jemw's 90 gallon

[jemw]

Issue with build

Issue with build

Because of the way the newer wood stand is built, I only have room for the sump below. There are two 2x4 braces in the back which reduces the useable depth inside the cabinet to 19". The useable width inside the cabinet is 34.5" and the useable height is 33.25". After putting the sump (31.5"x16.5"x17.75" standard sump for 90G) in place and leaving a marginal clearance from the rear 2x4 brace and the sides to keep vibration noise from the the sump to the cabinet, there is only 2" of space on the side, and 3" of space in the front for additional equipment. The space above the sump to place equipment is 12". The 3" wide ATO reservoir I purchased will not fit. Nor can I put any external equipment in front of the tank. At this point, I'm considering purchasing a smaller sump (an additional $325 cost which I had not counted on). Had I known the internal size of the wood cabinet, I would have ordered my system with a smaller sump. Having a large sump it great, but if you can't put any other equipment in the base, other considerations have to be made. I am evaluating my options at this time.

 

[jemw]

Make it fit

Make it fit

Did some re-capitulating on how to fit everything and came up with the following.

Items which need to go on the inside walls above the sump:

Electrical strip for items on UPS
Energy Bar 832 - Connected to external Transient Suppresor
Transformer for Radion XR20w Gen3
Reef Link WiFi Controller (Apex WXM if Reef Link doesn't work out)
VorTech Battery Backup - (This is the biggie 9" x 7")
VorTech MP40wQD Controller
Tunze water level controller​

Items that will go on the doors:

Apex Controller
Kindle Fire Monitor for Apex Controller​

I think I can squeeze all of the above in which leaves the issue of the ATO reservoir. I probably could squeeze it in, but there are two issues with that. I would loose one wall for placing equipment which is unacceptable. And second, I saw an article which indicated that acrylic material absorbs a small percentage of water over time and expands. Since there would be an extremely tight fit, I won't take that chance. - The article was about a person who lost his sump due to expansion of an acrylic item in it, so it looks like I will have to move the reservoir to the outside which I really don't want to do. And had I known, wouldn't have spent so much money on the one I purchased.

 

[jemw]

Estimating Electricity Cost

Estimating Electricity Cost

Estimating what my monthly electricity costs will be.

Cost per Kwatt hour is based on (tier1+tier2+tier3)/3 + 2¢ = 22¢ per Kwh hour. Item cost is based on
[(wattage*number of hours perday*30)/1000]*22¢

UV - 21 watts (9PM-5AM) - $1.11
Heater - 200 watts intermittent, estimate 2hrs/day - $2.64
ATO - 18 watts intermittent, estimate 1hr/day - $0.12
Bio Pellets - 22 watts 24hrs/day - $3.49
Skimmer - 41 watts 24hrs/day - $6.50
Return Pump - 80 watts 24hrs/day - $12.68
LED light - 170 watts 12hrs/day - $13.46
ReefLink - 11.4 watts 24hrs/day - $1.81
Apex NEP-PS12 auxillary PS 24 watts 24hrs/day - $3.8
MP40 9-38 watts (took difference) 29 watts 24hrs/day $4.59

Total montly estimate for electricity is $50.20

Note: I did not include power for Apex Energy Bar 8 as I don't use any of the non 120V ports, and I could not find power requirements for normal functions of the unit. I can SWAG at about $2.00/month.

If you see a flaw in my logic, or a piece of equipment I missed, I would appreciate the feedback. :thumbsup:

 

[jemw]

Missed a biggie for space

Missed a biggie for space

Well, I overlooked a large item for space. The Jebao DP-4 Auto Dosing with mounting bracket. The bracket is 10"x11" which will take much space and it needs to have easy access. And will require 24 watts intermittent 8 watts standby. 24 watts will be very small as in only when dosing so I estimate an average of 10 watts [(10*24*30)/1000]*22¢=$1.58 per month.

 

[jemw]

Let the build begin

Let the build begin

After much reading and taking it all in, I'm ready to start my build. Good news right off the bat. My ATO reservoir will fit next to the sump. I cut the foam pad that SCA sent in half and will put one between the sump and cabinet wall, and the other between the sump and reservoir (I have an exercise pad I will put under the sump). I still have 13" (call it 12) above the reservoir for equipment.

I will have pics in the next post.

 

[jemw]

Pics of work in progress & equipment

Pics of work in progress & equipment

After much consternation, I decided to go forward with painting the inside of the cabinet white. Glad I did, as you can see from this pic I had much sealing of the seams to do.

And here are the doors and front center brace painted:

Here is the inside painted:

Pic 1 of some of the equipment:

More equipment:

It looks like the ReefLink shoud be outside the cabinet. I'll probably build a plexiglass enclosure to cover the UPS and place the ReefLink on top of it.

I'm still on the fence on how best to utilize my UPS. If I only connect the control units to it I will get 78 minutes of runtime during a power failure. If I connect all of it, I will get 10 to 12 minutes of runtime - BUT I will be covered for all the voltage sags and brown outs on all the equipment which are MUCH more frequent. Power failures occur only one or twice a year and generally last less than four hours. According to EcoTech, I should get 36 hours on the MP40 with their battery backup, and I have a Silent Air B11 with airstone which should provide an oxygen assist for several days. I'm leaning more to the all equipment side of things. Any suggestions about this topic?

I have my Amazon 7" Fire waiting patiently for a new Apex 2016 which I have decided to wait for the second generation to start shipping before I purchase. I cancelled my original order and the Tech Support Guy at BRS indicated that he thought it would be 2 months or so before the second production build is done.

Still waiting for my overflow cover from SCA - Not sure what the hold up is.

Hopefully the paint inside the cabinet will be totally cured tomorrow, and I can start adding equipment.

 

[aquamann183]

Everything sounds great! Can't wait to see it wet!
I didn't get a chance to read everything yet as I'm at work.
But one thing I may suggest from past experience.
Even if you receive a zero reading from your TDs meter. It may be good to run a few tests on the water with your test kit. Nitrite, nitrate, and phosphate.

One time I had my RODI sitting for awhile and fired it up and was getting zero readings..had a GHA outbreak and couldn't find where all the phosphates were coming from. Tested my RODI water and sure enough there was phosphate in the water I thought was pure

Just a tip, you're probably okay, but always good to be on the safe side!
I'll read the rest later,
-Ben

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

 

[jemw]

Everything sounds great! Can't wait to see it wet!
I didn't get a chance to read everything yet as I'm at work.
But one thing I may suggest from past experience.
Even if you receive a zero reading from your TDs meter. It may be good to run a few tests on the water with your test kit. Nitrite, nitrate, and phosphate.

One time I had my RODI sitting for awhile and fired it up and was getting zero readings..had a GHA outbreak and couldn't find where all the phosphates were coming from. Tested my RODI water and sure enough there was phosphate in the water I thought was pure

Just a tip, you're probably okay, but always good to be on the safe side!
I'll read the rest later,
-Ben

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

Thanks aquamann183. I suspect that it may not be as clean as the tds meter indicates. I have a complete set of new filters that I will be installing before I start making water to fill my tank.

 

[jemw]

UPS decision made

UPS decision made

After reading several posts regarding equipment not functioning properly after a surge or sag, I've decided that I will be running all of my equipment from the UPS and relying on my battery backup for the MP40 and my emergency air stone system for power failures.

 

[aquamann183]

Sounds good!
Also it wouldn't hurt to read a little about TDs creep. Which is where for the first few minutes the RoDi is running the water coming out isn't at zero since water has been sitting in the unit. That is one benefit of having a TDs meter inline with your RoDi unit, so you know your water is at zero before you start collecting.
Not sure how much the first couple minutes of the non zero water matters, but something to look into!

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

 

[jemw]

Sounds good!
Also it wouldn't hurt to read a little about TDs creep. Which is where for the first few minutes the RoDi is running the water coming out isn't at zero since water has been sitting in the unit. That is one benefit of having a TDs meter inline with your RoDi unit, so you know your water is at zero before you start collecting.
Not sure how much the first couple minutes of the non zero water matters, but something to look into!

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

I always do a three minute purge, and after finished, a 30 second back flush on the bladder (mfgs recommendation).

 

[jemw]

Today marked the official start of my build. This is going to be more difficult than I anticipated. Perhaps it's because I'm older and moving in and out of the stand along with countless up and down from the floor takes longer than it did a few years back. Anyway, I installed the channels for the electrical, connected and mounted the electrical outlet, and hooked up the inside cabinet light. Some of the time was for planning working around the huge sump and reading instructions for the various pieces of equipment. Took and afternoon break to run out for the electrical outlet. The order I placed with Amazon for same still has not shipped. Guess I'll cancel that tonight. Tomorrow is another day, and should start hanging the equipment.

 

[aquamann183]

I always do a three minute purge, and after finished, a 30 second back flush on the bladder (mfgs recommendation).

sounds like you're on it already! Haha

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

 

[jemw]

Next phase

Next phase

I finished my plumbing yesterday, filled the overflow with a gallon of water and looked for leaks overnight - none present. The plumbing in the overflow for the return line shipped was too short - Steve is shipping me a new head and I will cut my own to properly fit. There was also an issue with the sealant around the base of the outside chamber of the overflow.

Steve is sending me the black sealant they use to close the gap.

 

[jemw]

ReefLink/Radion/MP40

ReefLink/Radion/MP40

Installed and configured the ReefLink along with the Radion and MP40. It was actually done four days ago, but wanted to let it work for a few days before I reported how simple and easy it was to configure and use the ReefLink. I have seen numerous posts about it working and then falling off after a few days. I have also configured my cell phone in addition to my computer for EcoSmart Live access - again no problems with that. One handy tool I did find for my Android cell phone to test the wireless strength throughout my house is WiFi Analytics - information here for those interested: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.netgear.WiFiAnalytics&hl=en Really handy tool lets you check the signal strength of your WiFi anywhere.

One thing I did when configuring my ReefLink which should help is to assign a permanent IP at the wireless router once it's connected to the WiFi. That way it will always have the same address when talking to EcoSmart.

 

[jemw]

UPS cover

UPS cover

Picked up some 1/4" plexiglass from Home Depot yesterday. Will build a simple cover for my UPS sitting beside the aquarium stand to ward off any splish splash which might occur. $20 for the sheet, $3 for the glue, $4 for the L brackets to give it strength.

 

[DePinchGonze]

Nothing like Christmas in July, looks like your build is coming along nicely

 

[jemw]

Yet another trip to Home Depot

Yet another trip to Home Depot

Only bought half enough self-tapping screws for the UPS cover (thought I picked up the 8 pac) - YATtHD The cover is done glued and in place.

Changed the filters on my BRS 5 stage RO/DI unit and started making some water to rinse the rock that has been soaking since June 4th (tomorrow will be 8 weeks) Started as dry rock, sure hope all the phosphate has left the building so to speak.

Did some additional searching on barebottom vs sandbed and decided that my decision to go barebottom will stand. Although I'm considering some coral sand for the sump. Everything that comes off the overflow goes through a sock and the skimmer, so "in theory" is should be a clean wash to the sand bed. This might not work as I will have my UV (w/pump), BioPellets (w/pump) and my kalk dispensor in the same chamber.

The Radion XR20w Gen3 Pro is in break in mode. Should be done next week. Still on the fence as to how far below the water line to place the VorTech MP40wQD QuietDrive. Looking at a placement of 6-8" of the top side of the pump below the water level.

Plan on starting my aquascaping tomorrow. Thought I had a 3/8" masonary drill, but alas have a 1/4 and 1/2 - YATtHD. I have the drill, and a concrete capable grinder to make the flat spots. So tomorrow I can start bright and early.

 

[jemw]

Radion in use

Radion in use

Just noticed that all my prior posts reflect the wrong lighting solution. It's not the XR20w - it's the EcoTech Marine Radion XR30w Gen3 Pro

 

[Reefpuck]

Tagging along, excited to see this build! I actually just moved to Texas from Newbury Park. As soon as we get settled in our new house I'm looking into a very similar build.