drummereef's 180g in-wall build

[drummereef]

Nice 110g!! So is the quick connect side on the inside or outside of the barrel? How did you connect the tubing to the threaded side of the bulkhead fitting? Also, where did you score the sweet barrel? It looks a lot more robust than some of the other blue drums I've seen online.

 

[drummereef]

UPDATE:


Scored a sweet deal on some industrial shelving this week, free! So I decided to organize the clutter and also take advantage of the extra space. I ended up with enough room to store all my dry goods and still have plenty of room for a fragging station. I decided to put it on the wall just outside the sump room. It's chrome over steel so I figured it would end up rusting inside sump room. I think it turned out pretty good, now all I need is some frags. :lol:

 

[cromedogg33]

Brett,

Just a word of advice from a recent personal experience. The last picture I notice your vortech controller is hung on the stand of the tank.

I had a recent overflow caused by a snail getting into my overflow pipe and had water spill over ruining my vortech controller sitting in the identical spot yours is.

 

[110galreef]

Nice 110g!! So is the quick connect side on the inside or outside of the barrel? How did you connect the tubing to the threaded side of the bulkhead fitting? Also, where did you score the sweet barrel? It looks a lot more robust than some of the other blue drums I've seen online.

The bulkhead is 1/4 quick discconnect on both ends! So i just have 1/4" flexible tube inserted into both ends. I have the nut side on the outside.

The drums are very sturdy. I actually have 2 and alos one that is a 55g drum size. all have lids w/ gaskets and a nice sealing ring that can be used if necassary. I actually acquired the two 30g size from a reefer about 2 hrs away going out of the hobby. These are very sturdy plastic containers! The served as my ATO as it was a perfect fit for water volume and location. The other 30g and 55g work great for water changes or teardowns etc..... I believe these were from some sort of food distribution originally. I know the 55g one I had originally had tomatoes in it. IT was stinky when I got it. But a soak in bleach and vinegar and good as new!

New rack is looking sweet! TIDY as always!!

 

[markaren]

Plumbing

Plumbing

As a beginner here, thank you Brett for taking the time to post VERY well angled pictures of your plumbing. I have not figured yet what the multiple drain valves are lined up along the sump , but I will study it some more. This is a nice thread in helping understand what "larger" means in reality in effect too supply and care and success. Thank you...Subscribed.

 

[drummereef]

Brett,

Just a word of advice from a recent personal experience. The last picture I notice your vortech controller is hung on the stand of the tank.

I had a recent overflow caused by a snail getting into my overflow pipe and had water spill over ruining my vortech controller sitting in the identical spot yours is.

Woah Josh, bummer. Thanks for the heads up, I'll keep an eye on it. When you replaced the driver did you upgrade to the EcoSmart drivers?

The bulkhead is 1/4 quick discconnect on both ends! So i just have 1/4" flexible tube inserted into both ends. I have the nut side on the outside.

The drums are very sturdy. I actually have 2 and alos one that is a 55g drum size. all have lids w/ gaskets and a nice sealing ring that can be used if necassary. I actually acquired the two 30g size from a reefer about 2 hrs away going out of the hobby. These are very sturdy plastic containers! The served as my ATO as it was a perfect fit for water volume and location. The other 30g and 55g work great for water changes or teardowns etc..... I believe these were from some sort of food distribution originally. I know the 55g one I had originally had tomatoes in it. IT was stinky when I got it. But a soak in bleach and vinegar and good as new!

New rack is looking sweet! TIDY as always!!

Thanks 110. I didn't see they were quick connect on both ends, that's perfect! Yeah, I'm really leaning towards getting a couple liquid drums - one for fresh water one for salt water. I'll have to do some investigating... Do any of the drums you use have a brand name stamped onto them? I constantly see ads for blue drums on Craigslist but have been a little concerned about contamination, especially petrol products having been stored in them.

As a beginner here, thank you Brett for taking the time to post VERY well angled pictures of your plumbing. I have not figured yet what the multiple drain valves are lined up along the sump , but I will study it some more. This is a nice thread in helping understand what "larger" means in reality in effect too supply and care and success. Thank you...Subscribed.

Thanks markaren. The multiple drain valves setup in the sump is called a manifold. This allows me to run multiple accessories off of one pump, my main return pump. I use a Reeflo Dart for my return. Cuts down on the need for individual small hobby pumps to run each device, like carbon/gfo reactors etc... Basically the return pump feeds the display and also TEEs off to the manifold to feed my accessories.

 

[cromedogg33]

I did not upgrade to the ES version. I have one already that is ES version and I personally see no reason for the upgrade after playing around with them.

I have 2 of those 55g blue barrells that I too got off cragslist. They have the 2 small holes on top. Mine came from a local food distributor and one had vinegar and one had soy sauce in it. After some soap/vinegar and rinsing I'm using them with 0 side affects.

 

[110galreef]

Brett,

look for drums from the food industry and you will be set.

This i believe is pretty much what i have if you need to resort to buying a new one.

http://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/S-11860/Drums/30-Gallon-Blue-Open-Top-Plastic-Drum

They also have a 55g version. Not sure how much shipping would be tho?

 

[drummereef]

I did not upgrade to the ES version. I have one already that is ES version and I personally see no reason for the upgrade after playing around with them.

I have 2 of those 55g blue barrells that I too got off cragslist. They have the 2 small holes on top. Mine came from a local food distributor and one had vinegar and one had soy sauce in it. After some soap/vinegar and rinsing I'm using them with 0 side affects.

Cool, thanks for the info on the ES drivers. I see a lot of people upgrade the drivers but set them to Lagoon or ReefCrest so I didn't know what the benefit would be. Perhaps the ease of setting a standing wave, but I don't run mine like that anyway... I always see the barrels with fixed lids and 2x bungs on the top like your barrels, Josh. Are the holes large enough to fit a decent size pump in there, or how did you plumb yours?

BTW soy sauce is great with fish. :lol:

Brett,

look for drums from the food industry and you will be set.

This i believe is pretty much what i have if you need to resort to buying a new one.

http://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/S-11860/Drums/30-Gallon-Blue-Open-Top-Plastic-Drum

They also have a 55g version. Not sure how much shipping would be tho?

Sweet! Thanks for the link too. Too bad they are so pricey new. Some of the used blue 55 gallon barrels on Craigslist are going for 8 bucks in my area! But, a lot of them have fixed lids and I'd probably prefer the removable lid for ease of cleaning.

 

[drummereef]

UPDATE:


So I've been in maintenance mode lately. Both my Vortechs have been making some excess noise for the past couple months. A few days ago one decided to start falling off the glass. I figured it was time to take further action since vinegar soaking wasn't doing the trick. I know a lot of you use EcoTech products but for those who don't, here's a short tutorial about how to repair a sick MP40.


I ordered all the necessary parts which came direct from EcoTech. I ordered enough parts to cover repairing both MP40s, which consists of a Ceramic Wet Bearing, Wet Drive Shaft, Propeller, Washer, Plastic Screw, and Plastic Nut.

I soaked the core wet side components for a day to clean up all the parts in preparation for repair. These parts include the Nozzle, Wet Frame, Wet Frame Cover, and Magnet.

First step is to insert the new Ceramic Wet Bearing into the Wet Frame.

Next is to insert the Wet Drive Shaft into the Ceramic Wet Bearing.

continued... :fish1:

 

[drummereef]

Next step includes threading the Plastic Screw through the Magnet and install the Washer. Here you can see how the back side of the magnet is counter-sunk to accommodate the taper on screw.

Next, slide the Wet Side Frame over the magnet assembly.

Install the Propeller over the Plastic Screw and hand tighten the Plastic Nut.

Finally, replace the Nozzle and Wet Side Cover and VOILA - A happy Vortech!!

 

[psteeleb]

well done Brett
perfect documentation, even thought I don't own a Vortech I feel like I could easily rebuild the wet side.

question on the Vortech
I see that red gasket but can't imagine it seals anythign so was wondering what it's for, maybe a vibration dampener fr the cover?

thanks

 

[drummereef]

well done Brett
perfect documentation, even thought I don't own a Vortech I feel like I could easily rebuild the wet side.

question on the Vortech
I see that red gasket but can't imagine it seals anythign so was wondering what it's for, maybe a vibration dampener fr the cover?

thanks

Thanks Pete! I believe the reason for the gasket is more for friction than anything. The Nozzle turns and locks onto the Wet Side Frame as you can see by the key-style locking cutouts on the Wet Side Frame in the pics above. But, I believe the gasket give the Nozzle some friction so it doesn't back itself off due to vibration especially when the pump is frequently oscillating on and off.

 

[drummereef]

Hey guys quick question... Should the effluent from my Kalk doser be submerged or does it not matter? Just wondering since I'm assuming it's the reaction of air causing the end of the tubing to encrust. Wondering if it would help keep the end of the tubing clean if it was under water?

 

[psteeleb]

Hey guys quick question... Should the effluent from my Kalk doser be submerged or does it not matter? Just wondering since I'm assuming it's the reaction of air causing the end of the tubing to encrust. Wondering if it would help keep the end of the tubing clean if it was under water?

It is supose to help to keep it submerged for the reason you give but I found it will encrust either way.

I wish I had a picture of the "dip stick" pipe I used on my 300g. It was a piece of 1" pvc about 3' long with a bunch of holes drilled in the bottom. My top off water and Kalc reactor effluent went into the dip stick, used mainly as a syphon break. After a couple years, when I pulled it out I found these long calcium deposit vents built up on the pipe around and extending from the holes. Some of them 5-6" long. The vents looked just like the ones you see at the bottom of the ocean at the mid atlantic rift, just smaller of course.

 

[drummereef]

It is supose to help to keep it submerged for the reason you give but I found it will encrust either way.

I wish I had a picture of the "dip stick" pipe I used on my 300g. It was a piece of 1" pvc about 3' long with a bunch of holes drilled in the bottom. My top off water and Kalc reactor effluent went into the dip stick, used mainly as a syphon break. After a couple years, when I pulled it out I found these long calcium deposit vents built up on the pipe around and extending from the holes. Some of them 5-6" long. The vents looked just like the ones you see at the bottom of the ocean at the mid atlantic rift, just smaller of course.

Woah haha. Probably oxygen content of the water causing the tubing to encrust I'm guessing...? Thanks for the info Pete.

 

[drummereef]

UPDATE:


So I did a mini-mod to my BRS reactor tonight. With the doser mounted straight to the drywall it was causing it to resonate through the wall and amplify the noise fairly significantly. In fact, when it was running it was the loudest piece of equipment in my setup. Here's what I used to fix it.


I hit the craft store and picked up a foam sheet. This particular product is a semi-rigid, closed cell foam called "Foamies". It comes in various thicknesses, this particular one is 6mm. This stuff would also be perfect as an anti-vibration pad for lightweight external pumps. Best part, it costs a whopping $1 for a 9x12" sheet.

Here you can see how thick the foam sheet is. 6mm or ~1/4" in thickness.

This is the bracket from the BRS doser that typically gets fastened directly to the wall.

I traced around the bracket with a straight razor to cut a matching shape out of the foam sheet.

Finished cut.

Here is the bracket mounted on the wall with the added foam backing installed between the bracket and drywall.

Here you can see how the dosing pump stands off the wall when clipped onto the bracket. The foam acts a barrier which eliminates the transfer of vibrations through the drywall.

All done! A simple, inexpensive, effective fix I recommend for anyone planning on mounting their BRS pumps to their walls or even under cabinetry to eliminate excess noise from your dosing pumps.

 

[psteeleb]

nice - I'll need to try that on my ozone reactor mounted to the inside of the wood door on my stand

 

[drummereef]

nice - I'll need to try that on my ozone reactor mounted to the inside of the wood door on my stand

Thanks Pete. Yes, I bet it would help at least with vibration. I bought it at Joanne Fabric and Craft store. Looks like you have a couple locations in the DFW area. I would think they would carry the same stuff. It worked surprisingly well for my application.

 

[drummereef]

UPDATE:


Sorry for the lack of updates lately... I've been busy but had enough time to finish some long overdue reef projects. A week or so ago my Lawnmower Blenny jumped. I took the hint and moved forward with making mesh tops for the tank. I'm also expecting some new arrivals so it was imperative I get this project done in preparation for my new fishy friends. Mesh tops have been documented in detail over the years but here's how I built mine.


First I gathered the parts for the frames. My tank has 3 openings between the 2 cross braces so I needed enough frame material and corners to make 3 tops. I went with raw aluminum frames so I could paint them to match the tank.

I broke out the Diablo blade on the mitre saw which I also used to make my light rack. It does a great job cutting aluminum.

I measured and cut all the necessary pieces for the frames.

After cutting, I used a flat file to deburr the cut edges.

Clean edge after filing.

Next I gave all the pieces a scrub with a Scotch-Brite pad to remove any manufacturing gunk that was on the frame material.

Lastly I used some Acetone to remove any adhesive and oils to prep for paint.

To be continued... :fish1: