Redneck Pendant

[allan]

Okay, first my credentials in reference to the title. I drive a truck and grew up in a trailer park. My dad painted our single wide a bright green (no idea why).

I got a spider reflector yesterday, and it's only a temporary fix until I can shell out the clams for lumenarc III.

My wife had me putting up crown molding today but I managed to sneak a couple of hours to make a temporary pendant so I can start my metal halide set up early.

Here we go...

http://184.72.239.143/mu/6008b155-2ce0-dea9.jpg

I learned this method from ace, cutting a circle with a table saw. Here's the funny part, I actually have a band saw... But it needs parts.

http://184.72.239.143/mu/6008b155-2d7d-f023.jpg

These are the end caps. I didn't draw or plan this, just had it in the brain and the wood to make it happen.

I screwed the two pieces together when I realized that I couldn't eye ball the same size on two pieces.

http://184.72.239.143/mu/6008b155-2e10-2b73.jpg

That's my finger above, I lost a piece of my finger (that's okay as I've got lots of finger left) and had a hard time not getting blood on my phone.

http://184.72.239.143/mu/6008b155-2e7a-e1e3.jpg

Then I joined the two together using a two by four. And for those of you who thought I was kidding about the truck, that's part of it in the picture above.

http://184.72.239.143/mu/6008b155-2ef3-1bb2.jpg

The above are to be the skin... And below is a cup of coffee in a Harley davidson cup with so much sawdust in it I won't need fiber for a week. :)

http://184.72.239.143/mu/6008b155-2f56-1637.jpg

I ripped the two two by fours into a bunch of slats that im going to go ahead and call... Slats.

http://184.72.239.143/mu/6008b155-2fa9-e74f.jpg

Then I took out my handy dandy air gun nailer things together tool, and started nailing the slaps to the frame.

http://184.72.239.143/mu/6008b155-3007-3ca3.jpg

And by the time I finished...

http://184.72.239.143/mu/6008b155-303c-ea94.jpg

Placed the reflector...

http://184.72.239.143/mu/6008b155-3072-13ab.jpg

Okay, looks like I missed the next couple of steps.

I painted it black (with spray paint:)), fashioned a L bracket to suspend it over the tank, and then attached the redneck pendant.

Here it is...

[ReefOne]

Awesome! A+ in my book

[Europhyllia]

That looks very heavy duty. I would have guessed it could be done with thinner boards.
Was the material based on any kind of structural considerations or jsut using what you had on hand?

Turned out great!
Where's the final picture though?

(Yikes about the finger. Reminds me of my dad. He was a carpenter (furniture not construction) and had lost a couple over the years. When I told him I wanted to become a carpenter too he disapproved reasoning that missing fingers would be really unattractive on a woman... crazy stuff parents come up with...)

[allan]

http://184.72.239.143/mu/6008b155-3400-2d26.jpg

http://184.72.239.143/mu/6008b155-3449-60f3.jpg

Man, why didn't some tell me about metal halides?!?!? ;)

[allan]

I have a 400w 20k on the RP, and a borrowed 150w guisemam behind it with some kind of white light.

I wanted 20k on the 150 and 10 or 12k on the 400w. But I do like what I'm seeing with it in it's current configuration.

Both bulbs are used so I plan on selling out a few frags to pick up new bulbs.

Even Gloria likes the way it's lit up now. I'm stoked!

[allan]

Hi Karin, and thanks reefone!

No consideration. I had a lot of left over two by fours and two by tens lying about after my loft build... so I just built it with what I had on hand. I thought about making the slats thinner... but I didn't put much thought into it, just estimated a thin rip, set the guard and began ripping.

I don't think I'd find missing fingers attractive on anyone... and I would hate to be missing a finger or two. But scars are cool as heck. :)

[Jarob]

Thats awesome! Youre tank is gorgeous too

[allan]

Thanks jarod,

So I thought I did something wrong. Suddenly I was getting shocked like... Well I don't know. First it was a little tingling, then that sharp and cutting feeling as the electricity coursed through my arm.

It was happening each time I reached into the water. I had a frag that I couldn't even put into the frag tank.

So what do I do?

I called Milly in to put the frag into the frag tank... Without telling her about the shocks. She put it right in, no shocks.

Then I realized she is wearing shoes, so no path to ground. So I touched her arm, and wow what a reaction!!!

So now I've lost me helper, but I did figure out what the problem is. My pump (rio 3100) gave up on me.

Good thing I have two returns.

[kkiel02]

Thanks jarod,

So I thought I did something wrong. Suddenly I was getting shocked like... Well I don't know. First it was a little tingling, then that sharp and cutting feeling as the electricity coursed through my arm.

It was happening each time I reached into the water. I had a frag that I couldn't even put into the frag tank.

So what do I do?

I called Milly in to put the frag into the frag tank... Without telling her about the shocks. She put it right in, no shocks.

Then I realized she is wearing shoes, so no path to ground. So I touched her arm, and wow what a reaction!!!

So now I've lost me helper, but I did figure out what the problem is. My pump (rio 3100) gave up on me.

Good thing I have two returns.

I cracked up after this story. Poor Milly.

[Big_Pun]

http://184.72.239.143/mu/6008b155-3400-2d26.jpg

http://184.72.239.143/mu/6008b155-3449-60f3.jpg

Man, why didn't some tell me about metal halides?!?!? ;)

oh wow who would've know metal hilades are the bomb. too bad I regressed and went t5(temporary)

[Kristy]

Allan, have you noticed how many of your stories feature you losing some part of your finger? And now using your offspring to test for stray electrical current? I have this feeling that one day we're going to read about you in the Darwin Awards!

[allan]

Darwin awards? I used the "watch what the monkey eats" method to establish that current was in the tank.

I've already started to see some differences that I will have to deal with. Due to the single source of light I've got shadows where previously I had none.

The only thing I've got are a little colony of green blastos that I got from Mizeny about six months ago.

I'm going to change the rockwork though.

[Scream311]

NICE ! I'm glad you put that Fixture to good Use ! They were collecting dust sitting in the Closet and Your Reef is Looking (SiCk) ! Lol

And btw the 8 Frags your Gave me are ALL doin Well. Thanks for coming by and checking out My Setups Allan

[allan]

8? You need more dude. Next time you come out here and you can leave with more ;)