Holy crap Mark!! How did I miss this??? You're finally off the starting line!

GO MARK GO!!! :cheer2:

I really like the black silicone with the clear on the euro. That's slick. Beveled edges on a filter sock holder?? Now that's just bling!! :p

I'm happy you're finally getting the go on this project! Now, when's the house done?? :D

Well the house has been delayed over and over. I'm hoping that we'll see some movement in the next two weeks as the builder doesn't want things extending into the cold without having the exterior done. We were supposed to be going a long time ago so I got ahead of myself on the tanks...hehe. Got the best though:)

Are you back to Vernon to stay or just visiting? I will be in the new house by then so you are clear on the carrying part. If I'm not in the house...I'll probably be in the loony bin as I can't take any more delays!

Make sure you let me know you are here and you're welcome to come see whatever I have.

Gorgeous sump but wow that's a lot of baffles.:biggrin:

Well it's been a lot time since I updated this thread. It's not that I haven't wanted to...but as yet there has been little progress. Since things finally appear to be moving forward again...I wanted to bring it up to date.

After having the tank soooo long waiting on my delayed house, things finally started to move forward in April. Unfortunately, after only 2-3 weeks of construction we found out that a mistake on the lot survey put our basement a few inches too close to the setbacks. The city promptly halted our construction while they decided what to make us do. Here's a few pictures of how far we got.

http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/r...g?t=1318181915
http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/r...g?t=1318181957

Since then, the city has chosen to sit on their decision and after heavy lobbying has finally indicated that they will make a decision on my variance request on October 27...5 months of waiting.

In the hopes that things will turn out positive (meaning I don't need to spend $40,000 to rip out the basement and start again)...I have started my DIY LED light.

Since the tank is 84L x 32W x 26H, I decided to go with a fixture that was 72Lx24W which should cover the area where I will have coral. My light will encompass 180 Cree LED's including a mix of Royal Blue, Cool White, Neutral White and some Blues as well. Here's a picture of my planned layout:
http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/r...g?t=1318139010

And here is what I've accomplished so far:
http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/r...g?t=1318182060

Well, I spent the weekend drilling 376 holes with a drill press...and I can say it would be too soon if I had to drill more.
Here's a shot of the cluster LED holes...marked to show which LED goes where. I will be using the BJB solderless connectors as I just don't have the time to do that soldering.

http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/r...0-10165856.jpg

The cluster of LED's is placed on a 4" U-channel with 2" sides...it's about 1/4" thick. The rest of the LED's are on 2" U-channel...about 1/8" thick.

I placed my order with cdiweb.com today for my 6 drivers...3 HLG-150h-48B's and 3 ELN-60-48D's. Both are 3 weeks out once ordered. I will be doing parallel strings on both the Cool whites and Royal blues.
Lastly I need to order my fuses, terminal blocks, wire and resistors and I should be good to finish of the LED build.

I missed your update Mark! It's lookin good! I can't believe you're having so many stalls getting your house built. Jeez... I hope they make an allowance for you.

Variance meeting with the city on Thursday. Hopefully they will recognize how much they've affected me in time and money already.

As far as progress on the light...decided on a plexy splash shield...now have to figure out how to mount the shield in a way that lets me easily remove it for cleaning without taking down the fixtures. Am also planning a power lift for the light so working on that without the house, canopy or tank up can be a challenge.

Well, I got a little farther on my LED light last night. With two kids, it's always a challenge to get over to my brother's workshop where I'm building this.

I am planning an automatic light lifter on this and I've been trying to find a way to put it all together. Finally found Stainless eye-hooks for the cabling. Got the Stainless Aircraft cable coming too. Will go into the light lifter later as I can't put it together until the house is together...it will be pretty rudimentary.

Here's a shot of the hooks.
http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/r...g?t=1319645125

And that got me to the point where I could start mounting LED's. I've chosen to use the BJB connectors for ease of use and no soldering. Not the cheapest option but compared to the price of Vertex or Radions, everything I do seems low cost.

http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/r...g?t=1319646616

Only got two rows done so far. Even with the BJB connectors, it's still a lot of planning and then re-checking everything you do. The LED's you see below are the XP-E Blues and the XP-G Neutral Whites.

http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/r...g?t=1319646682

looking good Markus Maxamis:mrgreen: