# 180 Gallon Mbuna Reef Build



## IndovinaVI (Jan 19, 2010)

Yea.. here we go again with another build!

I figure that with all the browsing and inspiration on this site I'd document the build of my 180 gallon mbuna cichlid setup. Last month I decided to start planting the seed with the wife about my new idea of replacing my current 80 gallon tank with the new beast. When recently observing the larger fish's behaviors I decided it was either get rid of the bigger ones or move up. Wife ultimately agreed but only if it looked good from the start, used equipment was ok but preferred it not too big.

Here is my current 80 gallon Mbuna reef: measures 48x18x24

















Upon browsing hundred of mis-typed ads and traveling all across Los Angeles looking for the best deal, I had came to the conclusion I was going to get only one decent deal at a time; IE tank in good condition, stand that wasn't- or vice-versa. Then I found an ad selling brand new glass tanks and unfinished cabinet stands at bargain prices, so I went with it. Drove on out to Rainbow Aquarium and Pond out in Arleta to view what they had. Found that their new tank prices were practically unbeatable so I figured I'd take a chance building my own stand and ordering the tank once finished. After a couple of trips to Lowes, a half an hour finding the best highest priced 2x4s and 50$ later, I began the journey.

Now right as I began drilling for the first set of screws I found out I had a pop-up trip the next morning and began rushing through the construction, overlooking the fact I was assembling the stand on a non-level floor. Once I got the basic structure completed I realized the mistakes and began wondering what the F I was getting myself into.

Here is what I had up to this point.

















A basic frame design from the web and constructed with 2x4's, glue and 2.5" deck screws. Once it was all finished I could see there was a slight twist and that one leg was not exactly square. **** it- back to the drawing board, but not till I got back from a 4 day trip. Looked good from afar, and everybody I asked somewhat agreed that once the tank was on it the weight should remove the twist and would probably be okay. Yea, not their apartment with 2000 pounds of water suspended...










Canned the idea after I returned from work and pulled each leg one by one until the entire thing was apart and figuring that I might as well just save the time and just order the darn thing. Here's what I ordered three weeks ago upon my return.


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## MandyBlue (Mar 19, 2011)

Looks nice so far. Are you going to stain the stand?

What about a canopy? That's something I wish I bought with mine.


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## IndovinaVI (Jan 19, 2010)

So, the current tank had about 130lbs of lava rock, carefully picked for ones that had openings for swimming through from Thompsons building supply @ 18 cents per lb. I planned to have the same scape in rock but with it MUCH less cluttered- I wanted a lot of free space with more open sand in the middle for the plants but liked the look of having a rock wall in the back.. 
It was also set up as an all male tank- one 5" & two 3.5" red zebras, a 3.5" elongatus, juvi yellow tail and mbambas, two 4" clown loaches for the snails, 2 yellow labs @ 1" raised from fry (earlier breeding) and a Chinese algae eater. Had a few lost soldiers the past year- that alpha male is MEAN.

Managed to pick up a BRAND NEW fluval fx5 off CL from a private party for $200 and couldn't wait to get all the items in. The wife was getting to her limit there pretty quick and she hadn't even seen the size of the tank yet.. ooo I'm in for it

so the next day I was off to find as many pot scrubbies as I could and the stain for the stand and generate a rough plan for the canopy build. Went out and found a dollar tree store that sold the pot-scrubbies in packs of 6 for $1. I picked up 9 bags- to equal 54 total. Loaded them into the FX5 and this is what it looked like:


























Each tray held two packs, loaded all three but planned to stick the fine filter pads in the bottom as recommended and never got to doing it. Guess that will come later down the line during future maintenance. Made a trip out to Lowes too and picked out some mahogany stain & urethane for the stand, some rollers and black latex paint for the rear of the tank and a drip tray. Left the tray at the airport so some tupperware will have to do..


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## IndovinaVI (Jan 19, 2010)

MandyBlue said:


> Looks nice so far. Are you going to stain the stand?
> 
> What about a canopy? That's something I wish I bought with mine.


Yes!  more is coming but is taking me too long to get out. The tank is nearly completed. Need to get the canopy built and the lighting in order for this beast!
The canopies the store made were another 470$ -finished.. HIGHWAY robbery. I made my last one for $60 and it was overbuilt.


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## IndovinaVI (Jan 19, 2010)

So, just as I get word of the tank being ready for pickup I get called into work.. all day long- GO FIGURE... F! Guess it'll have to wait till the next day- I COULDN'T WAIT TO GET THIS THING!

Also went ahead and ordered 4 more 20lb bags of matching sahara cichlid sand from Marine Depot.com, and that's gotta be picked up too- but in the opposite direction, through the 405 traffic.

Total spent so far is:
751 tank and stand
200 Fx5
56 paint, stain & urethane + various extras
69 additional substrate
9 pot scrubbies
Total: 1085 (not including scratched idea of building stand +50)
uh oh.. Hope I still have some left over to build the canopy and LED light bar!

Next day, I set plans to get a truck and go pick it up but a call came in @ 11:30 at night to work from 6am to 6pm the next day. These guys pick up times are between 8-3 M-F only.. so it looks like it'll be the next monday now, unless they call for work then too-
just my luck

Monday rolls around (last week) and nothing was on the books! I picked up the truck and one helper to retrieve the goods. let me just say I certainly had some work to do!
here's how it looked, since they built the stand wider than 25" and the tank at an extra inch (rim) I had to make it in two trips- thank god I was just a few miles from the place..


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## IndovinaVI (Jan 19, 2010)

all wrapped up, and man this thing is bare! I mean, the frame of my original stand was triple the support of this thing! But anyways, next came the tank- once we got it loaded we decided that was going straight home, no sense moving that thing twice!










here's one for comparison: 
Sh*t now my wife's really gonna kill me!









So now began the stand work, part 1. Removed the shrink wrap and doors, and began the staining. I carefully applied the stain in the direction of the grain in even coats.  Counter-clockwise till it was at the other end. Worked on each door individually, then repeated. Entire stand including doors had two coats, then let them dry for the rest of the evening.


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## IndovinaVI (Jan 19, 2010)

So while this was drying, I headed home to begin the paint for the background of the tank. Let me first just say that this thing WEIGHS A F'ing TON! Man I took for granted the other set of hands when I got this thing- current mission: take tank off dolly & flip on its side. This took me more than 30 minutes.










After two pinched fingers and a bud light, tank was finally on its side, ready for the alcohol wipes. To keep it neat, I masked off the tank and set a safety net around the perimeter- which I would advise skipping in the future. This stuff dries and peels very easily.


















Using the foam roller, I heavily dipped it into the paint and used gentle pressure to coat it evenly across the glass. I figured, a few light coats would be better than dumping it all over the tank, or that I was just making my work harder.










In about 5 minutes there was an even coat across the tank- this shot shows the interior viewing outwards- it's going to need more than this coat.


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## IndovinaVI (Jan 19, 2010)

after letting it dry for about 30 minutes, I began the second coat. Now that the wife's home production would have to come to a close.. to my surprise she's excited for the upgrade! Couldn't believe her joy in this project, though she seems more excited about the stand rather than the tank, and that she still has yet to see...
Here's a shot from the inside after the second coat was on.









two more coats of the latex paint on, totaling 4 -one extra for fun, actually right when I remembered that you're supposed to alternate the strokes when applying subsequent layers.. OH WELL..

The stand is fully stained & urethaned with two coats, and ready to transfer home. Since everything was going so well I knew it would only be a matter of time before I made another screw up.. when removing the masking tape from the tank, make sure to cut along the seam with a blade prior to pulling it off- I ripped a 2" chunk out.. luckily I pressed it back down and it stuck.
one of the shots is of the corner of the tank where the tape pulled the paint up.


































And the finished product!


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## IndovinaVI (Jan 19, 2010)

my filtration plans are to include the new Fx5 and the current two Rena canisters from the current tank; an XP3 and XP1 (xp1's sole purpose is for current and UV Sterilizer) I currently had 60lbs of Caribsea Cichlid sand (crushed coral I think-right buffer) in the 80, and had an unused 20lb bag under the tank in the stand- so with the 4 more 20lb bags I should get ready to start cleaning it. 

So here's how the tank background turned out. I'm really pleased with it and wonder why it's taken me so long to try this. SO much cheaper than that roll of stuff and it doesn't fall off nor cost $40.

















So, the next morning it was time for the move!! Began by slowly removing the rock and placing it in piles outside- the ONE day LA gets rain too..


























Tugged the old one out of the way, cleaned the floor and set it in place. HOLY SH! I'm beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel, but have no idea what I'm up against!

























Got it all leveled and shimmed. Even floors that are concrete slab and hardwood topped are not exactly level. This one has to be PERFECT!


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## IndovinaVI (Jan 19, 2010)

So I went out to Home Depot while waiting for my friend to come help me lift the tank and upon my return, my second largest Red Zebra had jumped! He was on the rug next to the bucket and I immediately noticed something of odd color. SH*T!! grabbed the net and put him in it. He was not moving, felt a bit stiff and skin looked kinda dry 









Stuck him in the water and rocked him back and forth for 30 seconds. Slowly I began to notice he was starting to move his left fin! Then realized it could be the current moving it back and forth, but then his gills began moving. My god, I saved him! And then cursed him for even jumping in the first place. I wasn't overly convinced he'd make it so I stuck him in his own bucket to monitor him closely.








Look what the UV glass looked like! man it's only been like 6 months too!


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## MandyBlue (Mar 19, 2011)

Enjoying this. Ugh I hate when fish jump. Are they stupid!? lol. When I move fish I always keep a lid sitting on top of the bucket so they can not jump.


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## JimA (Nov 7, 2009)

Nice build, that stand looks great! Curious whats with the UV bulb looking like that? Mine have been in (canister type) for over a year and are just a bit hazy..


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## IndovinaVI (Jan 19, 2010)

yea I usually keep the buckets covered but had been sitting beside it for hours prior to leaving and nothing had happened, I even thought I should just in case..
the green filth is algae that grew on the glass cover that shields the bulb from the water. I've been running it without a timer for about 6 months, sometimes on for a day or two at a time and off for the same. cleaned it and stuck it on the timer again. I need to go back and get some new bulbs too- they sell the 9w replacement ones at beauty supply shops for $6 ea


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## austings (May 12, 2012)

YES! I was following this build on a different forum. I am glad youre posting it here. I absolutely love your 80 gallon. Can only imagine what the 180 will look like.


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## cichlid-gal (Apr 27, 2012)

Great job of sharing...keep it up :thumb:


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## thebigman65 (Jan 3, 2008)

Looks Awesome so far....looking forward to seeing it up and running!


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## mntropics (Feb 15, 2013)

Looks good man! Finish the dam thing already! Lol


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## anthraxx4200 (Aug 16, 2012)

man thats a sweet build. sure is nice having the old ball and chain on board with a project . recently built a 125 with my gf and it was a ton of fun. i really do love what youve got going so far, but being that you may still have the chance (i dont, tanks up and running) stain the inside of the stand as well, over the past cpl months *** managed to spill little bits of water and it really seeps into the stand which i dont like. just an observation, GL in your build. o and look into 3d Backgrounds, designsbynature has some sweet ones and the precuts are very thrifty (compared to most others)


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## IndovinaVI (Jan 19, 2010)

austings said:


> YES! I was following this build on a different forum. I am glad youre posting it here. I absolutely love your 80 gallon. Can only imagine what the 180 will look like.


Thanks!
I have had the tank up and running for a full week so far but no time to complete the build documentation- work has me out till 2:30a every night since wed..

post more later today!


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## IndovinaVI (Jan 19, 2010)

anthraxx4200 said:


> man thats a sweet build. sure is nice having the old ball and chain on board with a project . recently built a 125 with my gf and it was a ton of fun. i really do love what youve got going so far, but being that you may still have the chance (i dont, tanks up and running) stain the inside of the stand as well, over the past cpl months I've managed to spill little bits of water and it really seeps into the stand which i dont like. just an observation, GL in your build. o and look into 3d Backgrounds, designsbynature has some sweet ones and the precuts are very thrifty (compared to most others)


yea- I looked into those already and for a tank this size I haven't seen any less than $250.. rather stuck that money into LEDs personally at the moment.

I can't upload any shots for you guys cause they're on the iPhone.. stay tuned I'll upload more when I wake


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## IndovinaVI (Jan 19, 2010)

my good buddy arrived an hour and a half late to help me lift this thing, took us thirty f***ing seconds to get it on 
then about 30 minutes of socializing, so progress was definitely slowed from 4-8. After, I continued with the rock.










Before, I had WAAY too much in the tank for its size but with the aggression I had it seemed to keep it somewhat stable for the victims to run and hide. I chose to leave out about 30 pounds to keep it looking neat. Started with first placing the rock where it looked best- stable with NO movement in any direction.
this process took about an hour. The wife got home just in time to offer suggestions to the placement- She is so pumped about the tank too, which is good!


























here is the finished project- ready for SAND! only half is washed


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## IndovinaVI (Jan 19, 2010)

so this is what was in the original 80 gallon tank. yea, 60 pounds! wtf?!









now plus one bag: 80 lbs








and all 160lbs. I was having to wash the sand two buckets at a time in the shower :O I didn't want to be too obvious outside with anything fish related as the apartment building shouldn't see this mess. then truck it back to the tank.

Now for the fill. Let me begin by mentioning I had a practically new bottle of AquaSafe Plus de-chlorinator.. no doubt I was using waay too much but hadn't rinsed the sand with treated water before putting in the tank. 









let me just say- that using a pump that drains a 5 gallon bucket in 2 minutes- THIS THING TOOK FOREVER TO FILL. I got the last of the water in at about 2ish am and man, I'm still 3" below the rim (ran out of conditioner- it was almost full too!)
























At this point, I'm about 98% complete with just a couple of snags. Since I stuck the stand so close to the wall the tubes for the FX5 don't fit between it so I had to keep them exposed on the left side. The 1" vinyl tubing I got kinks when I try to bend it over the rim and didn't have enough hose clamps so I had to use the cheap ribbed fluval one. All said and done, honestly the flow wasn't as much as I was hoping for! Might be because it's a 36" stand and 25.5" tall tank so the head height is pushing a healthy 5 feet.









Just before bed, I made one last check of the filters. There was only one small leak: the fluval tubes was dripping one drop every 3 minutes.. so I placed a bowl under it and called it a night.. 4:30am.

In the morning, I noticed almost all the fish near the surface and I remembered: SH*T! the airpump! Hooked it up and within the hour everybody was swimming and chasing each other like normal.


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

That hose needs to butt up to the fitting base.

Tank is looking good, man.


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## IndovinaVI (Jan 19, 2010)

yea it took some force to get it that far and ripped it out just a few hours later- the mental process is non-existent that early in the morning (or late in the day) so that worked for the time being. After reading hundreds of reviews/gripes and mods one of the things that stuck was switching the tubing out for a smooth flow.










outlet to the FX5 is a 1-1/4" (1" internal) tube and return reduced to 1" (3/4" internal) and took the two spray bars from the Rena canisters and linked them together. After a short trip up the road to West Marine- bought a few 90 degrees and made the bends over the rim into the tank.


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## IndovinaVI (Jan 19, 2010)

first shot of tubing








tank side of tubing

and how it looked the next morning!


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## IndovinaVI (Jan 19, 2010)

after being up for 2 weeks.. next to come is the canopy either tomorrow or Thursday, and ordering LEDs this week!
anyone seen this site? this is what I'm thinking of setting up for lighting:
http://www.aquastyleonline.com/products/72--LEDs--DIY-Dimmable-Kit.html
72 led dimmable kit $189
OR:
http://www.aquastyleonline.com/products/36--LEDs--DIY-Dimmable-Kit.html
36 led dimmable kit $99
want to set up all white either 6500 or 10k- haven't fully decided yet.
all I will need is some heatsinks but I'll buy them locally.
for the price there isn't anything better- any suggestions??


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## Havoc (Jan 20, 2004)

you can try beamswork lights from aquatraders.com. They have some nice lights including 72 inch fixtures.


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## theoryguru (Oct 11, 2011)

nice build, I really liked your rock placement in the 80g


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## jcabage (May 29, 2012)

IndovinaVI said:


> I was having to wash the sand two buckets at a time in the shower :O I didn't want to be too obvious outside with anything fish related as the apartment building shouldn't see this mess.


I feel this! LOL! :thumb:



IndovinaVI said:


> Now for the fill... let me just say- that using a pump that drains a 5 gallon bucket in 2 minutes- THIS THING TOOK FOREVER TO FILL. I got the last of the water in at about 2ish am and man, I'm still 3" below the rim (ran out of conditioner- it was almost full too!)


No python?

Really enjoying the build! Great pictures opcorn:


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## IndovinaVI (Jan 19, 2010)

Havoc said:


> you can try beamswork lights from aquatraders.com. They have some nice lights including 72 inch fixtures.


Yea, but I have a 25" tall tank and a good 23 of water above the substrate- ordering up prefabbed lights to light this with enough par for med-low light plant growth was gonna cost me some $$$ and reading reviews of the led diodes going out over time didn't make me all that excited about the investment. Hence why I was so hesitant in which setup to get..

I've ended up settling with a PAR38 system- DIY of course! Stay tuned..



jcabage said:


> No python?
> Really enjoying the build! Great pictures opcorn:


No, no python- never really took to those, I mean how do you treat the water prior to adding it in the tank? I have a brother in law that hooked his salt water tank right up to the houses' water line without filtration and later wondered why things weren't perfect.. :roll:

I am still researching how to make a drip system. I can hook it into an input line and stick an RO unit in the stand but there's really no way of having a drain line.. It has to flow out via gravity, correct?



theoryguru said:


> nice build, I really liked your rock placement in the 80g


Thanks! The thing is, at the time that tank worked great as a stepping stone from smaller tanks and the real problem was that I decided to go with cichlids and didn't heed warning of the space requirements of the mature fish. My crutch was lava rock, and when you find a place that GIVES it away at $.18 a pound you go crazy. I mean if I could've stuck more in there I would have! There was more activity behind the scenes than in front..


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## IndovinaVI (Jan 19, 2010)

So today's the day for beginning the canopy! I have triple measured everything and I'm ready to throw the money at cutting up some more wood 

The canopy is a mock-up from the one at the LFS that they were trying to sell me finished for $470. This is what I'm trying to mimic:









here are the rough plans of the build:










I am no fool to piss that away, and understand that something is worth the time I'm having to put into this thing.. but anyways- the top will hinge upwards 180 degrees from 7" from the front and rest on top of the canopy. The wood I'm using will closely match the stand & will have the same finish on it once completed. Rough estimates ~ $100 to build, including tools/supplies.

Secondly, this past week I went in to look at some of the PAR38 led bulbs they had to offer. Reading several online sites of DIY par38 led setups sparked my interest in the new lighting setup for my tank. I found these at $43 each: dimmable 5000K 1300 lumen spotlight and couldn't refuse getting it to try. The worst case was return it if I didn't like it.


















Now I know 6500K is the desired color temp to choose for plant growth but I've seen some writeups from 2011 with the same color temp as this prove successful, plus my experience with leds is the color is almost always higher than they say- and couldn't really hurt to come home and see how it looked in comparison.


















The best part of these is all you have to do is hook them up! Two wires, and voila!
by itself:









side by side 10,000K metal halide 70w (left) - par38 (right)








and a bit of separation to contrast.


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## IndovinaVI (Jan 19, 2010)

So after an hour at HD I chose the wood for the project. First was a sheet of plywood for the top and a few boards of redwood for the front & sides. Had my little diagram with me and had the gentlemen at HD make the cuts for me. I tried my hardest to inspect the measurements before he cut them, without getting in the way- and the first few cuts turned out alright but the sheet of plywood he cut a half an inch too short and tried to play it off..uh uh.. nope- try another 45$ piece! I wasn't buying that one :/
the choices I used:

















one sheet of plywood and only took maybe 40%, 8 feet of the poplar boards @ 4.50/ft, some redwood trim @ $11, 2 8 ft 1x2's, a small can of interior/exterior white weatherproof paint, some wood glue and some 1-1/4 deck screws.
 $136 OUCH- over budget, well it's too late now..

When I got home, this is how it laid out:









I began setting it all up, drilling the holes for the screws and laying down a strip of glue, using the screws to clamp it together, and repeat on the second side:


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## JimA (Nov 7, 2009)

Nice build, I am close to being done with mine and will post it. Anyway dang lumber prices are insane these days! 3/4" plywood 23 bucks a sheet up here, seems everytime there is some kind of disaster we all pay the price. Supply and demand I guess.


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## IndovinaVI (Jan 19, 2010)

so I found a 72" piano hinge for $15 and underestimated having to screw it in.








that was a task!
rough finished project:









and the test fit:

























test positioning of the 4 led par38s


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## IndovinaVI (Jan 19, 2010)

so my home-made blue led moonlights were going out and decided to give this a try-
http://www.lowes.com/pd_394982-3-72...duct_avg_rating|1&storeId=10151&storeId=10151
sylvania linkable led light strip that displays 16 colors plus white and dims- $49 plus 2 $25 add-on kits.
figured I'd give it a shot-
















the red turned out AMAZING! starting to like it at full dimmed
then took it all apart this morning to finish it up properly- finish the internal bracing, weatherproof paint the interior, and finish the trim on the outside. After removing 2 hours worth of lighting and wiring, half way finished through the paint work calls and gotta go- I'm beginning to see a trend..









and a mock up of trim:


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## IndovinaVI (Jan 19, 2010)

JimA said:


> Nice build, I am close to being done with mine and will post it. Anyway dang lumber prices are insane these days! 3/4" plywood 23 bucks a sheet up here, seems everytime there is some kind of disaster we all pay the price. Supply and demand I guess.


yea- if I had to do it over again I would've just used the plywood for the whole build- the finish on it was pretty good and it doesn't bow like the poplar pieces.. I'm sure after the stain is on it, it will look nice-


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Nice work on the canopy and lighting. I'm surprised how cool the red looks...


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## JimA (Nov 7, 2009)

I see you used Kilz also, I was thinking of using an acrylic varnish type stuff but Kilz sounds like it may work better.. Did you paint over the Kilz or just leave it?


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## jcabage (May 29, 2012)

JimA said:


> I see you used Kilz also, I was thinking of using an acrylic varnish type stuff but Kilz sounds like it may work better.. Did you paint over the Kilz or just leave it?


Having the same question opcorn:

The canopy looks awesome. Good choice with the poplar IMO.

Any chance you could get a shot with just the strip lights on in white? Love the blue especially (it seems to put out a bunch of light) - I'm curious how the white stacks up.


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## IndovinaVI (Jan 19, 2010)

Iggy Newcastle said:


> Nice work on the canopy and lighting. I'm surprised how cool the red looks...


yea, I'll be honest- I know that's a good grip to be wasting on a set of led strip lights but I wanted to be able to dial it in, and my main question at lowes was whether or not the lights turned on automatically to the previous setting when power is returned. IE: on a timer for moonlight effect- even called a guy to bring the ladder to unplug it and see (it was installed 10' up) and it does! this little set is 5 stars in my book!
And as un-natural as it sounds, it has a REALLY nice effect!



JimA said:


> I see you used Kilz also, I was thinking of using an acrylic varnish type stuff but Kilz sounds like it may work better.. Did you paint over the Kilz or just leave it?


the way it was left was just two coats of kilz white, canopy sitting on the living room floor nothing over the tank at all and I've spent the night in Vegas with no idea of return.. was supposed to be home but had to overnight here.. hope the plants last! I wanted to try the plain white look and save the rest of the urethane for the canopy -the small can I got was $18  
if I remember correctly the small can of kilz was only about 9-10 bucks..



jcabage said:


> Having the same question opcorn:
> 
> The canopy looks awesome. Good choice with the poplar IMO.
> 
> Any chance you could get a shot with just the strip lights on in white? Love the blue especially (it seems to put out a bunch of light) - I'm curious how the white stacks up.


yea, I tried every color it offered at all brightness levels- I intended to use the white to help fill in between the par38s.. it looked like a tank with a single fluorescent tube over it- enough light to illuminate everything but not enough to rely on.. I'll post detailed shots of everything as I reinstall everything- that is when I finally make it back home :/


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## IndovinaVI (Jan 19, 2010)

jcabage said:


> Any chance you could get a shot with just the strip lights on in white? Love the blue especially (it seems to put out a bunch of light) - I'm curious how the white stacks up.


here's your shot of just white. it's a lot brighter than I remember- so I began looking on eBay and found similar ones a lot cheaper! :x so I ordered another 8 feet (sylvania branded) for $43 shipped and plan to keep this as a filler light on white. It's no wonder shops are going out of business- I mean I got 10ft at lowes for $100 plus tax and 8 feet for $43..


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## IndovinaVI (Jan 19, 2010)

So on with the build:

picked up a different power surge protector that will allow the timers to plug in, and some more wood trim- 1x2 redwood for the sides.










I routed the wiring nicely and using nailed clamps to hold it up.. I mean when I lift this thing I want to be proud!










And here are the two different packages of sylvania led setups for those who are interested:
Main starter kit:








and one of two add-on kits:









The starter kit comes with the power supply, the remote, a box that takes the signal from the remote and the power from the supply and hooks it to the strand, 2-24" led strips and only one connector. The add-on kits come with 3-1' strips and 2 connectors. If you want a bend in the strand, you'll need them.. unless you want it to turn by twisting or a long bend. Whether you use the connector pieces is up to you. So in the original led shots I was missing a one foot strand that I couldn't fit in between the honky par38s and without using the adhesive backing mainly because I didn't have enough connectors. This time, I laid it all out flat and began working out the puzzle of how to fit 10 feet of these strip lights in with only 5 connectors, permanently. It was easier said than done but I accomplished it and nailed it down at each connection point.









Now those with a keen eye will notice everything plugged in on the strip to the left and nothing on the right.. This is because the cords for the lights actually caused the timers to stick out and I was worried they would fall out. Granted I have a 24" glass brace strip on the center top of the tank, the items to the far left stick out past it. This was only for the one night, and made another trip to HD to get another timer that accommodated the twin Marineland LED strip power supplies.









Lights off:









Lights on:


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## IndovinaVI (Jan 19, 2010)

and with the lid all closed up:









Here are some contrast shots of the lights one by one.
Marineland 50/50 leds:









sylvania mosaic leds
blue:









and red:








man, the contrast in the tank is so unbelievable.. I mean everything in the tank is illuminated in red, edges of the rock, shadows.. (the pictures don't do justice) they're like mars mbuna!


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## IndovinaVI (Jan 19, 2010)

So every time I closed the lid I could notice the outward bow on the main part of the canopy- JUST IRKING me! Where the door met the back part of the canopy there was a 1/4" ledge that just bothered me to look at. My solution was to pull the pieces inwards somehow.

During my most recent trip to HD to get another 10' redwood 1x3 for a 9" piece of trim, I know.. I found two of these 18" metal braces. PROBLEM SOLVED! Bent both ends outwards, marked the holes and held the piece in tightly while I screwed it in.









Bow completely removed, and when shut sits flush with the door. So satisfied! 
Last but not least- the trim.









I measured 1.5" from the top edge and made a line, end to end. About every foot I drilled a hole just about as big as the screw threads to secure from the inside of the canopy outwards and pull the trim to the canopy. Once this was finished, I laid down a hefty bead of glue and screwed it in place.










Same for the sides. These took some thinking though as the interior of the canopy has 1" braces along the rim of the tank and along vertical edges. I ended up cutting some of the longer deck screws from the canned-stand build.










AAand curtains...
Finished product, minus stain:


















Looking at the tank for the last week I've noticed as the fish have scaped to their liking and seems to have a few bare spots in the substrate. I ended up ordering another bag of sand from Marinedepot.com and picked it up. Washed it and filled in the low areas. Looks amazing! I also got to looking on eBay for what the sylvania mosaic leds go for and found the full starter 8' kit for 43 shipped. I got that as well. The plan is to keep the current one on white for day supplemental lighting and have another 8' as red/blue evening accent.









What do you guys think of it so far? I'm gonna throw the stain on it in a day or two.


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## IndovinaVI (Jan 19, 2010)

it's almost impossible to get the exposure right with the iPhone.. here's another try:


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## Blooper01 (Mar 1, 2013)

Thank you for an informative (and entertaining) post!

Just wondering on your fish resuscitation story... they say a human drowning victim is not dead until they are WARM and dead.

Sounds like you discovered that (at least in this case) a cichlid is not dead until it is WET and dead. (PhD candidates - or 4th grade science fair, lol, feel free to use.)


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## IndovinaVI (Jan 19, 2010)

so I got the first layer of stain on it today and it turned out pretty good! only problem I ran into today is that I only had one foam brush left from the stand staining and it fell apart half way through applying.. had to use the sponge with my hands.


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Nice work!


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## daninflorida1 (Feb 4, 2013)

nice looking build...BUT...and i am surprised no one mentioned this yet. please move the power strip from inside of the canopy. that is a major risk with fish splashing, moisture etc. your plugs,etc need to be outside and have a drip loop to make sure water doesnt get into sockets/etc. other than that, fantastic!


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