reefermad619
New member
Looking' good!
HaleMoana - 210 In Wall
- Thread starter HaleMoana
- Start date
HaleMoana
New member
Looking good so far. Did the drill bind when you were drilling? Sucks about the crack but at least you are uprading
Well, the bit was going in slanted and I mistakenly tried to even it out by pushing harder on the one side to try and help it catch up. Created a small hairline crack inside the glass that I couldn't feel on either side. At that time though I knew it was a goner so I just pushed through and when the bit broke through the other side, it torqued and cracked the glass. :headwally:
I think subconsciously, I wanted to crack it... lol. That tank needed resealing which I was trying to avoid at all costs, plus I really wanted starphire. So it all worked out in the end. :celeb3:
corpse_grinder0
New member
holyshit, I want that office!
HaleMoana
New member
Well, after taking some time off, I finally got motivated again. Wife and I had a baby last year and that took up just about all of my free time... and money. lol
But now that she's 18 months old, it's time to get going on the build again. Plus she has taken a great interest in fish and enjoys my other tank... thanks Nemo!
But now that she's 18 months old, it's time to get going on the build again. Plus she has taken a great interest in fish and enjoys my other tank... thanks Nemo!
HaleMoana
New member
So, just to catch everyone up... I went with a side overflow with an external beananimal. I wanted to go with a side overflow for a few reasons. Number 1 is that I wanted to go with an external overflow to maximize the space inside the tank and achieve a cleaner look inside. Number 2 is that I did not want the external box in the back because I would never be able to reach over it for tank maintenance and aquascaping, etc...
So, putting the external box on the side was the best route IMHO. It still gives me 24 inches of surface skimming (wish it was more, but what are ya gonna do).
Here is the progress so far. The internal smoked glass overflow is mounted apx an inch+ off the side. I'm very pleased with the way it turned out. Don't mind the plumbing in the pics, that is just a dry fit to make sure all the fittings fit into the box.
Huge props to fellow DVRC member, Krikor, for not only building my overflow box for me but the tremendous help installing it too!!! :beer:
Oh, and disregard the mess on my desk... it's not normally like that. :lol2:
So, putting the external box on the side was the best route IMHO. It still gives me 24 inches of surface skimming (wish it was more, but what are ya gonna do).
Here is the progress so far. The internal smoked glass overflow is mounted apx an inch+ off the side. I'm very pleased with the way it turned out. Don't mind the plumbing in the pics, that is just a dry fit to make sure all the fittings fit into the box.
Huge props to fellow DVRC member, Krikor, for not only building my overflow box for me but the tremendous help installing it too!!! :beer:
Oh, and disregard the mess on my desk... it's not normally like that. :lol2:
HaleMoana
New member
Little more progress...
Don't mind the reflection of the biocube, but here is a shot of the rockwork. Looks dingy without any lights over it, but still exciting...
The fishroom is starting to come together. The RKE wiring is still a mess because I am still waiting on a couple longer bus cables that I ordered yesterday. Once I get them, then I will tie all that wiring together nice and neatly. I'll also be redoing that return plumbing.
Bubble King kicking a$$. I am loving this skimmer.
My Sump/Fuge. I screwed up on the bubble trap and made the third baffle (the one all the way to the left) too tall. Can't believe I had such a brain fart when designing the trap. I'll have to modify it some how because it is causing a big waterfall into the return section.
Don't mind the reflection of the biocube, but here is a shot of the rockwork. Looks dingy without any lights over it, but still exciting...
The fishroom is starting to come together. The RKE wiring is still a mess because I am still waiting on a couple longer bus cables that I ordered yesterday. Once I get them, then I will tie all that wiring together nice and neatly. I'll also be redoing that return plumbing.
Bubble King kicking a$$. I am loving this skimmer.
My Sump/Fuge. I screwed up on the bubble trap and made the third baffle (the one all the way to the left) too tall. Can't believe I had such a brain fart when designing the trap. I'll have to modify it some how because it is causing a big waterfall into the return section.
Newbie Aquarist
Reefing is my middle name
HaleMoana
New member
I don't have too much room to add more water, because I have to leave enough room to accommodate backflowed water in the event of a power outage.
HaleMoana
New member
It hasn't been an issue yet, but I'm most concerned about microbubbles getting into the DT. Again, hasn't been an issue yet, but I will keep an eye on it for a few months and see how it works out.
And if I do choose to do so, then all I would need to do is lower the third baffle. First baffle is fine where it is.
And if I do choose to do so, then all I would need to do is lower the third baffle. First baffle is fine where it is.
HaleMoana
New member
38" from floor to bottom of tank.
Much higher than normal, but because of the desk on the other side of the wall, I had specific height requirement. Couldn't have been much lower or the desk would've covered the bottom of the tank.
I have a 3 step stepladder which allows me to reach the sandbed.
Why do you ask?
Much higher than normal, but because of the desk on the other side of the wall, I had specific height requirement. Couldn't have been much lower or the desk would've covered the bottom of the tank.
I have a 3 step stepladder which allows me to reach the sandbed.
Why do you ask?
I'm getting ready to frame the section for my inwall. I was looking at putting mine somewhere in the 45"-46" range. However from everyone I've seen with inwalls that seems to be higher than all of them. The tank will be partially in front of a couch which is 39-40" high in itself. There will be bar stools not to far away from the open end and the bar height will be at 42".
Maybe 45-46" is too high? I may drop it to 42-43"
HaleMoana
New member
What's nice about building your own wall is that you can make the height whatever you want.
A couple things to consider... Accessing the inside of the tank for maintenance, frags, etc... If the tank sits too high, it might be difficult to get your hands down to the sandbed. You'll certainly need a ladder or step stool with at least three steps.
How high is the ceiling in your fish room? Will there be enough room for your lighting, etc...?
Centering the tank on the finished side. You want the tank to be centered and looking naturally on the finished side. For example, you don't want the tank up near the ceiling. I knew exactly what desk I was getting, so I knew how high it was going to be against the wall. I then basically split the difference and centered the tank between the desk and ceiling (more or less).
How high are your ceilings? Having higher ceilings gives you the luxury of raising the tank higher if you had to. Go to another wall in your house that as the same ceiling height and use masking tape to outline where the tank will be. Step back and see how it looks. Maybe even leave it there for a few days and see what you think about the height. Good luck. Start a build thread so we can follow along.
A couple things to consider... Accessing the inside of the tank for maintenance, frags, etc... If the tank sits too high, it might be difficult to get your hands down to the sandbed. You'll certainly need a ladder or step stool with at least three steps.
How high is the ceiling in your fish room? Will there be enough room for your lighting, etc...?
Centering the tank on the finished side. You want the tank to be centered and looking naturally on the finished side. For example, you don't want the tank up near the ceiling. I knew exactly what desk I was getting, so I knew how high it was going to be against the wall. I then basically split the difference and centered the tank between the desk and ceiling (more or less).
How high are your ceilings? Having higher ceilings gives you the luxury of raising the tank higher if you had to. Go to another wall in your house that as the same ceiling height and use masking tape to outline where the tank will be. Step back and see how it looks. Maybe even leave it there for a few days and see what you think about the height. Good luck. Start a build thread so we can follow along.
The ceiling height will be around 7'5". It is in my basement so I really have no other room to compare it to. What is nice is that I'm only do about 1/4 of the basement, so the backside of the tank area is going to be wide open. I'm building my own standing so getting into it should not be an issue, as I can build steps next to it if needed.
I think I want the tank at a "standing" view. So people observe the tank while standing in front of it. Or it can be viewed from a bar stool (30").
I did start a build thread on my Local reef page:
Here
I let everyone know this build will take some time as I only get a few hours a week to work on the basement, plus I have a monthly budget so I can only buy a few things at a time. Thanks for your input!
I think I want the tank at a "standing" view. So people observe the tank while standing in front of it. Or it can be viewed from a bar stool (30").
I did start a build thread on my Local reef page:
Here
I let everyone know this build will take some time as I only get a few hours a week to work on the basement, plus I have a monthly budget so I can only buy a few things at a time. Thanks for your input!
piper2013
Member
Lookin great - I appreciate the pics of the setup in back. Trying to follow the flow from overflow- the skimmer tank looks slightly lower in the pic than the fudge. Is there a baffle after the skimmer pump to gravity-feed the fuge? Can't quite figure out from the pic what all the PVC is for in that tank just after the pump feeding the skimmer. Thanks - tagging along - learning a lot.
ravi197699
Member
beautiful build very nice set up i am trying to do very similar but my wife is on my case lol i am tryng to convense her to letme do it but case is pending
HaleMoana
New member
I'll see if I might be able to get a better pic of the skimmer section.
But here's what's going on in there... The vertical 1.5" pipes are the drains from my beananimal that pour right next to the skimmer. That water than flows over a baffle where I have 2 standpipes. The main (and higher) standpipe is 2" and actually goes through the baffle with a bulkhead back through the skimmer section, then to another bulkhead out the side of the tank just under where the bean is actually pouring. I had to plumb it that way due to the very minimal space I have. The 2" line than runs along the back of the fuge and dumps downstream just before the return section, theoretically bypassing the fuge.
The second standpipe after that baffle is 1.5" and comes right out the side and goes into the front of the fuge. This standpipe is lower than the main 2" standpipe, but you might be able to see that I have a ball valve on in it just before it dumps into the fuge. This allows me to control the flow through the fuge. I can dial it back to a small flow without compromising the entire system because I have that second main 2" standpipe slightly higher.
Difficult to try and explain with type, but does that make sense? The skimmer is sitting in a 40 breeder which is slightly higher than the fuge.
