Choss' 96 Gallon Reef Savvy Tank Build

AZReef13 said:
So how goes the plumbing? Hopefully no damaged fittings...
Click to expand...

Well I have made a few mistakes already. So far I almost lost a union ball valve but was able to salvage it with some quick thinking. So far I've glued up a few sections for the return. I'm hoping this upcoming weekend I will make some real progress.
 
Update

Update

Ok so it has been a while since I updated the thread. It's been slow going but I'm getting closer. With the setup of my sump in a side cabinet, and the electrical in another, there are some unique challenges to working through the plumbing and the electrical in a way that is both functional and hides the messy of wires and pipes. That said, I love the red/grey PVC pipes and its almost worth showing them off to the world! Really sexy the way it's all turning out.

So here are the basic pieces of plumbing. I am using unions and ball valves in as many places as I can. This is actually critical because of the many angles I need to get all the plumbing to come up and to the left from the sump cabinet to the DT. I'm also working in extremely tight places.

Main Pipes laid out by choerenz, on Flickr

These are the main pieces within the sump - 1" schedule 80 for the overflow fittings, and 3/4" for the return. There is a flaw here that I just discovered today, but I'll point it out further down in this post.

To attach the plumbing to some support, I picket up these brackets at home depot. They work perfectly.

Brackets for overflow lines by choerenz, on Flickr

Here is a shot from above the sump cabinet looking at the back of the tank. You can see three bean animal overflow pipes, coming off the Ghost Overflow, hitting 90 degree turn via two 45s, and coming towards the sump being supported by the brackets.

Overflow Pipes by choerenz, on Flickr

And here is how they enter the sump

Closeup of ball valve by choerenz, on Flickr
 
Plumbing Issue

Plumbing Issue

So here is the issue. The picture below shows how the return plumbing works in the sump and cabinet. The pump is a Varios 6 Reef Octopus, which I used soft tubing to connect to hard plumbing. It then goes directly into a wye check valve which is easy to reach and service. From there it "T"s off to a manifold that I want to hook a single reactor up to. It didn't occur to me that this "T" needs to be below the wye check value. Right now, a power outage will drain back through the manifold and into the tank.

Powerbar 4 by choerenz, on Flickr

Because I have a height limitation in the stand, the pipe that goes back to the display is at the only height I can have it to work it around the overflow pipes. So the distance between the pump and the "T" is limited. I suppose I can leave the manifold offline and buy a small pump to power my reactor but I have put so much time and planning into this build that I would like to figure out another way to get this fixed. I'm looking for some suggestions where I can either salvage the existing parts, or add something like a solenoid to the push connect fittings (its a BRS deluxe reactor) that closes with a power off situation.

On another note, I was reading a thread on electrical, and there was a discussion about keeping power bars out of sump areas. I have seen pics of bars catching fire from freak water accidents so I decided to find a solution for this as well. The power bar 4 that you seen in the pic above is difficult to relocate so instead I found the perfect solution in the form os a rubbermaid box.

Powerbar solution by choerenz, on Flickr

The lid is even red!

Box with lid by choerenz, on Flickr
 
Never would have thought about enclosing power strip like that, So I see you figured out the plumbing issues that you where experincing earlier?

What your estimated time tank will have water in it?
 
AZReef13 said:
Never would have thought about enclosing power strip like that, So I see you figured out the plumbing issues that you where experincing earlier?

What your estimated time tank will have water in it?
Click to expand...

No I still haven't quite solved the issue. I have a few ideas but I will probably have to cap the manifold I created for the reactor. Water will be in by Xmas at this rate. I'm away for Thanksgiving but should be able to finalize plumbing and electrical over the next 2-3 weekends.
 
drtrash said:
Dig the tank dimensions, you inpire, good luck, just my opinion, ditch check valve not needed
Click to expand...

Maybe you are right. the sump can handle about 2 " of water level reduction from the main tank. Since I haven't gotten this bad boy wet yet, I'm not sure if that is enough but we'll see when I get this baby wet. Hopefully soon.
 
drtrash said:
1/4 in hole in outlet will brake drain vacuum, flow valves fail very often .
Click to expand...

I'm not sure that I will be able to use this method - I have in previous tanks where my return came in over the rim of the tank. In this setup the returns are drilled through the back of the tank. Right now I am using a short black PVC pipe and 45 degree angled bend to return the water into the tank. I initially didn't want to use loc-line because I just don't love the look but this is an option and I understand people use it in a way to keep the water flow at the surface and break the siphon if there is a small drop.
 
drtrash said:
I use loc line and have a hole just below water line, breaks sifton
Click to expand...

I might have to go that route. I will test things out and see where things stand. I ordered some replacement slip fittings for my ball valves so if I can resolve this issue with a hole in the return at surface level, I can then remove the check valve and be done with it! That would make me very happy indeed.
 
Update

Update

Ok so i did manage to get some additional work done on the electrical cabinet. A little teaser here of what I just ordered for black friday (its actually a pre-order of a not yet shipped product....:lmao:). See if you can guess what it is. One hint in the pic below is that there are two empty shelves...

Profilux cabinet by choerenz, on Flickr

I also bought something expensive for my supplemental lighting. That should arrive in a few days so I will soon be able to have some additional updates.
 
moondoggy4 said:
I will take a swing at it, peri pumps master and slave units.
Click to expand...

Close. I ordered the KH Director and Doser 2.1 combo pack from GHL. Unfortunately, reading up on it a bit more, I'll probably need to add another doser down the road so I should have made 4 shelves. I'm pretty excited about this purchase just the same.
 
I am hoping to this upcoming weekend. Still working on my electrical layout but I'm almost there!
 
Update

Update

Ok, I know its been a while but I think I'm ready to get the tank wet tomorrow. First a few things that have been updated:

Electrical: I have mounted or wired up the following:

* 2 GHL powerbar 4s (one in Sump cabinet, one in fish room below controlling the AWC system shut off
* ATO pump - Controller under tank and ATO pump in fish room below connected via electrical running through the floor (connected to PB4)
* skimmer pump with controller mounted in sump cabinet (connected to PB4)
* Reef Octopus Varios 6 pump controller mounted to stand (connected to PB4)
* Heaters ( connected to PB4 4)

Plumbing: All plumbing finished and unions tightened

Sump Matt - I purchased a waterproof neoprene matt for under the sump. I have caulked it o the inside of the stand to ensure a relatively waterproof seal for small spills.

Lighting: Here is where I hit a major speed bump. I am connecting a Luxcore 250/400Watt ballast to the Giesemann Spectra. Unfortunately there are no instructions. Here is the connection between the ballast and the light:

full connection giesemann and ballast by choerenz, on Flickr

So after trying various combinations, and consulting the following color chart

Untitled by choerenz, on Flickr

I decided to ignore the advice of Reefbum's site (only source I could find for the wiring) and went white to blue, black to brown, and green to green (so reverse of the white and black wires in the picture above). I now get a brief flicker from the bulb. After testing another MH bulb, same result. I contacted Coralvue and Chris Conti got back to me today and suggested I may have a bad ballast. I bought the ballast from BRS who has indicated that despite buying from them, because it has been over 30 days, they cannot replace the ballast but will contact Coralvue on my behalf. This is a bit unfortunate considering how much money I have spent with BRS but we'll see, right now I'm optimistic that the problem will get resolved in due time.

So onwards! Leak test tomorrow & thursday. I'll also post a few pics of the finished Sump area and electrical cabinet.
 
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