ZEOvit/200G Build Journal - 34G Solana

[christyf5]

Originally Posted by Johnny Reefer

Any idea what that unit is he's got on his return hose?

Now theres a loaded question!

sorry couldnt' resist

I vote seaswirl as well. Looks like he's just put some green tape on it or something.

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

So my brother and I both kind of decided the lights looked terrible hanging. Not sure why but in my place it just didn't work. Weird because its a very raw, industrial loft, yet the aircraft cable just wasn't looking to great. Sorry no pics cause the camera was dead.

So.....We decided to use 1" electrical conduit pipe attached to the back of the stand to create two light hanging arms. Still need to paint them and actually hang the reflectors from them but I think they will look really slick. I am able to run the lights wiring through the conduit and down behind the tank stand which is great. So no wiring will show

The reflectors are still very easily adjustable for height as well. Just feel this is an all around great solution and only cost about $50 in materials.

I have also found the hardware I will use to hang the doors. Actually its the exact same tract system that "lastlight" used for his doors. After seeing his stand and speaking to him, I decided I also would prefer the doors to slide rather than be on hinges.

I will take some pics of everything soon.

[Rbacchiega]

this is on your current setup right? Not the new, bigger tank?

I really like what some people on RC are doing...when they get a metal stand built, the build a light unit to attatch to it as well. Then they skin it with whatever material they like..

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Originally Posted by Rbacchiega

this is on your current setup right? Not the new, bigger tank?

I really like what some people on RC are doing...when they get a metal stand built, the build a light unit to attatch to it as well. Then they skin it with whatever material they like..

No we are hanging the lights over the new tank already. Well the new tank is not here yet until Saturday but we are getting everything ready so I can start the transfer right away. So we have the stand in place and hung the lights but my fiance, brother and I all kind of though they looked bad. Even when imagining the tank in place. My brother and I went across the street to HD to look for a solution and found the conduit. So we made the most basic arms we could. Just a long piece of the pipe, bolted to the back of the stand with a 90 degree fitting at the top and another length of pipe that extends out over the tank. Drilled a few holes in it to hang the reflectors from. Thats it. Nothing to it and its nice to hide the wires in the pipe.

The plan is to paint the whole thing black BUT I am going to wait until the tank is in place and see how it looks left in the raw grey. The wall behind the tank is exposed concrete, so it may work as is.

[Rbacchiega]

ooooooooooooooh I get it. There was a tank of the month on RC that used a similar idea...I think. Then again, I could be totally wrong. My brain is about to explode trying to get the perspective of this drawing to where I'm happy with it....blaaaaaaaaaah

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

So here is a little preview of the stand/lights. Just primed so far, still needs to be painted. MOst likely will stay white I think though. The tank is being picked up today and once its on the stand, we will decide on what color the stand will be. The doors are on drawer slides like "lastlight"s stand...Love this idea. May need to add a few small handles but not sure yet if we want to.

The lights didn't really work exactly like I wanted but close enough for now I think. They will work anyways They are relatively easy to adjust for height. I just need to find some caps for the ends of the arms...Also might still drill the conduit and run the wires down through it but I doubt the wires will even be noticeable once the tank is on there. Looks like one light is higher than the other in the picture but they are actually level. And ever so slightly angled back to help with glare when looking at the tank sitting down.



And look! Safety! Switched one of the outlets behind the tank to GFCI for some equipment. Not all will be on the GFCI because I have had them trip before and shut down the whole tank for hours while I was out. Don't want to have that happen ever again. Some of the low wattage powerheads will stay on a regular outlet.



Also...pretty much zero cyano today in the tank!

[Rbacchiega]

Love the way the stand worked out. And I like the white too! My vote is to keep it that way.