Custom In-Wall 150 Project

Phew...10 pages! Things are really starting to come together Conda. Keep up the good work.

Drilling the SS... The inside pipe, where the 90 elbow slides on is what turns the elbow. You have to put the elbow in the correct position to get the flow you desire (correct oscilation), then stop/remove the SS and drill through both parts without disasembling. Whenever you put the 90 back on in the future, make sure the holes line up.
Another method is to drill the top of the SS (or the pipe attached to it) and tap a 1/4" line into it. You could also do this on the horizontal leg of the submerged 90 elbow. The loose end of the 1/4" hose will have to be secured, at or above the water level, and pointed into the tank. It will have a little flow coming from it, but when the pump shuts off it will allow enough air to break siphon. Benefit to this method is easy recognition that the hole is not cloged or misalligned.

The durso's... It may be our fault if the durso's are a little too high. You should have a slip fitting on the inside of the overflow, looks like it's threaded. Easy fix, if you need it....cut some of the fitting legth off of the T part on the durso, and or cut no more than 1/3 the threads off the female adapter. A 1" drop over the weir is good.

I would not drill the air holes without having both durso's operating. The diameter of the holes should be determined during normal operation (both operational). 1/8"D hole should be big enough IMO. When done correctly the level in the overflow will not fluctuate and you should have quiet operation. Again, 1/4" line with a needle valve could replace the above method.

Hope this helps. Keep up the good work.

Chris
 
Chris' suggestions sound good to me. You could insert rigid tubing in the hole (Drill it 3/16" as that fits snugly), then heat up the rigid airline tubing over a match or candle. Bend it softly to make a 90 degree radius without crimping the corner so air/water can flow through it. This would be a great siphon break, and is cleanable with a toothpick.

If the electricity goes out, this would still work fine. I rely on anti-siphon holes for day to day stuff, like each time I feed the tank. I always turn off the sump to keep the food in the reef for the livestock, then 15 to 30 minutes later turn on the sump again.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6584630#post6584630 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Ocean Image
Phew...10 pages! Things are really starting to come together Conda. Keep up the good work.

Drilling the SS... The inside pipe, where the 90 elbow slides on is what turns the elbow. You have to put the elbow in the correct position to get the flow you desire (correct oscilation), then stop/remove the SS and drill through both parts without disasembling. Whenever you put the 90 back on in the future, make sure the holes line up.
Another method is to drill the top of the SS (or the pipe attached to it) and tap a 1/4" line into it. You could also do this on the horizontal leg of the submerged 90 elbow. The loose end of the 1/4" hose will have to be secured, at or above the water level, and pointed into the tank. It will have a little flow coming from it, but when the pump shuts off it will allow enough air to break siphon. Benefit to this method is easy recognition that the hole is not cloged or misalligned.

The durso's... It may be our fault if the durso's are a little too high. You should have a slip fitting on the inside of the overflow, looks like it's threaded. Easy fix, if you need it....cut some of the fitting legth off of the T part on the durso, and or cut no more than 1/3 the threads off the female adapter. A 1" drop over the weir is good.

I would not drill the air holes without having both durso's operating. The diameter of the holes should be determined during normal operation (both operational). 1/8"D hole should be big enough IMO. When done correctly the level in the overflow will not fluctuate and you should have quiet operation. Again, 1/4" line with a needle valve could replace the above method.

Hope this helps. Keep up the good work.

Chris

Hey Chris, thanks for chiming in. I was actually thinking of emailing you regarding the overflow, I'm glad you jumped in here when you did.

Could you explain this to me:

1/4" line with a needle valve could replace the above method.

How would I do this?
 
instead of drilling a definate diameter hole, you can glue or use fittings to attach a 1/4"D line to the top of the durso. Put a needle or ball valve (needle is better) on the line to adjust the air flow rate. This option is 100% not required. A proper sized hole works just as well if not better and is cheaper and faster to finish.
 
Well, forget my last post, I did what Chris and Marc said and put both Durso pipes in at the same time, with a 1/8" hole, and the drain is whisper quite. Wow, this is amazing. The loudest thing is the Barracuda now, and that thing is quiet.

Thanks guys!

Here are some pics, let me know if you think the water height is correct. The overflow is holding 5 1/2" and the drop is 2":

plumbing06.jpg


plumbing07.jpg


plumbing08.jpg


If this is OK, I need to glue the pieces together, except the street ell since it will not screw in otherwise.

Water still seems a little hight to me though.
 
BTW, this is a freshwater test, there is no salt in there yet. I'm debating draining it or leaving it. It is filled with well water and I don't know if I want to take the time to drain it and fill it with RO--at 50 GPD that would take a while.
 
conda, I just read the beginning of this thread and CRACKED UP laughing. I have left my RO unit running and forgotten it several times. The result...minor floods in my basement which is fortunately unfinished at this time. Worst one...It's 3am, woke up out of sound sleep in a panic that I forgot to turn off the RO unit. Ran downstairs 2 stories to turn it off and guess what? It wasn't even on. S@*T! I was dreaming I left it on. Messed up! Now I'll go back and read the whole thread cause it looks good. But wanted you to know...I'm with ya bro. Your not alone, not even close.LOL:lol:
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6588072#post6588072 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by chirocato
conda, I just read the beginning of this thread and CRACKED UP laughing. I have left my RO unit running and forgotten it several times. The result...minor floods in my basement which is fortunately unfinished at this time. Worst one...It's 3am, woke up out of sound sleep in a panic that I forgot to turn off the RO unit. Ran downstairs 2 stories to turn it off and guess what? It wasn't even on. S@*T! I was dreaming I left it on. Messed up! Now I'll go back and read the whole thread cause it looks good. But wanted you to know...I'm with ya bro. Your not alone, not even close.LOL:lol:

At least I know I'm not alone. Like I said in a thread earlier, I have the RO unit and any container I fill in the sink. So, when I forget to turn it off, it overflows into the sink--and I still forget and panic! Not sure what's gonna happen when I start filling my 44g Brute. I may neet to set a timer again. :eek1:
 
Sea Swirl Update

Well, it seems I do not need to drill my Sea Swirl after all. I moved it up about an inch with shims, as high as I could get it, which saves me 6 gallons or more of drainage.

Here is a pic of it totally drained when the power is cut off:

plumbing09.jpg


The piece of tape is where the water is when the pumps are running. The water level is at 8.5" when running, and I think the baffel is 9 or 9.5", so it is about a 1" drop.

Did Marc create me an awesome sump or what? The water drains exactly to the top of the fuge teeth and I still have 2 or more inches of room left.

Now I feel better. :smokin:
 
The overflow is functioning perfectly, and I'm really glad it is silent for you now. Believe it or not, I had a guy call me up today describing the exact same problem, and I told him to open up the other bulkhead to silence things. Since he didn't call back, I'm guessing all is well.

The water level looks great. If I recall correctly, it was 48" x 15", so 2" of space will hold another 6.2g. Looks like you could actually lower those sea swirls if you wanted to live on the edge. :lolspin:
 
Looks great Conda. So in an earlier post you mentioned you have well water in it and you were considering not draining it. Do you mean you are thinking of adding salt to the well water to start the tank off? IMO it would be worth the trouble to start with RO water. The time/effort saved now by using the well water could be offset X10 if it causes you even slight trouble with the tank later...
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6589278#post6589278 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
The overflow is functioning perfectly, and I'm really glad it is silent for you now.
Good, thanks for the help. I'm going to glue the pieces this weekend to make it air tight. Except for the street ell, of course.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6589278#post6589278 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
The water level looks great. If I recall correctly, it was 48" x 15", so 2" of space will hold another 6.2g. Looks like you could actually lower those sea swirls if you wanted to live on the edge. :lolspin:
Funny, but I don't want to live that close to the edge. Six gallons on the floor is nothing compared to what I've done before, so I feel good about this setup. Even if the tank overflowed I would get less than 10 gallons dumped before the sump runs dry. But then I have to worry about the pump running dry and catching fire! :eek:

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6590193#post6590193 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rdmpe
The time/effort saved now by using the well water could be offset X10 if it causes you even slight trouble with the tank later...
Yeah, your probably right. That is what my wife keeps saying. I'll drain and fill it this weekend.

I guess I should go buy some sand and salt. :rolleyes:
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6587557#post6587557 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Ocean Image
TO ME....THAT IS A THING OF BEUTY!


water level looks fine to me.

Great job.
Thanks for the compliment, that means alot coming from you--since I stink and this stuff, but I've learned alot doing this project.

BTW, the tank is awesome and working out great. The CL you suggested was a great idea--the flow seems perfect, the removable side panel is awesome, the side overflow is the best--so much room in the tank without internal overflows, and I love the two 1.5" bulkheads, I never have to worry about a flood. And the top steel frame is perfect, I'm glad I spent the extra money to get that.

I solved all my problems thanks to the help of the people in this thread. The only thing I just noticed last night was the Barracuda is leaking at the seal--I have no luck with this thing.

The chamber where the water enters and exits has a shaft running into the engine. There is a small drip right where the shaft meets the water chamber. Not sure why, but I do remember having to tighten all the bolts when I took the pump out of the box, maybe I overtightened or the seal was not aligned properly. So now I have to take the Barracuda off for the third time to see what is wrong! :(

Anyway, thanks for the help and you made me a great tank!
 
Agreed; MDM has top notch support. My Sequence 1000 had a slight leak in the seal similar to what you're describing. I called them up and they sent out a new seal no questions asked.

I just subscribed to your thread! Everything looks to be coming along great! Don't feel bad about the problems you had getting things plumbed in. I spent over $500 plumbing my tank and I estimate about $120 of that was fittings and pipe I ruined... It's all part of the learning process! The results will be so worth it in the end!

Tyler
 
Thanks for the info. I called MDM and they are sending me new seals. They also said to take off the front cover and check the impeller. Sometimes the impeller is not screwed in all the way causing a leak.
 
Anyone know how to clean the aquarium glass? There seems to be this film on it since it has been drained and I cannot get it off. I even see the suction cup marks on the front where the tank was carried.
 

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