~450G Display (~1000G system) documentary starting
- Thread starter kwl1763
- Start date
melev
Well-known member
Oh good. I didn't know if you'd had the time. Since you'd been talking about it, I wanted to give you a summation.
I figure you'll find something at a bargain at Overstock.com and if you do, I want to buy it that way too. Do you plan to hook it up to a humidistat? I saw a link to one online last week (from somebody's thread) and it was $36. I'd have to go find it though.
I figure you'll find something at a bargain at Overstock.com and if you do, I want to buy it that way too. Do you plan to hook it up to a humidistat? I saw a link to one online last week (from somebody's thread) and it was $36. I'd have to go find it though.
kwl1763
Premium Member
Santa comes early
Santa comes early
Santa came early for me!
Today I came home to 4 big boxes! The wife wasn't so excited but I was because I knew exactly what it was!
3 Lumenmax reflectors
These things are a beast. 22" square
The only issue I have is illustrated below. This is the place where the mogul socket mounts.
The way it is designed If I bought normal mounts and sockets the bulb would start just inside the reflector I think. This would cause it to be off center which I'm guessing is not optimal. I could buy these extended ones.
http://www.sunlightsupply.com/aquarium/products/socket_assembly.shtml
but they are like $40. I really like to avoid that if possible!
Anyway I'll continue in another post.
Santa comes early
Santa came early for me!
Today I came home to 4 big boxes! The wife wasn't so excited but I was because I knew exactly what it was!
3 Lumenmax reflectors
These things are a beast. 22" square
The only issue I have is illustrated below. This is the place where the mogul socket mounts.
The way it is designed If I bought normal mounts and sockets the bulb would start just inside the reflector I think. This would cause it to be off center which I'm guessing is not optimal. I could buy these extended ones.
http://www.sunlightsupply.com/aquarium/products/socket_assembly.shtml
but they are like $40. I really like to avoid that if possible!
Anyway I'll continue in another post.
kwl1763
Premium Member
The other thing I recieved was a whole box of goodies from Savko!
There were Sch80 bulkheads
A dozen 1.5" unions with valves
Strainers for the sump bulkheads
And 50' of 1.5" flex PVC
Getting closer. I hope to have the sumps at least connected together this weekend to where I can at least start getting things going. I hope to order some live rock just after the holidays and get it going. That means I have to have the whole sump assembly and skimmer working and tested before the 22nd. Unfortunatly I have 2 business trips in between now and then so it's aggressive but that's the goal.
There were Sch80 bulkheads
A dozen 1.5" unions with valves
Strainers for the sump bulkheads
And 50' of 1.5" flex PVC
Getting closer. I hope to have the sumps at least connected together this weekend to where I can at least start getting things going. I hope to order some live rock just after the holidays and get it going. That means I have to have the whole sump assembly and skimmer working and tested before the 22nd. Unfortunatly I have 2 business trips in between now and then so it's aggressive but that's the goal.
melev
Well-known member
I hope you post lots of pictures of that skimmer, and I really hope it works as good as intended when it was first created.
All your new goodies.... it really is exciting. I hope you'll keep updating this thread regularly because it is so cold outside I'm going to need some entertainment for a while.
All your new goodies.... it really is exciting. I hope you'll keep updating this thread regularly because it is so cold outside I'm going to need some entertainment for a while.
Marc,
Here in Vermont this morning it was 4 degrees! I cannot imagine Texas being anywhere near as miserable as that!
Keith,
I am really enjoying reading this thread, as I fully hope to one day be able to have a really good sized tank, maybe not as big as this one will be but of similarly larger size. Does this Savko place have good deals on your plumbing supplies?
Here in Vermont this morning it was 4 degrees! I cannot imagine Texas being anywhere near as miserable as that!
Keith,
I am really enjoying reading this thread, as I fully hope to one day be able to have a really good sized tank, maybe not as big as this one will be but of similarly larger size. Does this Savko place have good deals on your plumbing supplies?
lovetoreef
New member
well, i hope the skimmer does as well as it was made to do also 
as for the weather, it was -2 in amarillo texas this morning!!
great job so far keith - i will be watching this thread and hope all things go great - thanks and let me know how the skimmer works.
gm
as for the weather, it was -2 in amarillo texas this morning!!
great job so far keith - i will be watching this thread and hope all things go great - thanks and let me know how the skimmer works.
gm
law086
Premium Member
Keith,
With sump layout B, do you really think draining from sump to sump would work well with the inlet and outlets all being at the same height? That's really the advantage I see with option A. I really like your setup and I'm thinking about something similar in my next system.
Ron
With sump layout B, do you really think draining from sump to sump would work well with the inlet and outlets all being at the same height? That's really the advantage I see with option A. I really like your setup and I'm thinking about something similar in my next system.
Ron
kwl1763
Premium Member
Ron that's the thing I'm a little worried about also. If it was only a few hundred GPH I would be worried but it will be ~1200 so it could be an issue. I'm thinking I'll be OK but not sure. I need to measure and see if I can boost each one by like 3" or so as I think even that little bit will help.
As a last resort I can always throttle the return back a bit.
As a last resort I can always throttle the return back a bit.
For humidity, I added a unit like these heat/air exchangers and it's great.http://www.lifebreath.com/life.htm
As a side benefit the air in my house has a more noticeable "clean" to it.
Dave
As a side benefit the air in my house has a more noticeable "clean" to it.
Dave
melev
Well-known member
For the past two nights, it has been 19F. Yesterday, over 200 accidents were reported, due to icy conditions. I didn't even drive yesterday, but I did walk over to my closest LFS to a visit. 
Got the owner to close up and give me a lift home. :lol: It was too cold to walk home. (He was going to close up to get a cup of coffee anyway, so the ride was well-timed.)
I had to strip a floor today, and driving in the 31F weather wasn't a big deal until you hit those patches of ice. One guy almost side-swiped me, and I had to be careful myself.
Did you do anything else today, Keith? Come on, we need daily updates.
Got the owner to close up and give me a lift home. :lol: It was too cold to walk home. (He was going to close up to get a cup of coffee anyway, so the ride was well-timed.)
I had to strip a floor today, and driving in the 31F weather wasn't a big deal until you hit those patches of ice. One guy almost side-swiped me, and I had to be careful myself.
Did you do anything else today, Keith? Come on, we need daily updates.
kwl1763
Premium Member
Daily what am I melev or something?
OK yesteday I went to tractor supply company and bought heavy duty casters for the "stands" of the sumps and went and bought some SPAR polyurethane to cover the wood. I hope to get those bulit and done this weekend. I'm going to try to cut everthing and pur the first coat of spar on tonight.
It's cold here also but not that cold. The lows are right at freezing. With highs close to 40. I was supposed to go to New York Monday. Maybe I'll get lucky and it will get cancelled and I can get some more done.
The next steps after I get the sumps all hooked up are to recheck and tighten everything on the skimmer and then fire it up. The problem is I have to have a tone of water to do that as it holds almost 15 gallons by itself that will totally drain when shut off!
I may go ahead and order some live rock for delivery on the 19th or 20th which will get my behind in gear. If I don't I won't order until after the holidays.
OK yesteday I went to tractor supply company and bought heavy duty casters for the "stands" of the sumps and went and bought some SPAR polyurethane to cover the wood. I hope to get those bulit and done this weekend. I'm going to try to cut everthing and pur the first coat of spar on tonight.
It's cold here also but not that cold. The lows are right at freezing. With highs close to 40. I was supposed to go to New York Monday. Maybe I'll get lucky and it will get cancelled and I can get some more done.
The next steps after I get the sumps all hooked up are to recheck and tighten everything on the skimmer and then fire it up. The problem is I have to have a tone of water to do that as it holds almost 15 gallons by itself that will totally drain when shut off!
I may go ahead and order some live rock for delivery on the 19th or 20th which will get my behind in gear. If I don't I won't order until after the holidays.
Keith,
I really cannot wait to see the sump setup. As Ron had stated above, I think your only concern would be that the sumps are close to the same level. I have something going right now, on a much smaller scale that is similar to what you are planning. My refugium and my return are two separate containers connected by a bulkhead, and so far it seems to be working great with having good flow through them both.
Marc, I know what you mean about not daring to venture out...still I really am stunned by your dedication to walk to the LFS! Hopefully it was worth the trip.
I really cannot wait to see the sump setup. As Ron had stated above, I think your only concern would be that the sumps are close to the same level. I have something going right now, on a much smaller scale that is similar to what you are planning. My refugium and my return are two separate containers connected by a bulkhead, and so far it seems to be working great with having good flow through them both.
Marc, I know what you mean about not daring to venture out...still I really am stunned by your dedication to walk to the LFS! Hopefully it was worth the trip.
chainsaw5vent
New member
merlock116
New member
setup of that first plumbing design with all the bypasses would be a hassle but great if you had the room.
if i were you, i'd go with the second pic you posted, but with a bypass from the drain directly to the sump, so you can work on the dsb, fuge, and skimmer while they're offline.
if i were you, i'd go with the second pic you posted, but with a bypass from the drain directly to the sump, so you can work on the dsb, fuge, and skimmer while they're offline.
kwl1763
Premium Member
Well I did a combo of both. I did more along the lines of the first. I don't think I'll build in all the bypass stuff though. The more I think about the more I think even If i did need to take one offline with the unions and some flexpipe premade it would literally be like a 2 minute job to bypass if I ever need to.
Got a ton done today. I'll post pictures in a bit.
Got a ton done today. I'll post pictures in a bit.
kwl1763
Premium Member
OK here is the promised pics. I finally got about 8 hours in yesterday of good "tank time" so here was the result.
After debating with myself about the bulkhead to bulkhead connections I just didn't like it for a couple reasons.
1) the drains would have more "back pressure" due to them being connected so that could be an issue
2) The more bulkheads the more chances of one leaking
3) With them level I would have to put them at least 1 ft apart in order to get the union/valve in place
I didn't like any of those. The sacrifice was I had to do a little more difficult "stand" building and my skimmer will basically be touching the ceiling. I can live with both of those.
So without further ado here are the stands. The need a couple more coats of polyurethane and they'll be good to go. The middle height one is still waiting on it's casters in it's picture.
The last one looks like I spotlit it for the shot. pretty funny!
The next thing was to drill the bulkheads. With these heavy duty bulkheads they need a 2 7/8" hole. Well after going to home depot and looking at the prices of hole saws that big I decided to pick this up for my Dremel for $12.
Fortunately bulkheads are pretty forgiving so the hole doesn't have to be perfect (or even good as long as it's not to big) If you need a perfect circle I can't recommend it but it worked for what I had to do.
Here was the result.
With that result good thing it didn't need to be perfect!
After debating with myself about the bulkhead to bulkhead connections I just didn't like it for a couple reasons.
1) the drains would have more "back pressure" due to them being connected so that could be an issue
2) The more bulkheads the more chances of one leaking
3) With them level I would have to put them at least 1 ft apart in order to get the union/valve in place
I didn't like any of those. The sacrifice was I had to do a little more difficult "stand" building and my skimmer will basically be touching the ceiling. I can live with both of those.
So without further ado here are the stands. The need a couple more coats of polyurethane and they'll be good to go. The middle height one is still waiting on it's casters in it's picture.
The last one looks like I spotlit it for the shot. pretty funny!
The next thing was to drill the bulkheads. With these heavy duty bulkheads they need a 2 7/8" hole. Well after going to home depot and looking at the prices of hole saws that big I decided to pick this up for my Dremel for $12.
Fortunately bulkheads are pretty forgiving so the hole doesn't have to be perfect (or even good as long as it's not to big) If you need a perfect circle I can't recommend it but it worked for what I had to do.
Here was the result.
With that result good thing it didn't need to be perfect!
kwl1763
Premium Member
I drilled 2 bulkhead holes in 2 of the sumps and sealed the bottom bulkheads that come already in the troughs. I have heard many stories of them leaking so I went ahead and siliconed them up. If I need a bulkhead on the bottom I'll just drill my own.
Here is a shot of the bulkheads installed with strainers already screwed in.
Now a couple overall picks. This is basically how they will be setup when running.
That's about it for now. I'm satisfied with the progress I made this weekend. I'll have water in the sump by next weekend.
I have yet to decide if I'm going to order live rock before the holidays or wait until after because I'll be gone for a week and a half.
Here is a shot of the bulkheads installed with strainers already screwed in.
Now a couple overall picks. This is basically how they will be setup when running.
That's about it for now. I'm satisfied with the progress I made this weekend. I'll have water in the sump by next weekend.
I have yet to decide if I'm going to order live rock before the holidays or wait until after because I'll be gone for a week and a half.
