240g lee mar in-wall commences!

[kristenashley48]

Yeah, good idea. I changed my mind. I also vote some water first, then rock, sand, rest of the water. Thinking back, that's how I did it too.

 

[aquainas]

Hmm I plan on using live sand and dry rock so not having water initially would be great for rock scaping, I could put a sheet of eggcrate on the bottom to minimize pressure points or blunt force if a cascade occurs then I can introduce the sand then water...

 

[byrdman81]

Yeah i would add rock first. Wether you add eggcrate is up to you, which may not be a bad idea. I dont see you adding a little bit of water and if a rock falls it is still going to do damage if it was meant to do damage. Also with no water in the tank after you get your rock in and add sand the water you add last wont get as cloudy cause the sand is already in place. When i restarted my tank when it was time to add water, I placed the biggest rubermaid storage food container i could find in our house laid that on the sand and then pumped water on top of that bowl. Worked pretty good keeping sand from stirring.

 

[aquainas]

I appreciate the input guys...
I think I will add water last, filling three 35g containers with saltwater ready to pump into the tank once the sand is in.

I was thinking CaribSea Aragalive the finest grain in Fiji pink.

 

[NaClH20NMYVEIN]

I think that is the way to go on the sand and rock. Tile is going in today for my tank.

 

[aquainas]

Yeah...I'm definitely solid on that order. Good to know you're moving along with the build!

 

[JeffBoyRD]

Another couple questions on your access panel: What is the height of it? Would you make it larger? Now that you have worked with the tank a little with it in place. Thanks.

 

[aquainas]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15705889#post15705889 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JeffBoyRD
Another couple questions on your access panel: What is the height of it? Would you make it larger? Now that you have worked with the tank a little with it in place. Thanks.

The access panel is 8" tall and to be honest it's plenty of room to reach in when needed. Any taller and it would ruin the overall look of the design, originally I was thinking 12" but once I mocked it up it was too big of a gap and I decided that 8" was right for me. Really though it's what works best for you

 

[B.Lo.The.C]

Great work on the inwall. how big is your sump? have u done a test in case the power goes out? is the sump going to be able to hold all that overflow water? or back siphon?

 

[aquainas]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15709178#post15709178 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by B.Lo.The.C
Great work on the inwall. how big is your sump? have u done a test in case the power goes out? is the sump going to be able to hold all that overflow water? or back siphon?

Thanks for stopping by!
The sump is a 90g and there's about 40g running through it with my 9" baffle height. The water in the display is only 1/2" above the teeth of the overflow and the outflow tubes aren't much lower than that. So with the capacity to hold an extra 45g or so I'm definitely not worried. I will perform that test when I drain the tank so I can mark the levels and also use it to calculate the total volume of my water change.

 

[aquainas]

Weekend progress!

Weekend progress!

Got my RO/DI salt mixing station pretty much done except for couple float switches I'm waiting for.

My ro reservoirs...The one on the right will always be full with RO/DI and used as a backup ATO. The one on the left is primary ATO and will also be used to pump water to the salt mixing container for water changes.

 

[strout]

Very nice job. Always look forward to your updates.

 

[aquainas]

Salt mixing container:

The back of the mixing container where water is pumped in:

RO feed to Aqualifter:

View under the stand:

 

[aquainas]

More pics

More pics

Wide shot:

Other pics:

 

[aquainas]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15734918#post15734918 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by strout
Very nice job. Always look forward to your updates.

Thank you for your comments and for tagging along!

 

[criecken]

is an Aqualifter going to work for ATO?
I have tryed them in the past and they couldn't pump fast enough so the ATO module would exceed the allowed minutes and shut down.
My issue was that once my water level dropped in the ATO resv to more than 5" the Aqualifter could not pump but very tiny amount with given head.
Had to switch to small powerhead.

 

[Frick]

Looking good. Very clean compared to the messes I usually make. I can actully understand where wires and hoses going.

 

[aquainas]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15740221#post15740221 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by criecken
is an Aqualifter going to work for ATO?
I have tryed them in the past and they couldn't pump fast enough so the ATO module would exceed the allowed minutes and shut down.
My issue was that once my water level dropped in the ATO resv to more than 5" the Aqualifter could not pump but very tiny amount with given head.
Had to switch to small powerhead.

Chris I've got this running for the past week and have not experienced any issues. I was losing about a half an inch of water from the return chamber without ATO. Good to see you posting...

 

[aquainas]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15740445#post15740445 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Frick
Looking good. Very clean compared to the messes I usually make. I can actully understand where wires and hoses going.

Thanks man! I was wondering where you were...

 

[savethereef]

your whole system looks great. But one thing is the ATO with the Aqualifter going to be enough? I had the same combination on my 225g and it could not keep up. I finally had to change to a maxi jet pump.