JBJ 28 Gallon HQI LED Conversion

Friday, October 02nd, 2009 | Author: admin

Here are some photos of the Metal Halide to LED conversion:
I used a pre-made panel that uses 40W of energy. My old light used 150W and made the chiller work overtime!
You can buy the panel on eBay

[Show as slideshow]

Category: Aquaria, Eco | Leave a Comment

72 Gallon

Thursday, October 02nd, 2008 | Author: admin

Some of the Corals in the 72 Gallon… Hoping they will grow

Category: Aquaria | Leave a Comment

DIY Stand

Monday, August 11th, 2008 | Author: admin

DIY 55/65 Gallon Aquarium Stand

I wanted to build a stand for my 55G tank that could also fit a 65G, the stand
that I currently have was made for a fresh water tank and it doesn’t have the
necessary room for a sump. I’m not really good at working with wood so this is
definitely a beginner DIY and there are tons of other DIY stands that are better
than this, but at least you can get an idea so you can start building your own.

Click on Image to download the plan as a PDF

After I figured out the dimensions I wanted I bought
the 7 2x4x8 and started cutting them to size

I cut all the pieces by first taping the 2x4s together
to insure they would be the same size, I used a
table saw which helped getting straight cuts.

In this picture I aligned the front face of the stand
and used 2x4s to align and leave space for
other pieces I would use later.

Here the same pieces screwed, I also used wood glue.

Once the frame was completed I used 3/4″ plywood to
cover both the top and bottom of the stand, The top piece on ply wood
was the exact size of the frame and was screwed/glued in the bottom was
a trickier since I had to cut around the 2×4′s.

I used 1×4 to wrap the front and sides of the
top/bottom of the stand they cover the 2×4′s.
On the sides I used 1/4″ plywood, the right side panel is removable so I
could fit the sump.

I made the doors from 1/4″ plywood and the edges from
1x2x1/4 cut at 45 degree angles. I cut them again while taped to make
sure they were the same size.

I’m still working on this and will post more pictures
once I’m finished.

TIPS:
Use the same type of wood, I used poplar for the 1x4s, door edges and
the two vertical strips that you can see on the front and tried staining
it but it came out really horrible the color didn’t match the plywood
top or sides. It was blotchy and just ugly I almost broke the thing down
and gave up. I decided to paint the stand a wood color and by giving it
a very thin coat a achieved the color that you can see on the picture
I’m happy with it and will only clear coat it.

Its almost complete now, I have to place a piece of
wood in between the panels and paint it to hide the white color that’s
showing

Here’s the removable panel that will let me take out
the sump if anything happens. (Sump doesn’t fit through doors)

Category: Aquaria | Leave a Comment

Curing Live rock

Monday, August 11th, 2008 | Author: admin

I bought recently bought a 60lbs of Uaniva liverock from an NJreefers.com group buy, and of course it had to be cured before adding
it to any tank.

When curing live rock some people like to use regular tap water with marine salt mix and maybe a de-chlorinator. I chose to use RO/DI water for my curing process. I did water changes every 4-5 of days an used activated carbon, changing it every other day. During the first 5 days the rock and water will have a real foul smell…. since I was curing the rock on my basement the smell pretty much took over the whole house. Pictured on the right is my RO/DI filter, I have it connected to a garden hose timer so I can have run for about 3 hours at a time
The orange hose is the “waste” water which I feed into my washing machine so it can be re-used
The clear hose is the RO/DI water which I collect into a tapped 35G Garbage bin
This is the tub I used for the curing process, its running an aquaclear 4000 powerhead to pump water externally though a heater and then back into the tub via spray bar. Its also running a skimmer that has a carbon media bin. The lighting is optional and I decided to only use it during the last week 8 hours a day
The window pictured is just there to support the bulbs and reflector
Here you can see the whole tub which I have raised 5″ from the floor to insulate it a little since the concrete floor in the basement can be quite cold in the winter