Come with me on my Custom 77 Gallon setup

[gkarshens]

Looks good. So is the drain going to split to the fuge and skimmer area?

 

[Stile2]

There will be two drains out of the external overflow. One main one that will be a striaght pipe, fully submerged and regulated by a gate valve, and take most of the flow, it will go straight into the skimmer. And a second with a Durso on it to take the extra flow not going into the main one, which will feed the fuge.

Does that make any sense? Its been a long day.

Keith

 

[gkarshens]

Yep. Sounds like a good plan.

 

[melev]

So, are you done yet?

 

[Stile2]

Not quite, I am the yearbook advisor this year at the high school where I teach. We had 60 pages due today. I get there about 7:00am and leave around 5:30pm.

I am hoping that this weekend I will build the skimmer and then maximize the fuge and return area of the sump. Then get the materials for that.

Keith

 

[Stile2]

Well I tried to make a slant neck skimmer today and I must have the worng type of acrylic. I heated to in a 450 degree oven for thirty minutes and it still would not form. It actually started to bubble. I will check the old slant neck skimmer thread to check on types of acrylic.

Oh, well. I guess I will give it another try. I will post some pics of the failure.

Keith

 

[GMGQ]

I like the idea of splitting the drain. It's something I'm considering when I redo my plumbing in the coming months. Mainly so that the macroalgae will get more nutrients.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6279846#post6279846 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Stile2
There will be two drains out of the external overflow. One main one that will be a striaght pipe, fully submerged and regulated by a gate valve, and take most of the flow, it will go straight into the skimmer. And a second with a Durso on it to take the extra flow not going into the main one, which will feed the fuge.

Does that make any sense? Its been a long day.

Keith

 

[Stile2]

Well, I definately have the wrong kind of acrylic to heat form.

Here is a pic of my first attempt. Notice how the edges are pulling up.

This was heated fro twenty minutes at 350 degrees.

I tried heating at 450 degrees for thirty minutes, but then it bubbled.

But at least I have the ring for the body.

And I ordered some lexan (polycarbonate) today for delivery tomorrow. They have real curing ovens where my Dad works. So this weekend we will go in a try it with some lexan.

Keith

 

[melev]

You probably used FF (extruded) instead of GP (cast). FF has a lower temperature point for melting, and overheated in your oven. Perhaps a shorter period in the oven or lowered temperature would work. I've never tried to do what you are doing, but Weatherson did this so you could ask him.

The thickness of the acrylic could be a factor as well.

 

[Stile2]

Well, I had to take a small break from the tank to build built-in benches in the new dining room. Tank building goes slow sometimes when you also doing a house remodel.

But as I am up at my parents house for Christmas I thought I would take advantage. I ordered three 12"x12" 1/4" sheets of Lexan (Polycarbonate). Which I heard could be formed pretty easily. The company where my Dad work's has ovens for curing carbon fiber and composite structures. We're talking about ovens that range from 3 sq ft to 6000 sq ft.

So I brought up my forms and mounted the first piece of lexan.

We heated the oven up to 390 degrees and heated the piece for 15 minutes.
Here is the first push.

Here is the best piece that we got.

Here is a picture from the side.

We did reheat the first two attempts and repushed and got even more height.

I then cut out the circles with a bandsaw and sanded the edges.

I will complete the skimmer when I get home.

After the skimmer I will finalize the design of the sump and get that going.

I also need to start cooking my old LR which is now DR (dead rock).

Have a Happy Christmas!

Keith

 

[melev]

Very nice. All this work for just one piece of the skimmer too!

 

[Stile2]

Well, finally an update. I know, I'm really slow, but I have a pretty good excuse. Ok, not for all the delays but for the latest one.

We stripped the backroom to the studs and redid everything. Then I built the benches. Still some more work to do back there.

But I did get some time on the skimmer this week.

Here is the temporary cutting set up to cut the acrylic tube.

Here is the cirst part cut. The last part of the riser tube.

Here are the parts of the skimmer except the bottom.

It rained about 2" just today so I didn't want ot hang out in the garage. But I will finish the skimmer this week. I figure I can start cooking my old rock after the skimmer is done. It will be a good break in period for the skimmer as well.

Happy New Year Everyone.

Keith

 

[Cprowler]

Wow, looks like your having fun too. I'm Looking forward to waching your progress.

 

[Stile2]

I know it is going very slowly as compared to other people's set ups. But I am having fun with it. Like you said in your thread, kids (6 & 3), house (picture above), work (yearbook advisor for the first time this year), etc, etc. Lots of stuff gets in the way.

But then again I'm not doing to knock myself out. I work on it when I can. I hope that it turns out to be as beautiful as many of the other tanks on RC.

Thanks for checking in. I post so rarely that I feel like I'm the only one watching sometimes.

Keith

 

[rdmpe]

We are all watching

 

[melev]

I'm watching too. I just didn't post because sometimes it seems like I'm the only replier. :lol:

<B>Drone voice:</b> <i>Melev is RC. You too will be assimilated. Resistance is futile. You will all be RC. You will be one with us....</i>

 

[Stile2]

Thanks Guys,

It is nice to know people are interested. I was getting a little disheartened, I thought people lost interest because I'm going so slow.

Keith

 

[melev]

Keith, I'll post 20 pictures at a time in my thread, spoiling the readers rotten. Then I'll get one reply. :lol: It really isn't a big deal, because there are a lot of people that read quietly every day and never say a word. Just do your best to be informative, and you can bet your bottom dollar you've helped someone out there with their own tank.

I just had a guy post in my thread today that he's been reading it for a long time, and this was going to be his first time to post in my thread. Since my thread is ~238 pages now, you can see how long that person waited to jump in and finally add something to the thread.

 

[Stile2]

Slightly off topic but, in my 29 gallon tank I am battling a mass of Red Hair Algae in the sump. I have been for a couple of months now. I even took the sump out a cleaned it out. But if I leave even one little hair, it all comes back.

Luckly I don't have any in the display tank, only in the sump.

Any ideas on how to get rid of this stuff?

Thanks
Keith

 

[Cprowler]

I know what you guy's are talking about, sometimes I post and post with no responses. I wish people would just say hi and that they have subscribed and are going to follow along.(if thatââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s their intent.)