[wayne scott]

I got this coffee table from work the other day the glass broke and they didn't want it any more once I seen it I thought it would make a cool viv.

my main question is, does anyone know of a small strip light I could mount on the inside rim so there isn't a big light fixture sitting on top blocking the view of the tank?

oh And I plan on building a glass cube inside so I don't have to worry about the wood stain hurting the frogs.

The inside of the tank is 25.5x25.5x15 so its a little over 40gals

Here is the rim I would like to find a light or lights that I can mount

 

[Sticky Fingers]

How about a couple diy led strips under two rims? I would cover them with acrylic to prevent water getting to them.

 

[patm]

Great score, can't wait to see what you do with it. I second the LED's as mentioned above, probably the sleekest you'll be able to find.

Pat

 

[epiphytes etc.]

I'd do all 4 rims, just to be safe. I think this coffee table is a worthy venture. Good luck, and post a build journal.

 

[wayne scott]

I was thinking about led strips, but the only thing would plants grow with just leds? and I will post the build when I do it.

 

[Pumilo]

With quality LEDs yes. Lot's of people lighting their vivs with only LEDs now. One of our sponsors (Light your Reptiles) has many different options available.
Especially since, if I understand you right, you want to mount them IN the viv, you should look at them as a cooler alternative. You are definitely going to have to look into waterproofing them somehow if they are inside.

 

[MD_Frogger]

Novel idea but are you intending on using it as an actual coffee table? If so I don't think your frogs are going to be too happy of inhabitants with all the comotion of things being set on top and the table being knocked into, etc.

 

[bobrez]

Great idea, im looking at my coffee table and geting ideas. Having coffee with some frogs. NICE

 

[wayne scott]

no I dont plan on using it as a coffee table but I like the fact that you could view it from 5 sides, I plan on making it like a center peace where I keep my frogs

 

[curlykid]

for lights, look at these: Stunner LED Strips - Aquarium LED Lights kinda expensive, but definitely slim and a good performer. plus, they last forever and generate almost no heat.

 

[Brian317]

for lights, look at these: Stunner LED Strips - Aquarium LED Lights kinda expensive, but definitely slim and a good performer. plus, they last forever and generate almost no heat.

Would the plants thrive under one of those? Just wondering, they look pretty nice with a low profile !


Very cool idea ! My parents have a octagon coffee table I'd LOVE to steal and try something like this. Best of luck !

 

[curlykid]

definitely! these are made for corals, which are some of the most light-needy animals on the planet. you would need to get the 6500 Kelvin temperature ones though. actually a combination of 2 6500k and 2 10000k ones would be good....just to provide a little more on the indigo/blue side of the light spectrum.

actually 4 lights may be overkill. i think 2-3 would be better for a fairly large viv.

 

[wayne scott]

well if there coral lights then I know they will work, thats what I use on 2 of my vivs now I took an old light fixture from my saltwater tank and used it on my on my vivs and it works great

 

[*Self_DeFenCe*]

Have you consider sealing the wood and use the whole space?
Maybe silicone could do the job. Keep us updated, I'm sure it'll be great looking!
Julien

 

[patm]

for lights, look at these: Stunner LED Strips - Aquarium LED Lights kinda expensive, but definitely slim and a good performer. plus, they last forever and generate almost no heat.

I definately like the LED idea, just make sure to research the units you're considering. As far as the reef hobby goes, these types of stunner strips are not used as primary lighting, they just aren't sufficient. They're usually used to supplement another light source, especially to provide aesthetic color. I don't have any first hand experience using LED's for vivs, but definately don't jump at these particular strips on the claim 'they grow coral, so they've gotta be intense enough for plants,' because, in fact, they're really not used for good coral growth.

Pat

 

[wayne scott]

Have you consider sealing the wood and use the whole space?
Maybe silicone could do the job. Keep us updated, I'm sure it'll be great looking!
Julien

Thats is what I am doing more or less, Im going to make a glass cube that fits inside the whole thing.

 

[Redhead87xc]

I've seen so many coffee tables and thought about the same thing. It seems like quiet a project. Good luck. Can't wait to see the finished project. I'll be following this one.

 

[WeeNe858]

I would sand and clean up the wood surfaces, silicone over the wood, great stuff over the silicone, and carve to a low profile and finish it off. Inset the glass on all 5 sides and have the top be removable by suction cups

You can try this (DIODER 4-piece light strip set - IKEA) for lighting. It might not be the right spectrum but you probably wouldnt want to use finicky plants in the viv anyways. Easy to grow plants will still grow under those. Run that around all 4 edges and you're good to go.

 

[curlykid]

patm, no, i've seen plenty of healthy tanks grown on led's alone. the violet, purple, and dark blue colors are the one's people use to supplement really white lighting to make it look more optimal and provide more radiation on the <420nm side of the spectrum. about the kelvin rating, the reason why some of the strips are so blue is because people want to simulate a deepwater reef and what not, or maybe they just want their corals colors to pop, so the water is more blue the deeper you go into the water of the reefs in nature, because all of the other colors in the spectrum are washed out. 4 of these would provide enough PAR to grow acropora in a 60 gallon cube....nuff said. also, you have to be careful with led's, they provide a lot of PAR, but are somewhat dim, which is why many people end up burning their corals with them. if you go with a few of the 6,500k one's, it's the same exact light being provided by a cfl or t'5 light. so, yes, the 6500k strips are plenty useful in a vivarium as long as you've got the money in your pocket.

EDIT: i forgot to go over the differences in radiation between a shallow reef and the rainforest floor... the afternoon sun in the middle of a micronesian island chain, is much much different than the radiation provided by the tiny amount of light reaching the forest floor in Iquitos. corals also use the WHOLE light spectrum....plants only use the middle part of the lighting spectrum. Then the argument of the bromeliads, some are exposed to the bright, afternoon sun in the canopy of the rainforest. BUT, the sun rarely does shine in it's greatest, because of the huge amount of 24/7 cloud cover, especially in the highland forests that some of the frogs we keep are from. So..... corals can live under led's quite well, and may even get burnt under them... and plants from the rainforest do not need as much light as corals, so we can't use the same rules of thumb. as long as the owner uses the 6,500k option, it's the same light, if not more light than a few cfl's would provide.

 

[patm]

patm, no, i've seen plenty of healthy tanks grown on led's alone. the violet, purple, and dark blue colors are the one's people use to supplement really white lighting to make it look more optimal and provide more radiation on the <420nm side of the spectrum. about the kelvin rating, the reason why some of the strips are so blue is because people want to simulate a deepwater reef and what not, or maybe they just want their corals colors to pop, so the water is more blue the deeper you go into the water of the reefs in nature, because all of the other colors in the spectrum are washed out. 4 of these would provide enough PAR to grow acropora in a 60 gallon cube....nuff said. also, you have to be careful with led's, they provide a lot of PAR, but are somewhat dim, which is why many people end up burning their corals with them. if you go with a few of the 6,500k one's, it's the same exact light being provided by a cfl or t'5 light. so, yes, the 6500k strips are plenty useful in a vivarium as long as you've got the money in your pocket.

EDIT: i forgot to go over the differences in radiation between a shallow reef and the rainforest floor... the afternoon sun in the middle of a micronesian island chain, is much much different than the radiation provided by the tiny amount of light reaching the forest floor in Iquitos. corals also use the WHOLE light spectrum....plants only use the middle part of the lighting spectrum. Then the argument of the bromeliads, some are exposed to the bright, afternoon sun in the canopy of the rainforest. BUT, the sun rarely does shine in it's greatest, because of the huge amount of 24/7 cloud cover, especially in the highland forests that some of the frogs we keep are from. So..... corals can live under led's quite well, and may even get burnt under them... and plants from the rainforest do not need as much light as corals, so we can't use the same rules of thumb. as long as the owner uses the 6,500k option, it's the same light, if not more light than a few cfl's would provide.

I understand all this, I made my living installing aquariums all the way through college. What I was saying, is that I've never seen stunner strips used alone as a legitimate light source. Any time I have seen an LED only light setup using ecoxotic lights on a marine reef tank, they've encorporated the stunners with panorama strips. Not saying it won't work, just advising he make sure before dropping the money involved.

Pat