In-Wall 180 Project
- Thread starter jarhed
- Start date
Psyire
Premium Member
Jarhed,
I just finished reading this whole thread. Very nice setup! I'm in the process of starting my 180 as well and I've been going through some of the same things/situations as yourself. Glad to see you have worked through them so far and things have progressed at a nice rate. Keep up with the awesome work and I'm sure you'll find time to enjoy it soon enough!
I just finished reading this whole thread. Very nice setup! I'm in the process of starting my 180 as well and I've been going through some of the same things/situations as yourself. Glad to see you have worked through them so far and things have progressed at a nice rate. Keep up with the awesome work and I'm sure you'll find time to enjoy it soon enough!
djr2001 said:
Here ya go:
Of course, I'm thinking there will most likely be some changes. Originally, the four switches were supposed to handle the following from the left:
1=right side loop pump
2=skimmer pump
3=return pump
4=left side loop pump
However, after realizing that it's best for me to put the loops on timers, I'm going to move them. I'll probably have to create another small panel with plugs apart enough that I can fit timers in. The loops will alternate six hour intervals with 15 minute overlaps, and be down for about 5-6 hours at night.
The skimmer and return pump will stay on the 2&3 switches. I may use the right side switch for the mixing/filling pump, (a rio 2100) which I'll put in the bin that will go under the stand in the corner. The left side switch may go to a ceiling fan, not exactly sure yet.
Psyire said:
Thanks Psyire!
I'm learning more and more as I go. Found a nice little trail of snail eggs on the back wall the other day. Waiting to see what happens to them. All the extra sand, including the Southdown is dried out finally. I'm waiting to get the rest of the rock before I put them in. The rocks will go in on the right side of the tank, not too high, then the sand will go around it. I want the rocks on the bottom to reduce any shifting.
More pics of sump setup. Lots of cleanup of wires to do as soon as I figure out how I want it all routed:
BTW, Nexdog,
You can see in the last pic the return from the Skimmer. It just elbows down from the skimmer and drops at the beginning of the fuge over the rocks (which you can see in the fuge pic). Here are more detailed (I think) pics of the drain and return from/to the center overflow, and the skimmer return. Pardon the ghetto piece of wood.
You can see in the last pic the return from the Skimmer. It just elbows down from the skimmer and drops at the beginning of the fuge over the rocks (which you can see in the fuge pic). Here are more detailed (I think) pics of the drain and return from/to the center overflow, and the skimmer return. Pardon the ghetto piece of wood.
jarhed said:BTW, Nexdog,
You can see in the last pic the return from the Skimmer. It just elbows down from the skimmer and drops at the beginning of the fuge over the rocks (which you can see in the fuge pic). Here are more detailed (I think) pics of the drain and return from/to the center overflow, and the skimmer return. Pardon the ghetto piece of wood.
Thanks Bro, whats inside the electrical panel itself? I think I might have an idea but do you mind sharing?
No prob!
You mean inside of the big junction box?
The panel itself splits up two circuits I ran into the room. The head of each circuit is on GFCI's (you can see them at the top). The bottom eight outlets (four outlet boxes) are split into two by removing the tabs. The very bottom four outlets are on the switches, while the top outlet on the four boxes are always on.
The top eight boxes are on the second circuit and are always on. The junction box just brings the appropriate wires together. Is that what you mean? Not sure if I can do a schematic but I'll try if you want. That is my first time doing any electrical.
You mean inside of the big junction box?
The panel itself splits up two circuits I ran into the room. The head of each circuit is on GFCI's (you can see them at the top). The bottom eight outlets (four outlet boxes) are split into two by removing the tabs. The very bottom four outlets are on the switches, while the top outlet on the four boxes are always on.
The top eight boxes are on the second circuit and are always on. The junction box just brings the appropriate wires together. Is that what you mean? Not sure if I can do a schematic but I'll try if you want. That is my first time doing any electrical.
Thanks for the pics. Every bit helps.
Just been up the builders today finalising details. My fish "room" is 2m wide and 4m long so not huge. The room will be 5" lower than the rest of the house on a cement pad. That way if the tank breaks, 250g water won't flow into the house but will stay in the fish room and go down the drain. I'm also getting them to install 2 auto (heat activated) fire extinguisher kits above the tank. Building with safety in mind for sure.
Hopefully we are going to start on the footings and pads on August 10th.
Just been up the builders today finalising details. My fish "room" is 2m wide and 4m long so not huge. The room will be 5" lower than the rest of the house on a cement pad. That way if the tank breaks, 250g water won't flow into the house but will stay in the fish room and go down the drain. I'm also getting them to install 2 auto (heat activated) fire extinguisher kits above the tank. Building with safety in mind for sure.
Hopefully we are going to start on the footings and pads on August 10th.
bheron
Active member
Hey Jarhead, nice work!
Are you planning on putting your LR directly on the tank bottom? Are you worried about them shifting at all? I used eggcrate before and am thinking about some other ideas so I dont have to put them directly on the glass.
Also, having them rasied up a bit (like on PVC) will allow better flow. Thoughts?
Are you planning on putting your LR directly on the tank bottom? Are you worried about them shifting at all? I used eggcrate before and am thinking about some other ideas so I dont have to put them directly on the glass.
Also, having them rasied up a bit (like on PVC) will allow better flow. Thoughts?
Boy, I'm an idiot. 
So, I cleaned up the mess of a fish closet last weekend. Had to because after the last topoff water accident, I decided to stop being lazy and get it setup properly.
Saturday night, the feed tube from my aqualifter pump that empties into the sump slipped out. It draws water from a 5 gallon jug. Well, needless to say, when the float switch said "I need water", the aqualifter proceeded to pump every drop out of the jug onto the floor. Oh, and let it be known, pressure treated lumber DOES leak water. It went underneath the carpet at the door to the room. :mad2: Course, when I fill up the 5gallon jug from the RO, I always forget that I left the water on filling the jug, and... yep you guessed it, overflow the jug. Only ONCE did I not do that.
So, I decided to get it done properly. I built a shelf to mount the ballasts up in the back corner closer to the ceiling, then I put an 18gallon rubbermaid with a Kent Float Valve in it to supply it from the RO/DI supply on top of the little corner stand. Then the aqualifter draws from the rubbermaid and feeds the sump.
Of course, I had to make a stupid mistake on that setup also. The pump was to pump RO/Kalk makeup water into the sump, which is about 3 feet lower. Yeah... You know what happened. The rubbermaid wouldnt fill up for some reason..... It siphoned out into the sump. Man. Thats two strikes.
So, I setup the aqualifter to pump the water UP into the overflow compartment of the tank. Gotta set it up permanently, but it's not going to pump anytime soon because I'm waiting for the excess water to evaporate out of the tank. Spec Gravity was only down to 1.023, so it's not too bad. Just dont want to change it too fast.
Pics tonight.
So, I cleaned up the mess of a fish closet last weekend. Had to because after the last topoff water accident, I decided to stop being lazy and get it setup properly.
Saturday night, the feed tube from my aqualifter pump that empties into the sump slipped out. It draws water from a 5 gallon jug. Well, needless to say, when the float switch said "I need water", the aqualifter proceeded to pump every drop out of the jug onto the floor. Oh, and let it be known, pressure treated lumber DOES leak water. It went underneath the carpet at the door to the room. :mad2: Course, when I fill up the 5gallon jug from the RO, I always forget that I left the water on filling the jug, and... yep you guessed it, overflow the jug. Only ONCE did I not do that.
So, I decided to get it done properly. I built a shelf to mount the ballasts up in the back corner closer to the ceiling, then I put an 18gallon rubbermaid with a Kent Float Valve in it to supply it from the RO/DI supply on top of the little corner stand. Then the aqualifter draws from the rubbermaid and feeds the sump.
Of course, I had to make a stupid mistake on that setup also. The pump was to pump RO/Kalk makeup water into the sump, which is about 3 feet lower. Yeah... You know what happened. The rubbermaid wouldnt fill up for some reason..... It siphoned out into the sump. Man. Thats two strikes.
So, I setup the aqualifter to pump the water UP into the overflow compartment of the tank. Gotta set it up permanently, but it's not going to pump anytime soon because I'm waiting for the excess water to evaporate out of the tank. Spec Gravity was only down to 1.023, so it's not too bad. Just dont want to change it too fast.
Pics tonight.
mako56
Premium Member
Just wanted to pass this along. I did something like this not quite as fancy but I ran all (16) outlets through one gif which was working fine until one morning I came home from work and something had kicked the gfi off during the night and all the power was off, NOT GOOD . The next day I put in a outlet box not on the gfi to hook up my return and closed loop pump. Never found out why it kicked off and it has never done it again but I never want to go through that again.
Yeah,
I have all of the pumps on one GFCI, the lights and accessories on another. I may pull the light and accessory GFCI off, but the pumps seriously need to stay on one. Either that or I'll buy an individual GFCI for the four main pumps (return, skimmer, two closed loop), and put the Calcium Reactor, autotopoff on another, then the lights, and fan on their own.
I have all of the pumps on one GFCI, the lights and accessories on another. I may pull the light and accessory GFCI off, but the pumps seriously need to stay on one. Either that or I'll buy an individual GFCI for the four main pumps (return, skimmer, two closed loop), and put the Calcium Reactor, autotopoff on another, then the lights, and fan on their own.
springerhd
New member
jarhed said:
Why are you more worried about the pumps being on a GFI than the lights? I would set it up the other way around, I think I'm more likely create a short with a broken light bulb than to have a pump short out. Is there something I'm missing?
springerhd
New member
yeah, but with most pumps the water and motor compartments are seperately sealed. The odds of water getting through both is slim, but if the GFI trips for some freak reason as they sometimes do, you're tank could be without circulation for who knows how long which will kill it faster than anything.
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