drummereef's 180g in-wall build

[drummereef]

UPDATE:


It lives!!! As you know I've been working on a recirculating mod for the NextReef SMR1 Bio Pellet Reactor for some time now. I ended up sending the reactor in to NextReef to have them drill the two holes necessary for the recirc mod as well as have them fabricate a custom lid for the reactor. Believe it or not, it was cheaper to send it in then for me to purchase a bit to drill the holes myself... so it was a no brainer. Anyhow, the guys ended up cracking my original reactor and also a second piece of acrylic tube during the process so the decision to send it in was a good one. This apparently wasn't a job for the novice (like me). NextReef anneals the acrylic making it very difficult to drill which also makes the acrylic more susceptible to cracking. But after 3 tries they were able to fabricate the reactor to my specifications. Here it is!


The much anticipated delivery.

The new reactors are shipping in a slightly darker blue color than the original reactors. A very crisp and pleasing color scheme.

Here's the custom lid NextReef fabricated for me. It only has one 1/4" hole tapped for the effluent tubing.

I used a Mur-Lok 3/8" elbow valve to connect the effluent tubing. I also incorporated a #9 O-ring into the design which helps create a water tight seal.

Finished lid assembly.

To be continued... :fish1:

 

[drummereef]

Here's a shot of the suction side inlet plumbing and intake screen. I had to fabricate a custom connector to fit between the intake screen and pipe that passes through the reactor wall. I used a 1/2" schedule 80 coupler, cut to fit and routed out to easily slip over the pipe.

Here is the business side. A simple elbow with a short length of pipe that sits ~1/4" off the bottom of the reactor.

And the finished reactor all plumbed up and ready for water.

And a couple action shots.

 

[110galreef]

:wave: (somewhere inside brett's brain!):crazy1:

Hmmm...Im bored,:celeb3:

what can I tinker with, improve upon, elaborate , redesign, add to, or just all out re-do next! :uzi:

HAHAHAHA:beer:

Hopefully you see improvement w/ the reactor.

That is one super slick looking setup!!

 

[drummereef]

:wave: (somewhere inside brett's brain!):crazy1:

Hmmm...Im bored,:celeb3:

what can I tinker with, improve upon, elaborate , redesign, add to, or just all out re-do next! :uzi:

HAHAHAHA:beer:

Hopefully you see improvement w/ the reactor.

That is one super slick looking setup!!

Hahahaha! That's me!!! :rollface: Thanks 110g.

 

[Taqpol]

I know its open on the exhaust end of the pump, but are you not worried about some pellets getting back siphoned into the pump impeller (in a power outage, maybe?)? I would think you would want to put something like this on the end of that pipe:

http://www.avastmarine.com/ssc/do/product/mediareactors/Biopellet-Mixing-Nozzle

I don't know how well your pellets are fluidizing, but that piece might also help evenly distribute the flow.

 

[drummereef]

I know its open on the exhaust end of the pump, but are you not worried about some pellets getting back siphoned into the pump impeller (in a power outage, maybe?)? I would think you would want to put something like this on the end of that pipe:

http://www.avastmarine.com/ssc/do/product/mediareactors/Biopellet-Mixing-Nozzle

I don't know how well your pellets are fluidizing, but that piece might also help evenly distribute the flow.

I had thought about that but I got confirmation from a few owners of the Reef Dynamics bio pellet rectors that their's were plumbed open the same way as I made this one, so I didn't think it would be an issue. I need to do some ON/OFF testing to see what happens. The impellers on the Mag pumps are so open it would take a lot of pellets to jam it up but I'll test it and see what happens. Thanks for the heads up Alex.

 

[drummereef]

UPDATE:


Further progress made on the fuge build...


I had to address some issues with the room before I move forward with the plumbing. Originally when I built the room I had the HVAC company install a return air vent near the floor towards the back of the room when I installed our whole house HVAC system. Unfortunately with the new plans it was going to be behind the stock tank. I wanted access to the grill in case I would need to replace it at some point, so moving it was at the top of the list.

Here's the original placement of the return air vent in the sump room.

Luckily I didn't need to move the sheet metal to make this work. The HVAC company originally ran the pipe near the ceiling where the new vent will be installed. There were panels of sheet metal below the pipe assembly that were already taken off in this pic. You will see them below. Those panels directed the flow up from the vent to the intake near the ceiling.

Behind the wall there was also a 2x4 directly where the plumbing will come through the wall. This also would need to be addressed. You can see the sheet metal on the left that was attached to the wall to create the original vent.

This is about to get real. :lol:

Using the circular saw I cut out the 2x4 leaving enough area to plumb the stock tank through the wall. I had to finish the cut with a hand saw since the circular saw wouldn't cut the whole depth of the 2x4.

Then I framed in the opening with new lumber leaving enough room to plumb the stock tank.

New vent opening cut. You can see the sheet metal from the vent pipe is directly behind the wall where new opening was cut.

Vent cover installed. I also gave it a fresh coat of spray paint since it was looking a little rusty before I re-installed it.

To be continued... :fish1:

 

[drummereef]

Here's a little tip for anyone that needs a quick drywall repair. It works best on small repairs but I will be covering the area behind the stock tank with FRP so there's not really a need to brace a larger piece like this.


Again, here's the opening that needs to be repaired.

First, cut a piece of drywall that is ~2" larger than the opening to be repaired.

Next, draw the actual size of the opening on the back of the piece of drywall. As you can see there is roughly 1" of overlap around the perimeter of the piece.

Then using a utility knife and straight edge, trace the lines with the blade.

Then, as if you were cutting new drywall, snap the drywall on the cut lines. Again, this is done from the back of the drywall.

Now, carefully remove the back of the drywall leaving the paper face intact. Continue until all sides have been removed leaving the 1" strip of the paper face all the way around the patch.

Typically I would use mud to adhere the patch to the wall. But in this case since I'll be covering it with FRP, I used some spray adhesive to install it. Here's what the finished patch looks like.

To be continued... :fish1:

 

[drummereef]

And finally... Originally I was set on using cinder blocks to raise the stock tank, but after doing some careful measuring and seeing that the basement floor drops ~1/2" towards the wall behind the stock tank I though it would be best to build something. This time I went all black since it's a free-standing platform, not attached to the walls. I want it to be more of an accent in the room versus a part of the room. It's built with 2x6 and 2x4 lumber topped with 3/4" finished side ply. The top is laminated with the same black laminate that I used on my other projects, just some scrap I had leftover. And the rest painted semi-gloss black to match. I will eventually put black vinyl base molding around the bottom to water proof it from spills.

110galreef will surely get a kick out of this one. :lol: :beer:

 

[drummereef]

OK Alex, I did some testing on the bio pellet reactor... I did a water change so most of the return section of the sump was drained during the change - the section where the reactor is placed. Amazingly, the reactor did not back siphon or drain, not even one drop. The entire reactor held water all the way to the lid. Even the bubbles on the intake screen stayed put. I'm guessing, since it's a closed system plumbed to the manifold, which is higher than the reactor that it was able to hold water without draining. Almost like when you hold your finger on a straw full of water. The effluent also was submerged since it's in the skimmer section that doesn't drain when I'm doing a water change. So no back-siphoning or burping at all.

 

[Taqpol]

Cool! Do you get good fluidizing with that nozzle as well?

 

[110galreef]

False advertising!!

False advertising!!

And finally... Originally I was set on using cinder blocks ............. I though it would be best to build something.
110galreef will surely get a kick out of this one. :lol: :beer:

Those are some of the smoothest black'st NON cement material cinder bloacks I have ever seen!:lolspin:

Looking good!

 

[Snakebyt]

just started reading this thread a couple days ago, awesome journey, thanks for sharing.. and im just gonna let you know.. i will be stealing some of your ideas when setting up my new 75 gallon.

 

[v1...rotate]

Hi Brett,

Great fish room!!! Wish I had something like that.

Two questions,
Have you got any pics of how you made the skimmer stand from egg crate? I might try using that method.

Also, does your skimmer have little rubber legs on it or is the base completely flat? Just wondering how it sits on the egg crate?

Thanks

 

[canyousee]

looks great, and no one who has followed this thread for more than one day believed you where going to put cinder blocks in that fish room lol. thanks for sharing

 

[Reefahholic]

Brett, I love the new stock tank! Good looking base too.

I just noticed your Halides are on a rail system. Is it the same on both sides that way you can slide the lights back to get into the tank?

If so, that is sweet!



I seen one thing your missing in that fish room. One lazy boy recliner or a nice comfy computer chair on rollers!

 

[screename116]

Very nice set up, I like the less is more look with the rock.

 

[drummereef]

Cool! Do you get good fluidizing with that nozzle as well?

Yes, actually better than the original design of the reactor. It's very even. Looks pretty much the same as the reef dynamics videos on youtube. If my computer cooperates, I'll upload a quick iPhone vid of the pellets in action.

Those are some of the smoothest black'st NON cement material cinder bloacks I have ever seen!:lolspin:

Looking good!

Hahahahahahahahahaha!! Thanks 110g.

just started reading this thread a couple days ago, awesome journey, thanks for sharing.. and im just gonna let you know.. i will be stealing some of your ideas when setting up my new 75 gallon.

And thank you snakebyt.

Hi Brett,

Great fish room!!! Wish I had something like that.

Two questions,
Have you got any pics of how you made the skimmer stand from egg crate? I might try using that method.

Also, does your skimmer have little rubber legs on it or is the base completely flat? Just wondering how it sits on the egg crate?

Thanks

Thanks so much Andrew. Your tank is an inspiration to us all! I don't think I did a tutorial on how to make one but it's really simple. I just took some wire cutters and cut the eggcrate base and legs to size, sanded the rough edges, and used super glue to hold it all together. Very easy. The skimmer stand has a center leg for support as well, otherwise it would probably sag from the excess weight. My skimmer is just flat acrylic on the bottom, no rubber feet, so it sits very flat on the eggcrate. Here's the best pic I have so hopefully you'll get a better idea of what it looks like.

looks great, and no one who has followed this thread for more than one day believed you where going to put cinder blocks in that fish room lol. thanks for sharing

Hahahaha! I swear I was really going to use cinder blocks, really!

Brett, I love the new stock tank! Good looking base too.

I just noticed your Halides are on a rail system. Is it the same on both sides that way you can slide the lights back to get into the tank?

If so, that is sweet!



I seen one thing your missing in that fish room. One lazy boy recliner or a nice comfy computer chair on rollers!

Hahahaha. The recliner is on the front side of the tank. Yes, the rail system is the same on both sides so I can slide the whole rack back when I need to have more access to the tank or doing am maintenance on the lights. Here's a pic from a while back so you can see the bigger picture.

Very nice set up, I like the less is more look with the rock.

Thanks screename116.

 

[drummereef]

Here's a quick video of the bio pellet reactor. Sorry for the video quality, just wanted to post something quick and easy so the iPhone was it. The pellets look like they are churning more than real life because the video is blurring them somewhat. It's more of a gentle stirring. But you can see there's a complete tumble from the bottom of the reactor to the top of the pellets.



<object width="480" height="360"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZhSfUL8Zv98?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZhSfUL8Zv98?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" height="360" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>

 

[drummereef]

UPDATE:


More progress made on the stock tank build out...


Now that the stand was complete, I leveled it up and started to drill some holes in the tank. I used a hole saw to cut the drain bulkheads.

Both drains cut and ready for bulkheads.

2x 1.5" Bulkheads installed. These bulkheads are threaded on the flange side, slip on the back.

Upturned elbows installed.

Next, I needed to enlarge the hole at the bottom of the tank to accommodate a 1.5" bulkhead. I added some blocking to be able to use a hole saw. This way the guide bit has something to drill into while cutting.

Here's the side that will be drilled. You can see the blocking against the tank.

Using the same size hole saw as the drains, I drilled out the new hole and installed the bulkhead.

And finally... These 70 gallon tanks have two ribs on either side of the hole that need to be ground down enough for a bulkhead to seal properly. I used my angle grinder for most of it, followed by some hand sanding with a couple different grits of sandpaper to make the inside surface of the tank smooth.

To be continued... :fish1: