My 165 Build - DIY LED, Cabinet, etc.

[justincgdick]

I wanted to show off some of my DIY projects as well as some skills of others that have personally lent a hand to my build. This is for a freshwater planted tank, but I'm stealing a lot of hardware, info, and help from this board, so I wanted to share.

These are unfinished panels that attached magnetically to the stand. The whole setup is designed to be a peninsula style tank but I'm putting it in the corner. I still need to have the panels painted with lacquer after I finish the prep work.

I made the panels slightly taller so that it will go from the floor to just above the silicone bead on the bottom pane.
http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x409/justincgdick/photo-34.jpg

http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x409/justincgdick/photo-41.jpg

This is my custom light hanger. I didn't want to have any of the viewing panes blocked by the hanger and I am unable to drill the ceiling of my rental so I got in touch with Grizz. Greg was able to help me brainstorm some ideas and do some testing. A week later I had the light stand in my possession.

The hanger is slightly under bent so it will level out when I have hung my light. I had to guestimate the weight and Greg bent it under the impression I would have the hang wire in a few feet from the ends of the light, but I had a brain fart and forgot. All in all, the hanger droops just under an inch from level at the far end. Not bad at all for guessing on the weight; and if I cared enough I could take the hanger down and pull out a touch of bend. Instead, if it bothers me I'll just take a 6" length of fishing line to a plant hanger on the ceiling. It only needs a finger push to come to level.

http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x409/justincgdick/photo-30.jpg

There's also a sleeve with set screws so I can raise or lower the hanger. Unless I cut it down it's about 7' minimum up to about 9' max height. Right now it's about 4" under my ceiling.

http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x409/justincgdick/photo-31.jpg

The tank was build by Jay at Waterbox Customs. He built it a few years ago and I bought it used. I broke it down and had Jay CNC a custom weir and some returns with an external overflow and rebuild it.

72"x24"x22" tall, 1/2" with euro. Three 1" drains for the Beananimal and it's drilled for a closed loop on the bottom. I'll have to cap a few holes from the old internal overflow.

The tank when I bought it.
http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x409/justincgdick/photo-36.jpg

Now
http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x409/justincgdick/photo-56.jpg

http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x409/justincgdick/photo-59.jpg

[justincgdick]

The LED fixture is my pride and joy. It's taken me countless hours to put it together and it's about 95% complete. Technically it runs now, but only on timers, no controller or fancy features quite yet. I'm waiting on a few Tycoon controllers to finish it up. I build a ballast/ project box out of acrylic scraps (haha, went through the bin) and it turned out pretty good for an amateur.

Here's a link to the detailed build thread (http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/diy/137085-led-build-6-tank-fixture-up.html) it anyone cares. There are lot's of changes I made over the build, but I have a lot of pictures of the whole build.

http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x409/justincgdick/photo-77.jpg

http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x409/justincgdick/photo-76.jpg

http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x409/justincgdick/photo-78.jpg

http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x409/justincgdick/photo-80.jpg

http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x409/justincgdick/photo-81.jpg

With the analog dimmers I'm pretty close to minimum power. I've dialed them down to around 25%. With the controllers I will be able to dim smoothly from completely off to full power or anything in between. There are 8 seperately controlled channels. A channel of 7 CW XML on each panel as well as two groups of 6 RB XPG and two groups of 6 NW XPG. The royal blue and neutral white are for spectrum adjustment while the cool white are the main power.

I just need a par meter so I can figure out what this thing can put out. I think it is pretty darn powerful but it's hard to say without a meter. I'm hoping it's capable of SPS raised up and with only 52 LEDs total.

[scubadawg]

Looks great, I would be putting it GFI's for plug ins if that was me.

[justincgdick]

I was gonna put everything through the gfi, but then I would loose my whole system if it trips. The I considered having one gfi for the wet side and a bunch of regulars for the dry side of the stand. Then I thought about putting in a bunch, but that is a lot of $$$ for 6 or 8 GFI plugs. Now I'm not sure what I'm gonna do.

It's not nearly as much an issue as with salt water, but I should have some protection. I'll take any ideas!

[Nano]

Looks great so far :)

[gregzz4]

For GFCIs I bought a 10 pack from E-Bay before Xmas. It was $100 with shipping and another $47 for Duty etc. Still saved $50.
I just looked and that vendor has bumped the price to $150, so no longer worth it after Duty. Guess I got lucky buying when I did.
If you only need 6, they come in 3-packs for about $40 in store.
But, if you don't care about code, you could use 20A outlets on your 15A system. Here's and example of no-name ( factory ) ones you could consider. It's a 10 pack shipped for $80
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Lot-10-White-20A-Ground-Fault-Receptacles-w-LED-GFCI-UL-/390404774290?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5ae5f01992

I bought Leviton Smartlock Pro, similar to these
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Leviton-8899-BW-GFCI-Smartlock-Pro-15-Amp-125-V-Tamper-Resistant-Box-10-/270936231368?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f150ecdc8

If you do buy from outside Canada, don't forget to factor in Duty and Brokerage

[gregzz4]

Likin' the build :smile: