cannarella
New member
No porblem. So when you going to get some H2O in it?
Custom Cabinet for 90g Reef (Build Thread)
- Thread starter RedEDGE2k1
- Start date
RedEDGE2k1
Member
I'm hooking up my RO/DI unit today after work, plumbing/testing the tank tomorrow, and moving the cabinet/tank into the living room on Friday evening. Saturday I'll add sand + water and go live rock hunting. Sunday I'm going to the Falcons game, so I'll be drunk. Probably outta not touch the tank that day.
cannarella
New member
Use hose water if you can get away with it. It will fill much faster. I know the watering ban may make that difficult to do, but if you do it in the garage with the door closed and the hose going under it you should be able to get away with it. Now dumping it afterwards will be tricky. just put the hose in the yard and do it late at night or hope it rains and just syphon it to the driveway.
I am going to be cleaning the 100 gal stock tank I was using for a temp setup in the dark tonight so the water police don't get me...
I am going to be cleaning the 100 gal stock tank I was using for a temp setup in the dark tonight so the water police don't get me...
RedEDGE2k1
Member
Oh I'm definitely testing the plumbing with tap water from the garden hose. Lucky me -- our hose bibb is inside the garage. So I can just keep the garage door down, and play all I want.
Obviously, I'm going to use the RO/DI water to fill the tank once the cabinet/tank is in my living room. I need to buy a couple bags of sand, now that I think of it....I dread that process, last time my tank was cloudy for days from all the sand silt during filling.
Obviously, I'm going to use the RO/DI water to fill the tank once the cabinet/tank is in my living room. I need to buy a couple bags of sand, now that I think of it....I dread that process, last time my tank was cloudy for days from all the sand silt during filling.
RedEDGE2k1
Member
Oh I'm definitely testing the plumbing with tap water from the garden hose. Lucky me -- our hose bibb is inside the garage. So I can just keep the garage door down, and play all I want.
Obviously, I'm going to use the RO/DI water to fill the tank once the cabinet/tank is in my living room. I need to buy a couple bags of sand, now that I think of it....I dread that process, last time my tank was cloudy for days from all the sand silt during filling.
Obviously, I'm going to use the RO/DI water to fill the tank once the cabinet/tank is in my living room. I need to buy a couple bags of sand, now that I think of it....I dread that process, last time my tank was cloudy for days from all the sand silt during filling.
RedEDGE2k1
Member
I'll give it a shot, I've read about it on Melev's thread, but never actually tried it.
RedEDGE2k1
Member
Back to putting the finishing touches on the cabinet...
I rigged up some mounts to attach the moonlights to the metal halide mogul bases. I measured and cut some 3/4" oak stock to fit in the mogul base standoff bracket, and screwed the moonlight mounts to the wood blocks.
I then predrilled through the mogul base bracket and into the wood blocks, making a clean hole for the screws to go into. Notice I installed the blocks at an angle -- this is because the individual LEDs themselves are angled to cover a wide area. I don't want the blue light shining on the insides of the cabinet, so I angled the mounting blocks slightly to direct the light more towards the middle of the tank.
As a safety measure, I drilled two additional holes in the block and ran a zip-tie through and around the moonlight unit. This will hold it secure in its bracket, preventing it from popping out for whatever reason. And of course, I primed/painted the oak blocks to match the cabinet.
These moonlights are MUCH brighter than I expected. The ad on Marine depot says one LED can cover 3 feet of tank length, and since my 90g tank is 4' wide, I bought the dual set. I think one would have been plenty for my tank, and would have worked perfectly without any mounting blocks (just attach it to the plywood, right between the metal halide reflectors). But oh well, it's no big deal. Maybe the water will block/reflect a lot of the light.
In other news...my Premium Reef Supply 100gpd RO/DI unit arrived today from Premium Aquatics. It was a breeze to install, just mount it to the wall and screw on the filters/canisters.
It was easy to install, but didn't work worth a crap when I turned on the water. The drain line was just dripping, and the "good water" line was flowing like a river. I timed it filling a gallon jug, and it was producing a gallon of "good" water every 90 seconds. Obviously, this wasn't right. After asking for help on the Atlanta Reef Club website as well as here on RC, several people pointed out the problem -- the manufacturer connected the drain line to the wrong outlet. Take a look at the picture above; the yellow line (waste) coming out of the RO membrane (top canister) was in the wrong place. The waste/RO lines were flip-flopped from where they were supposed to be. So I switched them with each other, and the unit then worked flawlessly. One gallon of pure clean water in 18 minutes, and one gallon of waste water in 4 minutes. That's close to the 4:1 ratio I've read about, so I'm satisfied.
I rigged up some mounts to attach the moonlights to the metal halide mogul bases. I measured and cut some 3/4" oak stock to fit in the mogul base standoff bracket, and screwed the moonlight mounts to the wood blocks.
I then predrilled through the mogul base bracket and into the wood blocks, making a clean hole for the screws to go into. Notice I installed the blocks at an angle -- this is because the individual LEDs themselves are angled to cover a wide area. I don't want the blue light shining on the insides of the cabinet, so I angled the mounting blocks slightly to direct the light more towards the middle of the tank.
As a safety measure, I drilled two additional holes in the block and ran a zip-tie through and around the moonlight unit. This will hold it secure in its bracket, preventing it from popping out for whatever reason. And of course, I primed/painted the oak blocks to match the cabinet.
These moonlights are MUCH brighter than I expected. The ad on Marine depot says one LED can cover 3 feet of tank length, and since my 90g tank is 4' wide, I bought the dual set. I think one would have been plenty for my tank, and would have worked perfectly without any mounting blocks (just attach it to the plywood, right between the metal halide reflectors). But oh well, it's no big deal. Maybe the water will block/reflect a lot of the light.
In other news...my Premium Reef Supply 100gpd RO/DI unit arrived today from Premium Aquatics. It was a breeze to install, just mount it to the wall and screw on the filters/canisters.
It was easy to install, but didn't work worth a crap when I turned on the water. The drain line was just dripping, and the "good water" line was flowing like a river. I timed it filling a gallon jug, and it was producing a gallon of "good" water every 90 seconds. Obviously, this wasn't right. After asking for help on the Atlanta Reef Club website as well as here on RC, several people pointed out the problem -- the manufacturer connected the drain line to the wrong outlet. Take a look at the picture above; the yellow line (waste) coming out of the RO membrane (top canister) was in the wrong place. The waste/RO lines were flip-flopped from where they were supposed to be. So I switched them with each other, and the unit then worked flawlessly. One gallon of pure clean water in 18 minutes, and one gallon of waste water in 4 minutes. That's close to the 4:1 ratio I've read about, so I'm satisfied.
cannarella
New member
The water is not truly waisted. What goes down the drain gets processed, treated, and released into the river system that provides water downstream. Now you could consider it a waist if he was on septic.
RedEDGE2k1
Member
I'm not really "wasting" the water. The city processes & treats our sanitary system water and releases it back into the Chattahoochee River.
That being said, let's not turn my woodworking thread into a "how do you use your waste water" poll.
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RumLad
New member
You're the one that called it "waste water" my friend.
You have already posted about using water on this project, re: testing the tank in the garage, with the door closed etc..
Or, in Cannarellas case, sneaking around at night to avoid the water police.
I was just curious as to how this washes with you (pun absolutely intended) given the current state of affairs in Georgia.
It is very clear that you don't feel it's an issue. I happen to feel otherwise.
You have already posted about using water on this project, re: testing the tank in the garage, with the door closed etc..
Or, in Cannarellas case, sneaking around at night to avoid the water police.
I was just curious as to how this washes with you (pun absolutely intended) given the current state of affairs in Georgia.
It is very clear that you don't feel it's an issue. I happen to feel otherwise.
RedEDGE2k1
Member
Good. Now let's drop it, and stay on topic. 
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RumLad
New member
How is it different putting the water straight back into the ground where it came from (I am assuming he would be on a well also) via septic, or putting it back into the river, via treatment plant.
Or do you have folks in the city that are on city water, but private septic? Not usually the case in large urban areas though.
cardiffgiant
Active member
Great looking stand! Very nice woodwork.
FWIW, that's general terminology from the manufacturers of RODI units. The processed water is defined as "product" and the unprocessed water is defined as "waste."
FWIW, that's general terminology from the manufacturers of RODI units. The processed water is defined as "product" and the unprocessed water is defined as "waste."
cannarella
New member
Let's put this to rest. The water that we use comes from Lake Lanier via the Chattahoochee River system. Municipalities draw from this system for their public water. They filter it and add stuff like fluoride and other trace chemicals for sanitary and taste. Once it reaches our houses we do whatever with it. If you are on city sewer then any excess goes down through a gravity fed system eventually to a pump station. From there it is ground and pumped under pressure to other pump stations and eventually to a water treatment facility. At the facility they skim off the non biological solids which go to landfills and all the organic solids are removed chemically and used as fertilizer by farmers. The remaining liquid is then chemically treated to neutralize any other chemicals. It is now water again. Not potable but it can now be dumped back into the river system where nature will finish the process and the next municipality will start the process over again.
It is very common here for rural homes to have city water but be on septic. Municipalities don't pump from wells for drinking water so when the leeching fields put the waste into the ground it is not recycled back into the supply stream.
You have chosen to keep your location a secret so I don't know how your area functions.
In Tampa where my parent live and water is plentiful, the use this treated water to water lawns. Each house has 2 water meters one for potable water and one for non-potable water for irrigation. They get a greatly reduced rate on that water instead of pay for potable water to irrigate.
I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.
I hope this answer any quesitons that you may have and we can get back on track to see RedEDGE2k1 get his setup up tested and then up and running.
It is very common here for rural homes to have city water but be on septic. Municipalities don't pump from wells for drinking water so when the leeching fields put the waste into the ground it is not recycled back into the supply stream.
You have chosen to keep your location a secret so I don't know how your area functions.
In Tampa where my parent live and water is plentiful, the use this treated water to water lawns. Each house has 2 water meters one for potable water and one for non-potable water for irrigation. They get a greatly reduced rate on that water instead of pay for potable water to irrigate.
I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.
I hope this answer any quesitons that you may have and we can get back on track to see RedEDGE2k1 get his setup up tested and then up and running.