Englishrebel's 260 Gallon System Build

[EnglishRebel]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14057563#post14057563 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by WaterKeeper
This is a family friendly board and we Don't Allow ANY Concatenation!!!

Tom
If I knew what it was then maybe I would stop doing it (if I was doing it to start with that is).

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14057686#post14057686 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by erics3000
I think I am going to order a RKE. I was hoping to wait until the net module was released. I'll let you know how it works out

Eric
I think I'm ready to make the plunge -- have been waiting on Drew to get his act together and get his up and running.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14058444#post14058444 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by asmodeus
the plumbing is looking pretty slick there young fella

Thanks a lot. I like to do this sort of stuff and it keep me out of trouble (at least that what my wife says). :lol: Oh and thanks for the "young" as I'm not.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14060353#post14060353 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by "Umm, fish?"
Actually, isn't now a really good time to buy stocks? You know, "Buy low. Sell high?" That is, if you have extra money to invest....

Andy
Buddy could you spare a dime -- so I can buy some socks (I mean stocks).

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14060544#post14060544 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tonyf
OK, ... Alan? Where are you? I need my build fix now! How far advanced are you now?
Tone

Tony
More is coming this week so you don't have to go cold turkey. :lol:
I'm waiting for the refugium to arrive today (I'm usually last on the UPS route so I don't expect it until late today). The skimmer shipped Tuesday so should be here next week. Apart from adding a few hoses here and there I'm pretty much caught up. I did order a 150 watt heater for the QT tank as I thought the 300 was too large. Well guess what -- it wasn't. The 150 would only get the 30g tank to 77. Don't forget my equipment room is off the basement and doesn't get any heat (which will be great in the summer as I won't need a chiller). The temperature in the room overnight was 60 and it was only 47 outside. When it gets to 15 or 20 out then I expect the room to get down to around 50.
Anyway, I ordered another 300 Finnex as the 300 I had went in the sump together with a 500 Finnex. That should be enough -- right? The total water volume will be about 270 gallons.
I have been tidying up some wiring on the Aqua Logic dual stage temperature controller. It comes with two cords with connectors on the ends to plug the heaters into. The cords are about three feet long so with three feet of cord on the heaters I had all the excess looped and tied to the PVC conduit with zip ties. I didn't like the way it looked so I cut the cords on the controller to about 12" and rewired them into the controller.
Looks much neater and I'm a neat freak. :eek2:
Will post pictures over the weekend showing progress to date.

 

[plyr58]

The stinking UPS tracking information has said in transit to Greensboro, NC from Anaheim, CA for days. Arg.

 

[plyr58]

Apparently it is coming across the country by mule.

 

[wmilas]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14060353#post14060353 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by "Umm, fish?"
Actually, isn't now a really good time to buy stocks? You know, "Buy low. Sell high?" That is, if you have extra money to invest....

sure.. If stock are going to go higher. Just because they are "cheap" compared to a year ago when they were over inflated doesn't mean they are "cheap". Historically if you look dividend yields, forward earning, and factor in declining forward earning for this recession/depression we are no where done with, you come up with numbers that still price stocks as relatively strong. There is no reason, using historical charting methods, why stocks can't drop another 1/3rd to 1/2. Will they? I have no idea. The possibility is there though.

 

[wmilas]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14061446#post14061446 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by plyr58
The stinking UPS tracking information has said in transit to Greensboro, NC from Anaheim, CA for days. Arg.

I've got 3 UPS packages coming from all over and all of them have tracking information that has been stuck. I just don't think UPS is actually working over the holidays

 

[EnglishRebel]

My refugium and salt are "Out For Delivery" They have been sitting in Greensboro since 12/31

 

[WaterKeeper]

When you guys start ordering livestock on-line you better have someone sitting around Greensboro Triad airport waiting on the plane.

 

[plyr58]

No kidding.

 

[JRF]

yo Alan, lookin good ! You are really going all out ! You say you are a neat freak, so when you come by and look at my new setup....dont laugh :lol: !!! Im filling 'er up with RODI water now so should be full in about 3 - 4 days ( at a fill rate, im guessing, of around 40 - 44 gallons per day ).
Let me know when your tank is going to arrive and hopefully I can help you lug it into the house ( of course you will need more than 2 people ) !

 

[EnglishRebel]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14061839#post14061839 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by WaterKeeper
When you guys start ordering livestock on-line you better have someone sitting around Greensboro Triad airport waiting on the plane.

Refugium and miscelleanous stuff arrived at 2:00. Normally I'm last on their route (perhaps they are reading this thread and don't want to incur the wrong side of WaterKeepers tongue). :lol:

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14063735#post14063735 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JRF
yo Alan, lookin good ! You are really going all out ! You say you are a neat freak, so when you come by and look at my new setup....dont laugh :lol: !!! Im filling 'er up with RODI water now so should be full in about 3 - 4 days ( at a fill rate, im guessing, of around 40 - 44 gallons per day ).
Let me know when your tank is going to arrive and hopefully I can help you lug it into the house ( of course you will need more than 2 people ) !

Thanks Jeff. Let me know when's convenient as I would love to see it set up. Thanks for the offer of help. So far I've got Drew from Aquamains and Frank who built my QT tank (but he's as old as me ). I'm going to explore Drews guys. They deliver and install the large tanks that Aquamains sell and have the lift and suction cups. I'm sure I can work something out with the store as I'll be a regular customer of theirs for LR and fish.
Come on over anytime and see for yourself. Give me a call prior (I'll PM you my number)

 

[plyr58]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14064167#post14064167 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by EnglishRebel
Refugium and miscelleanous stuff arrived at 2:00. Normally I'm last on their route (perhaps they are reading this thread and don't want to incur the wrong side of WaterKeepers tongue). :lol:

 

[plyr58]

I mean its been a whole 4 and a half hours already...:rollface:











Oh, and I have a new toy waiting on me to show off when I get home to it tonight and can take some pictures.:bum:

 

[WaterKeeper]

And an icy tongue it would be. Imagine 2" of freezing rain at Triad.

You already have critters and don't have the plumbing done. Where have I failed thee?

 

[plyr58]

And it's not my RKE either...:mad2:

 

[WaterKeeper]

The RKE won't freeze, at least not due to cold weather.

 

[plyr58]

Alan: I went by Piedmont Plastics out by Wet 'N Wild today to pick up some Weld-On for a little DIY project I am working on. They had everything you could ever imagine in stock as far as acrylic and ABS goes if you need anything.

They also had a C&C machine about the size of a two car garage that made me drool.

 

[plyr58]

Picked this up today. Hopefully I can talk the wife into letting me set it up on the 90, since it will in no way fit under the crappy stand that I have at the moment and will have to sit out in the open or I will have to build some kind of enclosure for it. (One of the reasons that my plans for the 210 call for a 48" stand). It is made by Frank at Reef Concepts and we have used a number of them in our customer's tanks. Needless to say, I am totally stoked.

Next to a salt bucket for reference.

Ok, enough thread jacking.






For the moment.:eek2:

 

[EnglishRebel]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14065904#post14065904 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by plyr58
Alan: I went by Piedmont Plastics out by Wet 'N Wild today to pick up some Weld-On for a little DIY project I am working on. They had everything you could ever imagine in stock as far as acrylic and ABS goes if you need anything.

They also had a C&C machine about the size of a two car garage that made me drool.

Drew
That's good to know. I will drop by the store on Wednesday afternoon. Hope to see you there.
Nice Calc reactor :thumbsup:. Do I need one yet? I won't be getting corals until later this year.

Oh -- and hijack away (to a split - not).

 

[EnglishRebel]

Part 13
The plumbing continues with some electrical thrown in for good measure.

Here is a photo of the Aqualogic dual stage temperature controller. It has two cords for the heaters to plug into and they are about three feet long. The excess cords were a mess so I decided to shorten them to six inches (second photo). I think it looks so much better. The temperature probe sits nicely in the probe rack that Jeff builds into all his sumps. The thumbscrew lets you adjust the amount that the probe is under water.

Here are the two Finnex heaters â€"œ a 300watt and a 500watt. Should be enough horsepower don’t you think. My equipment room stays cool year round (it can get down to 50°F when it’s 20°F outside). This is great in the summer as I won’t need a chiller but it needs some big heaters for the winter months.

Here is the LifeReefugium® from Jeff at LifeReef®. It’s 24x18x18 and the back and sides are black acrylic. The ¾” inlet is fed from the main pump Christmas tree and is connected to a spray bar to distribute the water evenly (the white pipe underneath the gray conduit). The outlet chamber has an eggcrate weir and a 1” drain line that goes back to the sump.

I purchased a lighting timer for the QT tank. It has two outlets for day and two for night. Each pair can be time independently but cannot be on at the same time. The top four outlets are always on. Can anyone help with a connector so I can plug the transformer "brick" in alongside the regular power plug? They always put the outlets too close together to accommodate bricks. There is not enough room so I need something to space the brick out far enough.

I also installed two brackets on the wall so I could have somewhere to put the fixture while accessing the tank. Not was fancy as WMILAS sliding light rack but it’ll suffice. :lol2:

Here I have installed hoses (from Jeff) to connect the Christmas tree with the return piping, the connection to the refugium, and to the filter cylinders in the sump as well the gravity drain from the DT. Don't you love the blue. :dance:

The skimmer should be here next week so we can finish up the plumbing and do a water test. I have made 45 gallons of RO/DI water and two buckets of Reef Crystals salt arrived yesterday (courtesy of Drs. Foster & Smith), so I should be making up some saltwater next week. I will be putting some cured live rock in the QT tank to see what hitchhikers I get. Do you think it’s too early to be doing this as my DT will not be here for another couple of months?
Thanks

 

[plyr58]

I am hoping that the outlets on the RKE powermodules will be spaced out enough to avoid the power brick issue. I will let you know for sure if it ever gets here. Lowes used to sell a nubby power cord splitter that has 2 female connectors on 6 inch leads. (hoped that I described that adequately so that you can imagine what I am talking about.)

This also might work for you:
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=242128-57775-821296&lpage=none

As far as the calcium reactor goes, you should be fine to wait. The nice thing about it is that once you have collected all the pieces, they are easy to install. I am just collecting equipment for my 210 one piece at a time so that I don't finally get ready to set it up and then the wife sees a 5 grand dip in the checking account balance on one day.