Terry's 450g upgrade

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AQTCJAK

AQTCJAK

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tbittner said:
I've been searching this evening for lights for the predator tank. I was hoping to find something that is 96" but the selection is very slim at that length. I'm considering hanging track lighting and using LED floodlight bulbs for the track. I can get those in any color, mix and match to "tune" the K rating, they use a fraction of the electric, no heat, and I'm not trying to grow corals in that tank. Since they are built to be used outside, moisture isn't a concern with them either. For the track and 8 bulbs, I'm under $100.

Anyone think it might work?
Click to expand...

IMO that would be a experiment I would like to see
 
tbittner

tbittner

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framerguy said:
Me too!

You said my light build might work for you but you wouldn't need MH would you?
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I thought the pictures you showed were the T5 portion. :dunno:

Jack and Greg, I'll probably end up giving this idea a shot. Very low electric use, very low cost to get it up and working. Gotta give it a try.
 
framerguy

framerguy

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tbittner said:
I thought the pictures you showed were the T5 portion. :dunno:

Jack and Greg, I'll probably end up giving this idea a shot. Very low electric use, very low cost to get it up and working. Gotta give it a try.
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It's T5 and MH combined. The sockets shown are mogul base MH, the flat areas along the edges of the aluminum fixture are for T5. I don't have the sockets installed yet. I thought the sockets I bought came with the mounting base but they didn't and I didn't notice until yesterday. I'm still interested in your experiment though! Sounds great.
MHsocketsinstalled.jpg
 
tbittner

tbittner

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Ahhhhh, I see now, Greg! Thanks for clearing that up! My experiment won't work for reef's, only for FO or FOWLR, at least, I hope it works for those. At least, I seriously doubt if it would work for reefs. I can't try it anyway, because of the killers... :lol:

G!N+T0N!K... Thanks for noticing! :lol:

Victor, it looks like you kind of dug yourself a small hole. Care to dig it any deeper? :makefun: :lol:
 
tbittner

tbittner

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The plywood has been glued on, sand piled on top to make a nice, tight seal, and the stand will be ready for the tank tomorrow morning.
IMG_0936.jpg


Nice, Oak vaneer plywood. We'll stain it to match the 450g stand.
IMG_0937.jpg


Another view from the corner. The salt is here and ready to be added to the 360g too.
IMG_0938.jpg


And an updated FTS of the 450. Sunset had started to set in already though.
IMG_0939.jpg
 
Frankie

Frankie

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Looks like frag city! Looking good Terry!
What are you going to do for sway in that stand? I see no cross bracing.
 
JoJo

JoJo

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way to go! :thumbup: nice pics too...i love the 450 :bow: i cant wait until my minature version of it gets life in it
 
tbittner

tbittner

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Thanks Craig and Fish Crazy. :)

Frankie, the sway is controlled with the base. The legs are locked into the space in the base and they can't move. Everything is glued and screwed, except for the top piece of plywood. It surprises me too, but that is how the stand for the 450 was built. The 450 stand actually used 1x3's for the base, we used 2x4's. Trust me, I really banged the stand around this afternoon, before we glued on the plywood, trying to get it to collapse in any direction. It doesn't budge. We screwed in two 1/4" steel angle braces from the leg cross piece into the planks too. The two center legs have braces on both sides of the cross piece too.

JoJo, your tank will be a TOTM someday because you're so thorough and meticulous with everything you do. I know that I really admire your setup already! :)
 
tbittner

tbittner

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Frankie said:
Looks like frag city! Looking good Terry!
What are you going to do for sway in that stand? I see no cross bracing.
Click to expand...

After you asked that, and I answered too quickly, I went and studied the 450 stand a bit more. I think the answer is the cabinet boxes that will be built between each set of legs will prevent any movement. After we get the tank up onto the stand, I'm heading to Lowes to get the material to build those in and that will REALLY solidify the stand. I know it will hold the empty tank without any problem because we had more than that stacked on the planks when we glued those on, to press down on them.

Does that answer your question and address your concern? :dunno:

And thank you for pointing that out to me. Potential disaster diverted! :)
 
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