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Re: Large tank construction



Course it yor house, but if ya build it with the 3 glass sides, what
would be the advantage to have the 4th made of wood? Just plumbing? If
so, there are other solutions that are well known, and all 4 sides being
glass would make for a useful fit elsewhere if or when you move again.
	The wood framed top is a way to go, but then so is bonded acrylic to
made a waterproof frame as well, and the advantage is reduced chance of
failure from water damage of spills, plus the acrylic can be cut to
produce joints as well if you want to use it. There are router bits made
specially to cut acrylic as I understand it, but I'm not an acrylic
worker, so maybe I am wrong on that. The wood obviously has advantages
in ease of working, but if the epoxy paint fails, the swelling will be a
pain to deal with later, even if it doesn't have destructive
consequences.
	The 110 voltage current can come up from the underneath cabinet section
on the stand, then up a small fake "end post" on corner for supplying
powerheads and such devices if you need that sort of voltage, otherwise
110 over the tank is not a big deal really, as the voltage on most
florescent fixtures is much greater. The ballast of the florescent
boosts the volts way up, but in brief bursts.
	Its really the amperage that is a problem, and a current limiting
circuit can be made to overcome this problem. Also, the run of the mill
ground fault limiting circuit found in most residential wiring used in
association with water (like the bathroom, or kitchen) will usually be
enough to solve the problem of short circuits in the water causing harm.
Just ask the hardware people about a Ground Fault Interrupt type outlet.
The GFI outlet or switch is not expensive these days.
	At any rate, don't be fooled, 12 volts at high amperage can kill ya
just as dead as 110 volts. It just takes being in a situation where the
resistance to the current flow is reduced while you complete a short
circuit by touching both halves of the incomplete circuit, like reaching
in to get something with "live" electrical current that has dropped into
the water while holding a grounding conductor, like a water outlet
plumbed into the system just above water level. A good ground fault
interrupt circuit will detect both a high current (amperage) draw and a
shorted grounding current flow, and switch the circuit off when either
or both happen within milliseconds of the event.
	I recommend to anyone that plans to work with a system such as an
aquarium that combines electrical devices and water (which reduces the
resistance to the current flow) to look into protecting themselves and
family members by making sure the outlets that service the aquarium use
a GFI outlet.
	That applies to 12 volts just as much as 110 volts, though with most
transformers that step down the 110 to 12 volts, the shorted current
draw will burn out the thin wire that makes up the transformer, or the
diode bridge that converts the ac to dc, you still don't want to wait
around till that happens. That's not a good circuit breaker design!

Herb



Kudzu wrote:
>snip<
> tank would be open I have no place to run 110 volt power except in the
> hood. Or I would have to run long extension cords in the hood. That
> scares me.
> 
> Thanks for the ideas though!

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