Haugen's Reef - 190g
- Thread starter thorsen
- Start date
bbehring
New member
I'm interested to see how you cover the steel cables and connections! I do love the motorized lift idea. Hey in the vid, did your wife lift the canopy too high? It seems right when you cut the video off, you were yelling to cut the power as the hood was streaking towards the ceiling?
thorsen
New member
bbehring: yes, you were very perceptive to pick up those first yells at the end. That was right before I dropped the camera to race across the room and try to save my tank. My wife did lift the canopy too high, and we nearly made a video of my canopy crashing onto my brand new tank. 
She made me cut the video short to spare the viewers. In the end, though, the damage was minor and easily repaired. I have a switch that will shut off the winch when the canopy reaches a certain height that I am installing to avoid future disasters.
jgs107: I was also going to build my own overflow box but then I found the site selling the overflow I ordered. The link is:
http://www.austinoceans.com/
They will make any size you want. Mine is 36" x 3 1/4 x 4 3/4. I wanted it as narrow and thin as possible. I can't remember the exact price but it was a lot -- around $250, I think. It is very well made, though, and I think worth it, especially when compared to the overflows the tank came with.
She made me cut the video short to spare the viewers. In the end, though, the damage was minor and easily repaired. I have a switch that will shut off the winch when the canopy reaches a certain height that I am installing to avoid future disasters. jgs107: I was also going to build my own overflow box but then I found the site selling the overflow I ordered. The link is:
http://www.austinoceans.com/
They will make any size you want. Mine is 36" x 3 1/4 x 4 3/4. I wanted it as narrow and thin as possible. I can't remember the exact price but it was a lot -- around $250, I think. It is very well made, though, and I think worth it, especially when compared to the overflows the tank came with.
melev
Well-known member
This is coming along nicely. Regarding the overflow and returns, I know you are still working on it but are you open to suggestions currently or are we past the point of no return yet?
Did you take apart the check valve to see what makes it tick?
That winch is crazy (in a good way). Your canopy looks very heavy with the battery on there and the ballasts. It should be very interesting ot see how your controller raises and lowers it, and hopefully we'll see that on video as well.
Did you take apart the check valve to see what makes it tick?
That winch is crazy (in a good way). Your canopy looks very heavy with the battery on there and the ballasts. It should be very interesting ot see how your controller raises and lowers it, and hopefully we'll see that on video as well.
thorsen
New member
melev: Glad to have a post from you on my thread. I'd hate to scrap all the plumbing I have and start fresh, but yes, I'm open to suggestions. Your questions are penetrating, which makes me a bit nervous about my plans, but they are just the sort of questions I'm looking for.
The check valve is a swing valve, but I assume that your question is regarding whether or not there is any metal inside. They told me when I called that it was salt water resistant, but in retrospect, I was a fool not to ask more specific questions. I've peaked inside, and it all looked plastic, but I studied it with a flashlight tonight, and it looks like it might be metal-coated in plastic
I could just take the front off, but if I need to send it back I don't want to mess with it much. I'll call tomorrow to confirm what is inside the thing.
Please suggest away on the rest. I have what I think are some pretty good ideas, but it is hard to describe them and will be much easier to explain with photos when I reach that point.
The check valve is a swing valve, but I assume that your question is regarding whether or not there is any metal inside. They told me when I called that it was salt water resistant, but in retrospect, I was a fool not to ask more specific questions. I've peaked inside, and it all looked plastic, but I studied it with a flashlight tonight, and it looks like it might be metal-coated in plastic
I could just take the front off, but if I need to send it back I don't want to mess with it much. I'll call tomorrow to confirm what is inside the thing. Please suggest away on the rest. I have what I think are some pretty good ideas, but it is hard to describe them and will be much easier to explain with photos when I reach that point.
melev
Well-known member
What I'm thinking regarding the plumbing is to eliminate that huge check valve. That thing belongs on a submarine or an oil derrick out here in Texas. 
'Resistant' isn't quite a good a guarantee as I would want. I'd probably pull it apart to see what all is inside, and if I didn't like what I saw, it would be returned.
What I would probably do in your case is get a few more bulkheads (or Uniseals) that match the ones in the base of the tank (same diameter). Get some PVC pipe that fits the bulkheads (and/or UniSeals) and spray paint them black with Krylon Fusion. Insert those through your new overflow box and down into the bulkheads at the base of the tank.
In that way you have your drains going straight down, and you have returns that are plumbed up and out of the overflow where you can drill a few siphon breaks.
You would see four rising pipes unfortunately, but black will help make them less visible, especially if you decide to put a black backing on your tank one day. Clear acrylic tubing would work as well, but it would grow coralline in no time and become ugly internally, similar to seeing someone's overflow area through the back wall of the tank. White would be ugly. If you really hate seeing the pipe, you could affix two pieces of black acrylic in front of the two sets of pipes, securing them in some manner. That would keep the PVC out of sight.
Another option, which is really out there, is to reduce it to two drains only and seal the other bulkheads off. Then have your returns rise up behind the tank directly behind the drain pipes, which would kind of hide them when looking at the tank head on. The returns would come up over the back of the tank and into the water, with anti-siphon holes drilled of course.
'Resistant' isn't quite a good a guarantee as I would want. I'd probably pull it apart to see what all is inside, and if I didn't like what I saw, it would be returned.What I would probably do in your case is get a few more bulkheads (or Uniseals) that match the ones in the base of the tank (same diameter). Get some PVC pipe that fits the bulkheads (and/or UniSeals) and spray paint them black with Krylon Fusion. Insert those through your new overflow box and down into the bulkheads at the base of the tank.
In that way you have your drains going straight down, and you have returns that are plumbed up and out of the overflow where you can drill a few siphon breaks.
You would see four rising pipes unfortunately, but black will help make them less visible, especially if you decide to put a black backing on your tank one day. Clear acrylic tubing would work as well, but it would grow coralline in no time and become ugly internally, similar to seeing someone's overflow area through the back wall of the tank. White would be ugly. If you really hate seeing the pipe, you could affix two pieces of black acrylic in front of the two sets of pipes, securing them in some manner. That would keep the PVC out of sight.
Another option, which is really out there, is to reduce it to two drains only and seal the other bulkheads off. Then have your returns rise up behind the tank directly behind the drain pipes, which would kind of hide them when looking at the tank head on. The returns would come up over the back of the tank and into the water, with anti-siphon holes drilled of course.
thorsen
New member
Hmm, I'll have to mull those options over. I've thought of a lot of possibilities, but in short, I don't want to put anything on the back of the tank because that would block one of the views as well as the natural sunlight. Also, the aesthetics of the overflow are very important to me, and I don't want four pipes running up the back, or have any pipes outside the tank.
I'm not sure why I would spraypaint PVC black, because black PVC doesn't cost that much more.
I know that giant check valve is less than ideal, but I'm not sure how else to go about it and have only two pipes running up the back. You're certainly right -- it does look like it belongs on an oil rig rather than on an aquarium
I'm not sure why I would spraypaint PVC black, because black PVC doesn't cost that much more.
I know that giant check valve is less than ideal, but I'm not sure how else to go about it and have only two pipes running up the back. You're certainly right -- it does look like it belongs on an oil rig rather than on an aquarium
saltyfishy123
WYSIWYG
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12616626#post12616626 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by thorsen
tbone28 - I debated between the SM250 and the Deluxe 250 and ended up getting the Deluxe. Here is a picture of it fresh out of the box. The package arrived right before we left for church, and I convinced my wife to pose by my new BK
CAN I HAVE A FRAG?! :smokin:
melev
Well-known member
Krylon Fusion paint is sold at Walmart, and is made for plastics. You can spray paint it gray instead if you like that better. Let it cure for 24 hours before submerging it in water.
When I had to do that, I put blue masking tape on the ends where it was to be glued to keep that area clean and paint-free.
I wasn't sure what you were going to do with the back, although you indicated you'd want to view it and have some access. It was just a suggestion in case you'd changed your mind about that.
bbehring
New member
Salty, Krylon Fusion paint is the way to go on PVC. I painted all my exposed closed loop PVC in the back of my tank with black krylon fusion. Worked great! I actually plumbed first, then painted. I painted the back of my tank black so there weren't any issues with overspray. I did mask off my stand. The Krylon is extremely durable. I also have an intake strainer and dischard piece of PVC that is painted black krylon inside the tank. Both applications have stood the test of time. Works like a charm!
thorsen
New member
I got some time to work on my tank this weekend and plumbed in the overflow and fired up all the lights. I'm pleased with the overflow. The angles at the base are because the tank was predrilled, and I wanted the overflow to fit under the eurobracing so nothing could fall into it such as a snail or fish. The overflow is creature safe, which is a nice feature, I think. In order to access the overflow, I placed unions at the base so the entire structure can be removed if I need to work on something. There will be gate valves beneath the tank that can be closed in order to do this.
I lights are a little yellow, but I think the T5's do a pretty good job of balancing it, and overall, I like the color.
I lights are a little yellow, but I think the T5's do a pretty good job of balancing it, and overall, I like the color.
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InsaneClownFish
New member
Very nice... Are you going to cover the overflow piping?
Are you going to cover the overflow piping?InsaneClownFish
New member
The Calfo style overflow inset looks pretty sharp.
