Englishrebel's 260 Gallon System Build

[EnglishRebel]

That's a good point. Maybe I could build an automated salt bucket dump system.
Seriously you make a good point. I do have the two stepper that will take me up where the top of the tank is at waist height. I do need a funnel though as it will be difficult to pour salt from a 5 gallon bucket into a 5" diameter hole, hmm, more thought needed -- anyone got any?

 

[EnglishRebel]

Part 10
More Plumbing (don’t you just LOVE plumbing). :love1:

Here I have started to plumb the RO/DI and saltwater circulation and transfer pumps. I’m still waiting on bulkheads but the idea is that QuietOne 1200 will transfer RO/Di water from the bottom tank to the top saltwater mix and storage tank. The reason I didn’t put the RO/DI tank on the top and use gravity to transfer water was that it’s easier to pour buckets of salt into the 5” diameter opening if there is no obstruction above (I like to make life easy particularly at my age) :lol2:

The QuietOne 3000 pump will draw water from the top saltwater tank and either return it to the tank to provide circulation for mixing purposes or transfer the mixed saltwater to the sump during water changes.
In the above shot you can see the two ball valves that control where the 3000 pump sends the water. To the right it goes back to the tank and to the left it goes to the sump.

The water from the RO/DI unit will be diverted to either the aforementioned RO/DI storage tank, or to the auto top off tank. Here are the John Guest valves that control that.

This is the auto top off tank. It’s a rectangular 16 gallon and it sits on a shelf above where the sump will go so a gravity drain to a float switch avoids any pumps. Now I will not leave the RO/Di unit hooked up to this tank, I will top it up by opening the supply valve as needed. The insulated duct above is the fresh air intake to the Heat Recovery Unit.

I wired each of these switches to the receptacle in the next shot so I can control each pump. It's the same receptacle for both pumps but I cut the brass bridge between the two receptacles on the hot side so they are essentially separately fed (the neutral bridge remains intact as it's a common).

Sorry about the small photo -- I'm still learning how to resize in PhotoBucket.

That’s all for now folks. We’re catching up to where I am in the build so stay tuned for the next episode.

 

[WaterKeeper]

Go back to the small ones Alan. The photo's that are wider than the screen make it difficult to read the text in a post. We are getting so many posts like that that I true off the images when checking threads. Actually, it was only the pic of the line to the topoff tank that gave me a problem.

 

[nmbeg]

question: how does the gravity system for the ato work? how do you stop gravity by a float switch?

 

[nmbeg]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13978682#post13978682 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by WaterKeeper
Go back to the small ones Alan. The photo's that are wider than the screen make it difficult to read the text in a post. We are getting so many posts like that that I true off the images when checking threads. Actually, it was only the pic of the line to the topoff tank that gave me a problem.

resze to 800x600. that keeps the people on little laptops happy and those of us with large screens still dont have to squint.

 

[GlassReef]

You've made tremendous progress, Alan. Some really great work there. I'm lovin' the wet wall. Can't wait to see all the good stuff installed on it.

 

[EnglishRebel]

WK
Sorry about that. I posted on RC and was advised to go with 1024x768. I will make sure the next batch is 800x600. I guess I went from one end of the spectrum to the other (and you understand spectrums don't you).
Tom
Thanks for the congrats.
nmbeg It's hooked up to a Kent float switch. You'll see that in Part 11. Thanks for the advice on picture size.

 

[GlassReef]

BTW - what are you using for your labeling- especially the black numbers, with transparent background, on the water tanks.

Thanks

 

[EnglishRebel]

Part 11
More Plumbing (does it ever end )

I am starting to install the QT tank and its associated equipment. I purchased a Pentair UV sterilizer.

A Fluval canister filter.

And a QuiteOne 1200 pump to circulate the water through the sterilizer and to provide additional circulation in the tank. The tank is acrylic and measures 24” long x 18” wide x 18” deep. It was made for me by Frank Wilson who owns Reef Concepts. Franks been making skimmers and calcium reactors for years. Here I have made a temporary set up to determine where everything goes.

After I was satisfied everything was okay I dismantled everything and painted the bottom, rear and sides with blue Krylon Fusion.

I ordered a Finnex 300 watt heater and controller Finnex Heater but that hasn't arrived yet. The water is in and circulating and apart from a small drip from the front O ring on the pump, everything is water tight. I’ve taken the front off that pump about half a dozen times and checked the O ring but it looks okay and it still leaks.
There is a certain amount of movement (very small) in the front plastic housing that the hose barb screws into (which has the aforementioned O ring) and if I put a little downwards pressure on the connection, the drip stops.
Anyone got any ideas. The other 1200 RO transfer pump and the 3000 do not leak so maybe I have a defective O ring.
In this last shot you can see the drain piping under the shelf. When the QT tank is not being used I can dump up to 20 gallons into it from a valved connection on the main tank gravity return when doing a water change. I will add some graduation marks on the front of the tank so I can see how much water I am changing. that main tank gravity return piping will be done later.

Next time I start work on the sump and associated piping, so it’s (guess what) MORE PLUMBING.

 

[EnglishRebel]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13981897#post13981897 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by GlassReef
BTW - what are you using for your labeling- especially the black numbers, with transparent background, on the water tanks.

Thanks

I have a Brother Ptouch labeler. Here's their latest model (mine's about ten years old). Brother Ptouch It's a good deal at around $30. If you get one make sure you get one with a transformer as mine uses 6 AA batteries :eek2: You can get one from Office Depot or Staples.

 

[wmilas]

The water is in and circulating and apart from a small drip from the front O ring on the pump, everything is water tight. I’ve taken the front off that pump about half a dozen times and checked the O ring but it looks okay and it still leaks.
There is a certain amount of movement (very small) in the front plastic housing that the hose barb screws into (which has the aforementioned O ring) and if I put a little downwards pressure on the connection, the drip stops.
Anyone got any ideas. The other 1200 RO transfer pump and the 3000 do not leak so maybe I have a defective O ring.

My only advice when everything else fails: Silicone. It sounds stupid but the stuff has been a life saver for me. It goes on easy and you can break the seal if you need to. Lots of people tell you you don't need it and something else is wrong. they are right. However after having done everything and am at my witts end I give up and use the silicone

 

[WaterKeeper]

That might work milas but many times a leaking gasket is because the it is over tightened. Alan try just snugging it up and then give just one extra twist.

 

[EnglishRebel]

WK
It's not a screw fit (the leak is not in the hose barb fitting). On this pump there is a plastic "spool" that has an O ring in a groove around the perimeter. This spool locks into the impeller chamber by engaging three tabs into slotted openings. You make a quarter turn and it locks into place. The leak is coming around the circumference between the O ring and the pump body.
The strange thing is that my heater came yesterday and I installed it. This morning the tank is at 81 degrees and guess what -- the leak has stopped.
Now if the expansion of the O ring with the temperature has fixed the problem then OK, but the pump is designed for fresh as well as saltwater applications, so it shouldn't leak (and my other 1200 isn't leaking and it's on cold water).
I think I'll email the manufacturer.

 

[EnglishRebel]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13982043#post13982043 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by wmilas
My only advice when everything else fails: Silicone. It sounds stupid but the stuff has been a life saver for me. It goes on easy and you can break the seal if you need to. Lots of people tell you you don't need it and something else is wrong. they are right. However after having done everything and am at my witts end I give up and use the silicone

I think I read in your thread about the battle with leaks after using Teflon tape. So far all of my Teflon tape joints are not leaking but is saltwater more "leakable" (if that's the word). In other words will saltwater be more prone to leaking that tap water?
I still have to get some silicone as all the ones I see in Lowes have an anti mold agent which is not good. Where did you get yours?
Thanks and your project is coming along fine. :thumbsup:

 

[WaterKeeper]

Alan, SW is somewhat self sealing if there is a leak. Salt crystals tend the form in the leak area and slowly stem the leak if it is just a drip.

 

["Umm fish?"]

Actually, salt water is less prone to leaking than tap because it's more dense.

I'm with wmilas on this one. On mine, we went back and siliconed all of the screw joints in the entire system because those were the only places that there were any problems. (Damn teflon tape.) I would think silicone would work on a barb fitting as well as it will always still allow the joint to flex a little and keep a seal. If you're going to sislicone, I'd say do it early while it's still no problem to let it sit dry for a day.

I'm certainly enjoying your build!

 

[EnglishRebel]

Thanks guys. I guess the temperature expanded the rubber o-ring and stopped the leak. BTW if salt seals why do we get salt creep from fittings and the like?

Andy
If you get a small leak on a fitting do you have to break it down or can you add silicone to the outside?
Thanks

 

[EnglishRebel]

Part 11 (a)
THE SUMP.
I guess I’m into Part 11 of this build and haven’t even mentioned a tank yet (do I really need a tank or can I just play around with the stuff in my equipment room)? :lol: :lol: I’m still mulling over what to get. Given that the QT tank was my first experience with acrylic and it has a couple of scratches already, I think I'm going to rule acrylic out of the picture.
So it’s down to a custom glass or a stock glass tank. I started off thinking about a Marineland deep tank series (48”Lx36”Dx27”H). I really like the 36” depth (front to back) as it allows a lot of latitude with aquascaping and gives you a sense of, well, depth. Like you’re in the ocean.
I already have a quote from Randy at Concept Aquarium in Canada but I’m going to talk to Miracles Aquariums and Aquariums Obsessed. If anyone has any other suggestions please chime in. The custom will probably be 48”Lx30”Dx24”H with an external rear overflow. I decided to go with 30” deep as 36” would be a problem regarding maintenance without having full access to the back. Same with 24”H versus 27”H, plus I would need more lighting with a deeper tank.
Anyway enough about tanks already, on to the sump.

This is the sump I purchased from Jeff Turcheck of Lifereef. Jeff’s been building sumps, skimmers, calcium reactors, and many more stuff since 1984. He specializes in complete systems and when you open the box there is everything you need down to the Teflon tape and small ¼” plugs that go in the unused tapped holes for a calc reactor and other dosing. I purchased basically a standard LF1-300 system except that I had Jeff provide for a drain in the bottom, an overflow, and a Kent float switch for auto top off.

Here I have started to add the plumbing. The green pipe is the gravity feed from the RO/DI tank that sits on a shelf above, to the Kent Marine float switch.

This is the left side chamber (looking down) with the water inlet pipe and the overflow. From here water flows through the coarse filter pad and into the center chamber.

This is the right side chamber (again looking down) with the second water inlet pipe, the suction connection to the skimmer pump and the skimmer return. The 3/4" pipe you see running behind the tank is the saltwater feed for water changes (more on that later).

Again water flows through the coarse filter pad and into the center chamber.

The tour continues in part (b) so stay close to the tour guide if you please. No wandering off now.

 

[EnglishRebel]

Part 11 (b)
The Sump (the tour continues).
Hope we haven’t left any stragglers behind

This is a view of the front center of the sump showing the return chamber. The connection on the left goes to the suction of the main system pump and the right connection is the return from the refugium. Water exiting the sump flows through the blue filter and into the return chamber. By returning water from the refugium into this chamber copepods have a direct route to the main tank bypassing the skimmer.

Here is the pipe from the saltwater transfer pump for water changes (and initial fill).

This top view of the center of the sump, shows the three cylinders that can be used for carbon, Phosban of whatever else you may need. Each cylinder is fed from a common manifold with individual half union ball valves. The manifold is fed from the main system pump “Christmas Tree”. You can also see the locations for up to four probes. Jeff provides a thumbscrew (the little black thingys) to hold each probe in place.

This is the “Christmas Tree” that sits atop the main system pump. The left hand connection feeds the aforementioned cylinder manifold, the center valve is the main tank return, and the right hand valve feeds the refugium. There is a half union ball valve to allow the pump to be removed for service. I will be installing a similar valve on the suction side.
The clear plastic hose you see in the back is the overflow down to the drain under the shelf.

Next time we have more ………………….. PLUMBING. (what else â€"œ setting up a reef tank is all about plumbing right). :lol2:
Stay tuned to this station.

 

[EnglishRebel]

Avatar

Avatar

In case you're wondering (come on you know you are ) what my new avatar is all about. I’ll tell you a story (a true one -- would I lie).

It's one of only a few images of Hereward the Wake (c. 1035 â€"œ 1072) who was an Anglo-Saxon leader at the time of the battle of Hastings in 1066 when, if you weren't asleep during your history class, King Harold was defeated by the Norman - William the Conqueror (the last time England was invaded).
Hereward went into hiding and harried the Norman invaders for several years in and around the Isle of Ely and Lincolnshire.
He was indeed the first English Rebel. Today I guess you would call him a freedom fighter.