Decided to make a build thread.

Got the sump installed and did all new plumbing.
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/sra_chipmunk/6-1.jpg
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/sra_chipmunk/5-1.jpg
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/sra_chipmunk/4-1.jpg

The new resvoir tank came in today. 40 gallons!!!
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/sra_chipmunk/1-1.jpg
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/sra_chipmunk/2-1.jpg

The new LED's and heatsinks should be in tomorrow sometime.
More to follow.

How s your rodi hooked up? I like the way you got that going straight to top off

How s your rodi hooked up? I like the way you got that going straight to top off

Are you refering to the 2 reactors in the side? If so, that is not RODI, that is GFO and carbon.

Ohh I feel dumb lol I coulda swore that was a 2 stage rodi chamber

Ohh I feel dumb lol I coulda swore that was a 2 stage rodi chamber

LOL, this is my RODI setup.
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/sra_chipmunk/8-1.jpg

Nice I hope to imcoreperate something like that for my system

Looks good Tom! Get those LEDs hooked up so I can check PAR!

Looks good Tom! Get those LEDs hooked up so I can check PAR!

Heatsinks will be here tomorrow and Steve didnt give a tracking number so I dont know when they will be here. I also dont have the adheasive for the LED's yet. Its supposed to be here on Thursday.

You have to solder them without them glued to the heatsink so your good there. When they get there I expect you to perform like a Pakistani slave laborer.

The heatsinks came in today. I thought I was going to have all my LED's from Steves LED's in by now but no sign of them. He said he maild them last week but still nothing. Getting a little upset now.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/sra_chipmunk/9-1.jpg
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/sra_chipmunk/10-1.jpg

The heatsinks are 7.280"x14"

You have to solder them without them glued to the heatsink so your good there. When they get there I expect you to perform like a Pakistani slave laborer.

Yeah there is nothing worse then telling someone they have to pry of them off to solder them! Otherwise the heatsink does its job too well and the solder never melts!

I can't wait to see the LED's once they are built. I'll be doing my own custom lit 60 cube soon as well and will be looking for some ideas. :D

Ran into a small problem. Filled my top off tank with 35 gallons of water today. I grabbed my Mag 9.5 pump that I just bought from a guy on this site and it wouldnt fit in the top opening of the container. CRAP! With my quick troubleshooting skills and a little bit of choice words, I had an idea. What if I took the pump apart, and then rebuilt it underwater inside the top off tank. Well it worked. This is temporary. I may need to trade with a buddy of mine for his Mag 7.
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/sra_chipmunk/12-2.jpg
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/sra_chipmunk/11-1.jpg
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/sra_chipmunk/14-2.jpg

Looking great. Very clean look

Small update, got the tank on the stand and the sand and rock in there. Making water takes forever. Slowly its coming alive. Had to fix a few leaks when I turned the plumbing on. I have carbon running through it right now to help clear up the cloudy water.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/sra_chipmunk/15-1.jpg

Is it just me that is thinking a mag 9.5 is overkill for a top off ? Im no experct and honestly have no experience with this subject but that's what I would use for my huge skimmer I have

I agree super, i use a mag 5 for about the same size container....

Is it just me that is thinking a mag 9.5 is overkill for a top off ? Im no experct and honestly have no experience with this subject but that's what I would use for my huge skimmer I have

LOL. Im not using the mag 9.5 to top the tank off. I made RO water and used the Mag 9.5 to mix salt in it. I had to do it twice to get the sump and tank filled. The mag 9.5 has been removed from the tank and I will be using a BRS 50ml per minute doseing pump..... once they get it back in stock.

Oh ok I get it now lol. I was curious where you got your container it has a clean look to it

Oh ok I get it now lol. I was curious where you got your container it has a clean look to it

http://www.dultmeier.com/prod-search.asp

I got the 40 gallon tank. Type in this part number for it RTVT0040-18

Tank has been running for the last 3 days now. I have my old 400watt MH running on it now until my LED's come in and get built. Just trying to get my tank to cycle. I think I have a little to much sand in there right now. I have about 3 inches in there. I put that much because I plan on getting a blue spotted jawfish. I hope it all works out well in the end though.
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/sra_chipmunk/16-1.jpg
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/sra_chipmunk/17-1.jpg
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/sra_chipmunk/19-1.jpg
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/sra_chipmunk/18-1.jpg

How about a picture that shows the plumbing on the backside of the tank? Did the cover work out as planned?

Dustin

Great built. Dustin did a grat job on the stand and the plumbing is immaculate.

Thanks for sharing man.

Well its been slow since my leave ended and I had to go back to work. I have been able to do a little bit of work here and there. Once my lights finally came in, I started slowly putting it all together. the heatsinks are drilled and the LED's are secured.

Drilling the Heatsinks
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/sra_chipmunk/DrillingLEDHeatsinks.jpg

All predrilled and ready to go
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/sra_chipmunk/LEDHeatsink.jpg

Moving LED's around to find the best pattern.
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/sra_chipmunk/LEDsplacedonheatsinks.jpg

All secured
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/sra_chipmunk/LEDssecured.jpg

Looks clean to me
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/sra_chipmunk/LEDsSecured2.jpg

Im hoping to get everything wired up and op's checked by next weekend. Still need to find a way to hang them over the tank. Since I dont have a hood, I need to suspend them from some sort of railing system.

keep up the great work!

Despite the problems i have been running into with this build, I am make slow forward progress. Here are some updated pics.

Working on the LED's on a lunch break
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/sra_chipmunk/22-1.jpg
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/sra_chipmunk/23-1.jpg

And sorry Dustin, I completly forgot you asked for these pics, but here is the back of the takn with the "plumbing hider". It worked out great. The onlything that i dont like about it, is that I am very limited on the size of pipeing I can fit back there and still make it sit flush with the tank. My overflow is noisy because I really dont know anyways to quiet the drain down.
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/sra_chipmunk/20-1.jpg
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/sra_chipmunk/25-1.jpg

Got the RKE figured out (sort of) all the firmware updated and I am slowly learning how to program it. I have the Net module hooked up but not actually plugged into the router. I need to take a day of leave to figure that one out.
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/sra_chipmunk/26-1.jpg

I am still waiting on Bulkreefsupply to get the dosing pump (50ml) in stock, StevesLED's to ship me my driver board and a few replacement LED's, and I need to finish my LED enclosure and mount it to the back of the stand. Oh, and I have to go without a skimmer because my bubble blaster pump stopped working on me and needs replacement so i have to send it in to CoralVue to have it inspected/repaired/replaced.

Looks great man! Very organized.

Mailed the bubble blaster skimmer pump off to CoralVue this week, Still waiting on Steve to send me my driver board and LED's. So, instead of doing nothing, I dediced to make my own probe holder. Every decent one I found was about $30 which I think is retarded. Here is the one I made. Right now it is holding my Temp and PH probes. I made a third hole in front for the DA Salinity probe when I get around to buying it.
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/sra_chipmunk/27-1.jpg
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/sra_chipmunk/31.jpg
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/sra_chipmunk/30.jpg
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/sra_chipmunk/29-1.jpg
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/sra_chipmunk/28-1.jpg

Very cool, I like it.

Was able to get my LED's going today. Took a few months and a lot of lessons learned and money burned to fix my mistakes but they work and are over the tank now. I have a PAR meter on the way (should be Tuesday) and I will get several reading (w/ optics, w/o optics, full bright, full dim, etc) and will post them up. I made the rail fixture myselt from elextrical tubing and a pipe bender ($40 total for pipe, bender, chain, hardware). Worked like a charm. I built the light fixture/housing myself (still need to paint it to match the stand). I made it so that I can slide the heatsinks both back and forward and left to right to adjust the light as needed. So far I am pleased with the outcome of the lights and the look they give. I plan on getting a controler down the line to plug into my RKE so I can play with the gradual gain f the lights for sunrise and set effect. The fan shown in the pics is temporary until I get my 4 little fans working and mounted on the heat sinks. Here are some pics of the setup as it sits right now.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/sra_chipmunk/9-2.jpg
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/sra_chipmunk/6-2.jpg
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/sra_chipmunk/4-2.jpg
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/sra_chipmunk/2-2.jpg

We need an updated full tank shot!

Dustin