Jacob's 360 Gallon Build

CHEMICAL TESTS
.ammonia
.nitrite
.nitrate
.ph
.alkalinity is also known as ''kh,''
.calcium
.strntium
.lodine
.phosphate
.copper
I will perform the following tests: for a flat fee of 10.00 dollas
and take measurements, and pinpoint and ajust for optimal coral growth for the healthy aquarium
 
Posted a couple of blog updates today, nothing mind blowing. Just for kicks I put some pump data for sequence pumps into my pump calculator program (I use this for work) and modeled my system on it, posted some info about that... yada yada..

http://www.dinardiengineering.com/blog/


Bryan - I have sketches for you, when can I drop them off?
 
Jake - How many significant digits does the specific gravity take? It shows 1.03 but I wonder how much your numbers would vary from 1.020 to 1.030 for example.

Scott
 
It accepts (and calculates on) as many sig. digits as you enter but displays only 2. The difference in the total system head varies by about as much as the difference between the values, in your example a little less than 1%.

Most pump curves are accurate to +/- five percent due to manufacturing tolerances of the pump parts, the motor, electrical frequency variances, etc...

To calculate the flow out to the tenths is really pointless (but I do it anyway), you could never pick a centrifugal pump off the shelf and expect it to be that close. To get flow control that accurate it requires the use of other instrumentation such as a flow meter and control valve, or flow meter and VFD to control the motor speed.
 
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Been awhile since I've done any work on the tank or updated this thread. I'm getting ready to tackle the project again.

Equipment wise I'd say I'm about 95% complete. Construction wise probably about 30%. Then there's still the matters of live rock, sand, etc...

So I'm going to be focusing on getting the stand and canopy complete. I'll be working on the stand first. Instead of doors I'm planning on removable panels held in place by magnets (McMaster 1745A15).

I'm going to take some advice from CTripi and make the door panels from MDF, then seal and paint them. To prevent the edges from getting banged up I'm planning to trim them with hardwood. Everything will be flush on the outside of the stand. Everything needs to be airtight for my air exchange system to work efficiently so I'm going to weather strip around all 4 sides of the panel openings on the stand.

Here's a cross section looking from the top down.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/30740619@N08/3003671272/" title="door_sealing by Dinardi Family, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3215/3003671272_574d728092_o.gif" width="929" height="663" alt="door_sealing" border="0"/></a>

The orange hatching is the MDF panel, blue hatching is the hardwood, and the solid hatching is the weather stripping. The opposite side of the door (and top and bottom) will all look the same. I think this should do the trick on keeping it air tight, if anyone else has an idea let me know.
 
Yes, so there are 2 separate pieces of hardwood shown above. One will be fastened to the stand framing and will have the magnets recessed in it, the other is to protect the edges of the panel and will have the catches recessed in it.

After thinking about it some more this afternoon I'm going to make a small change. THe shoulder that conceals the weatherstripping will not be there. I'm going to shoot for 1/16" compression on the w.s. all around, so there will be a visible 1/16" groove due to the change.
 
Jake, I have a few questions;

I've seen the pictures of the stand...what do you plan on doing to dress up the 2x4" portion ? Would you consider thoughtful modification to satisfy your needs?

What size are the doors going to be ? MDF is very heavy. Magnets are weak when apposing shearing forces therefore I'm wondering if the magnets you have selected would be strong enough to hold the weight of the door.

You should have a gap inbetween the door and frame. Although MDF is relatively stable material it will expand and contract just like any other wood product.
 
Hi Chris, thanks for the input...


I've seen the pictures of the stand...what do you plan on doing to dress up the 2x4" portion ? Would you consider thoughtful modification to satisfy your needs?


The outside will be skinned with 3/8 ~ 1/2" plywood (not shown in previous diagram). Everything will be painted faux sandstone. The top of the stand is going to be a laminated counter top. I won't be changing the frame other than likely addition of some cross bracing that doesn't exist now.


What size are the doors going to be ? MDF is very heavy. Magnets are weak when apposing shearing forces therefore I'm wondering if the magnets you have selected would be strong enough to hold the weight of the door.

The door panels will be approx 24x29. I purchased 4 magnets for each door with the intent of starting with 3 and seeing how they hold (each one is 8 lbs pull). I don't think shear is going to be an issue as the weather stripping will only compress so much there won't be much room for the panel to slide anywhere.

MDF will be 1/2". I may just use plywood depending on cost - I made plywood/hardwood doors for my prev. stand and they never had any major issues.


You should have a gap inbetween the door and frame. Although MDF is relatively stable material it will expand and contract just like any other wood product.


There will be approx. 1/16" groove/gap on all sides of the panels.
 
Ok so the plan changed a little. HD and Lowes only had 3/4" MDF, my previous plan called for 1/2". I didn't feel like driving to a lumber yard so I just picked up the 3/4". Coincidentally this simplified the design a lot, although I will have to be careful about nicking the edges of the doors.

Here's a diagram of the new plan.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/30740619@N08/3020878694/" title="door_sealing by Dinardi Family, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3034/3020878694_89d6f9f4bf_o.jpg" width="808" height="528" alt="door_sealing" border="0" /></a>


And here's a shot of the progress so far. Some pieces are clamped up since the kids are now asleep I had to call it a night. The 2x4's are boxed in with hardwood on the inside to make a smooth surface for the weather sealing to be applied on. The outside is just 3/8" cabinet grade plywood.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/30740619@N08/3033096489/" title="2008-11_1231 800x533 by Dinardi Family, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3249/3033096489_c3b90b2b41_o.jpg" width="800" height="533" alt="2008-11_1231 800x533" border="0"/></a>


I have the sides cut and ready to go on. On the far side of the stand you can see the electrical enclosure temp'd in. It opens out for easy access.

When complete everything on the inside will be painted with white Glidden Primer/Gripper. I used the same stuff on my previous tank and it's tough! The outside will be painted with a finish something like this:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/30740619@N08/3033123757/" title="a_elephant_hide by Dinardi Family, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3202/3033123757_8f0906baba.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="a_elephant_hide" border="0"/></a>


So that's the update. One way or another this thing is going to have water in it by December 20th.
 
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alright!!! been waiting to hear about your tanks progress.
the babies obviously not keeping you too much if you still have energy/time for tank work ;)
keep us posted.
 
Thanks guys it's been a long time in the making. The kids and other projects at home delayed it for a while but I'm back on track now. I'm breaking the project into 2 phases.

Phase 1: Complete the stand, canopy, plumbing, and air exchange system, then get water in the tank by 12/20. Probably 50% done. right now.

Phase 2: Complete the automation and put any finishing touches on.


Helder, the actual dimensions are 86x33x29 inches.







...oh and yes, the title of the thread was changed since I'm no longer "thinking of upgrading" :)
 
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