drummereef's 180g in-wall build

[ncox38]

Wow. I just read all 39 pages in one sitting, great documentation. If I could input a little advice, trim the out side of the opening before you fill the tank, while the tank can still be shifted around a little. The wall trim is easy enough to mount when the tank is full, but the trim that returns back to the tank is a little trickier. I wish I would have thought ahead.

 

[drummereef]

Love the conduit solution. Where did you get the green/white/black wires? I may have to steal that.

I ran the RO line at my last house the exact same way, but I had to run up a few walls and through the attic.

I bought all the 14 gauge THHN wire at Home Depot. They were nice enough to bundle them, black/white/green, and cut them to the specific lengths I needed.

That must have been fun routing your RO through the attic!

 

[drummereef]

This thread reminds me of Jurassic Park

:lol: I'm not sure what that means but I laughed out loud. :rollface:

 

[drummereef]

Hey - just read thru entire thread. Wow - very awesome! I was very interested in your sump design as I am in the market for one for a 240G build I am planning. I saws the following post from you:

Headed out to the LFS to pick up my sump this morning. Dave at ART did a fantastic job. Couldn't be more pleased with the build quality. It's exactly as I designed it. And my skimmer fits like a glove. Again the dimensions are 56x22x14 (LxWxH). Skimmer sits in 9" of water and the bubble trap has 2" spacing between baffles. More pics to come in a bit...


Can I get the contact info on where you got it? Love to check into them building something similar for me.

Thanks

Sure, I'll PM you.

 

[drummereef]

Wow. I just read all 39 pages in one sitting, great documentation. If I could input a little advice, trim the out side of the opening before you fill the tank, while the tank can still be shifted around a little. The wall trim is easy enough to mount when the tank is full, but the trim that returns back to the tank is a little trickier. I wish I would have thought ahead.

Gotcha, thanks for the advice ncox38!

 

[drummereef]

UPDATE:


Finished plumbing the RO/DI today. I ended up buying a "Sioux Chief Add-A-Line" full slip valve tee. The piercing saddle valve that came with the RO/DI didn't fit the 3/4" pipe I had access to, and they aren't code in my area anyhow so I went with a more permanent solution.

Here's how I did it...


Add-A-Line Valve.

Marked out on the pipe where the cuts would be made according to the instructions.

Bought a new tool for the job, a Ridgid 1" Close Quarters Tubing Cutter.

Made the appropriate cuts with the cutter tool by tightening the feed knob each time I advanced the cutter around the pipe.

Here you can see how the blade makes quick work of cutting the pipe. And a nice clean cut, no spiraling.

And the finished cut pipe.

More to come..... :fish1:

 

[drummereef]

To tighten the valve to the pipe there are two nuts and two ferrules. The ferrules make a water tight seal.

Nut and ferrules ready for the valve.

All tightened up with the tubing installed, and no leaks!

And for the money shot... WATER!!! :dance:

I'll get some more detailed shots of the RO/DI in a bit. The monitoring on this unit is really cool. I let it run for an hour to flush the system but it was pulling 0 TDS from the startup.

 

[R10]

Wow... It’s amazing how you pay attention for every single detail in your build and patient. I can’t wait to see your tank in the future. Good Luck finishing your build.

 

[erics3000]

:lol: I'm not sure what that means but I laughed out loud. :rollface:

"No expense spared" Top Notch...

 

[drummereef]

Wow... It's amazing how you pay attention for every single detail in your build and patient. I can't wait to see your tank in the future. Good Luck finishing your build.

Thank you R10.

 

[drummereef]

"No expense spared" Top Notch...

Thanks Eric. You know I can be a little slow sometimes. Yes, no expense spared is an understatement. Good thing it's refund season.

 

[Joce]

holy crap! this is intense!

 

[crvz]

Good thing it's refund season.

I'm waiting on one myself. If only I had some plans for it...

 

[drummereef]

holy crap! this is intense!

You're welcome. :lolspin:

 

[drummereef]

I'm waiting on one myself. If only I had some plans for it...

I'm sure you could think of something...

 

[drummereef]

UPDATE:


Finally got around to working on the waterproofing. I installed some Roppe vinyl base around the perimeter of the sump room. I still have to go around the tank stand but should be able to finish that this weekend. So far I caulked all the top corners but plan on running silicone around the bottom where it meets the floor. It's a lot easier to do this now with the sump out, it's really tight quarters on the sides of the tank.


Left wall under RO/DI.

Right wall. Still need to trim the top of the pump riser. I'll do that this weekend too.

 

[R10]

Wow, I can tell that you are a perfectionist person; but don’t take me wrong I love you work. I wish I had the time and the patient that you have to make sure everything is done right at the first time. Congratulation man you build is one of the best on RC.

 

[drummereef]

Wow, I can tell that you are a perfectionist person; but don't take me wrong I love you work. I wish I had the time and the patient that you have to make sure everything is done right at the first time. Congratulation man you build is one of the best on RC.

Thank you R10.

 

[platax88]

I'm a professional musician (drummer). Building projects are really just a hobby of mine. My Dad and Grandfather are/were both closet carpenters so I guess I inherited that gene. :lol:

Ha ha ... I would have said an engineer or something, but drumming is much cooler!

 

[drummereef]

UPDATE:


Stage 1 of the tank build is complete. :beer: In the near future I still plan on adding a remote refugium but I will get the tank up and running first. I completed all the base and caulked it in with silicone. Here's the latest pics of the sump room. Oh, and also finished trimming the pump riser.

Here's the monitoring on the Bulk Reef RO/DI. I'm really liking this unit.

After the RO stage, here's what is coming into the first DI canister.

And after the second canister.

Water pressure is running right around 65 PSI.

Next to come is AQUASCAPING!!! :bounce2: I'm cleaning the rocks right now and should be able to start scaping by tomorrow.