troubadour11
Member
Ha... I was loading these pics up as you were using your imagination from my description. I'll take some more shots later after I finish up a few more pieces.
A Living Room Reef: 90 Gallon Mixed Reef Build
- Thread starter troubadour11
- Start date
troubadour11
Member
Well. I got a few more pieces added on & drying now. The arch cracked loose when I was working on it :-(
But it didn't crack off. I took the opportunity to add lots of mortar to that joint.
Then I had to do some cosmetic work & attach a few rubble d pieces over the joint. That way it reinfored the connection & looked like more rock then mortar. This arch towerter is really starting to look cool!
But it didn't crack off. I took the opportunity to add lots of mortar to that joint.
Then I had to do some cosmetic work & attach a few rubble d pieces over the joint. That way it reinfored the connection & looked like more rock then mortar. This arch towerter is really starting to look cool!
troubadour11
Member
I'm getting there. A piece or two left to put together. But I have 3 towers now that are looking good. I'll probably finish up cementing the last few pieces today. We had a long 3 day holiday weekend over here. So I didn't get to much done over the last few days :beer:
I'm looking forward to seeing what you're up to in that Monti tank when you're done Bello. I'll have some new pictures up soon. Almost ready to start on the plumbing!!!
troubadour11
Member
Hi tuanc: I appreciate it, but unfortunately that is not my fish. It's just a picture of the Black Ice Clown off ORA's website. But that is the type of clown I hope to get a mated pair of eventually.
My tank is still dry while doing all the beginning build work. But hopefully some gorgeous fish like that are soon to come!
My tank is still dry while doing all the beginning build work. But hopefully some gorgeous fish like that are soon to come!
troubadour11
Member
Ok... I'm putting 1 more piece on today and calling the rock-work done! Instead of :hammer: some more rock... I think I'm just :deadhorse1: It's looking pretty sweet now. Pictures are coming up.
Other then all the fun the wife and I have been running around enjoying. Here's an errand I ran the other day. I had to go to the grocery store (which happens to have a LFS right by it :bounce3
. So I stopped in for a peak. I've got to see tanks with water somewhere right now! I took a few quick cell phone pics (with their permission). Since I'm always seeing Biggles fish store adventures, I thought I'd share one of mine. LOL
I only wish I could have one of these guys. Sweet Lips are SO awesome... not in my puny little 90 gallon reef though:
And of course I am still thinking some kind of dwarf angel as my one of my final fish. So those flames look pretty sweet too!
Here's a couple fish just clowning around :facepalm:
I couldn't get a good one of these 2 up close together. But they were pretty:
One of their frag sales tanks:
One of their store display tanks. Next time I got back, I'll get the other side which has a HUGE clam on display:
The tank has a 10 inch wide by 5 inch built in overflow on the middle/left 3rd of the tank. Then with the tank, I got an adjustable Durso style stand pipe and a 3/4 inch return with "Y" split locline spout. So I'm expecting to run both the drain and return through the overflow. I might have to get some type of extension for the locline though to make it reach they way I was expecting for flow. Right now I'm thinking I'll tie it all together with braided/reinforced vinyl tubing. All the bulkheads I got with the set up are barbed for tubing, I think...
Other then all the fun the wife and I have been running around enjoying. Here's an errand I ran the other day. I had to go to the grocery store (which happens to have a LFS right by it :bounce3
. So I stopped in for a peak. I've got to see tanks with water somewhere right now! I took a few quick cell phone pics (with their permission). Since I'm always seeing Biggles fish store adventures, I thought I'd share one of mine. LOLI only wish I could have one of these guys. Sweet Lips are SO awesome... not in my puny little 90 gallon reef though:
And of course I am still thinking some kind of dwarf angel as my one of my final fish. So those flames look pretty sweet too!
Here's a couple fish just clowning around :facepalm:
I couldn't get a good one of these 2 up close together. But they were pretty:
One of their frag sales tanks:
One of their store display tanks. Next time I got back, I'll get the other side which has a HUGE clam on display:
troubadour11
Member
And now for a few more rock-scape pictures. I still have the 1 or 2 updates I'm doing today. But it's nothing to dramatic. Some cosmetic work.
Over all, I think we are pretty happy with it. I tried to focus on a vertical structure to utilize my tall tank height (25 inches) with a 2 inch sand bed. Then with that in mind, I tried to leave a good amount of open sand bed space with a few small raft/islands if we want. I attempted to use as much of the 105 pounds of rock I bought, while still leaving as much negative space and sand space as I could. I haven't weighed the left over yet, but I would guess that this is around the 75 pound mark with about 30 still left over. And I also tried to avoid having any rock up against the glass. The highest point on these structures is around 18-19 inches. Which should give me some grow in space for any of the highest corals.
Oh, and I would highly recommend Marco Rocks so far. Their E-marco mortar mix has been really easy to work with and seems to be holding up just fine so far. I had 1 piece start to crack apart. But it was one of the first seems I ever did on the arch. Easily repaired and improved and I haven't had any others come apart yet. With lots of picking up, rotating, and leaning on the joints to do the work...
I took a number of pics to try and show the different overhangs and such. It's hard to tell depth on my sweet phone pics. Hence all the shots. But anyway, on with the pictures!
Top Down:
"FTS"
3/4's:
Right side:
Left side:
Left End:
3/4 of arch tower... looking up the spine of the arch:
:bounce1: Are we ready to plumb this monster? What do you all think!?!? :bounce3:
Over all, I think we are pretty happy with it. I tried to focus on a vertical structure to utilize my tall tank height (25 inches) with a 2 inch sand bed. Then with that in mind, I tried to leave a good amount of open sand bed space with a few small raft/islands if we want. I attempted to use as much of the 105 pounds of rock I bought, while still leaving as much negative space and sand space as I could. I haven't weighed the left over yet, but I would guess that this is around the 75 pound mark with about 30 still left over. And I also tried to avoid having any rock up against the glass. The highest point on these structures is around 18-19 inches. Which should give me some grow in space for any of the highest corals.
Oh, and I would highly recommend Marco Rocks so far. Their E-marco mortar mix has been really easy to work with and seems to be holding up just fine so far. I had 1 piece start to crack apart. But it was one of the first seems I ever did on the arch. Easily repaired and improved and I haven't had any others come apart yet. With lots of picking up, rotating, and leaning on the joints to do the work...
I took a number of pics to try and show the different overhangs and such. It's hard to tell depth on my sweet phone pics. Hence all the shots. But anyway, on with the pictures!
Top Down:
"FTS"
3/4's:
Right side:
Left side:
Left End:
3/4 of arch tower... looking up the spine of the arch:
:bounce1: Are we ready to plumb this monster? What do you all think!?!? :bounce3:
Bello
New member
Thanks a ton for the LFS pics Troub :thumbsup:. I wonder if you'll be able walk out of that store empty handed once your tank's cycled.....really doubt that :lol:
I love that frag tank, sooooo tempting.... I hope you do get a dwarf angel in your tank someday..... But as much as I love flame angels, if you're gonna keep clowns, the colors are a bit too similar..... but plenty of others out there :thumbsup:
Honestly, given the dimensions of your tank, which I don't think are very scape friendly, you've done an awesome job!!!! :thumbsup:
While everything looks great, I especially like the right structure with the arch within... Excellent!!!
You're plumbing ideas sound good. I myself, used flexible tubing for the returns, and hard pipes for the drains. It's just easier to work with flexible :thumbsup:
Hmmm, so now you've got to finish plumbing, build your led array, code the Reef Angel, cycle your tank and then some..... so come on, wet that sucker already :thumbsup:
I love that frag tank, sooooo tempting.... I hope you do get a dwarf angel in your tank someday..... But as much as I love flame angels, if you're gonna keep clowns, the colors are a bit too similar..... but plenty of others out there :thumbsup:
Honestly, given the dimensions of your tank, which I don't think are very scape friendly, you've done an awesome job!!!! :thumbsup:
While everything looks great, I especially like the right structure with the arch within... Excellent!!!
You're plumbing ideas sound good. I myself, used flexible tubing for the returns, and hard pipes for the drains. It's just easier to work with flexible :thumbsup:
Hmmm, so now you've got to finish plumbing, build your led array, code the Reef Angel, cycle your tank and then some..... so come on, wet that sucker already :thumbsup:
troubadour11
Member
Hey, thanks! I'm glad you're liking it. I was pretty happy with how it came out. I especially like the right arch and center piece behind it!It was tough to get a layout with the look I wanted in the small footprint. If I ever upgrade, I'll be looking to go to 24 inches front to back at least.
The stuff around the overflow came out good, but I like the right side better. :lol2: I bet it will look just fine when it eventually fills in with corals and life all over it.
And Bello, it's hard to walk out of the LFS without getting anything even now... and I don't have a reef to put them in. I can't wait to be able to start picking some things out and bringing them home! And the angel is going to torture me FOREVER. I'm assuming a dwarf should be one of my latter additions because of size and aggression. It'll kind of be a king kong of the tank size wise. But I agree with you, Bello, on the Flames. Right now we are thinking it will be a Coral Beauty... again... eventually. :lmao:
And I definitely have a LOOOooooonnnnnggggg way to go as Bello mentioned. But up next is the push to at least get it plumbed, seeded, and cycling. I can play with the reef angel and the lighting while the tank cycles. So here's the next phase...
I've got this leftover from my last freshwater system:
A 75 gallon non-drilled tank. It will become my refugium that will be in the closet next to the sump. I'm going to build a self-leveling syphon system out of pvc to use as the overflow return to my sump.
So I've got to get the refugium and the sump into the closet:
Obviously, I'll be sliding the protein skimmer into center section and removing the fuge from the sump.
You can see some electrical here on the side wall of the garage next to the closet door where the sump/fuge will be. I need to get my buddy over for a BBQ, he's going to help me split that off and run a 4 outlet box into the closet.
I think the fuge will be down at the far end under the stairs, with the sump on the right towards the closet door giving me more room to work in there. So when he comes over to run the electrical, we will also drill through the wall to run the plumbing all at once. So I'm going to clean all this out and start to get things set up, pick up some plumbing parts, start building the overflow for the fuge, etc.
I also need to order an ro/di unit and refractometer for once the plumbing is done! All signs are pointing towards getting things wet now :thumbsup:
The stuff around the overflow came out good, but I like the right side better. :lol2: I bet it will look just fine when it eventually fills in with corals and life all over it.
And Bello, it's hard to walk out of the LFS without getting anything even now... and I don't have a reef to put them in. I can't wait to be able to start picking some things out and bringing them home! And the angel is going to torture me FOREVER. I'm assuming a dwarf should be one of my latter additions because of size and aggression. It'll kind of be a king kong of the tank size wise. But I agree with you, Bello, on the Flames. Right now we are thinking it will be a Coral Beauty... again... eventually. :lmao:
And I definitely have a LOOOooooonnnnnggggg way to go as Bello mentioned. But up next is the push to at least get it plumbed, seeded, and cycling. I can play with the reef angel and the lighting while the tank cycles. So here's the next phase...
I've got this leftover from my last freshwater system:
A 75 gallon non-drilled tank. It will become my refugium that will be in the closet next to the sump. I'm going to build a self-leveling syphon system out of pvc to use as the overflow return to my sump.
So I've got to get the refugium and the sump into the closet:
Obviously, I'll be sliding the protein skimmer into center section and removing the fuge from the sump.
You can see some electrical here on the side wall of the garage next to the closet door where the sump/fuge will be. I need to get my buddy over for a BBQ, he's going to help me split that off and run a 4 outlet box into the closet.
I think the fuge will be down at the far end under the stairs, with the sump on the right towards the closet door giving me more room to work in there. So when he comes over to run the electrical, we will also drill through the wall to run the plumbing all at once. So I'm going to clean all this out and start to get things set up, pick up some plumbing parts, start building the overflow for the fuge, etc.
I also need to order an ro/di unit and refractometer for once the plumbing is done! All signs are pointing towards getting things wet now :thumbsup:
Bello
New member
First thing, you're lucky to have good friends :lol:. My friends wouldn't help even for a freakin' expensive sushi platter, and you're bribing this guy with a BBQ? Better be some darn good BBQ!! :lol:
Been down for a couple days, so here we go....
I'm not sure about the siphon overflow. It makes me uncomfortable, and I've honestly, not bothered to fully see how it works. I've always preferred drilled and gravity fed. That said, if drilling the glass (the fuge tank, right?) is not an option, go for it. Just my 2 cents.
Everything else seems good, and I'm waiting to see it all come together :thumbsup:, so you're due for a progress report :lol:
Oh god, and you've still got electrical to go? I don't envy you. Lots of work ahead. Troub, make sure this is up, before you become a grandfather :lol:
Ah yes, you like the Coral Beauty, first angelfish I ever saw, and kept :thumbsup:. I think another option with a similar color scheme would be a flameback angel (I've never had the chance to keep one 
)
Been down for a couple days, so here we go....
I'm not sure about the siphon overflow. It makes me uncomfortable, and I've honestly, not bothered to fully see how it works. I've always preferred drilled and gravity fed. That said, if drilling the glass (the fuge tank, right?) is not an option, go for it. Just my 2 cents.
Everything else seems good, and I'm waiting to see it all come together :thumbsup:, so you're due for a progress report :lol:
Oh god, and you've still got electrical to go? I don't envy you. Lots of work ahead. Troub, make sure this is up, before you become a grandfather :lol:
Ah yes, you like the Coral Beauty
, first angelfish I ever saw, and kept :thumbsup:. I think another option with a similar color scheme would be a flameback angel (I've never had the chance to keep one )troubadour11
Member
First thing first Bello... I can cook some damn good bbq! :beer: I've got a smoker that I've been cooking all different types of meat on once or twice a week for a long time now. Yet another expensive hobby of mine :facepalm:
I do have good friends willing to help out. But getting them to actually come do the help is a whole different challenge. Especially since he and his wife just had their first baby about 4 months ago. The electric shouldn't be to tough. Just put in a junction box and split the line off through some surface conduit, run it along the wall into the closet, then put a 4 plug gfci. But I've never done an electrical extension before, so I either need him on his schedule or to hire someone.
So the syphon overflow is going to be just for the fuge tank. The bottom tank glass is tempered so I can't drill it. I could drill the side or back, but I've never done it and don't want to risk breaking it since I don't want to afford to replace it if it does crack. I've looked into these self-level syphon overflow designs and they seem to be pretty reliable to me. So I think I'm willing to give it a shot. Of course I'll test power outages on it a few times before it becomes permanent. But here are a few examples of it. These pictures are not mine, I lifted them from others as examples, I hope they aren't :furious: at me for it.
- My system will be similar to these, but will have a cap with a hole drilled through it on the vent pipe
- The next pic is to keep in mind for my plumbing set up (which we will start laying out and planning on the next round of pics). Off of the "T" on my syphon system, I want to have a barbed 3/4 inch attachment to the 1 inch pvc overflow like in this example.
- I may put the "T" and then a ball valve before the 3/4 inch barb... I'm not sure if it's needed or not though.... A shiny penny for your thoughts on all this? :bum:
And I'm working hard... I don't want to disappoint Grandpa-Troub... He's still waiting for his tank :sad2:
I do have good friends willing to help out. But getting them to actually come do the help is a whole different challenge. Especially since he and his wife just had their first baby about 4 months ago. The electric shouldn't be to tough. Just put in a junction box and split the line off through some surface conduit, run it along the wall into the closet, then put a 4 plug gfci. But I've never done an electrical extension before, so I either need him on his schedule or to hire someone.
So the syphon overflow is going to be just for the fuge tank. The bottom tank glass is tempered so I can't drill it. I could drill the side or back, but I've never done it and don't want to risk breaking it since I don't want to afford to replace it if it does crack. I've looked into these self-level syphon overflow designs and they seem to be pretty reliable to me. So I think I'm willing to give it a shot. Of course I'll test power outages on it a few times before it becomes permanent. But here are a few examples of it. These pictures are not mine, I lifted them from others as examples, I hope they aren't :furious: at me for it.
- My system will be similar to these, but will have a cap with a hole drilled through it on the vent pipe
- The next pic is to keep in mind for my plumbing set up (which we will start laying out and planning on the next round of pics). Off of the "T" on my syphon system, I want to have a barbed 3/4 inch attachment to the 1 inch pvc overflow like in this example.
- I may put the "T" and then a ball valve before the 3/4 inch barb... I'm not sure if it's needed or not though.... A shiny penny for your thoughts on all this? :bum:
And I'm working hard... I don't want to disappoint Grandpa-Troub... He's still waiting for his tank :sad2:
Bello
New member
I've got a 10 month old now, and seriously, if you asked me to help you run wires when he was 4 months old, you'd get a giant gfy!! :lol:... He must be a REALLY good friend!!.. It's exhausting, with child, and now my son is getting awfully curious, and I'm gonna have to childproof everything!
Ok, enough rubbish talk, I like the first design better, simply because the fitting would fit snugly against the tank glass, as opposed to the second. I think a ball valve is always good. But get the ones that you can easily replace if they were to get stuck... Ball valves get notoriously tight and difficult to turn over time. They say, the more unions and valves, the more experienced the reefer/plumber :lol:
Give it a go :thumbsup:
Sigh, and you've left me now craving steak!!!! Thanks a ton, Troub :furious:
Ok, enough rubbish talk, I like the first design better, simply because the fitting would fit snugly against the tank glass, as opposed to the second. I think a ball valve is always good. But get the ones that you can easily replace if they were to get stuck... Ball valves get notoriously tight and difficult to turn over time. They say, the more unions and valves, the more experienced the reefer/plumber :lol:
Give it a go :thumbsup:
Sigh, and you've left me now craving steak!!!! Thanks a ton, Troub :furious:
troubadour11
Member
All right! Now it's time for some update pictures. Nothing SUPER exciting I'm sure for you all, but it was really exciting for me!!! :bounce3:
I got the closet all cleaned out and some fish tank filtration stuff moved in! Time to get some thoughts on filter/plumbing design from anyone who wants to throw some ideas out for me :idea: and also starting to lay out some electrical layout. Are you ready for my newbie barage of questions? :celeb3:
-Drain chamber of sump just through door. Maybe a good spot for a heater and a bit of rock and rubble (like a mini cryptic zone)?
- My ATO container will most likely go in the back right corner where the sand and extra dry rock are currently sitting.
- Here you can see the Bubble-Magus NAC 6 skimmer (I got it all put together) in the center chamber. Much easier to service here!
- I'm also thinking this center chamber will be the best place to put the feed for the Fluval 305 canister. This will draw water from the sump skimmer chamber, and deliver it to the fuge. No sponges or anything, I could put some carbon or whatever. It's primarily a lifting pump for now from sump to fuge.
- Is this center chamber also the "best" place for any PH sensors, temp sensors, ATO float valve, etc?
- Should I have the 2nd heater here as well? Or keep one in drain section of the sump, and one in the fuge?
- Another angle... you can see my in-line UV unit sitting on the back edge of the sump. This will need to be plumbed in-line between the return pump and the pipe passing through the wall. Oh, and the drain/return lines will pass through the wall basically right between the sump and fuge about 27 or so inches up the wall.
- Those 2x6 boards you see along the 75 gallon fuge tank... I am thinking of building a lift frame out of 2x6's, then a flat board on top, then I can put a sheet of insulation down and wrap sheets of insulation around the back and sides. I'm also planning to put a sheet of insulation down beneath the acrylic sump to level the cement and give it some temp protection from the cold concrete.
- Here's a top down of where the drain/return lines should come through the wall.
-It's also a good shot of how I am thinking of running the self-leveling siphon. Let me know if you all think this would work... I'd like to run the siphon overflow up and over the end of the tank in the back corner by the wall. Remember in the last post how I said I wanted a barbed fitting on the end of my overflow piping. I was thinking I would connect that barbed fitting with some flexible tubing to a barbed bulkhead at the base of the return chamber (normally where you would plumb an external return pump to the sump). You can vaguely see the pre-drilled hole on the sump in the pic above.
Would that work ok? I'd have the fluval 305 pumping water from the protein skimmer section up to the fuge, then overflow it through the siphon system attached to that barbed bulkhead. Then the return pump sitting right there firing water back to the DT both from the sump and fuge. Do you think the 2x6, plywood, insulation frame will lift the fuge high enough that the gravity/siphon overflow will work if plumbed back into the sump basically at floor level attached to that bulkhead?
I got the closet all cleaned out and some fish tank filtration stuff moved in! Time to get some thoughts on filter/plumbing design from anyone who wants to throw some ideas out for me :idea: and also starting to lay out some electrical layout. Are you ready for my newbie barage of questions? :celeb3:
-Drain chamber of sump just through door. Maybe a good spot for a heater and a bit of rock and rubble (like a mini cryptic zone)?
- My ATO container will most likely go in the back right corner where the sand and extra dry rock are currently sitting.
- Here you can see the Bubble-Magus NAC 6 skimmer (I got it all put together) in the center chamber. Much easier to service here!
- I'm also thinking this center chamber will be the best place to put the feed for the Fluval 305 canister. This will draw water from the sump skimmer chamber, and deliver it to the fuge. No sponges or anything, I could put some carbon or whatever. It's primarily a lifting pump for now from sump to fuge.
- Is this center chamber also the "best" place for any PH sensors, temp sensors, ATO float valve, etc?
- Should I have the 2nd heater here as well? Or keep one in drain section of the sump, and one in the fuge?
- Another angle... you can see my in-line UV unit sitting on the back edge of the sump. This will need to be plumbed in-line between the return pump and the pipe passing through the wall. Oh, and the drain/return lines will pass through the wall basically right between the sump and fuge about 27 or so inches up the wall.
- Those 2x6 boards you see along the 75 gallon fuge tank... I am thinking of building a lift frame out of 2x6's, then a flat board on top, then I can put a sheet of insulation down and wrap sheets of insulation around the back and sides. I'm also planning to put a sheet of insulation down beneath the acrylic sump to level the cement and give it some temp protection from the cold concrete.
- Here's a top down of where the drain/return lines should come through the wall.
-It's also a good shot of how I am thinking of running the self-leveling siphon. Let me know if you all think this would work... I'd like to run the siphon overflow up and over the end of the tank in the back corner by the wall. Remember in the last post how I said I wanted a barbed fitting on the end of my overflow piping. I was thinking I would connect that barbed fitting with some flexible tubing to a barbed bulkhead at the base of the return chamber (normally where you would plumb an external return pump to the sump). You can vaguely see the pre-drilled hole on the sump in the pic above.
Would that work ok? I'd have the fluval 305 pumping water from the protein skimmer section up to the fuge, then overflow it through the siphon system attached to that barbed bulkhead. Then the return pump sitting right there firing water back to the DT both from the sump and fuge. Do you think the 2x6, plywood, insulation frame will lift the fuge high enough that the gravity/siphon overflow will work if plumbed back into the sump basically at floor level attached to that bulkhead?
Bello
New member
Disclaimer: I'm no plumbing genius, and barely did my own
First thing is the fuge. I'm REALLY unsure if that siphon method is gonna work with the fuge being set so low to the ground. Do you have space to raise it up a bit? How about shifting it to the right where your ato was supposed to go? The increase in height with the 2x6's might work with the siphon feed but you'll have to try it out. I'm guessing you can't lift it higher due to the angled "ceiling".
The centre should be fine for the ato, probes etc. Can't say much about heaters, don't need 'em when you live in the tropics. A chiller is a whole different story
The barb fitting etc all sound good. I'm just wary about the siphon, and fuge height.
Hopefully, some one with more experience chimes in :thumbsup:
First thing is the fuge. I'm REALLY unsure if that siphon method is gonna work with the fuge being set so low to the ground. Do you have space to raise it up a bit? How about shifting it to the right where your ato was supposed to go? The increase in height with the 2x6's might work with the siphon feed but you'll have to try it out. I'm guessing you can't lift it higher due to the angled "ceiling".
The centre should be fine for the ato, probes etc. Can't say much about heaters, don't need 'em when you live in the tropics. A chiller is a whole different story
The barb fitting etc all sound good. I'm just wary about the siphon, and fuge height.
Hopefully, some one with more experience chimes in :thumbsup:
troubadour11
Member
Disclaimer: I'm no plumbing genius, and barely did my own
First thing is the fuge. I'm REALLY unsure if that siphon method is gonna work with the fuge being set so low to the ground. Do you have space to raise it up a bit? How about shifting it to the right where your ato was supposed to go? The increase in height with the 2x6's might work with the siphon feed but you'll have to try it out. I'm guessing you can't lift it higher due to the angled "ceiling".
The centre should be fine for the ato, probes etc. Can't say much about heaters, don't need 'em when you live in the tropics. A chiller is a whole different story
The barb fitting etc all sound good. I'm just wary about the siphon, and fuge height.
I appreciate the thoughts Bello. You may be no plumbing genius, but your tank has water, mine does not :thumbsup: So you've got more experience then me :lol2:
You are dead on correct with the angled ceiling under the stairway. The more I raise the fuge height, the more I have to move it to the right down the wall. Originally I had planned to just set it on my expensive old oak stand from the freshwater set up. But I kept running into the angled ceiling. The reason I would prefer it down that way is so I have room to work. The closet is only about 35 or so inches wide. So if I put the fuge on the far right (where the ATO container is currently planned) I can BARELY fit through the door in/out of the closet. And I'm sure getting equipment, ato water, etc in and out would be a PITA.
And I might be able to get a slightly higher lift once the drain/return pipe holes are cut in the wall. When I know exactly where those are, I might be able to get like 4-8 more inches that I could raise it up by moving it down the wall to the right towards the drain/return lines. But my goal was to keep it down that wall so that it didn't have to sit in front of those lines and the fuge could be flush to the wall giving me 15 inches to work in front of the fuge.
And you are spot on, the fuge height utilizing the siphon is currently the #1 thing I'm worried about plumbing wise. My #2 worry is the balancing act. Never run a tank with a sump, but I'm concerned pulling around 260 gph out of that center section of the sump to the fuge might cause a balancing act issue with the DT drain. I'm worried it might make something like a surge flow kind of drain issue. #3 worry is that connecting fuge siphon overflow to that bulkhead right before my return pump might create micro-bubbles or some type of problem on my return line.
I was hoping some expert plumbers might chime in... but it looks like I'll just have to start building and testing things to see if it works.
I am sure I'll need the heaters here some. I am PRAYING I don't need to utilize a chiller! :hmm2: The house has central AC. So the DT will have AC in the room if it's hot. The sump / fuge however are in that closet attached to the garage. No temp control in there currently. So I'm really hoping that sucker doesn't heat up like a sauna in the summer. Keeping my fingers crossed that some fans can handle it.
So I ended up spending this past weekend at the beach... So I didn't get much done. LOL. I had to get my ocean fix in somehow! Time to get some things built on this sucker now.
OH... and I ordered my new RO/DI unit!!! It should be here sometime early this week! So I guess I still made SOME progress! :beer:
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