Daplatapus's 210 upgrade
- Thread starter daplatapus
- Start date
mattjoly85
New member
Cant wait to see it filled with water!
daplatapus
New member
Ya, I'm really hoping within the next month or so to get it wet. I put my Lifereef skimmer together finally and got it running in a vinegar bath this morning. Video to come later this eve
daplatapus
New member
Here's the vinegar bath with a short video, I think you just click on the last one and it'll play. Any questions , comments or thoughts - ask away!
daplatapus
New member
Hmmm, looks like I haven't been updating this... Here's a few things that I've done since then. I ended up deciding to put it a proper fish room in my basement. I've only got 6'4" or so, so it's a bit cramped, but it's what I got. I'm cutting and pasting from my local forum, so if there's any weird commentaries, that's why, lol
The floor is not all that smooth or level, but my ceiling height is only 6' 2" or so, so I won't be levelling it any. I do have a bunch of tile left over from another job, so I may end up tiling it, but that's it. And I got almost all my walls framed up. I still have to fir out the wall where the SW and FW tanks will sit, then run all my plumbing, wiring, insulation and vapour barrier.
The floor is not all that smooth or level, but my ceiling height is only 6' 2" or so, so I won't be levelling it any. I do have a bunch of tile left over from another job, so I may end up tiling it, but that's it. And I got almost all my walls framed up. I still have to fir out the wall where the SW and FW tanks will sit, then run all my plumbing, wiring, insulation and vapour barrier.
daplatapus
New member
I finally finished all my framing, most of the insulation, all the electrical rough in and plumbing rough in.
Next step I guess is to finish the insulation in the ceiling, vapour barrier everything off and start drywalling. Here's some pics I took this aft after finishing the plumbing rough-in.
Next step I guess is to finish the insulation in the ceiling, vapour barrier everything off and start drywalling. Here's some pics I took this aft after finishing the plumbing rough-in.
daplatapus
New member
Well, minor progress. Got the room all drywalled, taped and painted. Gonna finish some electrical today, and maybe start the bench for the sump.
daplatapus
New member
More progress. I got all my hard wired electrical done. Anything within 6' of the sump is GFI'd. Split some of my plugs and switched them so I can turn stuff on and off easy like my return pumps, skimmer, Ca reactor, RO/DI booster and SW mixing station.
The sink is going to be replaced with something else. I may have a line on a used S.S. commercial sink/wash tray, so hopefully that'll pan out without breaking the bank. The 2" ABS drain line you see on the floor is actually going to my existing sump for when I do water changes. That'll eventually be run from the new sump and tight to the wall behind the SW and Fresh water tanks.
The sink is going to be replaced with something else. I may have a line on a used S.S. commercial sink/wash tray, so hopefully that'll pan out without breaking the bank. The 2" ABS drain line you see on the floor is actually going to my existing sump for when I do water changes. That'll eventually be run from the new sump and tight to the wall behind the SW and Fresh water tanks.
daplatapus
New member
Got my drawers built. Still missing the right glide for the lower left drawer (got 2 lefts instead of a right and a left) so that's why it looks a bit off kilter. Got the top doors mounted with the hold up hardware. Still have to spray all the doors, hopefully that'll happen this week.
Today I concentrate on plumbing the tank to sump and see if I can't get that done.
Today I concentrate on plumbing the tank to sump and see if I can't get that done.
daplatapus
New member
Got the rest of the doors on and all but the one drawer front. A bit cool on the island this week (-10 here this morning :scramble: brrrrrrr) and the only make up air for the spray booth exhaust in the shop I spray at is opening the door to outside. Sooo, probably not going to happen this week.
Also got all the plumbing upstairs done, now just have to deal with the fish room.
Also got all the plumbing upstairs done, now just have to deal with the fish room.
Following building my own 210 at the moment http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2464238. So it is still dry no water?
A_CoupleClowns
New member
I really like the stand & canopy! Our place is all white doors and trim so have been thinking white is going to be the best route to keep everything flowing right and the wife happy.
Your making some good progress, shouldn't be too long before its wet. Looking forward to more updates.
BTW for an old place your basement looks pretty solid.
Your making some good progress, shouldn't be too long before its wet. Looking forward to more updates.
BTW for an old place your basement looks pretty solid.
daplatapus
New member
Ya, I haven't done much the last couple weeks due to work. The doors are off and getting sprayed and I bought a double laundry sink that's now installed, but that's it. I'm hoping to get some more plumbing done in the sump this weekend.
I read through your thread yesterday and it's what encouraged me to update mine
Nice work on your's by the way!
Thanks! I saw a tank done this way on another thread and loved how the white really emphasized the blue inside. I'm hoping it turns out as nice as the pic in my head.
Thanks man. For an afterthought, the room is going to be pretty nice.
And, yup, shelves are still in the wall. Whoever built them used these huge nails so it was too much trouble, lol.
daplatapus
New member
So, I still don't have my doors painted, lol. We got them to my buddies shop and actually got them primed out with ClawLock. But he got married the weekend after that, and work has been off the wall so they've been hanging in his shop till now.
So a painter friend of mine was doing another kitchen door spray job and has agreed to finish my doors for me. Hopefully I'll get them back by next week and this thing will at least look finished on the outside.
Got home a wee bit early yesterday and was able to get the majority of my plumbing done on my mixing station. On my existing one, I'm not that crazy about the pipe I have filling/mixing the water in the SW tub. It's just a 3/4" line that goes in to about 4" off the bottom of the barrel then has a 45 degree elbow forcing water in a circular motion. It's ok, but no more than that. I found I don't get a whole lot of mixing with the top 1/3 of the barrel. And if I add salt too fast I get a big pile right in the middle of the barrel from the circular motion of the water.
SO.... I figured what I would try on this one is a pipe that goes down to roughly 4" or so from the bottom, again with a 45 degree elbow. Because of the slope of the top of my new barrels, the pipe actually goes from the top left side of the barrel to the bottom right side. I've pointed the elbow back towards the bottom centre of the drum and drilled a bunch of holes in a helical pattern all the way down the pipe. The hope is the water flowing through the holes in the pipe will create tons of turbulence in the barrel and will minimize any piling up of the salt in any one area. Only time will tell I guess
Anyway here's a couple pics of yesterday's adventure.
The helically drilled pipe. I did this on my drill press with the drill bit entering the pipe as far to one side as I could and not on centre. My hope is that this pattern will actually cause the water to spin out of the pipe, in essence creating a bit of a vortex in the barrel. However the angle of the pipe in the barrel, may counteract that effect...so I'm not sure, lol.
The pipe installed in the barrel
The finished product. I have an old Reefflo Dart that I've got hooked up to this thing. I may plug it into my Apex and have it turn on for a half hour a day to keep things aerated a bit. If anyone hasn't read the whole thread, I'll be doing automated, daily water changes via a big dual head dosing pump. Pics are back a few pages. That's what that extra little manifold is on the right side of the setup.
So a painter friend of mine was doing another kitchen door spray job and has agreed to finish my doors for me. Hopefully I'll get them back by next week and this thing will at least look finished on the outside.
Got home a wee bit early yesterday and was able to get the majority of my plumbing done on my mixing station. On my existing one, I'm not that crazy about the pipe I have filling/mixing the water in the SW tub. It's just a 3/4" line that goes in to about 4" off the bottom of the barrel then has a 45 degree elbow forcing water in a circular motion. It's ok, but no more than that. I found I don't get a whole lot of mixing with the top 1/3 of the barrel. And if I add salt too fast I get a big pile right in the middle of the barrel from the circular motion of the water.
SO.... I figured what I would try on this one is a pipe that goes down to roughly 4" or so from the bottom, again with a 45 degree elbow. Because of the slope of the top of my new barrels, the pipe actually goes from the top left side of the barrel to the bottom right side. I've pointed the elbow back towards the bottom centre of the drum and drilled a bunch of holes in a helical pattern all the way down the pipe. The hope is the water flowing through the holes in the pipe will create tons of turbulence in the barrel and will minimize any piling up of the salt in any one area. Only time will tell I guess
Anyway here's a couple pics of yesterday's adventure.
The helically drilled pipe. I did this on my drill press with the drill bit entering the pipe as far to one side as I could and not on centre. My hope is that this pattern will actually cause the water to spin out of the pipe, in essence creating a bit of a vortex in the barrel. However the angle of the pipe in the barrel, may counteract that effect...so I'm not sure, lol.
The pipe installed in the barrel
The finished product. I have an old Reefflo Dart that I've got hooked up to this thing. I may plug it into my Apex and have it turn on for a half hour a day to keep things aerated a bit. If anyone hasn't read the whole thread, I'll be doing automated, daily water changes via a big dual head dosing pump. Pics are back a few pages. That's what that extra little manifold is on the right side of the setup.
daplatapus
New member
So I got most of my plumbing done in the sump, just a bit of tubing to tie up for the Stenner pump. Took a clip of the room. Excuse the monologue, I thought there should be some explanation of what's going on in my head. Let me know if there's anything I should consider.
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/95g3qkwYg-A" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/95g3qkwYg-A" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
dave.m
Active member
Thoughts for fish room: floor drain for spills/catastrophes, seal concrete with floor enamel, filter socks for drains from upstairs display tank, set RO/DI and auto top-off to be controlled by Apex, protect power outlets with water-proof boxes, set up separate quarantines for fish and corals.
Just a few things to get you started.
Dave.M
Just a few things to get you started.
Dave.M
daplatapus
New member
Hi Dave, glad you stopped by
The floor is drained in the back corner by the barrels, my wife wants to paint the floor as the bottom of the ocean
, 2-7" filters socks are going in the second section on the right of the sump,
RO/DI and auto top off via Apex... That I have to think about. Any benefits of doing the ATO via Apex over the Tunze osmolator?
How would I control the RO/DI via Apex? I would like it to automatically come on if it dropped to a certain level. But to be honest, I'm just starting to get into the Apex world and don't know what's available for that kind of control.
I have a buddy who's a sparky, I'll see what's available over here for plug protectors.
QT tanks will be totally separate to the left side of the sink. I'm a big fan of the Tank transfer method and have yet to have ich on any of my fish after 3 years in the hobby. I have no doubt that's the reason. Its also the reason I ended up building this fish room. Doing proper QT and caring for everything for a couple months before it goes in my display was hard the way I was set up before.
The floor is drained in the back corner by the barrels, my wife wants to paint the floor as the bottom of the ocean
, 2-7" filters socks are going in the second section on the right of the sump, RO/DI and auto top off via Apex... That I have to think about. Any benefits of doing the ATO via Apex over the Tunze osmolator?
How would I control the RO/DI via Apex? I would like it to automatically come on if it dropped to a certain level. But to be honest, I'm just starting to get into the Apex world and don't know what's available for that kind of control.
I have a buddy who's a sparky, I'll see what's available over here for plug protectors.
QT tanks will be totally separate to the left side of the sink. I'm a big fan of the Tank transfer method and have yet to have ich on any of my fish after 3 years in the hobby. I have no doubt that's the reason. Its also the reason I ended up building this fish room. Doing proper QT and caring for everything for a couple months before it goes in my display was hard the way I was set up before.
daplatapus
New member
hi Worm,
Ya,because I'm copying and pasting some stuff from my local North of the border forum, I realized some info was left out.
My curiosity is piqued about controlling the RO/DI and ATO top off via Apex. Gonna have to look into that...
Ya,because I'm copying and pasting some stuff from my local North of the border forum, I realized some info was left out.
My curiosity is piqued about controlling the RO/DI and ATO top off via Apex. Gonna have to look into that...
