What does a rascal scooter and a 180 gallon aquarium have in common? (lots of pics)

[melev]

I love it! It is so nice and loud.

[aztbs]

Wow I watched the video again myself and it sounds terrible! Maybe I will re-upload the video with a rock soundtrack instead. It is noisy, but who cares, it works!!

[hahnmeister]

Best idea I have seen this year so far. Great DIY!

[horkn]

I love it!!!


you should wire a back up alarm into the horn button so when it operates you get that BEEEP BEEEPPP BEEEEEP"! noise

[sidewinder770]

It's probably not quite as noisy in person- I've noticed videos of reef tanks always seem to be a little louder than they really are as well as make the room a little darker but that's just the nature of the beast. Still looks cool and should give you plenty of room to get to things in the tank. Are you planning on 'skinning' the canopy somehow as well as the stand?

[LegoZ81]

you could now always figure a way to program this thing to start out with the canopy high and drop it slowly to get dawn taken care of then take it back up for dusk then night time.
that would be AWESOME!

[aztbs]

I reuploaded the videos without the audio. It looks so much cooler that way.

Indeed, we are going to rebuild the canopy box itself or at least trim it out to look finished. I still haven't settled on the style to use yet. The whole framework to the side of the tank will be enclosed in cabinets, the stand will be covered and it all will be stained. The current canopy is made from unfinished pine (well sealed on the inside) but the soft boards don't hold up to the heat and humidity and they have warped some. It was built quick to get the lights over the tank to get it cycling.

[Hobster]

Insane! (I mean that it a good way.)

On the pic in the attic, is that the battery powering the motor? Do you have it hooked up to a charger? If it is the battery, perhaps put it in a battery box in case it gets so hot up there it leaks some acid.

[guido_kp]

Amaziing!

Necessity really is the mother of invention. Have you noticed any backlash in your leadscrew/leadnut? At the speed its being driven at there probably isnt any. The bearing block on the all-thread gives me an idea about how to mount my leadscrews on my homebrew cnc router. Well done! There have been lots of really good DIY's latlely!

[aztbs]

Thanks Hobster. Yes, the whole setup is currently running off of the scooter batteries. There is not a charger attached all the time, but that is something we are still thinking about. You read our minds on the battery box, we were just talking about that. There will also be some fans installed in the attic to help exhaust the heat (we have been meaning to get that done anyway).

Obviously, the wiring will not stay that way either, we have work left to do on finishing.

[Hobster]

Is there a way you can run some heavy guage wire up to the motor and keep the battery down at floor level? Heat is a major killer of batteries. I know how hot those attics can get.

[arconom]

Thats has to be the coolest thing I have ever seen someone make

I thought I had a Hot setup.

[billyayle]

Hello to all and thanks for the many compliments on the lift. This was something that was needed badly. Even though it works just fine, I feel that the whole thing is in need of some fine tuning. But with having to work all day and having the attic at a comfortable 140 degrees in the late evening, I just haven’t had time to get back up there and finish off the project yet.
That being said, I am already planning the upgrades. :-) Chain path supports, nylon stops, and more vertical rod guides to dampen the harmonic vibrations that develop. I also want to upgrade the motor mounts from solid wood to rubber isolated support mounts. That will cut down a lot of the transferred vibrations. (Ever stick your head inside a metal garbage can and have someone beat on it with two large wooden spoons? Yeah, it’s kind of like that.)

The original design called for the lift rods to be on the outer corners of the canopy, didn’t happen. I wanted to use a garage door opener motor and drive gear assembly, didn’t happen.
I would have liked to use cog belts in place of the chain drive system, didn’t happen.
What did happen was the whole contraption went together relatively quickly, I got to use my grinders, drill presses, mig welder, a good selection of hand tools, (both with batteries and with out) And a whole bunch of crap, err, useful material that I have diligently collected/liberated over the last several years because deep down inside, I knew that I would eventually be able to make something cool out of them. The rascal motor was actually a good fit. The computer that drives it has a load/amp draw sensor that makes the unit pretty safe/hard to overdrive it. If the draw is too strong it goes into a neutral mode. And the screw drive itself is very safe, even if the chains came off the vertical load is not enough to prompt the screw (all thread) to turn. I like safe!

Most importantly is that my wife Tiffanie can get into the tank by herself, and that makes me happy.

So, to recap, it’s cool, it works nicely, I have some fine tuning to do. And I can now justify the use of a gas motor vs. electric to power the remote controlled ice chest. I mean come on, if you’re really thirsty, you need your ice chest to be there for you, and being able to take hot laps on it isn’t all that bad either.

BTW, did Tiffanie tell anyone about the submarine??

Bill

[aztbs]

oooh, I have to beat everyone to it since this is his first post......

[horkn]

submarine???
hot laps on the beerwagon?- that sounds like more fun than a 50 all pimped out for pit bike use

[melev]

I have an idea for the lifting rods that might help a little. Since you couldn't spread them out as intended, could you instead make them wider where they connect to the canopy and then reduce down to the part closer to the center where they rise? Basically (sort of) like a football field goal, but with two supports instead of one.

[sidewinder770]

Great minds must think alike . I was thinking the same thing on the "football goalpost" thing. I guess it just depends where the "wobbling" is coming from- if it's from the canopy itself I think it would help but if it's vibrations from the motor assembly it may not. Still cool no matter what and doesn't look like it's to much of an issue. I'd be happy to post my 'canopy contraption' as well if you like.

[Fliger]

You guys suck. I can't even get my Genie garage door opener to work.

Scott, you need a video. Yours is just as cool!

Tiffanie, I know a guy who can skin the tank for you. I think he's almost done with his. Nis name is Sidewinder, I'll shoot you his contact info. ;-)

Man, Phoenix has got some fancy schmancy tanks in town!

[sidewinder770]

I do have a video Fliger- check my thread Oh- and to get the garage door to open just push the button on the remote thingy .

I don't know if anyone would even want me to build cabinets for them- I take way to darn long!!! I'm even complaining to myself how long it's taking I wouldn't even want to think how many complaints i'd get on the timeframe if it was for someone else!!!

[aztbs]

Thanks for the ideas. The movement comes from the fact that the rods themselves are just so long and it starts to oscillate gently like a pendulum side to side. The collars the rods pass through in the ceiling are the only "stabilizers" other than the steel that they hang from right now. And those holes have about 1/16in clearance around the rod so there is wiggle room.
Once it is all re-aligned and properly leveled, it will probably help. But it needs more of a fitted framework to slide through to prevent movement in any direction other than straight up/down. The horizontal piece between the poles might be a good addition if the rods themselves start to flex/wobble at all.

Yes, Scott please post your canopy lift video/info here too. That is well thought out (like your entire project) and runs super-slick. Anyone else that has built anything similar, please contribute!! Pulleys? Hoists? Actuators? Robots? How do you get your canopy out of the way?

[aztbs]

Thanks Dave, Scott's woodwork is looking gorgeous. But I think I am going to make mine out of papier-mâché, pieces of the backyard shed, and some old circuit boards just to keep the spirit of the project alive.

[sidewinder770]

Okeedokee- I just didn't want to be a thread hijacker or anything. I don't have quite as much build detail but here is the video anyway- A little dark but maybe I can try taking another video in the afternoon when it's sunny- that might help.

Canopy video

[Yam]

Nice engineering work. Personally, I could never live with that in my living room.

[dandy7200]

Great idea! I also wanted to comment on your electrical split / fuge (growout?) setup to the side of the tank. That is some really nice work and looks like it will be very convieneint. I wish I had that much access to everything. Very well thought out design overall.

[aztbs]

Originally posted by Yam
Personally, I could never live with that in my living room.

What do you mean? Where would you put it?

Originally posted by dandy7200
Great idea! I also wanted to comment on your electrical split / fuge (growout?) setup to the side of the tank. That is some really nice work and looks like it will be very convieneint. I wish I had that much access to everything. Very well thought out design overall.

You have a good eye if you picked that up out of these photos. Or did you get to the other thread? The 20 gallon tank to the side was going to be a prop tank, but I yanked out the eggcrate rack and put some sand in there to make it a second fuge. I was laying on the floor all the time watching the fuge in the sump so we decided to make a decorative fuge at eye level.

The electrical panel is SOOO convenient and Bill did an awesome job running it so neatly. Underneath that shelf is the 30 gallon top off reservoir. Outside of a separate fish room, this was the best configuration we could come up with.

Thanks for the comments.