Melll
Member
I like the effects of that, how did you make the light screen?
I have seen the prices of the ADA ones 😱
I have seen the prices of the ADA ones 😱
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Updating an old aquarium, Juwel Rekord 72, and other ramblings
- Thread starter dcurzon
- Start date
I probably should have taken some photos along the way but I just sort of made it up as I went along...
I'll be taking it down shortly to cut and fit better so I'll do some then
Any led strip and some white foam board basically. The strips I use are usb powered and Alexa compatible so routines can be set to increase/decrease brightness/colour etc.
@Melll
So i cut a bottom and 2 sides... they are around 1.5 inches wide (I didn't measure I just eyeballed and said that would do), and cut to the width/height of the tank. The bottom is the full width of the tank, the sides are 5mm shorter than the height, as they are sitting on top of the bottom piece. The foam board is cheap 5mm stuff.
I had to notch my sides at the bottom so it could fit over the plastic brace around the bottom of the tank...
The back was cut 10mm less than. the width of the tank, and I made it a couple of inches taller. The back has been fitted at an angle so it sits on the back of the bottom panel and inside the bottom of the sides, to the front at the top of the sides, and then I trimmed the excess off. So its sloped to meet at the top of the tank. I could have maths'ed the correct measurements for the back panel, but its foam board and easy to trim.
Made a hole in the back corner to pass the cable through, then cut and stuck the led down. Some black tape to hold the led strip to its cable as they are always flimsy, and a piece of tape on the back for strain relief to also support the cable. You can see in the above pic that my cutting was far from perfect!
Placed it behind the tank, snugged it up against the back, and and rear cables drop down the slope and are a little bit hidden from side view too.
Light spillage also solved 👍
this particular LED strip is from WOWLED on Amazon, USB 5v LED strip, Alexa/google compatible, and also has a remote control for those that prefer not to go the smart home route, costs about £11 delivered. I happened to have it left over from other stuff.
So i cut a bottom and 2 sides... they are around 1.5 inches wide (I didn't measure I just eyeballed and said that would do), and cut to the width/height of the tank. The bottom is the full width of the tank, the sides are 5mm shorter than the height, as they are sitting on top of the bottom piece. The foam board is cheap 5mm stuff.
I had to notch my sides at the bottom so it could fit over the plastic brace around the bottom of the tank...
The back was cut 10mm less than. the width of the tank, and I made it a couple of inches taller. The back has been fitted at an angle so it sits on the back of the bottom panel and inside the bottom of the sides, to the front at the top of the sides, and then I trimmed the excess off. So its sloped to meet at the top of the tank. I could have maths'ed the correct measurements for the back panel, but its foam board and easy to trim.
Made a hole in the back corner to pass the cable through, then cut and stuck the led down. Some black tape to hold the led strip to its cable as they are always flimsy, and a piece of tape on the back for strain relief to also support the cable. You can see in the above pic that my cutting was far from perfect!
Placed it behind the tank, snugged it up against the back, and and rear cables drop down the slope and are a little bit hidden from side view too.
Light spillage also solved 👍
this particular LED strip is from WOWLED on Amazon, USB 5v LED strip, Alexa/google compatible, and also has a remote control for those that prefer not to go the smart home route, costs about £11 delivered. I happened to have it left over from other stuff.
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Melll
Member
Thank you 🙂
I will be diving into the garage tomorrow, I know where I have some polysterene and I have a roll of LEDs, I do love a little project 🙂👍
I will be diving into the garage tomorrow, I know where I have some polysterene and I have a roll of LEDs, I do love a little project 🙂👍
You COULD cut the sides at an angle if you wanted, but I decided to leave them rectangular so any cables that run down the back can tuck down the slope and be obscured somewhat by the sides.
Only change id make really would be to have all the outside faces black, as all my tanks sealants etc are black
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@Melll How did it turn out??
Melll
Member
Long story very short, I had an allergic reaction to something I ate, so I didn`t even get to the garage door. There`s time though 😃
I think there are improvements that can be made...
Because of the right-angle between the side and the back piece, the light seems to be have bright spots there and with viewing angle, the line can be seen... (Also my cutting doesn't help)
So I'm thinking large piece of white paper (probably on a roll), glued to the back piece up to about an inch or so from the edge with a few inches of over hang either side, that can be concave curved over the edge piece either side, so creating a seamless curve with no perpendicular angle.
I'll try it when I find some suitable paper, or maybe @Melll can try before me 🙂
Because of the right-angle between the side and the back piece, the light seems to be have bright spots there and with viewing angle, the line can be seen... (Also my cutting doesn't help)
So I'm thinking large piece of white paper (probably on a roll), glued to the back piece up to about an inch or so from the edge with a few inches of over hang either side, that can be concave curved over the edge piece either side, so creating a seamless curve with no perpendicular angle.
I'll try it when I find some suitable paper, or maybe @Melll can try before me 🙂
Melll
Member
I know what you mean, when photos are being taken of models etc they stand in front of a wall of paper/fabric that gently curves.
Time to get my thinking cap on as a temporary thing to improve for the real thing. So far I have found a paper holder from Ikea in the childrens section.
https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/mala-paint-draw-storage-10149350/
I had some thin (possibly 2.5mm) foam underlay around from a scalextric project, so added a layer of it to the light panel to act as a makeshift light diffuser.
So there is a layer on the tank-side.
Seems to do the trick of softening the light, but looks terribly DIY!
But what I take from this, is that a piece of clear frosted vinyl on the back of the glass will do the same thing and probably better. That isn't something I have laying around unfortunately.
So there is a layer on the tank-side.
Seems to do the trick of softening the light, but looks terribly DIY!
But what I take from this, is that a piece of clear frosted vinyl on the back of the glass will do the same thing and probably better. That isn't something I have laying around unfortunately.
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Melll
Member
Or use frosting on a roll 👍
I`ve been playing with some polycarbonate sheet the triple wall stuff, it gives an interesting light effect if the channels are vertical and hardly any effect if they are horizontal. So time to frost the tanks 🙂
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Looks like another trim up needed...
The tiger lotus has recovered very well, however I can't really see it behind the lobelia.... I might have to have a swap around
Dwarf sag seems to be taking, some bits are growing quicker than others!
All of the Val's at the back have thrown out new runners... I'm going to snip them out before they root. I'm definitely going to replace the Val with something else...
I managed to successfully grow some staghorn algae last week... Cut away infected leaves (which prompted the Val to shoot), trimmed the grass, does with some excel, changed the lighting/co2 cycle and picked off bits that I could, seems to be holding it at bay hopefully 👍
Edit a few hours later...
2 of the Val's removed and actually it was 3, they've gone in the other tank.
I moved some dwarf sag from the left side and placed at the back where the Val was. I was quite surprised by the root growth.
Tiger lotus moved to the left side beside the rock. A few weeks ago, that had one barely hanging on root, I was pleased to see a huge abundance of roots that needed trimming down.
Never fails to surprise me just how bouyant those are 😳
And another haircut for the DHG
The tiger lotus has recovered very well, however I can't really see it behind the lobelia.... I might have to have a swap around
Dwarf sag seems to be taking, some bits are growing quicker than others!
All of the Val's at the back have thrown out new runners... I'm going to snip them out before they root. I'm definitely going to replace the Val with something else...
I managed to successfully grow some staghorn algae last week... Cut away infected leaves (which prompted the Val to shoot), trimmed the grass, does with some excel, changed the lighting/co2 cycle and picked off bits that I could, seems to be holding it at bay hopefully 👍
Edit a few hours later...
2 of the Val's removed and actually it was 3, they've gone in the other tank.
I moved some dwarf sag from the left side and placed at the back where the Val was. I was quite surprised by the root growth.
Tiger lotus moved to the left side beside the rock. A few weeks ago, that had one barely hanging on root, I was pleased to see a huge abundance of roots that needed trimming down.
Never fails to surprise me just how bouyant those are 😳
And another haircut for the DHG
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Welcome to shitfest Sunday!
Got some ludeigia palustrus red, super red, type stuff so have thrown that in.
I started a water change, took a few buckets out, then realised I'd left water conditioner at mums. Also discovered my sodastream co2 had run out. So a trip to pets at home, and then Argos to get an exchange bottle.
i had been planning to get a 2kg FE, but it's Sunday, and needed to get it done.
2 unsuccessful attempts to fit the regulator, each time, gas escaping rapidly whilst I was trying to crank it tight... and then I saw the sealing ring on the floor :/ so 3rd time got it fitted.
No idea how much I lost, but I definitely need to get an FE and keep the sodastream for a spare.
I now have co2 again and the water is done.
Got some ludeigia palustrus red, super red, type stuff so have thrown that in.
I started a water change, took a few buckets out, then realised I'd left water conditioner at mums. Also discovered my sodastream co2 had run out. So a trip to pets at home, and then Argos to get an exchange bottle.
i had been planning to get a 2kg FE, but it's Sunday, and needed to get it done.
2 unsuccessful attempts to fit the regulator, each time, gas escaping rapidly whilst I was trying to crank it tight... and then I saw the sealing ring on the floor :/ so 3rd time got it fitted.
No idea how much I lost, but I definitely need to get an FE and keep the sodastream for a spare.
I now have co2 again and the water is done.
LondonDragon
Member
Not the end of the world, a lot of the time it will be just fine as a once off.
I usually buy 5Kg FE's on ebay!
What size do the 5's come in at roughly??
Just picked up 2 (more like 1 and half) 2kg FE'S, with regulator, piping and diffuser for £40 . Good result! I think that's a generic Chinese "2 guage" regulator
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LondonDragon
Member
67cm high, usually paid £35 for them, haven't brought one in a while as I had one almost full and have a spare 5Kg full when I was going to kick off my aquascape back in 2017, and only started using CO2 again in June on my A900! So hopefully that will last me for a while before I need to get another one!
So the not full FE with the Tianjin regulator already connected has gone into the larger tank. That 2kg FE is a touch taller than the full one. That tank hasn't got much in the way of plants, I need to do it at some point. I just throw a few excess plants/cuttings in to see if they'll do anything.
The full FE has gone into this tank, having removed the regulator from the Sodastream bottle. I haven't had to move the shelf, so very similar in height (once the adaptor is on the ss bottle etc), but its much steadier standing up as has a larger footprint. The SS bottle was quite unstable.
Struggled to get a seal going on with the regulator though. I think something wasn't quite as flush as it should have been, but I tightened it up to FT torque which seemed to pull everything into place and no leaks.
I now have a spare Sodastream bottle and adaptor should I run out of FE at some point 🙂
The full FE has gone into this tank, having removed the regulator from the Sodastream bottle. I haven't had to move the shelf, so very similar in height (once the adaptor is on the ss bottle etc), but its much steadier standing up as has a larger footprint. The SS bottle was quite unstable.
Struggled to get a seal going on with the regulator though. I think something wasn't quite as flush as it should have been, but I tightened it up to FT torque which seemed to pull everything into place and no leaks.
I now have a spare Sodastream bottle and adaptor should I run out of FE at some point 🙂
Last night, I swapped the Eheim Ecco for the Eheim Classic 250 (I just needed a canister seal - interesting that there doesn't seem to be an indent in the canister lid to hold the seal, seems to be a case of put it on and try to hold it in place whilst fitting the lid?? )
Flow rate seems to be stronger with the 250. Points to note, maintenance of canister is more of a pain. Also, I only had one double tap available so fitted on the inlet. Also took the opportunity to clean out the pipework and glassware. Its a touch noisier, but probably needs a few days to settle in and get some gunk into the new shaft/impellor
Whilst trying to get pipes positioned so they sit reasonably, the outlet popped off the canister, and outputted a bit of water... (filter running), i managed to get the inlet shut off, then realised it was now siphoning out the tank from the disconnected outlet pipe!! So yes, need to get a tap on there. I think my hose doesn't grip well so perhaps I need to change the hose.
Gave me a good reason to wash a load of towels at least.
Also, I have a slight drip coming from the inline diffuser connections. Again, I suspect this is due to my hose.
Got some Ludwigia Palustrus Red stems planted in a couple of weeks ago, they haven't gone red or seemed to have taken off at all yet. However, there are roots growing from various points up the stems, so I have to assume this is a good thing and it will start to get going soon.
The crypts have grown much bigger than expected :O
Flow rate seems to be stronger with the 250. Points to note, maintenance of canister is more of a pain. Also, I only had one double tap available so fitted on the inlet. Also took the opportunity to clean out the pipework and glassware. Its a touch noisier, but probably needs a few days to settle in and get some gunk into the new shaft/impellor
Whilst trying to get pipes positioned so they sit reasonably, the outlet popped off the canister, and outputted a bit of water... (filter running), i managed to get the inlet shut off, then realised it was now siphoning out the tank from the disconnected outlet pipe!! So yes, need to get a tap on there. I think my hose doesn't grip well so perhaps I need to change the hose.
Gave me a good reason to wash a load of towels at least.
Also, I have a slight drip coming from the inline diffuser connections. Again, I suspect this is due to my hose.
Got some Ludwigia Palustrus Red stems planted in a couple of weeks ago, they haven't gone red or seemed to have taken off at all yet. However, there are roots growing from various points up the stems, so I have to assume this is a good thing and it will start to get going soon.
The crypts have grown much bigger than expected :O
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Tiger lotus seems to have sprouted a new plant. Not sure if it might develop a new bulb? I've not had any flowering action going on, but clearly it's recovered from its root loss 🙂
I had a little kids starter tank that I picked up last year for a frog spawn experiment. I put it together in the kitchen with an led, filter and heater from the "crap bits that I'll horde anyway" box, some DIY co2 (has now gone yellow on the dc. more sugar, less yeast) no creatures but for a plant cuttings grow out tank.
I had a little kids starter tank that I picked up last year for a frog spawn experiment. I put it together in the kitchen with an led, filter and heater from the "crap bits that I'll horde anyway" box, some DIY co2 (has now gone yellow on the dc. more sugar, less yeast) no creatures but for a plant cuttings grow out tank.
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