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Maxx · 11-29-2004, 03:07 AM

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

11-29-2004, 03:07 AM	#147 (permalink)
Maxx Manta Ray Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: St Louis Mo Posts: 3,079 View Gallery Karma Komment	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 __________________ "Chaos, confusion, despair...my work is done here." ...Some guy named Murphy.... A good friend will come and bail you out of jail...but, a true friend will be sitting next to you saying, "Damn...that was fun!" Reef Sanctuary Knowledgebase (Answers to all your questions and then some!)