# It's been a while, but I'm back with big plans!



## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

I'm back (for the moment) 

I've been quite busy in the last month and have had very little time to do anything fish-related  . However, that soon may be coming to an end! Once June starts I will have a lot more time, and I have elephantine plans to carry out! Some of you may remember the 7 foot tank build I started, the 125g tank I purchased, the 60g tank I have, and the 55g tank I have. I also have 3 other thanks (too small for Mbuna, although one is a growout) that will soon be going out the window, figuratively of course :lol:

With a rough estimation, my plan is going to cost me over $1,000 and I am currently in the saving up process, nearly $500 so far.

My plan is as follows: 
Spend roughly $170 dollars building state-of-the-art canopy (complete with built in lighting and filtration, more info later) for the 60g tank. I plan to make this tank a Red Zebra (Met. Estherae) and Socolofi Tank; I already have aroudn twenty 1.5" Estherae fry so the fish cost should stay less than $50.
The 7' long tank, the one we've all been waiting for, will prove to be the cheapest and possibly the first one in the plan. With fish (a whole lot of Saulosi) this one should only cost me around $150 as I am almost done with the stand already.
The king tank, 125G, will prove to be by far the most expensive. My guess is that with fish this bad boy will cost $545 dollars to complete. This tank will be built a stand and canopy similar to the 60g but much larger, better lighting (deeper penetration will be needed), stronger filtration, and of course a special way to get it off that is yet to be devised.
The 55g tank, the easiest, is really more of a fix-up than a project. Assuming the lighting for the other tanks go well, I plan to upgrade this tanks lighting and filtration! This tank will most likely hold some Labidocrhomis Chismulae and Rusty (Iododotropheus Sprengerae) tank.

As I know many of you are a little antsy for updates and lots of pictures, I'm doing a little bit of testing tonight. Recently my lighting for my 60g failed and I am now in need of some new lighting. I plan to construct my test structure quite roughly, just enough to get the general idea. I don't want to spoil any surprises but it should be quite an improvement on their current situation!


----------



## quentin8 (Sep 30, 2011)

OMG, your still alive. =D> j/k Glad to see your back, or at least will be. Cant wait to see that 7 footer up and running.


----------



## S14Swap240sx (Jan 3, 2011)

i would love to see your canopy idea, because im at the point of ordering heat sinks for a diy 3w led.. but with a canopy it would change plans.. just havnt seen anything that makes me really want a canopy.


----------



## mightyevil (Oct 23, 2008)

Nice! Well, get ta workin!!!


----------



## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

S14Swap240sx said:


> i would love to see your canopy idea.


I would love to show it to you! Unfortunately the plans for a canopy are all up in my head, although some parts are being tested as we speak!

As to my lighting test, I've hit a little snag. I've been told that when wiring CFLs on a daisy you "simply can't do it wrong", looks like I just did it wrong :lol: I'm using an extension cord that can do 1625 watts and I only need it to handle about 60 watts so power can't be the problem, but when I wire up all 4 sockets the last socket simply will not light. The first bulb on the string isn't as bright as it is when a bulb is alone and the second and third sockets just flicker feebly. Could I have a bad cord/ sockets or did I somehow mess up the daisy chain? I'm using 4 weather proof sockets from home depot (wires are pre-colored), an extension cord (also bought from home depot, no pre-colored wires), and wire ties.


----------



## Aulonocara_Freak (May 19, 2011)

I thought of doing this but instead I used a bathroom light fixture like this. You can conceal it in a plywood box, etc.

1. Four Fixture Light

2. Six Bulb Light Fixture


----------



## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

I certainly thought about doing that myself, but I figured this way would give me some experience that could prove to be useful. No pictures right now, but I got it to work! It only ran me $31 and the tank looks better than ever, aside from a slight algae problem (researching ATF filters and may throw one on there with the spare 18G I have). I filled the wire ties with silicone so the lighting is 100% waterproof - aside from the bulbs. Any bit of water, and even the socket, can be completely submerged in water and still work without hurting the fish; although the wires won't ever be under water - it's just to be sure that the evaporation won't kill the lights in a month. Pictures soon!


----------



## AmishDude (Apr 5, 2011)

With the lights flickering;
I would try to swap the polarity (wires) on the sockets that are flickering. Another way to tell if they are wired backwards is to feel the ceramic "base" of each light, if it gets HOT...its backwards polarity.
I have no idea what a "daisy chain" is, that is a series style or parallel style wiring? Series shares the input over X (X=ammount of bulbs) on the chain, parallel has each light getting its own juice seperatly.

This 7ft. tank...this is the one thats only a foot-ish high? I remember checking out that post and was curious how it turned out. LET US KNOW!!!


----------



## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

So I finally got the lights working about a month ago and have been too busy to post since then.

So far so good :thumb: My main worry is that the light will stop working after a while and again I would have no way to light the 7' tank or the 125G. (Not worried about the 60g, the lights are free hanging so switching the bulbs will take 2 minutes).

I do still have a slight problem though, one concerning the 7' tank. I had the canopy all planned out but then I realized that it would look ridiculous. My tank is only about 13" tall (counting the rims) and the canopy is 8", proportionally that would not work at all; I do plan to alter the plans for the 125G canopy though  Any thoughts on what to do with the lighting? I'm toying with several ideas but none of them really are that great.... Remember, the bottom rim isn't covered (http://i1080.photobucket.com/albums/j33 ... 044-00.jpg) so we also have that obstacle to dodge!


----------



## AmishDude (Apr 5, 2011)

That's the tank I was thinking of!

Going to throw a wrench in the works...
Ever think about incorporating that into a hallway/room wall/mantle for an over-engineered fireplace?
Figure...5ish feet high, would defiantly be a cool idea at least.

Ever consider some of the "outdoor" rope lighting? Can always double it up, and probably cheap now (if you can still find it).


----------



## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

If I had the space, time, and carpentry skills to put the 7 footer in a bar, I definitely would! I have none of those things though, so for now it's a simple stand :lol:

I had considered the rope lights when I was figuring out the 60g lighting, and I bought some test. I found that the smaller ropes that you wrap around banisters and other things don't go far through water, at all. A single cfl bulb lit the tank better than 18' of rope light.

The main idea I've been playing with it making a sort of tube, one that looks somewhat like the ones that hold fluorescent bulbs. If I could get one of those built I think I could squeeze in 5 or 6 cfls and that would likely light up the tank just fine. Any thoughts there?


----------

