ASL's 40 gal build

[aggie13reef]

Really coming along nicely! It is killing me that I have made ZERO progress on my build. Lack of funds and time currently. Really hoping to make some progress on it after my next paycheck. I like the way the stand turned out looks nice.

On the GFI, I am thinking it is probably bad the way it sounds. Best bet is to pick up another one and try again. I am not an electrician but deal with GFIs and wiring them up quite a bit with my job. We have to change them out more often than you think due to them failing. If the new one doesn't work then make sure you have power in the wires coming from the wall with a multimeter. Definitely shouldn't need an electrician! Good luck!

 

[asl4me76]

Really coming along nicely! It is killing me that I have made ZERO progress on my build. Lack of funds and time currently. Really hoping to make some progress on it after my next paycheck. I like the way the stand turned out looks nice.

On the GFI, I am thinking it is probably bad the way it sounds. Best bet is to pick up another one and try again. I am not an electrician but deal with GFIs and wiring them up quite a bit with my job. We have to change them out more often than you think due to them failing. If the new one doesn't work then make sure you have power in the wires coming from the wall with a multimeter. Definitely shouldn't need an electrician! Good luck!

Thanks! I appreciate all of the kind words. I hope to see your build coming along too and have a nice little build log to go with it as well . Sometimes the things we want in this hobby takes time for us to gather due to fundage. Not everyone is high middle class or rich by no means! I feel ya, if I hadn't been saving up money from another side job I do then I wouldn't be where I am at currently.

Yea, the stand turned out good. I would have liked for the trim to have been white to allow it to pop, but the wife veto'd that. She likes it this way. It wans't worth :headwalls: with her over it. I appeased her to make my life simpler!

I picked up a handy dandy GFCI tester at Walmart along with another outlet. I will check it out tomorrow. I was so frustrated with it today that I literally felt like I was doing this :headwally: many times over and left me going with what could be wrong. However, I have a game plan and will attack it tomorrow. I know that the outlet is good cause I made sure it was working with the standard outlet prior to me disconnecting it.

 

[asl4me76]

Stupid GFI Outlet

Stupid GFI Outlet

Well, a little update so to speak. When I was out tonight I grabbed another GFI outlet and a little tester. I have confirmed that the tester works without any problems. I know that the standard outlet is working at this one particular place in the wall. I think it has something to do with the way the wiring is in the house. Although, it shouldn't be any different from the other outlets, just something seems off. Like I said previously, it doesn't matter how it is that I have the wires. It just doesn't want to work. In fact when I put the tester in, I get no lights at all on the GFI; however, for the standard outlet it lights up like noones business.

Standard Outlet w/ Tester :

What the tester looks like when I had the GFI outlet connected.

Now, one thing to keep in mind is that I literally unhooked one wire at a time when connecting it back to the standard outlet to ensure I didn't get the wires confused and it works fine. So, I don't know what the deal is as to why the GFI won't work.

 

[zachts]

You got some funky wiring, or you just shouldn't be messing with it. Call the electrician before you cause a problem, or worse.

 

[asl4me76]

You got some funky wiring, or you just shouldn't be messing with it. Call the electrician before you cause a problem, or worse.

I'm leaning towards the funky wiring and not something I did. As I said, the standard outlet works with no problems at all. I will get an electrician out at some point and have them take a look at it.

 

[asl4me76]

and .. let there be ... LIGHTS!

and .. let there be ... LIGHTS!

Boy oh boy! God said that let there be lights, and low and behold I got a nice little delivery from the UPS man today. My light fixture made it in that I ordered from BRS. And now ... for the big reveal!

I think they have enough air bubbles to last a good long while in the box.

And if you're not quite sure how much air bubbles they packed the box with - this will give you a good idea :

How it's packaged :

The light itself :

Bottom

Top

Nothing like a ballast to show off, figured if I was showing off the light then the ballast deserved some love.

And now ... for the final light photo. It's on the tank! I was testing to make sure it was in fact in good working order! This is with the preset settings that they have. Excuse all the junk in the tank. It's the holding pen for everything until it's ready for water!

I also managed to get some more work done in the stand a little bit today. I drilled a hole big enough for the power cords to feed through and mounted the reactor that I have to the back of the stand.

I did get shipment confirmation yesterday that the overflow has been shipped and should be here Thursday. Which is great news, I think that I may have mentioned this before. I worked a little bit on the plumbing on getting some of the PVC cut to size (as long as possible) to ensure that everything is good to go. When messing with it, I realized that I grabbed some wrong plumbing, such as the T's that I have are slip to threaded and I need slip's for all 3 inputs. So, I have to switch those out. As for the returns, I think I am going to bring them up and barely over the tank vs. drilling two extra holes into the back of the tank.

 

[goby12345]

You will NOT need all 3 bags of sand unles you want a very DEEP sand bed 3 bags can fill up a 180 tank!!!!!!!

 

[edavis]

nice so far. I have a 40b myself but went with 20L sump. That stand you built makes your tank look tiny!

 

[asl4me76]

You will NOT need all 3 bags of sand unles you want a very DEEP sand bed 3 bags can fill up a 180 tank!!!!!!!

Yes, I do believe in the benefits of a deep sand bed. In my previous tank I had anywhere from 2 to 3 inches of sand. I think it is what helped me out in the long run!

nice so far. I have a 40b myself but went with 20L sump. That stand you built makes your tank look tiny!

Yes, I know it is big. However, with that being said - in the future when things get up and running I seriously doubt you'll ever see pics of the entire set up, but more of the display as things get going.

I decided on making the stand a little larger than the 40gal breeder for the following reasons :

1. I plan on upgrading at some point and did not want to buy a new piece of furniture to fit the new tank.
2. The new tank will take up the entire width of the stand, but the depth will be the same as a 40 gal breeder
3. I have a toddler and he loves to "help" momma do things. He's my little helper when I'm working on the stand. He grabs his little tools and etc.
4. I wanted some where that I could put things such as test kits and etc when testing without having to worry of little man reaching over and grabbing them.
5. And ... it provides more room in the sump for all of the stuff that will eventually be housed there

 

[asl4me76]

I had been thinking about where I was going to mount my ballast for the lighting fixture. I knew that I didn't want it attached to the outside of the stand, as I want to keep the stand as "clean" as possible. I knew that I would also be adding additional hardware such as an Apex and etc., in the future. So, with keeping all of this in mind - I laid out an idea for a control panel for under the tank that is totally removable when needed.

Materials :

1 -24" tall x 12" wide for the panel
2 - 3x3 cubes

I attached the 3x3 cubes on each side of the panel on the back side to allow for electrical wires to be stored there nice and tucked away from everything else. I screwed the ballast in for the lighting system and added some velcro for the wave maker (seeing as how this is the only thing that I have aside from the ballast that will go on there). I will be drilling small holes into the panel for the electrical cords to be routed through them to be tucked away nice and neat. As you can also see, I have started slowly but surely of putting in the shelves that will allow me to store things neatly in the stand. I have two more shelves that I will be attaching, I just haven't gotten it done. The shelves are held into place by simple L brackets.

The next thing I had to tackle was figuring out how I was going to do the DJ Power Supply. So, I came up with an idea to use 2 L brackets and some velcro to assist in keeping it in place! I may at some point get a nice piece of wood to make a little cubby area for it, but for now this will work. I turned the unit upside down to get the power cord as close as possible to the back panel to ensure that it would reach its way to the outlet.

I finally got the overflow in! Boy oh boy, does it look sexy. Looking back, I should have had him just simply put 1" bulkheads in for mounting the overflow to the tank, but hindsight is always 20/20. The bulkheads that are used to attach the inner and outer boxes is 2"'s. At any rate, enjoy the photos! The bulkheads that will be used for the drains are 1.5" bulkheads.

Front view:

Side view:

Back view:

Bottom view from external box:

After getting the overflow in, I got the tank off the stand and figured out where it is that I was going to place this beautifully crafted overflow. I outlined the location of where it is that I want the holes to go. It may not be permanent though, as I may take a razor blade and cut a small notch into the plastic rim of the tank to allow for the overflow to go up a little higher. If I were to do this, would it affect the integrity of the rim as it is not being taken off, just notched?? Once I had the outline made for the overflow, I tackled painting the back and bottom of the tank black.

I have placed an order for the Jebao Programmable Auto Dosing Pump DP-4 from Amazon. I will be using this for dosing Ca, Mag, Alk, and top off! My next big purchase aside from getting livestock in the tank is hands the Apex controller.

 

[aggie13reef]

Man that is a good looking overflow. If they are still available when I have the extra funds I will definitely go that route. As far as notching the rim I wouldn't think that it would be a big deal, but I am no expert by any means. Someone will give you more confidence than I can! haha. I like the dosing pump, where will you keep the reserves? Next to the sump in another container? This is something I have been trying to plan if I want to buy a container or DIY one.

 

[shaggss]

Very nice overflow :bounce1: I forgot but is that an eBay one? And is there enough room in there for the elbows and tees for the drains!

 

[asl4me76]

Man that is a good looking overflow. If they are still available when I have the extra funds I will definitely go that route. As far as notching the rim I wouldn't think that it would be a big deal, but I am no expert by any means. Someone will give you more confidence than I can! haha. I like the dosing pump, where will you keep the reserves? Next to the sump in another container? This is something I have been trying to plan if I want to buy a container or DIY one.

I am still working out in my head where the reserves are going to go. Will be in a future update.

As for the overflow, you bet your sweet tush that it is sexy as hell! Beautiful.

Very nice overflow :bounce1: I forgot but is that an eBay one? And is there enough room in there for the elbows and tees for the drains!

I have PM'd you with the link for the overflow. To answer your question in regards to room, I will update later on today with how it is that I have everything set up with photos. That way you can get an idea of how it is that I have done it.

For everyone else, you can find this particular overflow by visiting Modular Marine's E-bay Store.

 

[asl4me76]

Boy, oh boy! I have been busy!! On Saturday, I had learned that they had gotten the drill bit required for 2" bulkheads in on Friday (earlier than anticipated) at Seafari. So, I quickly made my way up there to get the tank drilled. Again, seriously Stu and James @ Seafari - YOU GUYS ROCK! Thanks for staying late to assist me in the drilling! I didn't get out of there until 10pm. Thanks to Brandon over at Worlds Under Water as well, for staying 15 mins later than needed in order for me to pick up my salt. Just an FYI for you all -- Aqua Vitro Salt is heavy as helllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll.

We had our first attempt at drilling the tank, but with it being a new bit and had never touched glass before - it proved to not like us. The bit bounced around a bit before finally really wanting to work with us. The drill was going great .... until. Well, James punched through the last bit of that hole and as soon as he made it through (or shortly after) it spidered up and to the left :'( . It was very sad needless to say. Then there was some debate as to if it was tempered or not. I had called Marineland prior to even venturing into getting one of their tanks and was assured that they were in fact glass on all panels. James made a quick call to Stu to get some more info. Stu did some homework and learned that Marineland wasn't lying after all! So, off to the store James and I went (since I don't know the area at all) and bought another 40 gal breeder to drill again. Of course it was cold as hell out, so the tank had to cool down before drilling then it was off to the races!

Drilling this particular tank had us take a different approach, after the first one had spidered. We took turns on the holes allowing them to "relax" after being stressed from being cut about half way through. When not working on one hole - the other was being worked. Let's just say we had success and the reef gods were in fact on my side! ;D ;D

When I got home, I pulled the tank out of the car and tested to make sure there were not any water leaks. Success again! ;D ;D

Of course, the fun really starts to begin then! I had mocked up my plumbingto get an idea of how I wanted things to set. Here goes!

Top of the plumbing that is spray painted and permanently attached to the bulkheads. Below you will see the mocked "underbelly" of the plumbing. You'll see why in a bit .

Yesterday, I had gotten a call from the glass shop to let me know that my baffles were ready to pick up. So, of course - off to town I went. I made a pit stop by Lowe's too to exchange out all the excess plumbing that I got and grabbed a few more things that I need. I.E. the light for the sump and all that jazz! Today, after working on the plumbing for a good bit, I put together the baffles in the sump. Can we just say that aquarium silicone STINKS! Talk about fumes burning your eyes that you end up wanting to :'( .

Finished Sump :

Once I let the baffles sit in position for a good bit to ensure that the bond was taking place, it was safe for me to move. I placed it back into the stand so, I could finish mocking up my plumbing to get everything ready for gluing. The only one not mocked up is the return, because, I'm waiting on some loc-line connectors to come in. I will hold off until Thursday/Friday before putting any water in the sump to ensure that everything is sealed nice and good. Don't want there to be any leaks if possible!

Of course, knowing that I wouldn't need the sump super right away - it was time for me to get something in that display tank! Off with the sand I go! I grabbed my 60 lbs of sand (yes, that much in my 40 gal B - I like DSB's). Sliced them open, got the sand how I wanted it and then started on the rock work. I was able to get something set up the way I think I like it, but we'll see once the "cloudiness" clears up a bit in the tank to be able to get a good idea of how things are looking and if I need to move anything.

Half way full!

My son realizing that there is something in the tank now and not just a bunch of stuff! I stopped the water there, as my salinity was reading 1.035 and I wanted to make up some RODI water to bring it down to within acceptable range. I will be using the RODI water to fill up the sump with and to work on getting the water cycle just where I want it once I have the return hooked up. As you can see, pretty cloud and the water went in slowly too (as I poured it in 1 gallon at a time).

Water is starting to clear up!

 

[asl4me76]

And for good measure - take a look at what found its way into the tank to kick start things while the sump is getting ready?

I also got my Jebao dosing pump in today. It looks good and is powering on.

I should have the connectors tomorrow for the loc-line. Game plan is to have the water in the sump soon and running skimmerless through the cycle. I did take some tests today to get a baseline of where my levels were off. I, of course, did not test for ammonia, nitrites, or nitrates yet.

1/20/2015

Ph - 7.8
Ca - 600 ppm
Mg - 1600 ppm
Alk - 14.0

 

[RocketEngineer]

Irony: Finding that You were inspired by pictures in MY build thread while I was looking through YOUR build thread for inspiration for MY next build.

Looking good so far.

 

[asl4me76]

Irony: Finding that You were inspired by pictures in MY build thread while I was looking through YOUR build thread for inspiration for MY next build.

Looking good so far.

That's awesome! Yea, I love your craftsmanship! Just make sure that you :hammer::hammer: away at things.

I keep trying to :hammer: away at my build here. I did an oopsie and didn't realize it until it was a little too late. I connected all of the plumbing under neath and put the ball valve for the return at the wrong spot. So, need to say, I have to redo a bit of plumbing, cause uhh - my water is not going up, but rather from the return section to the fuge! Talk about :mad2: when I figured it out. However, the tank is cycling nicely now and at least we all get a good :lolspin: out of it.

 

[RocketEngineer]

Thanks. I honestly can't take all the credit for that stand as my dad did a good chunk of the work since he had the tools. We did all the finishing in his garage which is what is in the background of the picture. All these years later, its still in amazingly good shape all things considered.

As Forest Gump says "It happens". That is one reason I mock up my plumbing before I glue. I figured out a simpler routing for my return manifold just by putting all the pieces in place and looking at it. I think too many people stress out about those kinds of mistakes. Lesson learned, laugh about it later and try to keep others from doing the same.

 

[asl4me76]

Thanks. I honestly can't take all the credit for that stand as my dad did a good chunk of the work since he had the tools. We did all the finishing in his garage which is what is in the background of the picture. All these years later, its still in amazingly good shape all things considered.

As Forest Gump says "It happens". That is one reason I mock up my plumbing before I glue. I figured out a simpler routing for my return manifold just by putting all the pieces in place and looking at it. I think too many people stress out about those kinds of mistakes. Lesson learned, laugh about it later and try to keep others from doing the same.

Yea, I had it mocked up. Don't ask me how I got it confused. I just chaulked it up to a learning lesson for sure, but what can ya do!

 

[Mishri]

I recently took advantage of the $1/gal sale and picked up a 40g breeder. I might copy everything you did heheh

Hopefully not that breaking tank part, I've never drilled a tank, but this $40 tank might be a good one to test it out on. From what I've read don't give it any pressure, weight of the drill is enough, and go high speed, and low torque, plenty of water.