Project 58!! (Image intense)

[Maxx]

I went downstairs and messed with the breakers tonight in order to discover which breaker my tank would be on. If I'm reading things right, my tank will be on a 20 amp breaker which runs only three outlets. Those three outlets power :
My computer and printer.
My paper shredder.
And a living room light.
Three 60 or so watt bulbs in the basement.

Not exactly sure of the total draw of all of those together....but I feel much better about plugging everything into the outlet next to the tank.

Here is the whole breaker box.

And here is a close up of the breaker box. The switch with the tape on either side is the one controlling the outlet I want to run my tank from. Its the first one down from the two red switches....
BTW anyone got any idea what those are sposed to control?? Cause they didnt turn anything else off in the house.

Nick

 

[Scooterman]

Id guess water heater, or second set for the A/C, you will have one set for the compressor & one set for the condenser unit inside.
Sounds like you will be ok for the extras on that circuit, but you may want to locate the computer on a different circuit

 

[Maxx]

Update: 11-29-2004,

I feel like a bit of a dumb@$$ cause I made some stupid errors in construction.
I used the remaining 3/4" plywood, (left over from skinning the stand), on my lightbox. This resulted in a lightbox that weighed about 40-50 lbs which was 'sposed to hang over the tank. When I realized how heavy this was I figured it was just well built.......
DOH!!!! note to self....bigger is not neccessarily better when building a canopy full of electric lamps to hang over a fragile water filled glass box.
Well it was so heavy it pulled my support braces out of whack and wasnt really going to work as planned. So, I decided to take it apart and reconfigure. I decided to use 1/4" plywood instead for the skin. One of the things I had disliked about the original lightbox was that it hung over all four edges of the tank a couple of inches....cause I just cut the lightbox frame pieces the exact dimensions of the tank. I didnt take into account the extra two inches created by the wood used for the frame itself, (ie used 1x2's for the frame....cut the 1x2's into (4) pieces 36" long, (4) pieces 18" inches long for the width...which when assembled left with a box 36" long, but 20" wide...18 inch pieces were placed inside the 36 inch pieces....make sense?) And when I added the 3/4" playwood to that, it added another 1 1/2" to the diameter of the box...so now I've got a 38Lx 22Wx10H box that weighed 40-50 lbs.....
So I did some surgery on the lightbox frame with my mitre saw.....and didnt do such a good job.....cut the side braces, (originally 18" long), too short......and then I headed on back to HD for more wood.

The new box is being stained right now. Its ALOT lighter in weight than the previous one. Its also shorter in height and width as well. The new box should be about 38Lx15Wx7.5H. I am going to be running 36" 95 Watt VHO actinics, in addition to my dual 250 w AB10K DE bulbs...so thats why I needed 36" of interior lightbox space....which makes the exterior of the lightbox a full 38 inches long.
I also just bought a TDS meter from the same place I bought my RO/DI unit from www.airwaterice.com
Cost me $35 shipped. I was in the process of ordering the cuttingboard for the bottom of the tank...but their website is kinda weird regarding custom sizes...so I'll wait til later on today when they are open and speak to a person by phone so there are no misunderstandings.
Thats all for right now......I'm gonna wait til the TDS meter arrives before filling the tank. I want to double check the water coming out of my RO/DI unit...Ive had it for about 2 years, but I shut it off for the last 10 months or so since I havent had a tank up and running during that time. I have spare filters for it, but I just want to make sure. The filters are sposed to be the color changing type, and the bottom of one of the membranes has turned and orange rust color, but its just the bottom inch...so in theory, it should still be good to go.....
Thanks for staying tuned...
Nick

 

[Scooterman]

Hey Nick, If we didn't screw things up every now and then, how can we learn, or learn from others. lol, Sorry you had to redo the hood but look on the bright side, your one step closer. I can't tell you how many times I had to redo stuff & still do, heck I think that is part of the sport lol.
Keep up the good work, & information posting.

 

[Maxx]

Yeah, I understand. And the purpose of this thread to help others learn from my mistakes, and see how things can be done, (right and wrong). So I guess this works as learning tool as well.

I ordered the cutting board today. Should be approximately $45.00 shipped to my door. I will need to cut a section of it out to accomodate my oversized overflow box. I could have had them do it, but I would rather do that one myself with a jigsaw. Cheaper and I dont have to worry about one of the measurements being reversed by them. Also, I just received the email confirmation on the TDS meter. Its actually $30.00 shipped.
Someday soon, this thing will be up and running!
Nick

 

[Scooterman]

And It Will Look Awesome!

 

[mojoreef]

GO NICK GO!!!!!!!!!


Mike

 

[Scooterman]

Sent you a PM concerning your question on the other thread Nick

.

 

[wrightme43]

Diggin it House Monkey Reef Master. I have enjoyed this thread from start to now, wouldnt miss a beat. Thanks For sharing it. Steve

 

[Maxx]

LOL @ Mojo and Steve....

Scott, I received the PM.

I asked on Dgasmd's thread about his 750 gallon sps system, how one could tell the wire gauge the American DJ PC-100A power centers that I bought for my reef.
This was his reply:

If you do some careful reading, you may just get the information your looking for. Otherwise take a close look and the plug, it should have the wire size on it, it will be small and hard to read, if by chance you have the original paper documentation, it should also say on it, usually with a UL rating. In worst case, you could Un-plug the unit and remove the case and look directly at the wiring itself but honestly, if your not exceeding 15 amps, this isn't necessary. In your case probably nothing to worry about, unless you plan on using one strip for 4 or 5 400 watt MH's lol, or one huge chiller like Alberto's 220v chiller, which won't work in the first place.

The wire on the powercord for these states its 14AWGX3C. There is more to it, but I'm guessing this is the important part which states its 14 gauge wire?
I can certainly post the rest of the info if necessary. Each unit is rated for 15 amps, which should be more than enough for all mys stuff when split between two power centers. Also I noticed the fuse inside the power centers is a 20 amp fuse...so its got some stupid factor built into it.
Nick

 

[Maxx]

Hey Steve,
Do you have any issues with your blue face angel nipping at yor reef?
Nick

 

[Scooterman]

LOL yes that fuse is larger to accept small surges that may occur, no worries, I think your just fine, also like you said, thay have nice switches for each outlet, just like I use for my computer. In most cases 14g is the sandard for a 15amp rating, & that is just what you have. I think the ones posted on Aberto's page is 12 awg rated 20amps.

 

[dgasmd]

My god man, awesome project. You have definitely put in some hours into that. Simply outstanding.

Now I have to go and take more pictures. You put me to shame LOL......................

 

[Maxx]

Alberto,
Its called overcompensation. :lol: :lol:
With a bigger tank, you dont need to take as many pics...sides I'd hate to have you labeled as a braggart by showing us how sweet your tank looks.
Nick

 

[DisturbedReefer]

Coming along quite nicely...just enjoying the ride and picking up as much pointers as I can for my cube project

 

[Maxx]

Great, Thats the whole point of posting this stuff up!!
You just have to promise to post up your project as well!
Nick

 

[DisturbedReefer]

In the works...as you know, just got slowed down from my finals. Should go back at it next week (Thursday).

 

[Maxx]

Goodies came in the mail today!!!
Got my cutting board for the bottom. I bought it from www.thecuttingboardcompany.com and bought a sheet of white 1/2" thick measuring 34 3/4" x 16 3/4". I cut a section out for the overflow and placed in the tank. Looks good and I'm happy with it.
My TDS meter arrived today also...(along with the neighbors bills??? I'm not payin 'em...I dont care if he is my neighbor).
Water from the tap measures at 215-218 ppm. Water from the RO/Di unit measures at 014 ppm. I'm happy with that. The tank will have water put it in it tonight. Probably wont be able to get it full tonight...but thats okay, cause I can wait another day.

I have the new lighter weight, light box ready to be hung. And I bought the American DJ PC-100A power centers the other day. they need to be hooked up. I like these things. More pics will follow.
Nick

 

[Scooterman]

Sounds like Christmas!

 

[Maxx]

Got a bunch done.....
First step was to get the cuttingboard inside the tank. This required some measuring, planning and my favorite.....cutting!
The cutting board was ordered as a sheet of white 1/2" thick measuring 34 3/4" x 16 3/4" with rounded over edges. This was just a 1/8 of an inch smaller than the inside of the tank.

Here it is being measured for cutting. I needed to cut it in order for it to fit around my overflow box which is 10"Lx6"W.

Here it is with the footprint of the overflow all traced out. You can also see the clamps I used while building this entire stand. These things are worth their weight in gold IMO...thankfully, they arent that expensive. Also comes in different sizes...this is one of the smaller ones I have.

I cut it with a jig saw and a regular blade. No hassle at all. Worked so easy it was frightening.

Nick