aztb's 180g "all-built" thread
- Thread starter aztbs
- Start date
aztbs
Active member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13466981#post13466981 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ADA33
When will we see the hood lift
How did you know that the lift was the next part? We built it right away so we didn't have to take the canopy on and off for water changes.
First, here is what I initially did with my little 20G next to the big tank:
It was great in the beginning, but grew too ugly to look at after a while!
Thanks, reef-only. Never fear, I have a ton more pictures!!
aztbs
Active member
05/13 - 05/24/2006
So after some serious head scratching about how to easily access the tank, we built a motorized canopy lift out of a junked old rascal scooter. I won't rehash all of this again, but here are some build pics
:
The scooter motor:
Some beautiful, shiny all-thread and the custom bracket that travels the length:
The flat bracket that attaches to the canopy and the poles heading into the attic:
A small part of the attic setup:
The motor and chain drive all set up to turn the lift:
Covering the tank to drill the holes though the ceiling, trying to get the poles straight:
So after some serious head scratching about how to easily access the tank, we built a motorized canopy lift out of a junked old rascal scooter. I won't rehash all of this again, but here are some build pics
:
The scooter motor:
Some beautiful, shiny all-thread and the custom bracket that travels the length:
The flat bracket that attaches to the canopy and the poles heading into the attic:
A small part of the attic setup:
The motor and chain drive all set up to turn the lift:
Covering the tank to drill the holes though the ceiling, trying to get the poles straight:
onefish2fish
New member
looks great so far! i personally would have put 3 fans on either side of the hood, 3 blowing air in and 3 blowing out, that way air flows through it better and it runs cooler.. anyways its looking great.
aztbs
Active member
We quickly wired the batteries so that they were down inside the house and out of the Arizona hot attic temperatures. It is all still a 12V system, and we just throw a charger on them occasionally to keep it running.
Here's some still shots of our final acheivement:
For a lot more detail on the lift build, a bunch more pictures and a couple of videos of it in action, go to this thread:
What does a rascal scooter and a 180 gallon aquarium have in common? (lots of pics)
Here's some still shots of our final acheivement:
For a lot more detail on the lift build, a bunch more pictures and a couple of videos of it in action, go to this thread:
What does a rascal scooter and a 180 gallon aquarium have in common? (lots of pics)
aztbs
Active member
My experience with my 55 taught me that fans taking humid salty air through them and pushing it out of the tank don't last very long and they need to be cleaned often. With all these fans blowing in with filters, the fans have run every day for more than 2 years and have only been cleaned once. The little foam pads get rinsed and put back on. It's great, and lets me run really cheap fans!
My other advantage was that the opposite end of the canopy was wide open, so the air had the perfect path to escape.
I thoroughly agree with what you are saying, but I had another trick up my sleeve, coming later on. Thanks for your input!
aztbs
Active member
So I missed an important picture in the process. This was part of the planning almost a year before the tank was in place. Look at the giant crack in the foundation!!
There was easily a 1in difference between the high side and the low side of the floor. Lots of floating, griding, and prep and then we put in laminate floors.
This is what happens when a lazy reefer decides to get rid of insane purple walls from the previous home owner and doesn't want to move the 55 gallon reef out of the way. We had a little painting to fix up. lol
So those of you thinking about putting a big salty tank on to brand new laminate floors, please think again. It was not long before there were buckles and warps from water spills.
I highly highly highly recommend tile. Beside, my dogs slip like crazy on the laminate.
There was easily a 1in difference between the high side and the low side of the floor. Lots of floating, griding, and prep and then we put in laminate floors.
This is what happens when a lazy reefer decides to get rid of insane purple walls from the previous home owner and doesn't want to move the 55 gallon reef out of the way. We had a little painting to fix up. lol
So those of you thinking about putting a big salty tank on to brand new laminate floors, please think again. It was not long before there were buckles and warps from water spills.
I highly highly highly recommend tile. Beside, my dogs slip like crazy on the laminate.
aztbs
Active member
09/22/2006
At this point, the 20 gallon frag tank next to the big tank was looking ugly. I bought a separate little 20g long tank to use for quarantine and I had some big plastic tubs to use for fragging/re-aquascaping days. I spent a lot of time on my belly on the floor staring at all the odd critters in the refugium, so I decided to turn the attached 20g into a display refugium and grow unusual algae.
So I decided to give it the spray foam treatment, and because I had a lot of askers, I documented the process as well as I could.
I do not have any holes drilled nor is there an overflow in this little tank. I had a nice SEIO powerhead to use, but I didn't want to worry about the intake getting all clogged up with algae bits. So I used a sheet of this handy plastic black grid that you can buy in craft stores or at Walmart in the crafty section. You know, it is the stuff that people cross-stitch up with yarn to make adorable little tissue box cozies.
I built it in to a corner shield where the powerheads could hide. It would keep them safe from floaties in the water and out of plain site.
I stuck it in the corner with 2-part epoxy. The fancy purple deltec kind was all I had. It's my favorite epoxy, but I would have used something cheaper for out-of-site projects, but I was too lazy for another trip to the hardware store. That pic kind of makes it look like chewing gum. lol
Then comes prepping the tank for the foamage. I cleaned the glass real well and finally wiped it down with some vinegar. Then I taped off any part that should not be stained for all eternity with black foam.
***Side note **** DO NOT GET THIS STUFF ON YOUR SKIN ****
seriously
So you start to spray in the tank. It is best to lay the tank down so that you are working with a flat surface. It does not hold very well initially and working with vertical walls is trying and it is guaranteed that you will get black foam on your arm somewhere and wear it to work for a week.
At this point, the tank reminds me of when a big flock of geese goes through your yard. It's poopy and I would never want my tank wall to look like this.
This is where is gets exciting. The foam will expand for quite a while as it cures. It will be stickier than a half-eaten lollypop and difficult to work with. If you touch it too soon, the whole mass will cling to your glove and come away from the glass.
After a few minutes, it starts to skin on the outside. This is the ideal time to start pushing the foam around a bit, running your finger slowly around on the surface to break up the poop lines and make a more regular surface.
It is also important at this time to push the foam towards the glass. As it dries and expands, it starts to pull away in places and it will create air pockets on the glass side. This is a trap for detritus, and it creates a weaker bond. This stuff is more buoyant than my fat butt in a pool, so if the bond is weak, you will most likely see it lift up, off and away as soon as you put water in the tank.
Squoosh and flatten the foam as much as possible and work out as many of the air pockets as possible.
This is ideally to give the wall some texture and interest. I recommend putting it on nice and thin. Big giant blobs will not cure in the center, they will continue to expand and make strange little foam eruptions when the center bursts out, and they will ensure that your foam floats away.
After it has had more drying time, you can take small amounts of fresh foam in your gloved hand and pat it on to the thin places or stupid looking sections.
And here is the 20 with a finished three walls of foam:
Add a little sand and some pumps and tadaaa! It is done.
What you see in that last picture is the magic that ties this tank in with the big system. Behind the tissue-cozy overflow-like thing is a very small powerhead that has tubing running to the big tank and pushes water that direction. Then, there is that "U" made out of PVC that sits in both tanks. (I foamed the visible section in the tank) You start a siphon in that U-tube, and air pressure will even out the water level to match the big tank. Powerhead pushes water over, siphon brings water back.
If the siphon breaks, the powerhead will drain the 20 a couple of inches and it ends up raising the water level in the big sump a bit.
If the powerhead is turned off, the water level in th 20 is maintained by the siphon and the salinity will go up and up and up as water evaporates and it is replaced with salt water from the big tank. It is a good idea to check the pump regularly.
At this point, the 20 gallon frag tank next to the big tank was looking ugly. I bought a separate little 20g long tank to use for quarantine and I had some big plastic tubs to use for fragging/re-aquascaping days. I spent a lot of time on my belly on the floor staring at all the odd critters in the refugium, so I decided to turn the attached 20g into a display refugium and grow unusual algae.
So I decided to give it the spray foam treatment, and because I had a lot of askers, I documented the process as well as I could.
I do not have any holes drilled nor is there an overflow in this little tank. I had a nice SEIO powerhead to use, but I didn't want to worry about the intake getting all clogged up with algae bits. So I used a sheet of this handy plastic black grid that you can buy in craft stores or at Walmart in the crafty section. You know, it is the stuff that people cross-stitch up with yarn to make adorable little tissue box cozies.
I built it in to a corner shield where the powerheads could hide. It would keep them safe from floaties in the water and out of plain site.
I stuck it in the corner with 2-part epoxy. The fancy purple deltec kind was all I had. It's my favorite epoxy, but I would have used something cheaper for out-of-site projects, but I was too lazy for another trip to the hardware store. That pic kind of makes it look like chewing gum. lol
Then comes prepping the tank for the foamage. I cleaned the glass real well and finally wiped it down with some vinegar. Then I taped off any part that should not be stained for all eternity with black foam.
***Side note **** DO NOT GET THIS STUFF ON YOUR SKIN ****
seriously
So you start to spray in the tank. It is best to lay the tank down so that you are working with a flat surface. It does not hold very well initially and working with vertical walls is trying and it is guaranteed that you will get black foam on your arm somewhere and wear it to work for a week.
At this point, the tank reminds me of when a big flock of geese goes through your yard. It's poopy and I would never want my tank wall to look like this.
This is where is gets exciting. The foam will expand for quite a while as it cures. It will be stickier than a half-eaten lollypop and difficult to work with. If you touch it too soon, the whole mass will cling to your glove and come away from the glass.
After a few minutes, it starts to skin on the outside. This is the ideal time to start pushing the foam around a bit, running your finger slowly around on the surface to break up the poop lines and make a more regular surface.
It is also important at this time to push the foam towards the glass. As it dries and expands, it starts to pull away in places and it will create air pockets on the glass side. This is a trap for detritus, and it creates a weaker bond. This stuff is more buoyant than my fat butt in a pool, so if the bond is weak, you will most likely see it lift up, off and away as soon as you put water in the tank.
Squoosh and flatten the foam as much as possible and work out as many of the air pockets as possible.
This is ideally to give the wall some texture and interest. I recommend putting it on nice and thin. Big giant blobs will not cure in the center, they will continue to expand and make strange little foam eruptions when the center bursts out, and they will ensure that your foam floats away.
After it has had more drying time, you can take small amounts of fresh foam in your gloved hand and pat it on to the thin places or stupid looking sections.
And here is the 20 with a finished three walls of foam:
Add a little sand and some pumps and tadaaa! It is done.
What you see in that last picture is the magic that ties this tank in with the big system. Behind the tissue-cozy overflow-like thing is a very small powerhead that has tubing running to the big tank and pushes water that direction. Then, there is that "U" made out of PVC that sits in both tanks. (I foamed the visible section in the tank) You start a siphon in that U-tube, and air pressure will even out the water level to match the big tank. Powerhead pushes water over, siphon brings water back.
If the siphon breaks, the powerhead will drain the 20 a couple of inches and it ends up raising the water level in the big sump a bit.
If the powerhead is turned off, the water level in th 20 is maintained by the siphon and the salinity will go up and up and up as water evaporates and it is replaced with salt water from the big tank. It is a good idea to check the pump regularly.
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aztbs
Active member
The stuff you want for this is called [SIZE=HUGE]HANDI-FOAM[/SIZE], black straw foam.
You can order it from places like drsfostersmith or if you have a big job, you can get a great deal on a case of 12 from http://www.foampower.com
Be very careful to make sure that you buy black foam. It comes in regular yellow and the cans look nearly identical.
You can order it from places like drsfostersmith or if you have a big job, you can get a great deal on a case of 12 from http://www.foampower.com
Be very careful to make sure that you buy black foam. It comes in regular yellow and the cans look nearly identical.
aztbs
Active member
A break from ugly build pics, this is one of my all time favorite pictures. It was taken through the tank in to my living room. Anyone that has a look through/room divider/peninsula tank should try this. The lights in the tank need to be off, the room behind needs to be fairly well lit, and you just line up the water surface with the ceiling line of the room.
I call this picture "I live in my tank". lol
If you take a good one, post it up here - I want to see them.
I call this picture "I live in my tank". lol
If you take a good one, post it up here - I want to see them.
aztbs
Active member
Blah, I knew I was going to get out of order. I found some full tank shots from 09/12/2006
It looks totally different lighting-wise than the earlier shots, and I would say that is mostly in the camera because the lights are not different. White balancing photos is sure tough with big reefs. The ambient light in the room seems to affect the picture as well.
It looks totally different lighting-wise than the earlier shots, and I would say that is mostly in the camera because the lights are not different. White balancing photos is sure tough with big reefs. The ambient light in the room seems to affect the picture as well.
aztbs
Active member
10/12/2006
The next bit of the build was inspired by the last of my poor little firefish that leaped for freedom and dried up on my floor.
I got this mesh material from a guy who got it from a guy who got it in a group order because it only comes in large quantities. I don't know the source, but I understand it is "bird mesh" and can be found in many places online. It has 1/2inch openings, but it much more lightweight and transparent than eggcrate.
So here is all you need to make one of these yourself.
1, aluminum window screen frames. Sold in long lengths at the hardware/home improvement stores.
2, screen corners to put together the frames
3, a package of screen spline
4, a spline tool (or you could use other things if you are not wanting to spend the extra $)
5, a notepad for measurements, and a tape measure
6, A cutting tool for the frames. I prefer the every handy wireless dremel which every reefer should have in his toolbox.
Here's a nice closeup of the material I am using here:
If you have ever replaced window screens, you know how much fun it is to use spline. The toughest part is keeping it square and taut.
Make sure you leave yourself enough surplus on the ends because quite a bit of the mesh material gets pushed in to the frame channel. This was cutting it a bit close!
And here is 1/2 of the top.
The next bit of the build was inspired by the last of my poor little firefish that leaped for freedom and dried up on my floor.
I got this mesh material from a guy who got it from a guy who got it in a group order because it only comes in large quantities. I don't know the source, but I understand it is "bird mesh" and can be found in many places online. It has 1/2inch openings, but it much more lightweight and transparent than eggcrate.
So here is all you need to make one of these yourself.
1, aluminum window screen frames. Sold in long lengths at the hardware/home improvement stores.
2, screen corners to put together the frames
3, a package of screen spline
4, a spline tool (or you could use other things if you are not wanting to spend the extra $)
5, a notepad for measurements, and a tape measure
6, A cutting tool for the frames. I prefer the every handy wireless dremel which every reefer should have in his toolbox.
Here's a nice closeup of the material I am using here:
If you have ever replaced window screens, you know how much fun it is to use spline. The toughest part is keeping it square and taut.
Make sure you leave yourself enough surplus on the ends because quite a bit of the mesh material gets pushed in to the frame channel. This was cutting it a bit close!
And here is 1/2 of the top.
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aztbs
Active member
10/18/2006
The next modification came about because I found a guy on RC selling a nearly new JBJ 1/3HP artica chiller and an Iwaki 70rlt together for $400. I drove an hour and a half each way to get it and was thrilled to do so. I have pretty good temperature control with fans, but this is Arizona and the summers are brutal. It is nice to have the backup should anything ever go wrong with our home AC.
Since the tank was already running and I wasn't about to drill new holes in a full 180 gallon tank, I had to improvise a bit.
There was one unused hole in the overflow that I could make in to the input for the pump that runs the chiller. Then, I pulled two of the power heads out of the end compartment and replaced them with outputs from the Iwaki pump chiller/loop. It was a tight fit, let me tell you.
Here is the output plumbing coming up from the pump through the wood deck of the electrical cabinet.
It goes up and over the top of the tank in to the back compartment where it splits in two and goes out through the holes drilled in the overflow wall. There are loc-line output nozzles on the other side to be able to direct the flow.
This is a mess, it has since been cleaned up. (you believe me, right?)
You can see the water direction in this disaster picture. Also pictured is
(1) The two 6V batteries that run the canopy lift. (they are now in a
box up off the ground)
(2) The chiller
(3) A UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply) that will run the return pump and the top-off for about 4 hours
(4) the 30 gallon top off barrel with kalk spilled all over
(5) the peristaltic pump for top-off
The next modification came about because I found a guy on RC selling a nearly new JBJ 1/3HP artica chiller and an Iwaki 70rlt together for $400. I drove an hour and a half each way to get it and was thrilled to do so. I have pretty good temperature control with fans, but this is Arizona and the summers are brutal. It is nice to have the backup should anything ever go wrong with our home AC.
Since the tank was already running and I wasn't about to drill new holes in a full 180 gallon tank, I had to improvise a bit.
There was one unused hole in the overflow that I could make in to the input for the pump that runs the chiller. Then, I pulled two of the power heads out of the end compartment and replaced them with outputs from the Iwaki pump chiller/loop. It was a tight fit, let me tell you.
Here is the output plumbing coming up from the pump through the wood deck of the electrical cabinet.
It goes up and over the top of the tank in to the back compartment where it splits in two and goes out through the holes drilled in the overflow wall. There are loc-line output nozzles on the other side to be able to direct the flow.
This is a mess, it has since been cleaned up. (you believe me, right?)
You can see the water direction in this disaster picture. Also pictured is
(1) The two 6V batteries that run the canopy lift. (they are now in a
box up off the ground)
(2) The chiller
(3) A UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply) that will run the return pump and the top-off for about 4 hours
(4) the 30 gallon top off barrel with kalk spilled all over
(5) the peristaltic pump for top-off
aztbs
Active member
Since I am about to put the 100th picture on this thread, I thought it should be something fun.
Here's a shot of my clownfish hosting in a feather duster. I never thought the worm would tolerate it. It took about 3-4 months before the clowns ever went near the RBTA and finally started hosting.
Here's another one of my favorites, the Midas blenny folded himself in half in order to fit into the nook that was under this leather. They have such a cute face:
Ever wonder why your skimmer is not producing? Better check that venturi intake! This guy fit like a perfect plug.
And now for something truly evil. This is when I began to fight this battle, and it has been ongoing ever since. I have learned to control them, but they never go away. I will return with more on this subject later, but I leave you with my nemesis:
That's all for now, more pics coming soon!
Here's a shot of my clownfish hosting in a feather duster. I never thought the worm would tolerate it. It took about 3-4 months before the clowns ever went near the RBTA and finally started hosting.
Here's another one of my favorites, the Midas blenny folded himself in half in order to fit into the nook that was under this leather. They have such a cute face:
Ever wonder why your skimmer is not producing? Better check that venturi intake! This guy fit like a perfect plug.
And now for something truly evil. This is when I began to fight this battle, and it has been ongoing ever since. I have learned to control them, but they never go away. I will return with more on this subject later, but I leave you with my nemesis:
That's all for now, more pics coming soon!
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stunreefer
Reef Hugger
wow, WOW, WOW!
Fantastic!!! So well documented too... I'm not one for DIY (strictly because I cant worth a damn), but every aspect came together perfectly! The foam looks great and your aquascape is truly stunning! :thumbsup:
I have to tell my grandpa that those scooters are good for something! :lol:
Fantastic!!! So well documented too... I'm not one for DIY (strictly because I cant worth a damn), but every aspect came together perfectly! The foam looks great and your aquascape is truly stunning! :thumbsup:
I have to tell my grandpa that those scooters are good for something! :lol:
aztbs
Active member
Thanks stunreefer,
Next junked scooter we find will definitely be the remote control / motorized beer coolor. Just see the canopy build thread for details. lol
Here is another thing that has been a torture to me:
They grow and grow and grow, fall off, find someplace they don't belong, grow and grow. And they are brown. lol
Anyone want a plate sized piece of live rock with these things COVERING it?
Next junked scooter we find will definitely be the remote control / motorized beer coolor. Just see the canopy build thread for details. lol
Here is another thing that has been a torture to me:
They grow and grow and grow, fall off, find someplace they don't belong, grow and grow. And they are brown. lol
Anyone want a plate sized piece of live rock with these things COVERING it?
aztbs
Active member
11/25/2006
As I started to get more corals, I realized that my flow was nowhere near sufficient. The peninsula end of the tank just had some dead spots and detritus would build up because the powerheads and the closed loop from the chiller just couldn't push the water 6ft down the tank.
So I removed the last 2 powerheads and put in intakes for another closed loop. This one also had to go up and over the wall of the tank because I hadn't drilled for it.
I decided to go with a manifold on the top of the tank because I refused to have powerheads in sight in the tank, plus running cords is tough because they all have to go down to the wall end.
So, I got an amazing deal on a used Sequence Dart and I installed the manifold with 9 outputs around the tank. This is hard to take pictures of, because it is all so carefully tucked in to the little space that I had to work with.
This pic shows the crazy wye that I had to use for the intake. I used three 1inch up and over pipes to come in to a 3 to 1 connection that turns it in to a 2in input for the Dart. I got this weird piece at a Home Depot after searching around quite a bit at other stores.
This allows redundancy for clogs, as well as - have you ever tried to start a siphon on a 2in pipe? The three ball valves before the wye are so that I can remove each one and clean as well as start the siphon to prime the pump.
The big wye and the pump are tucked (squeezed) in next to the blue top off reservoir. You can see the 9 outputs sticking in to the tank for the time being. They get loc-line nozzles on them, but that stuff is expensive! I had to save up, so it ran with PVC for the time being.
You can see where the PVC loop shows under the canopy here:
There were a couple of downsides to the manifold - my screen mesh tops no longer fit and would have to be sized down, and the canopy did not come down all the way and so light leaked out the bottom and made a glare in the TV. :lol:
It is a "temporary" canopy afterall.
So out of the dart is 1.5in pipe that comes straight up to the top of the tank, hits a T and splits into the 1inch loop with 9 3/4inch outputs. The flow is gentle but it moves everything in the tank and can be pointed as corals grow or rocks get moved.
As I started to get more corals, I realized that my flow was nowhere near sufficient. The peninsula end of the tank just had some dead spots and detritus would build up because the powerheads and the closed loop from the chiller just couldn't push the water 6ft down the tank.
So I removed the last 2 powerheads and put in intakes for another closed loop. This one also had to go up and over the wall of the tank because I hadn't drilled for it.
I decided to go with a manifold on the top of the tank because I refused to have powerheads in sight in the tank, plus running cords is tough because they all have to go down to the wall end.
So, I got an amazing deal on a used Sequence Dart and I installed the manifold with 9 outputs around the tank. This is hard to take pictures of, because it is all so carefully tucked in to the little space that I had to work with.
This pic shows the crazy wye that I had to use for the intake. I used three 1inch up and over pipes to come in to a 3 to 1 connection that turns it in to a 2in input for the Dart. I got this weird piece at a Home Depot after searching around quite a bit at other stores.
This allows redundancy for clogs, as well as - have you ever tried to start a siphon on a 2in pipe? The three ball valves before the wye are so that I can remove each one and clean as well as start the siphon to prime the pump.
The big wye and the pump are tucked (squeezed) in next to the blue top off reservoir. You can see the 9 outputs sticking in to the tank for the time being. They get loc-line nozzles on them, but that stuff is expensive! I had to save up, so it ran with PVC for the time being.
You can see where the PVC loop shows under the canopy here:
There were a couple of downsides to the manifold - my screen mesh tops no longer fit and would have to be sized down, and the canopy did not come down all the way and so light leaked out the bottom and made a glare in the TV. :lol:
It is a "temporary" canopy afterall.
So out of the dart is 1.5in pipe that comes straight up to the top of the tank, hits a T and splits into the 1inch loop with 9 3/4inch outputs. The flow is gentle but it moves everything in the tank and can be pointed as corals grow or rocks get moved.
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