drummereef's 180g in-wall build

[drummereef]

UPDATE:


I've been wanting to upgrade my Top Off and Kalkwasser buckets for a while now, but time got away from me. Finally got some time to work on it so here's what I came up with.


A while back I ordered some really unique fittings for airline tubing from Jehmco Aquatic Supplies. Jehmco has a lot of really unique, and somewhat weird things you don't normally find at other online vendors. These fittings come in a variety of types and sizes. I ended up getting a couple right angle and straight airline bulkhead fittings.

Right Angle Airline Bulkhead Fitting

Here you can see they come with the fitting, rubber seal, and dry side nut.

After drilling the appropriate size hole, the fitting installs just like a standard aquarium bulkhead through the side of the bucket.

Here you can see how the right angle bulkhead works perfectly for the Kalk reservoir. I added a short piece of flexible airline tubing to attach the desired length of rigid airline below. I left the rigid airline about an inch off the bottom of the bucket.

Since I'm using a bucket this time, instead of a "jerrican" style container, I was able to add a much needed float valve as well.

Here are the finished buckets installed. The bottom bucket is the Top Off Reservoir. Nothing changed from the original Top Off install, just a new bucket. The top bucket is the new Kalk reservoir. The Top Off Reservoir is controlled by a Tunze Osmolator, The Kalk reservior is feed by a BRS 50 ml/min Dosing Pump and controlled by the Apex.

The whole enchilada.

 

[slapshot]

Pretty sweet and not even noticable. I see your feed line, is that a manual control?

 

[psteeleb]

Looks great! I love that stacked low footprint design.

You probably will never have a clog issue using a peristaltic pump but you may want to add one of these pre filters upstream of it. My Aqualifter would eventually clog to the point of real slow to no flow without it.

 

[110galreef]

It appears that you are running carbon still in that lone reactor? What kind again? It appears to be a lot? I have same reactor and run ROX.08 and use only 1.5c for my net ~ 300g water volume....
Or is it bio pellets?

Man your layout is so clean. I think the white on white on white/grey makes it look so new and PURE still.

Also what is that little valve coming down by your skimmer pump? pump bleed off??

Man you have a lot of sock in there! haha

 

[drummereef]

Pretty sweet and not even noticable. I see your feed line, is that a manual control?

Thanks slapshot. Yes, the feed is manual off my RO/DI. At some point I will probably add a solenoid controlled by my Apex but haven't gotten around to it yet. But the way it's set up, usually gives me about 3-5 days of run time before I have to replenish the Kalk reservoir. I like the idea of having small reservoirs in the off chance either the Osmolator or Apex decides to freak out.

Looks great! I love that stacked low footprint design.

You probably will never have a clog issue using a peristaltic pump but you may want to add one of these pre filters upstream of it. My Aqualifter would eventually clog to the point of real slow to no flow without it.

Thanks Pete! Good idea on the pre-filter. Dumb question, but I'm assuming it goes outside of the resevoir? Never used one but seems like a solid idea... :strange: Is there any benefit to adding a small pump inside the reservoir that would kick on every once in a while to keep the Kalk stirred up? Or is that overkill for this kind of setup?

It appears that you are running carbon still in that lone reactor? What kind again? It appears to be a lot? I have same reactor and run ROX.08 and use only 1.5c for my net ~ 300g water volume....
Or is it bio pellets?

Man your layout is so clean. I think the white on white on white/grey makes it look so new and PURE still.

Also what is that little valve coming down by your skimmer pump? pump bleed off??

Man you have a lot of sock in there! haha

Indeed - too many socks! :rollface: I'd eventually like to get rid of the two mesh socks from the refugium drains, just to allow pods and whatnot to be able to freely get to the main display. Still brainstorming ideas...

The reactor is running BRS GFO. I had a slight rise of PO4 (very slight) so I figured I'd try running some to see if I could get it back down. I have ~1 cup of ROX0.8 Carbon running in a small media bag - you can kinda see it in the 2nd bubble trap in the last pic.

Speaking of color schemes... I was a little hesitant on getting blue lids for the reservoirs but it's all Lowe's had. Once I got it set up and had a chance to step back, I think it ended up as a nice accent. The lids on the NextReef and the logo on the MP40 drivers are the same color blue, so it looks like I did it on purpose. :lol:

 

[psteeleb]

Thanks Pete! Good idea on the pre-filter. Dumb question, but I'm assuming it goes outside of the resevoir? Never used one but seems like a solid idea... :strange: Is there any benefit to adding a small pump inside the reservoir that would kick on every once in a while to keep the Kalk stirred up? Or is that overkill for this kind of setup?

It's an inline filter so one would think it would normally be outside but I can't think of any reason it couldn't be put it inside the reservoir. For that matter it should work just fine summered, even at the end of your dip tube. Its primary purpose is to filter out any fines that get picked up in your kalc water.

Adding a pump would not be overkill, as you do periodically want to mix the kalk with the incoming fresh water. If you were dumping your RO/DI into the reservoir the action would mix it up plenty but with a slow flow it is possible you wont get enough mixing to keep the kalk water fully saturated as it is replenished.

 

[drummereef]

It’s an inline filter so one would think it would normally be outside but I can’t think of any reason it couldn't be put it inside the reservoir. For that matter it should work just fine summered, even at the end of your dip tube. Its primary purpose is to filter out any fines that get picked up in your kalc water.

Adding a pump would not be overkill, as you do periodically want to mix the kalk with the incoming fresh water. If you were dumping your RO/DI into the reservoir the action would mix it up plenty but with a slow flow it is possible you wont get enough mixing to keep the kalk water fully saturated as it is replenished.

Sounds like a plan. Typically what I've been doing is I fill the Kalk bucket with RO/DI water, add the Kalk, and then stir it up. Then I just leave it alone until the bucket is almost empty and repeat the above steps to replenish. So I'm not continuously adding water to existing Kalk. The bucket of Kalk typically lasts about 5 days until I have to replenish it.

So my question is, over time does the Kalk solution become "weaker" as it sits? If so I would presume using a small pump to stir it once a day a few hours before the dosing cycle would be a good idea in my case - like you said.

 

[psteeleb]

Sounds like a plan. Typically what I've been doing is I fill the Kalk bucket with RO/DI water, add the Kalk, and then stir it up. Then I just leave it alone until the bucket is almost empty and repeat the above steps to replenish. So I'm not continuously adding water to existing Kalk. The bucket of Kalk typically lasts about 5 days until I have to replenish it.

So my question is, over time does the Kalk solution become "weaker" as it sits? If so I would presume using a small pump to stir it once a day a few hours before the dosing cycle would be a good idea in my case - like you said.

it sounds like a recirc pump would be over kill then

it is my understanding that once kalk water is saturated it remains saturated untill diluted with more water.

 

[summitwynds]

Wowie, kadowie! Just beautiful. I found this thread and have spent the past 5 days reading it from start to present. Won't say end because this an amazing journey with more to come. Just a beautiful set up!

I've learned a lot, but would still love it if you would come to my house and set up my new tank. A 58 x 36 x 24 ( or 22) either 197 or 217 gallons with an external coast 2 coast overflow - placing the order this week from Miracles. It will be an in-wall tank on one side, with the other side in my office closet, which will be open. Everything will go under the tank. Looking at much of the equipment you used. Hope you don't mind a few questions.... Do you think a dart would be a good pump for me? Did you trim the opening yet? Sorry if I missed it.

 

[drummereef]

it sounds like a recirc pump would be over kill then

it is my understanding that once kalk water is saturated it remains saturated untill diluted with more water.

Gotcha. Thanks for the good advice as always.

Wowie, kadowie! Just beautiful. I found this thread and have spent the past 5 days reading it from start to present. Won't say end because this an amazing journey with more to come. Just a beautiful set up!

I've learned a lot, but would still love it if you would come to my house and set up my new tank. A 58 x 36 x 24 ( or 22) either 197 or 217 gallons with an external coast 2 coast overflow - placing the order this week from Miracles. It will be an in-wall tank on one side, with the other side in my office closet, which will be open. Everything will go under the tank. Looking at much of the equipment you used. Hope you don't mind a few questions.... Do you think a dart would be a good pump for me? Did you trim the opening yet? Sorry if I missed it.

Ha! Thanks for the kind words summitwynds.

As for pumps, there's a lot of options out there. Depends on if you want to run your whole system including a manifold and perhaps other tanks off of one pump. Also, there's the consideration of going internal vs external but that again is up to you and your system's needs. The Dart, which is a combo Snapper/Dart now, is a solid external pump. Runs fairly low wattage with a lot of output. There's options for DC pumps coming out now that look promising - especially for internal options. Those run extremely low wattage and some are variable speed which is really cool. Just depends on what your needs are, again...

I haven't trimmed out the front yet.. :facepalm: Too may other projects going on. And I'm looking for a unique wood that is either naturally dark, or stains up in a modern/rustic look, in a dark coffee kind of color. Something that has a unique grain pattern and possibly distresses nicely too.

 

[summitwynds]

Im looking at a Trigger 36E sump, so I want to have as much water in it as possible, therefore I would like to do the pump external this time around. Plus I will have room under the tank using that sump, to do an external pump. And yes, I want a manifold like yours! I would have 2 reactors running off it (at least) Bio Pellets & Carbon, and possibly 2 returns(??), I waiting to hear back from Miracles. I like this sump, it looks rugged (compared to my present Aquaeon), and I like that the refugium has its own bulkhead so I can T off a drain and add a gate valve for control to go there, and be able to run the sump with a little more flow. Any comments on this set up would be greatly appreciated. This is my first attempt at plumbing a tank... well, my husband's first attempt and I want to give him the right information.

 

[summitwynds]

Cant wait to see the front trimmed out, what you are looking to do sounds really nice!

 

[drummereef]

Im looking at a Trigger 36E sump, so I want to have as much water in it as possible, therefore I would like to do the pump external this time around. Plus I will have room under the tank using that sump, to do an external pump. And yes, I want a manifold like yours! I would have 2 reactors running off it (at least) Bio Pellets & Carbon, and possibly 2 returns(??), I waiting to hear back from Miracles. I like this sump, it looks rugged (compared to my present Aquaeon), and I like that the refugium has its own bulkhead so I can T off a drain and add a gate valve for control to go there, and be able to run the sump with a little more flow. Any comments on this set up would be greatly appreciated. This is my first attempt at plumbing a tank... well, my husband's first attempt and I want to give him the right information.

Cant wait to see the front trimmed out, what you are looking to do sounds really nice!

Thank you again. I would definitely do two drains and return if possible. That will lower the likelihood of the tank overflowing if one of the drains get's clogged. Miracles is a great company so take heed of anything they recommend for your build. Good luck and when you start post a link to your build thread. I will definitely subscribe.

 

[summitwynds]

Thanks Brett! Yes, I will be relying on Miracles help for sure! I just sent them the deposit.

I did start a thread - http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2233830 - I can GUARANTEE you it won't be as detailed as yours, or anywhere near it for that matter. I know for certain my husband won't want me standing over his shoulder taking pictures of everything he does.

 

[DeepBlueZoas]

very nice build

 

[summitwynds]

oops

 

[drummereef]

Thanks Brett! Yes, I will be relying on Miracles help for sure! I just sent them the deposit.

I did start a thread - http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2233830 - I can GUARANTEE you it won't be as detailed as yours, or anywhere near it for that matter. I know for certain my husband won't want me standing over his shoulder taking pictures of everything he does.

Awesome, subbed.

very nice build

Thanks DeepBlueZoas.

 

[summitwynds]

Thanks Brett! Yes, I will be relying on Miracles help for sure! I just sent them the deposit.

I did start a thread - http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2233830 - I can GUARANTEE you it won't be as detailed as yours, or anywhere near it for that matter. I know for certain my husband won't want me standing over his shoulder taking pictures of everything he does.

I won't be posting in the thread above. I started a new one.... I had to give it a better title than I did. So... here it is: MY REEF TO RAINFOREST BUILD

 

[drummereef]

I won't be posting in the thread above. I started a new one.... I had to give it a better title than I did. So... here it is: MY REEF TO RAINFOREST BUILD

:thumbsup:

 

[drummereef]

UPDATE:

So far I've received 2 of the 4 orders I placed for the LED build. One more coming tomorrow but my ReefLedLights order was delayed because he ran out of the BJB connectors . Should ship either late this week or early next week. But, that gives me time to lay out the design (and get your feedback! ) and work on a mounting panel for the drivers. I'll post pics as things progress.