although i am capable of numerous daily feedings by hand i decided to do an diy autofeeder for the corals. the diy feeder is a large media reactor with the guts hauled out and a maxi jet trimmed down to fit inside the chamber , the maxijet feeds the tank from the chamber and is controlled via a valve for a consistant drip.


i have been able to set the drip as low as 1 drip every 7sec , i am entertaing the idea now to " t " off the maxi jet to keep the food stirred up or figure out something else.


the reactor will be drained daily and rinsed as part of my maintanance.



here she is:P


reactor still in working condition....such a shame lol


http://i924.photobucket.com/albums/a...g?t=1349133153

http://i924.photobucket.com/albums/a...g?t=1349133154

http://i924.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps13f4ce78.jpg

http://i924.photobucket.com/albums/a...psc6736689.jpg




next i hauled out the guts and media items


http://i924.photobucket.com/albums/a...g?t=1349132325


http://i924.photobucket.com/albums/a...g?t=1349132324




now of course when i first went to fit a maxi jet inside the chamber this was the result:

http://i924.photobucket.com/albums/a...g?t=1349132326




so i hauled out the cutter:

http://i924.photobucket.com/albums/a...g?t=1349132328




and trimmed some weight off it so it fit snug and the input didnt get restricted once inside.

fits like a glove

http://i924.photobucket.com/albums/a...g?t=1349132330



ok so then had to plumb the maxi jet to the output of the reactor

http://i924.photobucket.com/albums/a...g?t=1349132331


http://i924.photobucket.com/albums/a...g?t=1349132332

http://i924.photobucket.com/albums/a...g?t=1349132334

http://i924.photobucket.com/albums/a...g?t=1349132335


http://i924.photobucket.com/albums/a...g?t=1349132336


http://i924.photobucket.com/albums/a...g?t=1349132339


ran the cord out the output of the reactor


http://i924.photobucket.com/albums/a...g?t=1349132342



the reactir will drip food into a powerhead pointed down from the top of the tank.so far its doing well in its trial runs , we will see once livestock gets added how well it feeds then:P

the tank has a back made from privacy glass to give a hazzy looking back ground, its see through but makes looking through seem like its in deepwater , so after hearing about the shadow box's i decided to put something behind the tank for an odd look.

i have a fake tree it staands just slighty taller then the nps tank , and all the branches are movable and bendable , and so this tree will be the background of the tank and i will purchase some smaller plants or shrubs for around the tank bottom .......kinda like a rainforest background:P


heres some pics , it hides the reactor feeder very well and any plumbing going back into the tank, plus it hides the sump and any other ugly things we try to hide up with pretty stands lol

http://i924.photobucket.com/albums/a...g?t=1349133168

http://i924.photobucket.com/albums/a...g?t=1349132354

http://i924.photobucket.com/albums/a...g?t=1349133163

http://i924.photobucket.com/albums/a...g?t=1349133391

http://i924.photobucket.com/albums/a...g?t=1349133169


with a background idea in tow , a tank drilled and ready to go , some helpfull gadgets and doodads made i decided......what am i gonna do for a sump??



next post sump build

Is the egg create the only thing holding the tank up?????? I constantly snap pieces of egg create all the time (very easily done) so won't the tank fall through????? Also the tank should have a piece of foam under it, then be sitting on plywood for a flat supported surface. Without a foam cushion or a flat surface to sit on you run the risk of the bottom breaking/cracking anytime a shift occurs. Surprised the egg create holds the weight of an empty tank :surprise:......did I miss something or is the tank really being supported by egg create?????

Otherwise looks cool and interesting.

the tank sits on the stand but just barely the eggcrate gives it some extra support, im not worried about its overall strength as ive had it filled with water several times and tank isnt that heavy...i can pick it up easily lol

ok been a crazy week and a bit but im slowly getting there sump is finished and bulkheads found.

i had a small set back and my skimmer for this build died so i have to throw the bones for another skimmer:(

also i have my livestock scheduled to show up in late november so besides the skimmer im right on track.

tank isnt filled with water yet but will be in the days to come.

there is no cycle on this tank so im not worried about time more about making sure i have all the small pieces i need to make it run smoothly lol


list of things i still need:

reactor
skimmer
return pump
some more liverock




here is the sump , i had an old sump lying around but needs some mods , the sump is old as hell and hasn t been used in a year.


the baffles are to close together and needed to be moved in order to accomodate a decent skimmer.


i moved the baffles and let here dry and its been sitting dry for a week or more now :P


here is the moded sump(nothing fancy)


origional:

http://i924.photobucket.com/albums/a...g?t=1349133145


basically the middle baffle needed to be cut out and moved back towards the drains.


here it is moved...alot more freedom now heheh:P

http://i924.photobucket.com/albums/a...psb09c47b5.jpg


in my next post ill show all my equipment so far and my tank etc.


stay tuned!!