Build Thread?

I believe it is 5/8". I'm not 100% sure on that... I will measure it when I get home tonigt or tommorow. If it is something different than 5/8's... I will post a correction.

I filled the tank up with water the day that I got it home to check for leaks and bowing. I left water in it for 2-3 weeks and did not see any bowing. I think the height only being 24" helped that a significant amount.
 
As far as changing the thread title, put a post in the questions and answers forum and ask a moderator to change the title to whatever you want. Might take a few days, but it will get done. :)

Sweet build! Tagging along for the ride. I did things in kind of the opposite order than you and bought my 210 before my wife and I have purchased a more long term house (about 6 months out hopefully), so I am going to be looking to you for build ideas. The only problem with your model for me is that where we will be moving they have a term for basements: in ground pools. :lol:
 
Thanks! Cool to be referenced. Yes, the actuator I used was also from firgelli automations. Actually, you might find pg 10 more informative about the light lift system.
 
Untamed:

THat build thread is amoung the most informative I have found. You did a great job explaining and showing the process. It took 3 evening but I made it thru the entire thread.
 
I saw that thread as well when I was searching around looking for more information on the lifts. Because of how the duct work is in the ceiling, I am going to attempt to lift the canopy up by using some heavy duty guide rails and some 22" shelf brackets that are rated for 1,000 lb loads. My engineer friends think this should work but a failure would be more catastrophic. So, I am going to either use some gas springs or maybe come up with a way to lock the hood in after its 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, and completely up so that a failure would only cause it to fall a maximum of a few inches. Anyways, the finishing of the basement is going to be slightly slower with recent developments at the company I work for and the further decline in the world economy. We are making our last round of layoffs for management next week and then I should be in the clear until 3rd qtr.

-zach
 
Alight, I'm still employed and have made some serious purchases for the tank recently. I called Ryan at BRS and discussed the rock they had in stock and decided to order 300 lbs. From the sounds of it, I depleted most of the medium-large pieces that they have in stock. He picked, packed and shipped it within 2 hours of talking to him on Friday and I'm expecting delivery on Monday. In preparation for receiving the rock, I wen to Menards and picked up a couple of 100 gallon Rubbermaid stock tanks. They were very reasonably priced (maybe 124 total for my bill). I also ordered a new 75 gpd membrane for my RO/DI unit from airwaterice along with a new filter set and some replacement parts to fix it up. It hasn't been used for 2-3 years so I figured I would just get all new filters. I believe it is a Typhoon 5 stage filter. I am going to use it for the time being and possibly upgrade if needed... I don't remember how good this is or if it will support my water needs.

Other items that I expect to be arriving shortly:
2 24" heavy duty guide rails for the canopy lift
shelf brackets
case of pewter beer steins (drinking always helps move along the reefing projects!)
Jager heaters

I need to wait a few weeks so my fiance doesn't kill me, but I will order some powerheads so I can start soaking the rock and getting the crap out of it. Not sure on what I will do with it after that... I could throw some saltwater and try to start cycling it without lights/skimmer... but not sure how beneficial that would be.

Update on basement:
I have almost 100% of the electrical now done and I have been installing insulation the last few days. It will be ready to drywall anyday and I should be getting a couple more quotes back this week on drywall. I am hoping that the crew could come in the next 4-6 weeks. I figure once the drywall is in, I will put a laminate flooring under the tank, slap up the trim and be able to start digging into setting the canopy lift up and working on plumbing. I am going to spend some time in the next few weeks figuring out how to plumb this thing so that when the time is here, I will be ready.

I apologize for the lengthy post, I'm just finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel!
 
DSC_0395.jpg


Did you just put a wall in front or your breaker box or is this pic misleading?
 
Well - yes - there is a wall in front of the breaker box. The wall is actually 10 inches out from the concrete wall. This made the framing much easier because we didn't have to put in a ton of cross supports to butt it up against the wall and will also allow us to fish more lines to the box if ever needed (which we won't). I ran a few extra lines to the unfinished part of the basement and the fish room is going to have a total of 5 separate breakers. If there is ever a need for more power somewhere, it won't be necessary for me to get into the box to hook a new breaker up. Also, the area where the wires are coming through currently in that picture will be finished with a hinged cabinet door. It will be somewhat of a pain to organize all the wires and get them into the box, but after that there are no real consequences.
 
I got home from work today to find 6 wonderful boxes of rock from BRS. I got some plastic to put on the garage floor and started to open the boxes and get all the pieces out. I'm guessing that there are about 50 rocks that average in the 6 lb range. There are a couple of large pieces that are 20+ lbs and some that are pretty small or broke during shipping. This rock is great. It is very porous and as a whole, I am very happy with the purchase. I am very impressed with the velocity that BRS got this rock to my door. There is maybe 10 lbs out of 300+ lbs of rock that is a bit dense for my likings. The airwaterice filters/membrane was sent to UPS today and should be arriving this week. Once I get that stuff, I will make some freshwater up and start soaking this rock to get all the crap out of it.

Question: If I glue this rock together with epoxy, how strong will the bond be? I am debating on drilling the rock, using zip ties, or glueing some of the smaller pieces together to make larger structures. What is easiest and structurally sound? I will be reading and searching for other posts on this topic as well. If anyone has a good thread, let me know please.

A few pictures of the rock. Sorry if these aren't the best of quality, the lighting was poor.

DSC_0405.jpg


DSC_0419.jpg


DSC_0423.jpg


I really think this rock will look cool after it is encrusted in coralline algage.
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I thought I would post the most recent updates.

I made some very large purchases in the last week. In the next 1-2 weeks, I'm expecting the following items.

From Reefgeek:
20 X 48" HO Icecap Retro's (Thanks to Grim for helping me select the retro's and the bulb config)

From BLS:
New autoshut off and check valve for RO/DI
Koralia 8's
Reefkeeper Elite
Additional power strip (4 plugs)
Reefkeeper moon light module with adidtional pods

From Firgelliauto:
A second set of draw slides

I also ordered 3 more of the 22" shelf brackets. (this hood lift is going to be way over-engineered... but I rather be safe than sorry and a single failure should not drop the hood)

Just a guick update for now on the items that are coming. The drywallers are coming in the next 2-3 weeks and then I will be getting the flooring in under the tank, paint the walls, put the trim in and in goes the tank! Will get the rest the basement done as I can.
 
Another update. I have been working a lot of the canopy and the lifting mechanism.

Here is a picture of the shelf brackets that will be used and how they will support the canopy:
DSC_0450.jpg


Another angle with a picture of some endcaps sitting on the rack that will support them. I need to coat that with some Killz still:
DSC_0457.jpg


I was worried the angled support of the shelves would cause problems.... but it doesn't. All 10 lights will fit without a problem and room to spare! woohoo!
DSC_0460.jpg


Carried the salt delivery I got to the fish room... yea I was sore for a day or two :D
DSC_0481.jpg


I got the RO/DI hooked up and had a plumber come out and tap it straight into the copper with a valve:
DSC_0486.jpg


I also got the top Brute plumbed and bulkheads on the bottom of it. one is RO/DI line that will go to a float valve in a top-off container and the other is a 1" drain.
DSC_0482.jpg


closeup of drain and ro/di line:
DSC_0488.jpg
 
Alright - so there is a quick update on the progress of the canopy and fish room. I have also been posting a lot of quetions on the other boards and working on some other issues/configs.

Here is the first one I discussed. The return plumbing from the sump. This is a fairly close model to what I would like to do... still haven't decided if I will put unions on all 4 returns or not (I probally should theoretically).

revisedreturn.jpg


I have not posted this question elsewhere yet, but where should I put the moonlights exactly? I will have 6 of them on the RKE. Here is a picture with some optional places to put them... any thoughts on this? I will post in the lighting forum as well. I just want to make sure that they are effective and will look nice.

Oh - and obviously the 1,2, OR 3 would just be 1 of the 6 moonlights... the rest would be evenly spaced on the same plane for the length of the canopy.

moonlightoptions.jpg


That's all for now. I'm going to use spa flex on a lot of the plumbing for the ease of installation and the reduced vibration and noise.

Thanks for reading!
-zach
 
Time for another update! I feel like actual progress is being made finally....

Drywall is complete and I'm about half done painting and have about 75% of electrical hooked up. Haven't confirmed all the circuits yet though so it's probally more like 40% and then 30% will need debugged....

Picture of the living room... Tank goes on the Left wall. Getting closer and feels like a room finally.....
DSC_0511.jpg


Canopy Progess:
1. Ballasts mounted on top (need to build box around to hide them still)
DSC_0492.jpg


2. Wires coming from Ballasts
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3. Tried to keep it neat as possible!
DSC_0502.jpg


4. Moonlights went in OK... had to notch out a piece of wood for the wire so it won't ever touch the reflector and have problems down the road
DSC_0504.jpg


5. Closeup of the notch/moonlight
DSC_0503.jpg


6. Bulbs are wired as follows... allowing me the option to turn on the 10 rows at a staggered time if I wish.
lights.jpg


7. Finally... IT WORKS!!!!
DSC_0499.jpg


I chose to put the moonlights in the middle. This seemed to be the best option and will provide the best lighting for the moonlights.

-zach
 
I also started putting together some of the plumbing tonight as I received a pretty big order from flexpvc today. They sent a few wrong products or just shorted me a few, so I didn't get it all done... but it's a start. I'm on "temporary layoff" next week from work, so I should be able to make some significant progress on the basement as well as the tank. Really, next steps are to complete the automated hood lifting mechanism and get it on the wall and verify that it works. After that, I will be putting the floor in and the tank will go into the final resting place.... and could have water in the next few weeks!

Anyways, I thought I should update and figure that this thread might start picking up a little bit now that I'm actually progressing far enough in the basement to get the tank started/in.

-zach
 
Well, I have been working on the tank quite a bit this week. Things are a bit slow-going, but I guess that should be expected. I am by no means an expert plumber, so naturally, I struggled through it. The flex PVC made it all a bit easier, but I don't like how it tends to want to curl back up to how it was on the spool.

So far, I have the canopy lift working completely! I was a bit worried about this because of the magnitude of it. I saw 1, maybe 2, large tanks in the 180 range, but I have not seen this style of lift done on a 8' X 30" tank. I meant to get a few more pictures before the canopy went on, but I had limited time with the helping hand and did not take the time. If anyone has questions, just ask... I can try to get some different pictures if wanted.

Pictures!
Center of the tank where the actuator connects to a 1" square steel bar via a 2 point contact system I created...
DSC_0516.jpg


Closeup of one of the brackets (I know I split the wood on the lights :( ) You can also see the limit switch the shuts the actuator off exactly when the tank touches down on the tank. There was maybe a 1/2" further the actuator could go without the switch.
DSC_0519.jpg


Took a solid faceplate and cut/sanded it until I had a nice snug fit for a rocker switch.
DSC_0520.jpg


Hood raised about 18" out of a possible 24 (yes, it does clear that ledge by about 1/4" :D )
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I will post more details on the plumbing and some of that stuff later.... The single union ball valves I bought suck and I ordered some nice Hayward's from US Plastic this afternoon.
 
Nice build and keep the updates coming. People might not post but we are definitely reading!

Have you started the aquascape yet? Have you decided on how you're going to fix it together?
 
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