~360 In Wall Build

[Raoul5Duke]

Videos of the water test and Bean overflow

Videos of the water test and Bean overflow





Most of the noise you hear is the water coming into the overflow box. This can be easily corrected by adjusting the height of the standpipes. Using an app on my Iphone the decibels registered at just under 60 which I think is pretty reasonable since this will eventually be sealed off when I skin the stand.

 

[Raoul5Duke]

Wiring & plumbing the Genesis system

Wiring & plumbing the Genesis system

Wow almost a month since my last update. I have been making steady progress. The pics attached show the wiring and some of the plumbing for the Genesis automated water change system I am installing. The length of the runs and corners made this one of the more challenging things yet, but I think in the long run this will go a long way toward automating my maintenance and making life easier.

I have two 80 gallon tanks plumbed for a saltwater mixing station. I then have a mag 3 in each of these tanks that will be used for top off and to automate my water changes. I wanted to try and keep things neat so I ran the wiring for the float switches through 1/2" pvc and then out a uniseal in the tank, I did the same for the pumps. This way I will be able to keep the lids sealed except for a 3/4 uniseal that allows the wires for the pumps and heaters. I am waiting on a final few pieces of 1/2" plumbing to finish this which is the last major thing I need to do before I start planning on moving livestock. I also need to move my RO/DI system over and run the tubing for that.

More updates are coming...



View attachment 283473

 

[Raoul5Duke]

Wire management

Wire management

I have also gotten a lot of the wire management done for all the equipment. This was pretty tedious, but I want to be able to find and fix things easily so I am trying to keep things organized.

On the right side I will have one EB8 and one American DJ strip. This side of the room will contain the Frag Tank and all the reactors, etc. On the left side I have another EB8 and American DJ power strip as well. This side of the room will contain the QT Tank and the mini refridge, etc. Next to this is a small shelf and the sink I installed. Above the sink are the Genesis controllers and around the corner will be the RO/DI unit and mixing station.

The last picture shows the finished manifold and the two Bluefin Reactors I got. I like that these guys are a local company and the design is pretty unique. I still need to attach the tubing etc. to the reactors and run the line to the 40B frag tank.

 

[Lavoisier]

Subscribed and looking forward to your build. I didn't see what you decided on an exhaust fan but the Panasonic Whisper line is absolutely silent.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2229879

 

[Raoul5Duke]

Subscribed and looking forward to your build. I didn't see what you decided on an exhaust fan but the Panasonic Whisper line is absolutely silent.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2229879

Welcome aboard, I think you might be the second subscriber after me LOL!
I haven't fully decided about what I am going to do for humidity control. I keep hearing different opinions. For now I am going to just wait and see how things are. I have a small dehumidifier in the basement already so I am going to see how much moisture it is pulling before I decide. Thanks for looking.

 

[Raoul5Duke]

A couple of more pics

A couple of more pics

Just a few more pics I didn't get to yesterday before I had to run.
The first is the sump with the heaters in place. The black boxes on the side are waterproof boxes I used to store the heaters' connection to the Ranco controllers and then the Ranco controllers themselves. I couldn't find any where else to install the Rancos where I could connect to the heaters, have the temp probes where they needed to be and still reach the power outlets. I am going to have to add one additional dedicated breaker since the heaters are going to eat up so much amperage. Luckily my buddy is an electrician and will do it for free or at least a few beers. :beer:

The second pic shows the nearly completed water change station and genesis with the wires covered, etc. The final shot is just a full shot of the tank from the left side.

I should get the rest of my plumbing tomorrow and can finish the plumbing up entirely this week.



View attachment 283542

 

[SPotter]

Everything looks amazing!!!! I would take a look at the Santa Fe dehumidifier systems. I had one in my last house and it was amazing. I would definitely do something. There's guy on here with a slightly larger system than yours and he is having humidity problems. He is noticing things on the other side of his house are begining to rust.

 

[Raoul5Duke]

Everything looks amazing!!!! I would take a look at the Santa Fe dehumidifier systems. I had one in my last house and it was amazing. I would definitely do something. There's guy on here with a slightly larger system than yours and he is having humidity problems. He is noticing things on the other side of his house are begining to rust.

Thanks, I will definitely do something just not sure if its one or the other or both. I also forgot to mention that the pump on my current skimmer, a Vertex Alpha 170, died about a week ago so I have had to step up water changes on my current system. I guess its just further motivation for me to get finished up. Actually, motivation hasn't been an issue but finding time has.....

 

[pmrossetti]

great build!!
thanks for the pics.

 

[Wspangler]

This tank is going to be awesome!

You can tell a lot of thought went into this build. Everything looks well thought out. I'm jealous of all the room you have around that tank(and the tank itself).

 

[pmrossetti]

I'm subscribed.

 

[Raoul5Duke]

great build!!
thanks for the pics.

This tank is going to be awesome!

You can tell a lot of thought went into this build. Everything looks well thought out. I'm jealous of all the room you have around that tank(and the tank itself).

I'm subscribed.

Thanks for the kind words folks! The last bits of plumbing should arrive this evening, but given the semis of the World Cup are on today and tomorrow I likely won't get to anything till this weekend. My buddy also promised to stop by this weekend and install the additional electric outlets I need.

 

[Raoul5Duke]

Nothing too exciting to update. I did move the live rock from my sump into my frag tank on my current system and tried to consolidate my corals in the 40B I was using as a live rock bin/frag tank. The lights on the frag tank (T5) were pushing 18 months so I was getting more algae than normal. Additionally, moving the rocks here will make it easier when I start aquascaping. I ordered a 13 mm hole saw and some E-Marco 400 cement from Marco Rocks to use for my aquascaping. I plan to drill numerous holes and put blank frag plugs in each so I can remember where they are until I decide where I want to place the corals.

I also had to move the shelves I put up over the stands for the Frag tank & QT as I realized after I had done it that the Gen 2 Radions I plan to transfer over would be too close to the water. Now I need to go patch the holes and repaint.

This weekend I hope to finish the last bit of plumbing for the water change system, move the RO/DI system after I upgrade it and finally cover all the wire runs. Hopefully my buddy can make it over tomorrow to install the last outlet.

During my water change yesterday I picked up some stray current and realized that an old MJ1200 was the culprit. I pulled it out and threw it away, not taking chances with electricity and water. Seems like I am getting this up just in time as that's the second piece of equipment that has failed in as many weeks.

Hopefully, more updates after the weekend.

 

[Raoul5Duke]

I managed to move and upgrade the RO/DI unit this weekend. I added the 150gpd upgrade kit and an extra DI canister from BRS. I had a pretty big scare while hooking the unit up. The main supply hose in from the faucet failed while the unit was under pressure so water was spraying everywhere up to the ceiling. Two of the Radion power supplies and an American DJ power strip all got wet. Luckily nothing was damaged and after a quick trip to Lowes and a string of profanities I was able to fix this. I flushed the new membranes and made about 30 gallons of fresh water. Luckily I stopped there, because the plumbing for the mixing station started leaking and on of the uniseals started to leak as well. I drained the water out and will now need to go back and fix this.
Overall a pretty trying weekend of progress. :headwalls:

On a positive note we got the extra dedicated outlets for the heaters installed and the final parts of plumbing are mocked up and just need to be glued. I am hoping I can fix the remaining issues and start making saltwater by the end of the week. I'll take and post some pictures of the progress later tonight. I can't wait till this thing is done, I'm tired of having it hanging over my head.

 

[THEREALTROUT]

Subscribed !!!

 

[Raoul5Duke]

More Pics

More Pics

Attached are pics of the final runs of hard plumbing for the Genesis system and my upgraded RO/DI system. I didn't like the mess of wires from the Genesis system so I used a holesaw to create a pass thru in the box I used to cover the plumbing runs to the sink. I also installed a small bulkhead on the side of the sink to hold the wastewater line from the RO/DI system. Finally, I fixed the leak (hopefully) and bulkhead to the water mixing station and am now testing that for any additional leaks (the pic with the paper towels on the floor).

My Father in law is coming up this weekend to help me skin the finished side of the tank. I hope to find a stain that matches the stain we used on our pool table when we had it rehabbed a few years ago, since the tank will sit directly behind the table.

Order sand and salt from Dr. Foster and Smith today that I hope to put to use soon.

 

[Raoul5Duke]

Leak test 2

Leak test 2

From the previous post here is the second leak test on the mixing stationg. Hopefully it goes better this time.

View attachment 284584

 

[Raoul5Duke]

Well the leak test on the mixing station was "No Bueno" :mad2::mad2::mad2:

I'm not the greatest plumber but usually don't have this many issues. I had a couple of extra minutes this a.m. before work so I finally pulled one of the mixing tanks out to inspect it. It turns out the factory installed bulkheads which were capped due to their location on the tanks were leaking. Additionally, I am getting some small leaks around a couple of the cepex valves. I didn't have time to mess with it this morning so I had to just leave it for now. When I get home I am going to have to take both tanks out and fully inspect them again, fix all the leaks and then retest everything where I can see it easily. This water mixing/automated water change system better be worth its weight in gold because it has been one big PIA to get setup.

 

[dave.m]

Some day you'll be able to look back at all this and laugh. You won't, but you could if you wanted to.

Dave.M

 

[Raoul5Duke]

Well I finally fixed the leaks with the mixing station and mixed up about 50 gallons of saltwater and 40 gallons of RO/DI water. I was having some additional problems with the both the Mag12 & Mag 9 I was using for the mixing station. The pumps were leaking out of the bottom of the seal on the front face plate. I originally just switched the pumps out but still had issues. However, after mixing up the first batch of saltwater the pump seems to not be leaking anymore.

My Father-In-Law came up this weekend and we planned out the trim work for the front of the tank. Its going to be pretty basic, but I think it will still look nice. I ordered 4 custom size cabinet doors that should be in after 2-3 weeks. Once I receive those I will need to stain everything before we can do the final install. I will have 2x ~48" openings on the top and 2x panels close to the same size on the bottom that can be moved for access.

I could probably start filling the tank this week but I am extremely busy all week thru Sun. so I would rather wait until I will be home for a few days to troubleshoot any issues. I still have plenty I can do this week if I find some time, such as setup the Apex and the Reeflink.

I'm getting close though! :bounce1: