crvz's hole in the wall

I'm doing a portable AC unit for now... I just can't justify the cost of a mini split. Though it's still in the cards down the road. I've no idea what a great portable AC unit is, though, and researching online turns up no conclusive evidence. I'm leaning towards a 10000btu unit from Sunpentown.
 
Looks like you have a really cool garage, I love that little nook you are turning into the fish room.
 
crvz said:
Had more time than I expected today, and a little help, so I jumped the gun and started framing. Maybe not quite to code, but plenty for my purposes.

2010_03_13_start_framing.jpg
Click to expand...

Chris
Just curious what is not to code here? Framing up to the ceiling which is drywall? I can't wait to get into the same boat!lol
Rob
 
Rob, I think mostly just the way I did the header for the door. It's just a 2x4 running flat across a 42" opening. I could do pull ups on it without it bending (190lbs of me hanging on it), so I decided I didnt need to double them up running tall instead of flat. This wall is totally non-structural, so I didnt care. I don't know about drilling the top plate into the studs through sheet rock. That may also not be code, but it works. I found the joist and screwed the top plate in every 12". The bottom plate is anchored into concrete using treated lumber, so that is fine. I am tying into an outlet on the outside of the wall to run a few outlets into this new wall, but I'll do that to code so it should be fine. By doing that, I'll have four different 20A circuits (only 2 are completely dedicated) to access for the tank. However, I will have an AC unit and our freezer in the room, so I imagine the 4 circuits will be well utilized.

I'm also not done in that picture above... I have 2 more studs on the right to stick in place. Otherwise, studs will be placed every 16" apart (or less).
 
More progress. I also picked up acrylic to make a new sump. Dimensions are tentatively 66x24x16, for about 110 gallons.

2010_03_15_sheetrock.jpg
 
Looking good! I need to come over some time this weeks to check it out and return some things. Have you purchased the AC unit yet?
 
gotfrogs said:
Looking good! I need to come over some time this weeks to check it out and return some things. Have you purchased the AC unit yet?
Click to expand...

No, not yet. A friend is in the direct buy club, so he's looking into them for me. I'll have to have something by the end of the month, I'm sure (though I do have the chiller plumbed in line, it is certainly not a long-term solution).

Leonardo_ said:
That's a nice wall Chris ;) Corals look good, looking forward to see more progress.

Leonardo
Click to expand...

You and me both, Leonardo. ;)
 
As I'm sure you were all curious... I suck at taping/floating. I must have skipped that day in engineering school.
 
A couple of updates.

The kole tang has ich, though he appears to be the only one affected, and he's still swimming around and eating well. For now, I'm in vigilant watch mode and doing a number of water changes to make certain that parameters are great for recovery. If things make a turn, I'll set up a hospital tank and take more effort. The biggest issue is that he's currently in what I was planning for a hospital/qt tank, so logistics are a bit of an issue.

Second, I ran by my stand design by a few of the folks in the DIY forum for structural input, and there seems to be little issue. It's intended to be constructed from 2x8 cross members and 2x4/2x6 legs. Here's a couple quick sketches I made. It's very simple and straight-forward, I'm trying to leave enough space under the stand for the 60"+ sump I intend to build.



In air conditioning news, I came home with a portable LG unit, but apparently they do NOT have fans controlled by the thermostat. What's this matter? Well, that fan blows 250W when on, so that particular unit will go back to home depot. I've shopped a number of online companies asking if they do have units with fans controlled by the thermostat, but to no avail. The only other alternative (other than moving towards a mini-split) is to find a unit that does come back on after a power loss and use a plug-in thermostat. I'm concerned about doing this, but I'll have to figure something out and probably within the next few weeks.

Finally, I ordered 8 Cree LEDs, a meanwell driver, and some aluminum stock (from estoconnectors) to try out my plan for morning/evening supplementation. This is definitely an experiment, but I wanted to play around before committing to all the hardware. I'll take some pictures as I get it put together, but I've only ordered everything in the last day so it will be a while.
 
Sketches look sweet! Did you use Google sketch?

Also have you thought about lighting? What are your plans? Perhaps a system to move the lighting completely out of the way?
 
I've got a racor bike hoist that I was planning on using with the light rack. I suspect the rack itself will be very much like drummereefs and prop-frags systems, with the trio of MH pendants sitting in an aluminum rack. I should have over 40" of height over the tank to the ceiling, so I'm presuming that should give me enough space to access the display with the light rack still in the same horizontal position (just hoisting it up to the ceiling).

I did indeed use google sketch up.
 
mpoletti said:
I like progress :D
Click to expand...

me too, but it's not as progressive as I'd like. ;) I just went through all the boxes in my wet room and took inventory to see exactly what I've got. Yeesh, lots of crap, that's for sure. Looking forward to putting some more of it to use!
 
Have you seen RocketEngineers template for stand builds? I used his to build my stand, its pretty simple and proven.

I have to defer to those that have much more experience, but I'd worry about bowing with your current design. Also, by framing the bottom of your stand with 2x4's or 2x6s you would effectivley be spreading out the weight distribution. Your next tank is gonna be a lot of weight!
 
veloboy said:
Have you seen RocketEngineers template for stand builds? I used his to build my stand, its pretty simple and proven.

I have to defer to those that have much more experience, but I'd worry about bowing with your current design. Also, by framing the bottom of your stand with 2x4's or 2x6s you would effectivley be spreading out the weight distribution. Your next tank is gonna be a lot of weight!
Click to expand...

Indeed, he actually weighed in and confirmed that it should be fine. In the pictures above I reconfigured how the legs would be played out, but I've since gone back to the design in the link below. I was trying to increase the clearance under the stand, but I figured sacrificing the robustness of the 2x6 on the front wasnt worth the 3-4" of sump length.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=16793298#post16793298

Padrino said:
Would you mind posting a link for reference?
Click to expand...

To the bike hoist? It's this unit; http://www.racorinc.com/Products.aspx?id=104 You can get it for about $20 at amazon (though I remember paying under $15 a few months ago).

104.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

C
Correct placement of Top Filter and Power head
Replies
1
Views
194
Timfish
Timfish
Itchy Trigger
Heaters for Sump and for Storage Tanks
Replies
2
Views
104
aquaman67
aquaman67
cilyjr
Cilyjr 320 gallon on the central coast
Replies
12
Views
457
rogerwilco357
rogerwilco357
8
Space fillers ?
Replies
6
Views
155
Sugar Magnolia
Sugar Magnolia
M
Do I need to take the glass apart on 300 Gallon glass tank
Replies
3
Views
167
griss
griss
Back
Top