Its definitely coming along. Here are some recent updates.
I siliconed in the glass overflow box in my display. The joints in the overflow box are a little sloppier than I would like, but respectable for my first attempt ever. I don't know if it will hold water yet. I will be trying it out later today when I glue up the plumbing.
I also put the baffles into the sump. I made some changes to my original sketchup drawing.
Rather than install a bubble trap near the return, I elected to just use a single baffle. I will add an additional baffle if microbubbles become a problem for my system. If needed, it will be an under-over two-baffle design.
I'm a little worried that, in trying to maximize the water in my sump, I did not leave enough room for the water that will drain into the sump when the pump is turned off. I calculated the theoretical drainage, and made room for double that amount. Nonetheless, I won't know for sure until I fill the tank and try it.
I also built the frame for the cabinet area against the wall. Its is a simple box supported by the rigidity of the tank stand, and it has some peg board for mounting hooks and plastic bins for storage.
I have also dry fit the
Bean Animal plumbing for the drain, although I made a few changes to BeanAnimal's design as follows:
- I used 1" plumbing throughout. I did not understand the logic of using a 1" bulkhead and then using adaptors to make everything else 1.5". I figured the flow rate was going to be limited by the bottleneck at the bulkhead anyway, so why should I adapt to bigger fixtures. I later discovered why BeanAnimal adapted to 1.5". The smallest diameter is not the bulkhead. It is the size of the openings inside the valves. So, I have restricted my flow because I used 1" valves instead of 1.5". Shame on me. I hope its good enough. If not, I'll be redoing some of my plumbing! Time will tell.
- I used a gate valve on the main siphon drain. This will allow me to more easily tune the flow rate through the siphon. The other two values are true union ball valves as he suggests.
- I could not find the parts and tools I needed to cap the backup siphon air hose in the way he suggests. He uses a simple screw on cap with a drilled and tapped hole to accept a John Guest quick connect fitting. My local box stores did not carry taps, and so I had no easy way to make an airtight connection with the fitting. Instead, I capped the back-up siphon tube with a coupling and a 1-to-1/2" bushing. I then threaded in a plastic barb elbow to accept a 1/4" ID plastic hose. The construction is different, but the design intent is maintained. I believe this approach is cheaper and easier than buying a tap and tapping a hole. The only downside is that I no longer have a 1" access to the top of the drain by screwing off Bean Animal's cap. Instead I have a 1/2" opening if I unscrew the barb fitting.
- Rather than hard plumbing the drains into the water, I chose to use clear flex tubing. There are two reasons for this. The first and primary reason is that it allows me to easily move the hoses out from the filter sock so I can change it. The secondary reason is that it allows me to see the waterflow through the pipes and gives me a chance to see any blockages that may develop there.
There were three problems with using the flex tubing. First, the large diameter tubing was expensive. 10' cost me almost $40. Second, the tubing was curled and was difficult to straighten (more on this in a second). Last, I could not find a barb fitting for it. Instead, I found that a 1" slip-MPT coupling threaded nice and tight into the ID of the tubing. It's not ideal, and I would not use this for a situation in which the water is under pressure, but for a drain it should work great. We'll see if I'm right.
To straighten the flex hose, I grabbed a large cooler boiled as much water as I had pots for, and poured most of the water into the cooler. I positioned each length of tube into a U shape and placed it into the cooler, being careful to match the height of the left and right sides of each tube. I then filled each tube with the boiling water I had reserved. After about 5-10 minutes, I was able to pull the tubes out, place them straight on the floor and let them cool. The results were not absolutely perfect, but it will definitely suffice.
Oh well. More for me!
