SonsOfLeda
New member
Looks like someone is as meticulous in their planning as I! I can't wait for updates.
900 Gallon Reef Project
- Thread starter Bennytheblenny
- Start date
Bennytheblenny
Reef Geek
Another quick update with a significant setback. On Saturday the 14th during the big storm we had in the NE, my power went out around noon. Not thinking much of it at the time, my wife and I simply went to bed early that night. Around 11am the next day my home alarm system went off, indicating water in my basement. :mad2:
Considering that I placed my "water bug" next to the sump pump, I assumed I caught it early enough to not have much damage, boy was I wrong.
Here is a shot of the waterbug, the life saver:
Turns out I chose the highest point on the floor for the bug's placement. I got downstairs to approximately 2 inches of water everywhere!!!! My sump pump had lost power and unbeknown to me, the home builder had run the gutters down to the sump pump, to ensure that water was removed from the area around the house. Unfortunately he didn't install the backup pump I insisted I needed from day one. I ran out immediately and borrowed a generator from a neighbor of ours, thank goodness we caught it soon enough. If it wasn't for the waterbug, we would have had over a foot of water in the basement by Monday night when the power returned.
So now we have a ton of drywall, moldings and insulation to replace. I am in the process of getting a 20 kilowatt gas generator, should be here around June, too bad I didn't think of it earlier.
Here are some shots of the damage:
Here is a shot of the water powered backup sump pump. It uses 2 gallons of water for every 1 gallon removed, but it will work in the case of a power failure.
Here is the AC unit for the filtration room, so we had some progress this week:
We also spent almost 6 hours getting the top of the stand level. Even though we had the metal shims put in place, we were not able to get the stand level because it was assembled a bit off and had a bit of a belly in the center. We put a 1/2" and a 3/4" piece of plywood on top with tar paper sandwiched between to shim up certain points. Then we sanded down areas that needed to drop. The end result was satisfying:
Oh and I found my camera at last so no more grainy blackberry shots.
So now we wait for the fiberglass and electrical folks on Wednesday and the glass build portion of the project begins in 15 days! :dance:
Considering that I placed my "water bug" next to the sump pump, I assumed I caught it early enough to not have much damage, boy was I wrong.
Here is a shot of the waterbug, the life saver:
Turns out I chose the highest point on the floor for the bug's placement. I got downstairs to approximately 2 inches of water everywhere!!!! My sump pump had lost power and unbeknown to me, the home builder had run the gutters down to the sump pump, to ensure that water was removed from the area around the house. Unfortunately he didn't install the backup pump I insisted I needed from day one. I ran out immediately and borrowed a generator from a neighbor of ours, thank goodness we caught it soon enough. If it wasn't for the waterbug, we would have had over a foot of water in the basement by Monday night when the power returned.
So now we have a ton of drywall, moldings and insulation to replace. I am in the process of getting a 20 kilowatt gas generator, should be here around June, too bad I didn't think of it earlier.
Here are some shots of the damage:
Here is a shot of the water powered backup sump pump. It uses 2 gallons of water for every 1 gallon removed, but it will work in the case of a power failure.
Here is the AC unit for the filtration room, so we had some progress this week:
We also spent almost 6 hours getting the top of the stand level. Even though we had the metal shims put in place, we were not able to get the stand level because it was assembled a bit off and had a bit of a belly in the center. We put a 1/2" and a 3/4" piece of plywood on top with tar paper sandwiched between to shim up certain points. Then we sanded down areas that needed to drop. The end result was satisfying:
Oh and I found my camera at last so no more grainy blackberry shots.
So now we wait for the fiberglass and electrical folks on Wednesday and the glass build portion of the project begins in 15 days! :dance:
Last edited:
Antonais1391
New member
wow makes my dream tank (a 180) cower in compairason. sux about the flood. hopefully it isnt to bad of a setback. looking forward to seeing the monster :]
Bennytheblenny
Reef Geek
This solution is great, it forces water through a tube with a T and another siphon tube. It creates a siphon and pulls water up with it, using 2 gallons of water to remove 1 gallon in the sump pit. the siphon tube looks almost like an oversized hang on filter intake. This one has a float switch that only kicks on the pump when the other one has failed. Battery backups are very unreliable, I have experienced failures in the past myself.
Bennytheblenny
Reef Geek
The only failure point is if a situation develops where you have no water pressure AND no power this thing will not function. But I think it is still way more reliable than a battery backup solution. Ill get you an address for the company that makes this thing shortly.
Bennytheblenny
Reef Geek
Here is a direct link to the manufacturer.
http://www.zoellerpumps.com/ProductBenefit.aspx?ProductID=65
http://www.zoellerpumps.com/ProductBenefit.aspx?ProductID=65
Bennytheblenny
Reef Geek
Okay time for a quick update.
Fiberglass went on without a hitch:
Even got it around the perimeter of the stand:
Then it was time to paint. We used a 2 part epoxy paint similar to what is used for garage floors over the stand, floor and walls. The color, battleship gray, of course.
Even painted the filtration room:
The glass build portion of the project has been moved back to Friday April 16th. I should have some great updates during that weekend of the glass actually coming together. All the prepwork is pretty much completed with the exception of the generator, now for the hard part, the waiting....:thumbdown
Fiberglass went on without a hitch:
Even got it around the perimeter of the stand:
Then it was time to paint. We used a 2 part epoxy paint similar to what is used for garage floors over the stand, floor and walls. The color, battleship gray, of course.
Even painted the filtration room:
The glass build portion of the project has been moved back to Friday April 16th. I should have some great updates during that weekend of the glass actually coming together. All the prepwork is pretty much completed with the exception of the generator, now for the hard part, the waiting....:thumbdown
Bennytheblenny
Reef Geek
Yes, the whole house stunk for a few days but it was well worth it. I simply turned sealed off the vents leading upstairs and opened all the windows in the house for 2 days. The stand was built from stainless steel, supplied by Pabst Engineering in Elizabeth NJ.
In the meantime I am working on my stocking list for fish.....
In the meantime I am working on my stocking list for fish.....
Bennytheblenny
Reef Geek
The countdown to the Friday glass build continues....
In the meantime we are framing the ceiling in the filtration room in preparation for:
http://www.soundproofcow.com/soundproofing-insulation/soundproof-insulation-batt.html
&
http://www.quietrock.com/quietrock-drywall/quietrock-530.html
All of that to make sure the noise from the equipment stays in the room.
In the meantime we are framing the ceiling in the filtration room in preparation for:
http://www.soundproofcow.com/soundproofing-insulation/soundproof-insulation-batt.html
&
http://www.quietrock.com/quietrock-drywall/quietrock-530.html
All of that to make sure the noise from the equipment stays in the room.
socalireefer
In Memoriam
Congrads on the awesome build, cant wait to see the tank.
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