75 Gallons of Persistence

[iwishtofish]

Getting so close now, I can almost smell the water! All I've left to do is:

* Finish rough trim on corners of stand

* Slide stand to wall

* Install sump

* Install plumbing & electrical

* Hang lights from ceiling

* Install reactors and protein skimmer

I am going to convert my Eshopps PSK-100H skimmer to an in-sump skimmer. That way I can move it out of the refugium/frag area of the sump. I think the trickiest part of that will be building some sort of adjustable support mechanism for the skimmer, unless I can use the existing "hangers" to just hang it off the wall of the sump. We'll see.

I'm also going to hang a 150wMH pendant over the sump. That way I can grow frags, etc in my big chamber. I have ordered a Mag 9.5 pump. That may provide enough flow alone to circulate that area (in addition to Return function) - if not, I'll add another powerhead.

I have installed the fan. I know you'll find this exciting! After all, I did!

I'll probably be adding another fan of sorts over the sump. It will have to be one that blows sideways, though, to be out of the way while it cools the MH.

 

[project-roc]

Sorry I forgot about this thread, and didn't realize it wasn't subscribed. I haven't started a build thread yet, just been piecing things together slowly. Still building my stand although I hope to have that done on Monday. As far as the dry rock in the tub method, I had my brother in law come over and have a look. He said it was doing good and didn't realize it has been in there since Halloween. He thought it would be a quick up and running system after it is all put together. I don't have much experience with any of this, but I would probably seed the rock with something other than a piece of shrimp, like I did. I wish I would have tested the water on a regular basis to watch the ammonia spike, and the cycle begin. But I didn't and will have the water tested before they go into the tank when the time comes. Let me know how the mag9.5 treats you, I'm considering getting either the same, or a 12. Good luck, and I look foward to your progress!

 

[iwishtofish]

Sorry I forgot about this thread, and didn't realize it wasn't subscribed. I haven't started a build thread yet, just been piecing things together slowly. Still building my stand although I hope to have that done on Monday. As far as the dry rock in the tub method, I had my brother in law come over and have a look. He said it was doing good and didn't realize it has been in there since Halloween. He thought it would be a quick up and running system after it is all put together. I don't have much experience with any of this, but I would probably seed the rock with something other than a piece of shrimp, like I did. I wish I would have tested the water on a regular basis to watch the ammonia spike, and the cycle begin. But I didn't and will have the water tested before they go into the tank when the time comes. Let me know how the mag9.5 treats you, I'm considering getting either the same, or a 12. Good luck, and I look foward to your progress!

I had planned a piece of shrimp, also, and am now considering - after reading drummereef's thread - researching MB7 to help the cycle. I imagine with the piece of shrimp, you would certainly have had a good cycle. Question is, how long has the shrimp been gone? Would one need to continue providing an ammonia source (a fish, some fish food) to keep the bacteria colony alive? I wonder if you'll get another cycle when you add that new ammonia source...

Anyhow, you're getting me thinking about this - thanks! And thanks for the well-wishes, too. When things are finally running, I'll certainly comment on the details of the Mag 9.5 - which was, by the way, delivered air mail from the mailman's car to my door today.

 

[ludnix]

Ouch, hope the pump handled it. Those mag drives are amazingly tough.

 

[iwishtofish]

Per the advice of eznet2u, I took the fan off and put the screws through some rubber O-rings. Not very soft rubber, but I think they dampen the already marginal noise some.

I also revised my plan a little bit, and I think this is it. I got a lot of advice - took some, and didn't take some. It was all good advice, but I think this is the most realistic for me right now:

I'm going to try to convert my Eshopps PSK-100H to an in-sump skimmer. Should be fun.

Saturday may be my only day to glue the pvc due to outside temps, so I've got to get to work ASAP cutting and pre-fitting. All I'm lacking is the soft hose and plastic hose clamps, but that can wait. So maybe I'll have something interesting to photograph by the weekend!

The reactors (Phosban 150 and BRS) will be mounted up above the sump, so that if they leak that won't be so much of a problem. They'll be mounted higher than in the picture, so that when the sump floods they won't take up valuable backflow space. I decided I'm going to go for it with the 150w MH pendant inside the stand. That either will or will not be a disaster. If it is, due to heat and evaporation, I'll try one of the new LED spot bulbs instead.

 

[project-roc]

What is the T inside the sump right off the pump for, and why the soft hose?

 

[iwishtofish]

What is the T inside the sump right off the pump for, and why the soft hose?

project-roc, the T at the pump is so I can throttle back the flow without impeding the pump. There may be a better way to do it. The soft hose will hopefully reduce vibration transfer from the pump to the hard plumbing.

 

[project-roc]

This would be just my opinion...but with as many 45s, Ts, unions, and valves that you have planned. I don't see you having the need to thottle back the pump at all. Also I would wait on the T and valve for the future frag tank until you're ready to move it up there.

 

[iwishtofish]

This would be just my opinion...but with as many 45s, Ts, unions, and valves that you have planned. I don't see you having the need to thottle back the pump at all. Also I would wait on the T and valve for the future frag tank until you're ready to move it up there.

I think you are probably right. Do you think it hurts to have it there, even if I don't use it? Suppose I need to upgrade the pump later (such as a Mag 12) and then have a real need for the valve?

 

[razataz5]

Definitely keep us informed on how the mag 9.5 does I'm thanking of doing the same thing with my future 75. I was planing on return with manifold with two BRS reactors. Subscribed

 

[iwishtofish]

Well, this thread will really have to live up to its name, if I'm ever going to get this tank running!

My inexperience with pvc really showed today. I failed to realize just how poor an indicator of measurement dry-fitting is - after gluing everything together, I think everything shrunk too much to work! :jester:

Oh, and even if the glue instructions say 40 degrees is ok, it's not! The glue starts to gel around that temp, and things just don't go well. So...once everything stops off-gassing fumes, I can bring it in from the garage and see how much plumbing will need to be done over!

 

[iwishtofish]

Ok, not a total loss on the plumbing, I don't believe. The right-hand half of the return line seems to fit (JUST clears 21" above the surface of the stand to make it over the top rim of the tank!). Once the tank is back on the stand, I'll know for certain. If necessary, I can always rasp off a tiny bit of one of the 2x4s inside the stand to gain an extra 1/16th inch.

I'm really hoping the drain will fit, too (fingers crossed). If it doesn't lift up high enough, I'll have to rebuild the bottom half.

What do you all do at the bottom, btw? I can always cut some off and use a dry fitting there for versatility. One big concern, though, is the overall weight of this 1-1/2" drain assembly. Without support of some kind, I feel it will put too much stress on my tank bulkhead. It might be hard to support pipes that are angled, so maybe some kind of support under the union?

 

[Paco]

Just my $0.02 but these issues are why I don't use hard piping. Yeah, it looks nice but it's a pain to work with.

 

[iwishtofish]

I agree, Paco, it kind of is a pain - however, were I just a bit smarter, it wouldn't have been nearly as big a deal! I just know now that pvc will bottom out in the fittings, if primed and glued.

 

[Virtuoso]

Thank you for keeping this thread updated. Definitely helpful to those of us who are still planning our tanks.

 

[iwishtofish]

Thank you for keeping this thread updated. Definitely helpful to those of us who are still planning our tanks.

I appreciate that, Virtuoso. I was actually hoping others could learn from my questions and mistakes as I plog along at a snail's pace! One of these days I'll probably post some sort of index linking to other threads I've started that are related to this build. I've asked about everything from drilling holes in glass to how to clean out an RO/DI...definitely no better resource than the experts on RC.

 

[iwishtofish]

Sorry no updates lately for those who might be following - maybe I should fill this tank with molasses instead of water?

The project is by no means dead. I bought new pvc and fittings the other day to redo the plumbing I screwed up. Warmer weather is in the forecast, too, so I should be able to glue it soon.

I realized I need to darken the glass at the plumbing end of the tank. I decided I really don't want to paint inside, so I may use vinyl to cover the glass, as suggested to me by BeanAnimal.

My lighting has been a problem ever since I decided to go with a 75g instead of a 40b. I bought my 36" Tek T5 fixture about a year ago for the originally intended 40b, and it's obviously too short for the 75g. Rather than just dish out a ton of money for a new fixture, I've been constantly flip-flopping on how to arrange lighting I already own.

Today's plan: Use Tek fixture AND 150w MH pendant over DT (until I've saved for new lighting); Buy two Ecoxotic Panorama modules to light refugium/frag area of sump (this will prevent added heat in there, and cost me around $190).

Once I tack a little trim to the stand and adhere vinyl to the glass, I'll move the behemoth to its position against the wall. I'll then fashion and install the plumbing, add the power strips and timers, hang the media reactors, rig the ATO controller and Aqua Lifter, and measure and hang the lighting from the ceiling. And do a few other things.

How long will that take me? :spin1:

 

[iwishtofish]

The warm weather spell gave me the opportunity to try and correct my plumbing mistakes. I re-fabricated the return assembly as well as the drain pipe assembly. I found a way to cut the pipe a little straighter than before by using a cheap plastic miter box and a saw that didn't leave any burrs. Still wish I had a power miter saw.

Original Return assembly:

New Return assembly:

See how far short my refugium/frag feed was in the original?

I also bought some paint for the plumbing end of the tank. I thought I was going to use vinyl, but I'll just ventilate as best I can. I hope this paint works out ok:

I also got a new piece of equipment that should help out nicely with electrical:

Rough trim was tacked onto my rough-looking stand, and it was moved to it's final position near the wall. After painting, I'll tackle the installation of the plumbing and electrical strips.

More toys coming in the mail today, I hope!

 

[iwishtofish]

New arrivals - they'll go over my sump. (Unless I change my mind - which I almost NEVER do, and put them over the DT):

(China, of course...they sell THAT many??)

 

[iwishtofish]

I painted the end panel of the tank a couple days ago. Boy, that stuff is odiforous! Still smells in the room, despite dry conditions and ventilation. I did a fairly crappy job with a cheap foam "brush," but I wanted to do it all in one stroke as it was being done inside.

At first, I thought I'd made a big mistake and used paint that wasn't suitable. Then I realized that there was just some stray silicone that the paint would not adhere to. Wish I'd thought of that in advance. The paint dried pretty hard, and despite the uneven surface, I think a Mag Float cleaner will slide over it without too much problem. I let a lot of paint drip down between the bottom rim and the glass, so, fearing future pressure point-problems, I took a piece of stiff paper and got it smoothed out as best I could.

Then I bought some stuff to rig power for the PAR 38 bulbs that will hang over the sump.