Build Thread?

[zlwags85]

Well, I think that is a project I will start today or tomorrow. My father-in-law has a pretty good artistic eye and I think I will probably have to get in the tank to avoid killing my back. I don't know how I would put 300+ pounds of rock in the tank when it would require bending over the edge and everything else. As far as securing it, I was going to drill it, and so far I have opted not to do that. I bought a few big tubes of epoxy and I will mend the joints where I think it's needed to make a secure structure. If that does not seem to be working, I will come up with a new plan.

I'm trying to get as many pictures that are relevant and might help other people in the future or to allow me to ask questions. I feel like I have read for 1000's of hours and I still feel like I'm just beginning to break the surface of all the knowledge out there!

 

[zlwags85]

And, as promised, some detail on the plumbing.

Left overflow plumbing:

Right overflow plumbing:

Wide angle shot:

Fish room:

I suppose I could/should have posted this one with the canopy lift.... but the hood lowered on the tank:

Anyways, the drain lines are 1.5" from the bulkhead to the sump. Inside the overflow box, I attempted to make a 2" stockman standpipe... will see how that works after I get the new union/BV's and the pump hooked back up. I'm sure I did something wrong and it needs to be tweaked some. The lines were surging when I hooked the pump up and the sump quickly drained and the pump shut off due to inadequate water levels. I might be calculating something slightly wrong or making a few wrong assumptions, but according to the head loss calculator, I figure the pump is moving about 1400-1500 GPH. So, each drain has to handle a minimum of 800 let's say.... A 1.5" bulkhead should be able to do that easily from what I have read. But, I'm more than open for comments/suggestions. I was a bit frustrated and did a few searches yesterday and didn't come up with too much.

Anyways, that's just a high-level overview... any questions, just ask!

-zach

 

[zlwags85]

Well - I got around to putting the lights in and aquascaped the tank.

Picture of the lights:

Wide angle view:

Closeup of right side:

Closeup of left side:

Closeup of a patch of epoxy:
This stuff seems to be extremely strong after it has cured. I set the pieces together so they were fairly sturdy in the first place, but now it all feels pretty rock solid. I might buy another tube of this stuff just for insurance... but not sure if I need it. The smell was awful though. Dries corraline purple from BRS.

From the end of the tank... kept the rock 4-5" off the back:

I'm pretty happy with the color of the lighting (which the photos do an extremely poor job representing... I need to learn how to take pictures of the tank.....

I also think the aquascape turned out pretty good. It's not symetrical, which is a good thing in my book, and it has some pretty good flows and interesting coves and shapes. I wanted to leave a decent patch of sand in the front for a clam or 2. I also need to decide if I should put more sand in or not.... Currently there is 120 (3 bags... I think they were 30-40 ea.) pounds of sugar sized argonite as the base and then 60 pounds of the next size up. I have 2-3 bags of crushed coral and a couple more bags of the medium sized sand. Currently, I would guess it's about 1" deep at a minimum and closer to 1.5-2". Figured the sugar sized should be covered as much as possible to prevent sand storms.

Anyways, that all for tonight.... I was on a "temporary layoff" this week and is the reason I made soo much progress on the tank. There is no water in it yet, but I will start running the RO/DI unit non-stop pretty soon and maybe fill up just the tank below the overflows next weekend to get a cycle going. Need to figure out the plumbing and sump situations after I get those plumbing parts in to fix the bad valves.

-zach

 

[zlwags85]

I just looked at the photos after they posted and realized that it is very hard to really see the depth of the aquascape and the intricate details. It's also very hard to tell the scale because there are no reference objects... if anyone wants to see something of size in there, just let me know. That sand area in the front is probally close to 15 inches from the front to the rock and a good 25+ inches in width for an idea... loooks small in the picture to me though.

 

[teesquare]

Very good thread! And I really like your rock scaping.
I am about to start a tank build, and the dimensions are 60"L x 36"W x 27"H. I want to gather as much information as I possibly can, about the linear actuators you used. Looks like the way to go. Any additional info you can post will be appreciated
T

 

[zlwags85]

Thanks for the comments! It's coming right along... a bit closer every day.

Here is some info on the actuators:
I bought them from firgelliauto.com. Here is a list of what I purchased from them:
1 250 lb Actuator with 24" stroke
2 Pairs of the 24" guide rails
2 of the mounting brackets for the actuator
1 momentary rocker switch
1 "wiring-kit".... this has a fuse and limit switches that came in handy

What else I used for it:
1" square steel tubing X 8' long
4 X 22" shelf brackets (biggest I could find)
I used a small 6" piece of steel with a couple of 1" spacers between the steel tubing and the actuator to spread the force to 2 contact points to allow for a smoother ride. Without it, it was going up unevenly and causing stress.
Someone at work gave/rebuilt me a DC power supply

I took a 2X4 and split it in 2 so that I could attach the shelf brackets to the guide rails... you can kind of see that in the pictures.

Overall, it was a few hundred dollars by the time I was done. I did do some things that didn't seem to work or I scrapped... but if you do it right the first time, you will save some money.

If more pictures would help, I can try to see if there is a way to get more pictures.... I should have taken some before the tank was put in all the way. I used 2X4's on the wall with 4 3/4" all-purpose screws.

Anything else that would help clarify, just ask!

-zach

 

[zlwags85]

Also, if I had it to do again, I would put all the shelf brackets closer to center.... I think I would do 2 studs on each side of center... so about 2' would "hang" off both ends. I'm not sure if it makes a major difference, but I think it might go up a little bit smoother and would provide a little more support overall. It would also decrease the weight since a shorter piece of steel would be needed.

I did the 2 closest to center and the 2 furthest from center that would work.

With a 60" tank though, I don't think that would cause any problem for you though. The only thing I would look into is bigger shelf brackets. I looked all over though and didn't find anything bigger than 22". If you know how to weld... I would go that route and make your own supports. Just my .02

-zach

 

[teesquare]

Thanks Zach!
I am thinking about aluminum square tube, or even angle or channel in order to save weight (poweder coated black). The plan is that there will be no cabinetry style hood. Jus the light hood itself. Which will be an Aquatinics 2 x 250 w 2-T5s in their black fixture.
I think I have figured out a way to hide the lifting mechanism and the guide rails as well.

Sure - more pics will be useful to all I am sure - please post!
T

 

[~sp0ok~]

zach

.........wow........ hell of a job....love the tank and nice updates..hope my next tank is just as good as yours

+a

 

[zlwags85]

Thanks much for the comments! I've just been reading for years and hoping for the day I had a house to put a nice tank in.... and I think a lot of the projects I have read about has really helped tons. That's why I'm trying to provide decent pictures and documentations... give back from the forum that taught me basically all I know besides the books people on here suggested!



teesquare - if you aren't having a canopy, I wouldn't worry too much about the weight of the thing. Just my canopy is about 100 lbs before any of the lights, fans, or lifting mechanisms. I would do whatever you think will look best. However, I should say I did mess with some of the aluminum stuff and my buddy who is an engineer didn't like it and suggested going to steel. Angle bar is plenty of support... I just like to overkill things so I can sleep at night!

I will try to get some more pictures up this week. I have had the RO/DI unit running non-stop for 3 days now and have about 300 gallons of water made up to fill the tank. It will give me another excuse to get the camera out!

-zach

 

[elijaher]

What's your lights front to back.

 

[BigTuna321]

This tank has potential

Good Job :thumbsup:

 

[zlwags85]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14948130#post14948130 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by elijaher
What's your lights front to back.

My fault! I meant to post this when I ordered them.

Front:
ATI Blue Plus
UV Lighting Super Actinic
UV Lighting 75/25 14000K Aquablue
ATI Blue Plus
GE 6500K Daylight
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Pro Color
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Aquablue
ATI Blue Plus

Grim suggested this lineup.

-zach

 

[elijaher]

Nice sets of choice, tank lookin good.

 

[zlwags85]

Here will be the lighting schedule:

Front:
4) Blue Plus
2) UV Lighting Super Actinic
1) UV Lighting 75/25 14000K Aquablue
4) ATI Blue Plus
5) GE 6500K Daylight
1) ATI Blue Plus
3) ATI Pro Color
2) ATI Blue Plus
5) ATI Aquablue
3) ATI Blue Plus


1) 12 hours
2) 11 hours
3) 10 hours
4) 8 hours
5 6 hours


I will hopefully get this hooked up tonight and get some more pictures.

 

[zlwags85]

Well.... I learned a lesson tonight.. NEVER let the tank out of your site when filling it or doing any "non-routine" process.

I had another 100 gallon rubbermaid container full of salt and started pumping the water up into the tank and after about half an hour, there was maybe 50 gallons left. I decided to take a dinner break and I did shut the pump off and broke the siphon. I went upstairs and sat down and ate and after I was done cleaning up I went back down and FLOOD. The tube I was using to pump water up the tank fell out of the tank and a siphon started because of all the water left in the tube coiled on the ground. The fall must have created enough turbulence to get it going.... well, all 50 galls that were left were on the floor. Just pools of it as deep as 1/2-1" in some of the places the concrete is not poored correctly.

Now, I would be extremely mad if the carpet and everything else was in, but as it stands it was just a waste of a night mopping up 50 gallons as best as possible and getting the area around the tank as dry as possible. I know that there was so much that it must have soaked up in the stand and the green base boards, but I don't think there is much I can do. I dried it and then put 3 fans down there blowing on all the baseboard and stand for the tank.

This is probally the dumbest, biggest mistake I have made. But, I guerentee I won't have another flood for this reason.....

I did get the tank about 80% full (the remaining 20% in on the floor!) It's actually not too bad, I finally got all of the rock covered and the tank should be cycling. I will start testing for the cycle in about a week... either way I won't be adding fish or anything until after I get back from my honeymoon on June 16th. So I will quarantine most likely and it will give it 6 weeks cycle or so, then I will put a clean-up-crew in and another 4-6 weeks quarantine period on the fish. So about 3-4 months before the first fish will be in which I'm thinking about putting a schol of green-chromis. Some people have luck with them not killing each other off...

Anyways, sorry for the rant and long post without pictures. I took some, but I'm just too tired to mess with loading tonight. The moonlights look sweet and give a nice shimmer on the sandbed though! The only positive of the night.

Updates to come and better pictures of the lift if I can figure a way to get a decent shot of anything that would help.

 

[teesquare]

Just think of it as a "chistening", or a babtism. Everyone will have something like this happen. I cannot tell you how many times I have " cleaned the basement floor"
T

 

[zlwags85]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14967701#post14967701 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by teesquare
Just think of it as a "chistening", or a babtism. Everyone will have something like this happen. I cannot tell you how many times I have " cleaned the basement floor"
T

Ha - yea... I've had some water on the floor already... but no standing pools yet! I'm just hoping that my next big mistake comes before the rest the basement is finished. Wasn't too big of deal, just annoyed that I did something stupid.

 

[sunsetSPS]

I feel your pain cleaning up the flood. I've learned the same lesson a few times too. Every time I said to myself this is a last time I would see flood but floods happened again in many different ways . It's nice T5 set you have.

 

[zlwags85]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15281359#post15281359 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sunsetSPS
I feel your pain cleaning up the flood. I've learned the same lesson a few times too. Every time I said to myself this is a last time I would see flood but floods happened again in many different ways . It's nice T5 set you have.

Thanks! I recently got married and returned from my honeymoon not too long ago. I need to get this thread updated soon and once my new laptop I ordered arrived, I will get new pictures up.

Update:

RKE is hooked up… although I’m still working out the kinks. Ch 2/3 are not always switching the lights off when I want them to, so I might have to revise how all of the items are plugged into the PC4’s.

I’m also having a slight heat issue, which I was not ready for and did not predict. After about 3 hours of all 10 rows being on, the heat is going up 2 degrees to approximately 82.0 degrees (I have an alarm to start shutting off 2 rows at a time starting at 82.0). I might try to first cut ventilation holes in the top of the canopy to allow the hot air to rise out of the hood. I also had to add another 100 gallon Rubbermaid container to the sump section that is located remotely via a 7’ piece of 1” hose. This water is pretty much stagnant (which isn’t good anyways) at the moment, so I think it is at the lower 73-75 degree room temperature. I might try to pump this into the sump thus creating a loop and it should aid in cooling the tank. The next step (hopefully don’t/won’t need) would be to add fans to these areas to start evaporation techniques. However, with a 450ish gallons of water, I’m worried about creating a humidity problem in the basement. So, I’m hoping I can find other means to fixing this problem. The room temperature is a max of 75 and we are having extreme heat right now as well… highs in the upper 90’s w/ heat indexes reaching 110. So, we will see what I can figure out on this front. If anyone has any major ideas other than chiller/fans… I would like to hear.

I’m also working on my ATO. I had a little bit of a flood (aqualifter only moves 3 gallons an hour). I think there might have been 6 gallons of water on the floor. What happened is my anti siphon tube drooped over and a full siphon started. I’m working on a couple different ideas to have a fully failsafe design. However, if anyone has ideas… more than welcome! It is a reservoir above the sump/tank with an aqualifter attached to a Lifereef float switch. That runs down through a float valve (safety/backup) with an anti-siphon loop in it. My only concern is that the float switch gets stuck and then the float valve shuts…. All the water will come out of the anti siphon tubing. I have a couple ideas… but without a picture it would be too hard to explain.

Beyond that, the water tests are starting to look like it is coming close to being cycled. I had it running while I was on my honeymoon, so I missed quite a few tests. The last test I took showed 0-.25 ammonia, 4 Nitrites, 10 Nitrates.

Anyways, a bit long of a post… but a quick update on where things stand. Getting back up to speed in the very near future and should see some major progress with pictures coming soon.