In-wall 380gal tank - cut out options

[karimwassef]

Has anyone constructed a resevoir stand this large before?

How about using the overflow box as the pump inlet to the skimmer?

Trying a lot of new things here and would rather not go through avoidable errors...

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[Lavoisier]

Yes, I really like the skimmer being fed with the cl (surge) pump. You're saving a lot of head pressure, thus more energy going into water movement. Nice.

 

[karimwassef]

Real progress. Here is the original wall with the drywall removed showing the studs.

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Then removed the studs and added the header, bar and side frame

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and now building in the framed stand

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covering it with pegboard to simulate the 1/2" plywood that is yet to be installed.

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Looking under and into the framed stand:

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[karimwassef]

The exposed areas will be covered with green drywall and the opening will be cut out when the tank arrives.

Top and bottom will be covered with 1/2" plywood (yet to be cut).

 

[110galreef]

Everything is looking very good.

One concern as you have, Is it really worth the headache/worries to save the 4' of head on the surge and skimmer feed pump?

All in all the loss of that extra 4' is minimal. Especially given the entire build here!

Not that it can't be done and the way you have it looks like it should work. But if you go drilling holes and it doesn't work right or 2 yrs down the road a soloenoid/float sticks, etc....

Also I would go with atleast 3/4" plywood top deck and maybe two more cross braces (front to back) on that top frame..... is this just a perimeter bottom tank?

Any concern for the legs straigh down to the edge of that concrete foot? What if that crakcs chips gives way.....anyway to get that leg supported on the wood frame?

 

[karimwassef]

4' is nearly half of my total head from sump to surge. There's no additional holes to drill, but I was concerned about pulling the water out of the overflow box too quickly for the main return tank and surge return to manage. Then again, I should have a higher water level in the tank at all times.

One option was to drill a dedicated overflow hole for the pump feed instead of leaching off the main drain line. That would keep things cleaner.

If anything sticks, there are emergency open drains from the surge to the DT and from the DT to the sump and the sump has a 50 gallon excess capacity to accomodate the surges. I was thinking of adding a backup tank through a higher impedance line to give me even more protection.

The tank is all glass 3/4" and the top is 1/2" plywood and 3/4" foam. I can add a couple more cross-braces.

The concrete foot is between the house framing and the stand framing - no real place for it to chip or break. I can add another 2x4 from the top to the framed bottom.

 

[Lavoisier]

I am looking forward to this continuing build.

 

[LetsGetTanked]

If u don't mind me asking, what software did u use for your mock-ups? They look great!

 

[karimwassef]

sketchup 8 from Google. It's free. I strongly recommend watching the tutorial videos ... it'll save you hours of frustration.

 

[karimwassef]

drywalling tomorrow!

Here are the updated drawings. I separated the overflow box outlet pipes to make them more manageable.

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The sump is now 2' x 2' x 6' = 180g

It is connected to two additional 30 gallon resevoirs providing about 40 gallons of additional buffering. I don't know if I'll need this, but it's available in case I do. The impedance between them is high so this won't help with the surges but may mitigate some emergency overflow events.

The overflow now has 5 separate connections. 3 go to a BA overflow (valved main, slow, emergency), 1 goes to the pump that recirculates to the surge (to tank), skimmer (to sump) and chiller (to sump), and the last 1 is an aux drain that activates when the surges do to provide additional flow to the sump.

The surges have built in overflows that flow into the main tank through the same pipes.

I have a dedicated Kalk bucket in the ATO path that overflows to replenish the sump.

Tank coming in 2 weeks or so.

 

[LetsGetTanked]

Thanks Karim. Your mock ups are amazing and well though out. Please keep us updated with your progress as things come together

 

[karimwassef]

The green drywall is up.
The extra stand supports are in.
The overhead resevoir platform frames are installed

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[karimwassef]

I am thinking of painting the frame with epoxy paint to guard against water damage. It's exposed studs and will remain this way except for 1/2" plywood on top and bottom.

I'm going for the consumer grade stuff used to paint garage floors. Anyone tried the stuff?

 

[karimwassef]

I usually hose down my garage floor with a hose since dust irritates my lungs badly. Tried this last night and the 2x4s on the bottom got water logged until I vacuumed up the water inside and around it. It's dry now but I can see a maintenance issue with lumber directly on concrete (that might get wet).

Since the tank is not here yet, I plan to lift the frame slightly off the concrete and slide a 1/32 flexible plastic sheet under it. Then I'll paint it with the consumer grade epoxy paint. After it dries, I can cut out the excess sheet around it.

I will use this same kind of sheet as a barrier between the tank and the rest of the garage when I hose it down in the future. That'll shield everything up from the ground and the epoxy should shield the stand from the ground runoff.

That's the plan at least...

 

[Lavoisier]

Sounds like a good plan. I've not epoxied my garage floor (yet) but I've seen in done and it not only looks good but keeps everything cleaner.

 

[woodnaquanut]

Looks good. Impressive 'flying stock tanks' !

Are you going to put vertical supports on the long sides of the stock tank shelves? I would be worried about putting all that weight up there and hanging it from ceiling joists. Ceiling joists are usually not over engineered enough to handle that much weight.

It's hard to tell from the pics. How much room do you have above the two stock tanks? Will you ever have to maintain what's in them?

How have you attached them to the walls? Screws, nails or lag bolts?

 

[karimwassef]

The ceiling joists should be ok given that they are only carrying about 500lbs max (2 guys standing side by side). The other 500lbs are carried by the walls.

I used nails, screws and lag bolts all into structural studs or headers.

They are reservoirs only (only water). I have about 3" with these containers but I'm downsizing one of them.

 

[CyclistMT]

Since the tank is not here yet, I plan to lift the frame slightly off the concrete and slide a 1/32 flexible plastic sheet under it. Then I'll paint it with the consumer grade epoxy paint. After it dries, I can cut out the excess sheet around it.

I will use this same kind of sheet as a barrier between the tank and the rest of the garage when I hose it down in the future. That'll shield everything up from the ground and the epoxy should shield the stand from the ground runoff.

That's the plan at least...

Something to think about. If I understand what you're going to do correctly, you won't be painting the very bottom of the wood that comes in contact with the concrete. Although you plan to shield it from water, if the bottom of those 2x4's do get wet, it will just wick up in to the wood from the bottom and will probably never really dry out.

Even if you had to fully disassemble your stand to paint the bottom of those 2x4's, it might be worth the effort and save you from a rotted out stand holding up your 380 gal tank.

 

[karimwassef]

Cyclist - that is why I'm adding the plastic sheet and painting between the sheet and wood bottom. I can still lift the tank and plan to do so while I am painting it to allow the epoxy paint to reach underneath the wood and above the plastic.

So water on the concrete will find the plastic sheet glued with the epoxy paint to the bottom wood. The side of the wood will be painted and contiguous with the paint that is between the wood and plastic.

I would have raised the stand and just put the epoxy paint between wood and concrete but I don't want to permanently bond them. The plastic sheet+epoxy paint should be a good water shield.

 

[karimwassef]

To be clear, the epoxy may sometimes only contact the plastic at the periphery of the wood. But this still keeps the wood dry. In that case I am using the plastic sheet to be the barrier alone.

It's pretty tough stuff and doesn't tear easily, but it could. Then it's a question of chance that I have a small year in the plastic in the exact location where my paint didn't completely penetrate...

Feels like a birth control box... Effective 99% of the time... Lol. I'll have to avoid deluges and put a little more muscle into raising the tank while painting under it.