Go Big OR Go Home! Construction of a 1000 gallon System!!

fun stuff. I just finished my sheet rock yesterday and today I have foamed all outlets, cracks, and lamps. I will start the mud soon. And I hear ya on the extra large outlet covers! It's a total ***** to line those things up.

One way I found that works fine is to draw extended lines on the surrounding sheet rock to show where the outlet is, fit the sheet, draw the outlet, and then punch out a small hole withh the claw end of a hammer. I then saw out the box. You MUST be very careful to keep your eyes level with the outlet when you draw your lines....DOH!!
 
jnarowe

Are you putting foam inside all your outlet boxes; the foam called "Great Stuff"? I was thinking of doing this to help reduce the risk of condensation getting in the boxes..
 
good question. I have contemplated doing that but I have a concern about how flamable it is and being able to work on the outlet later if needed. I foamed the backs and around the sides to limit sound transfer. I have one outlet that mysteriously isn't working and I can't trace the problem. If I foam the inside of the box, I would have to dig for hours to get to the wires. I would guess that it is NOT "Code" to foam the inside of the box.
 
I would agree. And I agree on the concern of flamablilty of the stuff. I also have concerns if it would conduct electricity.

I have a few oulets well above the tank, just below the ceiling, for my lighting. And I was concerned about condensation in those outlet boxes. I haven't decided what to do yet about them..

When you say you foamed around the boxes to reduce sound, what do you mean?
 
the best thing that i would suggest is to wrap about 3 layers of electrical tape around the recepticles....and if their is ever a proble with the recepticles it is easy enough, and cheap enough to just change them out....i really dont think that condesation will be accumulating on the recepticles anyhow.
 
if you look at sound charts that show where sound is coming through a wall, the highest concentration of sound transfer is around the electrical boxes like light switches, plugs, etc. Also through the corners is a higher transfer rate.

Electrical boxes are full of holes and generally have none or much less insulation than the rest of the wall. I foamed around them completely to block the sound transfer.

You might re-think the lighting outlets. I know there are many reefers with oulets above their tanks but I just don't think that is prudent. Lamps come with very long cords and between the distance to the ballast and then the distance to the oulet I see no practical reason to have them above the tank.

My outlets will all be on a wall to one side of the tank and they are "weather-proof". My system is a bit different in that I am using an ACIII Pro with DC4HD's which kind of centralizes where I can make my connections.
 
Why didn't you use X-10 with your ACIII pro?

Thats is what I am going to use, and have used on my current system.
 
good question. I guess I don't really like the way the X-10 is engineered. Not that I really know anything about it, but I like using the direct wired method. Originally I was going to use DC8's and figured there was a cost savings there as well, but since I am using 1000W MH lamps that draw 9.2A each, I have to use the DC4HD's. It adds a little to the cost, but I think it will be a more solid system.

Like I said, I don't have enough technical knowledge to really pick one over the other, but I felt that buying all those X-10 boxes seemed like a waste.
 
bstone- I just stumbled onto this thread today, I like to look at fantasies in this forum. Too bad I just found it, I would have loved to been there to help. I live in Southern IN and go to Indy all the time on the weekends. Would love to see the tank in person when stocked. Kill 2 birds with one stone and go shopping at PA some time. Tagging along. Killer tank!
 
jnarowe said:
good question. I guess I don't really like the way the X-10 is engineered. Not that I really know anything about it, but I like using the direct wired method. Originally I was going to use DC8's and figured there was a cost savings there as well, but since I am using 1000W MH lamps that draw 9.2A each, I have to use the DC4HD's. It adds a little to the cost, but I think it will be a more solid system.

Like I said, I don't have enough technical knowledge to really pick one over the other, but I felt that buying all those X-10 boxes seemed like a waste.
Click to expand...

You really should look into X-10 sometime. When done correctly, it has a lot of benifits and works great.

Here is what I bought. The modules are very reasonable and can handle the amps you have. I am using one on my 10amp 1HP chiller, all my lights, pumps, conrtollers, you name it!

220V
http://www.smarthome.com/2021.html

110v
http://www.smarthome.com/2002.html

amp/repeater for your signal - goes on 240v line-
http://www.smarthome.com/4820.HTML

Control Interface
http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merc...&Product_Code=NEP-IM513&Category_Code=Neptune

Well, if you have any questions just let me know!
 
Is there some problem with the way I am doing it?

What would be the benefits for my tank system?

I understand if I was trying to control appliances all over the house but since all the equipment is in one room, it seems fine to me to use the DC4HD's.

I guess the "no new wiring" is a benefit, but since I had to bring in power, and I wanted all the tank specific wiring to be surface mounted, I figure it's not a great expense to put in 5 dedicated 20A plugs tied into a 100A sub-panel.

We have a train set that is DCC so I understand that part of it fairly well.
 
jnarowe

Don't get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with what you are doing. And I am not tring to be offensive in any way!

The reason I bring it up is because you mentioned having to have all you controlled devises wire to your controlled DC4HD. With X-10 you just run all your wirng and outlets as you would without it being controlled and then add the module to what ever outlet you want controlled and thats it. No worries about centrally locating a DC4HD. And you can control up to 30 modules.
 
yeah I got you on that. No offense taken at all. I just need to bounce stuff around to get a better picture.

The nice thing about the DC4 & DC8 is that they can be daisy chained to add devices. As it is, I will have 12 devices to start, which should be fine, and I can add another 8 when needed. I am only using 3 MH lamps and the moon lights will all run off one plug in series. I'll add it up:

3 lamps
1 moon light
1 air pump
1 return pump
2 refugium lamps
2 circulation pumps
2 fans

I will have an independent RO/DI system, QT system1 independent fan, etc. so maybe one more DC8 is needed. I went with the minimum to feel out how it will turn out. I am trying to set up a fairly simple system. I can always add X-10's too.
 
Great looking tank:) I have a question after you used the leveling cement what did you put over that ? what is the tank bottom resting on?
Thanks
Michael
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6226162#post6226162 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by trueblackpercula
Great looking tank:) I have a question after you used the leveling cement what did you put over that ? what is the tank bottom resting on?
Thanks
Michael
Click to expand...

1" Styrofoam, the kind that is white with the little beeds.
 
Using the 3/4" plywood then 1" of cement, and then the 1" styrofoam really leveled the tank and added the support needed for this size of a tank. The cement really doesn't self level, so I had to trawl it with a 2x4, that is what got it level.
 
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