



IS ANYONE ELSE ANXIOUS FOR A FULL TANK SHOT!?!?!?!?! ;D

 

Amazing build!!! I can't wait to see this tank fully completed!

Nice work.

 

yup, lets have it then!

 

You had me scared that you had actually used the wrong silicon.....thank god you didn't.
FTS please

 

Thank you Biocude. I cant wait either. Not bragging, but this is one of the fastest compeletely DIY builds I've seen, and I even feel like its been too long! I want a FTS already!!!

Common Sacul... where's that FTS?!?!

LOL, tomorrow night (crossing fingers!)...

 

Not fair! lol. You're just dragging this out for us.

Nice iPad app.

 

Just found and went through this thread..You my friend have serious DIY skills:thumb_up: ..great looking set up so far, can't wait to see how it all comes together..one question for ya.. when you made the 10 in one wire for the LEDs how did you do it and what gauge did you go with..subscribed..

 

LOL, there has to be some fun in it, right?

Well, I'm afraid I'm going to be dragging the FTS for another day or two. It appears my lack of having a tank for the last few months has rusted my memory on how to mix saltwater correctly. I had all the RODI water in the tank last night, and then proceeded to dump the Red Sea Coral Pro mix into the tank 5 cups at a time.

For anyone not realizing the mistake, the explaination is simple. Coral Pro mix (or most SW mixes) is high in calcium, and if it is added in large quantities, the water closest to the mix becomes saturated with calcium/mag and then proceeds to precipitate calcium.

So, woke up this morning to a very cloudy tank. New RODI water being made... will reattempt tonight...:

Thanks Jkat!

Well, I wish I had taken pictures when I made it, but I basically cut 10 wires of equal length (make sure to label each end... otherwise you'll spend alot of time figuring out which wire is which on the other end...), laid them out, bundled them up, and used a straightend coathanger taped to one end of the wires to push them though 1/4" braided sleeving. The sleeving expands to about 1 1/2" when you push it together, and then snuggly wraps around the bundle when you pull it tight. Secure the ends with plastic zipties.

As for gauge, this will probably be contriversial, but I used stranded 22 gauge wire (which I cannot recommend for anyone else) for its thinness. The american wire gauge table says that 22 gauge wire can safely handle up to 0.92 amps, and that is using a 700 circular mills per amp rule, which is very, very conservative. I'll be pushing about 1.3 amps through a few of those wires, and 700mA or less through the rest. 22 gauge wire is 642 circular mills, so I'll be using about 500 circular mills per amp, which is still somewhat conservative. 200-300 circular mills per amp would be aggressive, especially in a bundle such as this. I am an electrical engineer by trade (but not an electrician), and did alot of research into this before I committed to using a thinner gauge. To verify, I let the LEDs run on max for quite a while, and the wires all stayed at ambient temperature.

Now that I'm typing and thinking about it, if someone were to copy this, they could just use 20 gauge wire (which is rated for 1.5A by AWG table) for the runs that need it, and use 22 for everything else. The bundle would be a little thicker, but probably not noticably so. Live and learn, I guess. :

 

Yup, you got me too, that "mold free for 5 years" silicon!!

Did you get the VorTech wet yet?