Addiction wins, 450 gallon system begins

[melev]

As you can see by my web address, I already have a web site, and I suppose I could just put pages on there without them being linked to the main one. haven't figured it out yet, and there you go.

You don't need to use any webpages. Just create a picture directory, and then type in the URL in your image you want to show. For example, here is a picture in the root directory of my site that is not on any webpage:

http://www.melevsreef.com/return.jpg

If you had a special image directory, it might be

http://www.melevsreef.com/pics/return.jpg (This is not a valid link, gang. Just an example for jnarowe.)

All you need to know is the name of the picture, and then you can use the IMG button when posting to incorporate images in your posts.

 

[Hop]

jgsensor: Thanks and its good to hear that all those fish get along. I keep reading here about all the frustration with tangs and ich and I'm getting a little worried. I'm hoping that with 6 weeks in hypo-qar., that everything will be ok.

A quick update on today is that I'm feeling rather optimistic and realized the tank is half full! Did get some more woodwork done. But still need to paint. The current doors that I made are only temporary as the real doors will probably take a week or so to make.

Also got a few little things done like wiring the moon lights, but I'm still not sure if I'm going to use the AC to control them along with the intensity or leave them on a switch for viewing pleasure

I'll try to get some pics up after dinner and an adult beverage!

 

[jnarowe]

thanks melev...I got it now.--J

 

[rnoreef]

Wow your tank looks great! If you don't mind me asking, what kind of sand are you using for your substrate and where did you get it? I'm in the process of setting up a 300 gal that I picked up for $100 off of a guy locally that was getting out of the hobby and I don't really want to spend a ton of cash by buying carib-sea sand, but I really like the look of it. I live in northern nevada and base rock is pretty easy to come by around here. I've been gathering tufa rock for the last month whenever I see it laying around the desert. It's pure calcium carbonate rock which is basically dead live rock. It's in quite of an abundance around here if you want to go out and gather it up. But the only sand I can find in bulk is Home Depot or Lowes play sand that really turns dark when wet and I'm looking for a whiter sugar like sand.

 

[melev]

rnoreef,

[welcome]

 

[Hop]

rnoreef: Like melev said... Welcome!

Thanks for the comment on the tank. That really sounds like a good deal on your tank! Unfortunately I did have to pay an arm and a leg for caribsea. There is nothing here within driving distance that remained light colored, so I had to pay too darn much for sand! On the other tanks I've had I just used silica based play sand, but like you said, it's just not light enough.

What part of northern Nevada? I used to be a pit crew foreman for an off road racing team (class 8 if it matters) and we raced in Jackpot and Wendover, sometimes Ely and Vegas.

 

[Hop]

Well day three on the RO/DI fill and I'm really just taking it easy and getting some little things done. The tank still has about eight inches to go before it even hits the overflow and beings to fill the last 100-130 gallons. Here are some I had nothing better to do shots

I did also manage to get the topoff built and I ran a test and it workled really well. We'll see how it does over the long haul. I did keep the KISS method on this one:thumbsup:

 

[ohioreef]

Looking good, Hop!!

 

[jnarowe]

Looks great HOP. Imagine if you were to creat the effect seen in the second photo by using handi-foam, cement and rock! See what I mean? The over-hang would look totally cool and you could grow coral that needs a lot of light on it. Your tank looks really good!--J

 

[Hop]

ohioreefer: Thanks bud! Wish I didn't have to go back to work here Friday, it would be up and running quicker!

jnarowe: Thanks, and yeah I noticed the same thing, but in a little differant perspective. The overhang would be pretty cool if I could make it look natural!

 

[Hop]

OK the wet room is Done! Well sort of. It's ready for the water to start flowing. Everything was cleaned up and the wires were all taken care of. I still need to sinch up a few things after everything is running, but it's there! Also the new skimmer pump came in and it's half as loud as the previous one. Leads me to beleive that there was some issues inside the other pump!

And finally the thing that I almost didn't put in... The sink. Man I can't beleive how much this gets used and how much time it has saved me. This has got to be one of the best corners I'm glad I didn't cut.

 

[george1098]

i have one of those other pump, mine is pretty loude when there is an air bubble inside, but quiet as a whisper otherwise. who knows what your problem was though

 

[melev]

Excellent!

 

[WarEagleNR88]

Wow Hop! Big Pipes, Pumps, and Pails there! Your sump design kinda looks like my initial setup only a lot larger.

Can you get a full perspective picture of both the wet room and the tank both like 10 ft away? I'm still a little confused on a few things of how you have it all set up.

Looking good to finally have some water going in there, eh?

 

[NexDog]

Hop, nice job. Need a plumbing walkthrough and a bigger picture, please.

Also, how are you going to heat this system in the winter?

 

[Hop]

WarEagleNR88: I can get a pic of the tank later, right now there is so much stuff piled up I can't get back far enough for a full shot:lol: I still have some organizing to do. As far as the wet-room, It's only 5'X10'. so I have to stand in the doorway to take the pics I've posted. It really is just enough room to move around and service the tank.

Here's a layout I made a second ago. Sorry, I only have MS paint, so quality is horrible. And as you can see, we live in a smaller home, but we love it that way

Authors note, above pic was made in 2 minutes and is not to scale

I'll play with MS paint if you want and see if I can drum up a 3D pic to better layout the wet-room. Let me know.

NexDog: I plan on doing either a video walkthrough or picture walkthrough when this is all done to show how things work and point out my areas of oopses!
I'm going to see on the heating, the only concern will be the floor temp, but the garage/woodshop always stays warm in the winter due to insulation. Even when it's below zero, the garage is about 50 degrees. I'm going to see what happens here over the first cold spell and if I need to I can tap into the heating ducts, which are in close proximity. My gut feeling with the pumps, added insulation of the wet-room and lights is that minimal additional heating will be needed. So far the temp in the room only fluctuates between 67 and 75 degrees (that was on a 108 degree day). I kind of live on the edge of the desert, heading into the mountains and usually the winters are pretty mild here. If you go 25 miles east and a few hundred feet higher in elevation, the cold and snow really starts

 

[Airman]

Hop,

I thought that your wet room was next to your tank. How far away do you have to pump your water?

 

[Hop]

Hop,

I thought that your wet room was next to your tank. How far away do you have to pump your water?

About 21' as the crow flies or about 29' pipe run. This is why my head hurt for several months hoping this would work:mixed:

 

[jnarowe]

Looks great HOP, very ambitious to build the equipment room that far away.

My floor plan is below. This is the bottom floor of our addition. and provides the perfect place for a tank. (I think!)

 

[Hop]

jnarowe: Yeah I would say that you layout is great. Might need to add a plasma screen and surround down there, pool table etc and just make it you little "get away zone". Heck a kitchen and you may never leave

I really had no choice on the distance of my wetroom, it was the only option other than tearing out the 125 and doing a large 6' tank, but I really wanted an 8' tank! I just couldn't get away with everything under the stand, I wanted to be able to control the noise and keep maintenance manageable...