Hex Tank Build

[n2585722]

Here are some photos with the tank in place before water was added.

Below is a view from the front.

Below is a photo with the side doors open. To remove the sump a side panel would have to be removed. The photo was before the final things were added to the sump. There is water in the sump and ATO is temporarily connected using the white 1/4" tube running along the baseboard, There is no water in the tank at this point.

Below is a closer photo of the area where the sump is. I will post more on the sump later.

Below is a photo of the wall plate for the tubing and controller buss. The wall box is sealed and the tubing and buss cable are run through conduit all the way to the box in the garage. So any leak in a tube would leak out the wall box on either end. The conduit with the three tubes carrying liquid is insulated in the attic. This has been in use several years now without a leak or the liquid freezing.

Below is a view of the top. The top of the back cover is just a couple of inches lower than the top of the canopy.

 

[reefing102]

Very nice. Quite the work

 

[n2585722]

Very nice. Quite the work

Thank you, I am pleased at how it turned out.

 

[n2585722]

i added two float switches to the bottom of the stand for leak detection. To mount them I made a acrylic bracket for doing this. Below is two photos of one completed and the parts for the second one.

Below the part that the float switch mounts on is marked for the hole to be drilled.

Below the part of the mount that mounts to the stand is marked for the holes to be drilled.

Below is a photo of a float switch mounted to a completed mount.

Below is one of the mounts with the float switch mounted in the stand. Once the float lifts up an alarm will be activated in the controller. That will shut off almost everthing at the tank besides the two MP10's. There are two of these. One on each side of the sump. Water will fill both sides if there is a leak but this way there are two detectors and hopefully one will catch it if not both. It is a way to backup the leak detection.

 

[n2585722]

Sump Build:

I do not have any photo during the build of the sump itself, but I followed the instruction on Marc Levenson's website to make it. It is a copy of his model F sump for the most part. It is close to the size of a 10 gallon tank. It was the largest I could fit inside the stand. Below is a side view of the sump after it was completed. I think a router table is a must for doing this. All cuts were made with either a table saw or router. The edges that were going to be glued were cut with a router. the edges that were not glued were cut using a table saw. Like on a end piece to a side piece the end piece was cut with a router. and glued to the side of the side piece. Then the excess on the side piece is trimmed using the router flush with the end piece.

Below is the sump in the stand for a test fit. it is about as wide and long as it can be and still fit. As it is you would have to remove a side panel got get it out. It can fit in two positions in the sump. This one happens to be the way it is now. It place where it can be removed without moving the tank in case I have to to that.

I made some accessories to go with the sump. Below is the fan mount. It sits on top of the sump and blows air down across the bubble trap area.

Below is the fan mount with two fans installed.

Below are two photos of the mount for the water level float switches, tubing bulkheads and probes. The first one is a bottom view.

Below is a photo of another probe holder that will fit on one of the plates of the bubble trap for probes that need to be in a high flow area instead of the refugium section.

I also made two corner boxes that sit under the two drains into the sump from the tank. I filled these with bio media when I started the tank. I slowly remove some of the media over time until it was gone. These boxes are not in use now but I still have them if If I ever need them for something. I can place a filter sock under one of these outlets if needed.

 

[n2585722]

Now we get to the sump with the added accessories and mods done. Below is a photo of the drain plumbing, fan mount, float switch and probe mount and corner boxes in place along with skimmer and return pump.

Below is a view from the other side.

Below is a view just before it was set in the stand after all the mods and accessories were made and in place. The probes are in the probe holders for show and are either temp sensors or salinity probes since there is no liquid in the sump for pH or ORP probes.

Below is a side view. The float switches from left to right are low level, full level and high level. The height of these can be adjusted by loosening the holder and raising or lowering the PVC and retightening the holder. The holders were sold as probe holders. The Grey PVC is 1/4" PVC that has a 1/2" outer diameter. The end where the float switch mounts is threaded so the float switch screws in. There is an o-ring to seal the joint.

Below is a photo of a top view. The drain to the refugium has a valve so the flow can be adjusted into the refugium section. The hose with the union comes from the return pump output and connects to the return manifold. There is one 1/4" tubing bulkhead over the refugium. This one is used by the AWC drain pump and draws water from the refugium. The other two on the return side are for ATO and AWC fill. There are three others that are larger that are used for reactors or spares. I had a calcium reactor and biopellet reactor on the tank in the beginning. I took both off line and removed them once I started dosing All For Reef.

 

[n2585722]

Since the previous post had the cooling fans on it now might be a good time to get into the mod on these fans. Below is a photo of the fan wiring at the plug end. I had one fan short out and burn up the speed controller and shut down the 12v power supply. So I decided to add a 2 ohm 1/4 watt fusible resistor to the 12v power to the fan.

Below is a photo with a section of wire cut out along with a resistor and some heat shrink tubing.

The heat shrink is placed on the wire that was cut and one of the resistor wires is cut to length.

In the photo below the resistor was soldiered into place and all that is needed is to slip the heat shrink over it and heat it up.

The resistor part of the mod is completed in the photo below.

In the photo below the blade assembly has been removed for the next mod. This is one reason I decided to use this particular fan is the blade can be removed.

In the photo below the bearing area has been stuff with a piece of paper towel to keep the RTV form getting into the bearing.

In the photo below the RTV has been added to the electronics and coil area. You just have to make sure the magnet inside the fan assembly will not rub on the added RTV.

In the photo below the RTV was added around the wiring where it enters the electronics area. This has been able to prolong the life of the fan to what it would be under normal circumstances. If the salt and water were to get into the elelctronics and short out the fan the added resistor would open up so the only loss would be the fan.

 

[n2585722]

As a follow up I got one of the fans below to try out cooling the sump instead of the fan I have been using. I got this last year in late September so it has not been in use for a year yet but getting close. I am using it they way I got it without any mods since it has a IP67 rating. It has been running since that time without any issues. I do plan on getting more of these but I will wait for a failure to change them out. I got it on Amazon but it is a Cooler Guys fan.

 

[gratefulbean]

Wow. Such meticulous documentation. Impressive!

 

[n2585722]

Wow. Such meticulous documentation. Impressive!

Thank you.

 

[n2585722]

Lighting:

The reason for building this to begin with was to check out LED lighting. Back in 2008 when I decided to do this there were not too many options. So I decided to make my own. I started with two 0-10v LED Drivers from Meanwell. I was not happy with the starting point. The lights would not come on till they had a 1v signal and then it was around 10%. I finally came across someone on this forum that was having some boards made for the Meanwell LED's so I opted in as well for 4 boards. Below are two photos of one after adding the sockets and other components. Each board will accept 6 Meanwell LDD drivers.

Below in one of the boards with 4 1 amp drivers.

The board below is populated with 6 drivers at 700ma f drive current.

This is the original setup on the LED fixture. There were three strings of six LED's There was one row of blue, one row of royal blue and one row of cool white. This did change some before the tank was actually setup. There is also two RGBW LED's and those are in four strings of two. These were driven by 700ma drivers and the 12v supply. The 3 strings that have six in them use the 1a drivers and the 25v supply. The black devices with the two LEad's each are Digital Aquatics moon lights. One is cool white and the other blue. These are powered by the Digital Aquatics MLC module and follow the moon cycle.

Below is the LED fixture from the top in place in the canopy.

In the two photos below is the configuration for the LED's before the tank was setup. Six new LED's were added and the string of blue LED's were replaced with another string of royal blue. Four UV LED's were added between the sets of three. A deep red LED and a cyan LED were added. The deep red was added to the red string of two. The cyan was added to the green string of two. I also added two more moon pods and both are red. This is for if I need to turn on the lights at night. I can turn them on to 100% when I want to see in at night.

Below is a photo of the LED's turned on at a low light level. Not sure why the strips are in the photo. It could be that PWM and the camera scan causes it. At those scan positions the PWM could be off. The Meanwell drivers need a PWM type input signal instead of 0-10v. The Archon I ended up using has two PWM output channels. I also got a AVC module that has 4 outputs that can be configured for 0-10v, 5v PWM or 10v PWM. I have them configured for 5v PWM. That gave me 6 control channels. The channels were separated into red, blue, green, white, royal blue and UV. So the maximum intensity could be set for each of the 6 control channels.

 

[n2585722]

Below is a photo of thr driver board for the four RBGW channels. The power supply is 12v for this board.

Below is the MLC module which powers the 4 moon pods. It can power up to 6 pods with 2 pods per channel.

In the photo below is a AVC module. This is a preproduction module and does not have s label. It controls the RBGW channels.

Below is the driver board fed with the 25v supply. In this photo is a modified board that you can use the 1.5a Meanwell drivers in. I upgraded the white LED's to 3 amp LED's and also used neutral white instead of cool white. I also updated one string of royal blues to 1.5 amp LED's. The 1a driver drives the other royal blue string. The 700ma driver drives the UV LED's since there is 4 of them they are on the 25v supply.

Below is another view of the fixture. The connector above it on the right side is the PWM signals that come from the Archon for two of the channels.

 

[n2585722]

Controller:

Now would be a good time to get into the controller. At first I was going to use the RKE. Here I will go over the original setup. The front cabinet would house the modules and the RKE head unit would be mounted in the front door. To mount the modules I used threaded rod cut to length and a spacer cut at an angle. This set the modules at an angle. Below is a photo of the mounting hardware. The back of the front cabinet already had inserts installed to screw in the threaded rod.

Below is a photo of some modules mounted in this fashon. The modules overlap some. The connections in the back of the modules are for the command buss. So only the front connectors are accessed on a regular basis. The modules are from the top left a SL1, original SL2, SW5 and a SL2v2. The SL1 has a pH, ORP, temp and 2 switch inputs. The SL2 has pH, salinity ( DIN plug type), temp and 2 switch ports. The SW5 has 4 switch port inputs and a relay contact output. The SL2v2 has pH, salinity ( BNC plug type), temp and 2 switch ports.

Below is the RKE mounted in the front door of the stand.

Below is a closeup of the RKE head unit in the door.

Below is a PC4 in one side of the back cabinet.

Below is a PC4 on the other side of the back cabinet.

The RKE was used during testing in the garage. By the time I set it up in the house I had a beta Archon in hand to use. In fact that was one reason I setup the tank in the house at the time I did. It was the start of our hot months and it get hot in the garage. The RKE was ok out there, but I was not sure about the Archon since it was actually a Linux based controller. So once I moved it I hooked up the Archon head unit instead of the RKE. It took me a while to remove the RKE and add a standard raised panel without the hole. DA was suppose to come out with firmware to make the RKE interface with the Archon as a remote display and control but it did not ever happen. I will go into the Archon next.

 

[n2585722]

In the photo below the Archon and the IOE module were added. The RKE and NET module were removed from the system since they are not compatible with the Archon. Besides the Archon has a built in web server so the NET module is not needed. There can only be one head unit on a system so the RKE had to be disconnected from the buss. Below is a photo of the revised
system in the front cabinet. The SL1 module was replaced with the SLX module. That is a newer version where what was an ORP port can be configured as either pH or ORP. It also has galvanic isolation where the SL1 did not. The IOE module is just a breakout box for the inputs and outputs that are in the two RJ45 connectors on the Archon head unit. Each RJ45 connector has 2 switch inputs, one 0-10v output and one PWM output. There are also two other connectors with a 0-10v output in each that match the cables used with the APC module. It also has a network connector but I never used it and went wifi only. It has a USB port but that is for the memory stick. It has a 9v power input. There are 4 buss ports but one of them is for a iTemp probe. It also has two probe ports that can be configured for either pH or ORP. I was able to mount it across the existing inserts so I did not have to make any new holes in the back of the cabinet.

The only good photos of the back cabinet configuration was when it was off. The photo below is one side. This one has the hub module and two PC4's. The hub module splits the buss 5 ways. One goes to one side of the back cabinet to a PC 4 and another goes to the other side of the back cabinet to a PC4. From a PC4 on each side it goes to the front cabinet. One goes to the front. One goes to the canopy. The last one goes to a keystone coupler in the back of the back cabinet. It goes to the wall plate from there then out to the garage where the rest of the modules are at. There is also a 9v input jack on the HUB modules were you can add a 9v power supply if you need the extra power. Since the Archon had it own power supply and each of the three PC4's supply power to the buss extra power is not needed here so it is not connected to anything.

Below is a photo of the other side of the back cabinet. There were 4 PC4's and 5 DP1's in the garage along with a SL2v2 module and a SW5 module. The DP1 is the DA dosing pump module. A PC4 is a 4 outlet power bar. Outlets 1 and 4 have relays and outlets 2 and three have triac's instead of relays.

That is about it for the hardware for the controller when the tank was originally put into use.

 

[reefing102]

Very clean install. Can I hire you to do my cord management? Lol

 

[n2585722]

Very clean install. Can I hire you to do my cord management? Lol

Unfortunately it usually doesn't stay that way once it is in use and things keep getting removed and added. The front cabinet is still ok but now the back cabinet is about due for a rework. For several years using the Archon the modules in the garage where they were just left on top of the work bench out there. Now there is a controller board behind the work bench where it is all mounted now.

 

[n2585722]

Leak Testing:

Before I filled the tank with it in place there was on last thing for me to do.Find out what will happen if there is a minor leak. So I simulated a leak and filmed it. The film is not all that great since I was trying to hold the phone and the tubing from my RO side of my RODI at the same time. The controller was up and running during the test and was also in control of the input solenoid to the RODI so it could shut off the water. It was set to turn everything off if a leak was detected in the bottom of the stand. I don't think there is a lot that can be done for a catastrophic leak except a major cleanup so I concentrated on detecting smaller leaks hopefully before they get to the point of a catastrophic event by detecting them when they are small. Since water is funneled to the bottom of the stand and it can hold water that is where the leak detectors are at. Here is a link to the video on youtube

Hopefully the link works here. I beleive I ended up with somewhere between a half a gallon and a gallon of water in the bottom of the tank doing this. The RODI is rated for 150 gallons per day and the video is about nine minutes long. I was very happy with the results of the test.

 

[n2585722]

Reservoirs:

I decided to use Brute 20 gallon cans for my three reservoirs. They are used for DI, fresh saltwater and mixing. I needed to add some bulkheads but did not want to put any holes in the can itself so I decided to put all the bulkheads in the lids instead. Below are the parts that were used on one of them. All three are pretty much the same with minor differences. The gray PVC is 1/4" schedule 80. The two float switches are mounted in one end and the other is held with fittings I got from one of the online vendors as probe holders. The gray PVC is the same diameter as a standard probe. These fittings when tightened will hold the PVC in place. So the height is adjustable for each float switch in the can. There are some o-rings and a float valve, The float valve is on the tubing that comes from the fill device which is the RODI unit for DI and mix reservoirs. For fresh saltwater it is a pump in the mix reservoir. There are also some various bulkheads and PVC couplings and pipe, The photos are for the DI reservoir.

Below is a photo of the top of the lid with the holes drilled.

Below is a photo of the same lid from the bottom.

Below is a photo with the float valve installed.

Below a 90 degree push connector has been added to the float valve. The containers will go under a work bench in the garage. With the 90 degree connectors the tubing will clear the workbench without any issues.

Below are the parts for the low level float switch.

Below the float switch assemby has been completed. The PVC assembly and probe holder have to be installed. One of the o-rings has been installed on the probe holder. The other o-ring goes between the bottom of the lid and the PVC assembly.

Below the parts have been assembled and the float switch assembly just has to be inserted and adjusted in the PVC assembly next to the float valve.

Below the low float assembly has been installed in the lid assembly.

Below is a photo of the top of the lid after installing the low float switch assembly. I will continue this in another post.

 

[n2585722]

Below are the parts for the full float assembly on the lid. There is a probe holder, two o-rings, 1/4" PVC pipe, PVC fitting that threads to the probe holder and a piece of 1/2" PVC.

Below the full float valve assembly is completed. All that is needed it to install the PVC and the probe holder in the lid. One of the o-rings has been installed on the probe holder.

Below is a photo with the full float assembly installed in the lid.

Below is a photo from the top with both float assemblies and the float valve installed.

Below is a photo with the parts for tubing that goes to one of the ATO pumps to draw water from the reservoir.

Below is a photo of the bulkhead installed and the adapter installed. This pump has larger tubing on the input and output of the pump. I originally used it as a backup but this pump is not in use at this time.

Below is the top of the lid with the 90 degree fitting installed along with the adapter, I will continue on another post.

 

[n2585722]

Below is a photo with the parts for the other ATO pump tubing. There is a bulkhead connector and a 90 degree push connector.

Bulkhead has been installed.

Below is a photo of the top of the lid after the bulkhead install.

Below is a photo with the intake tubing for the two ATO pumps installed. There is a ceramic weight to hold the tubing down at the bottom of the can.

Below is the top of the lid with a RJ45 breakout connector.

Below the connector has been installed. There are 4 contacts left in the connecter that will end up being used at a later time. A RJ45 cable is used to get the signals from the reservoir to the controller board. Then to the correct inputs to the controller.

The other two containers are the same with some minor differences. Below is a photo of the reservoirs in place under the work bench. This photo was taken i little more recently with the dispense pumps installed. The reservoir on the left is for mixing up saltwater. The middle one is fresh saltwater for AWC and can be dispensed into other containers as needed. The one on the right is the DI reservoir for ATO and can also be dispensed into containers as needed.