Just a little grow out system build.. open to advice and suggestions

[sandyland]

I have been running a pex loop heater on our system for a year + now. It has been awesome!
Your build is amazing!!!! Keep the updates coming.

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[bvysochin]

Well I'm actually a concrete finisher having done floors for many years and feel like you guys did a great job on that floor it looks really nice ! So , you picked a good spot too save money and do it yourself (even though you initially wanted a contractor) great job. (fighting back jealousy)

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That means a lot!! Thanks a bunch!! !

You sir, are an inspiration. Great work

Thanks!

I have been running a pex loop heater on our system for a year + now. It has been awesome!
Your build is amazing!!!! Keep the updates coming.

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Good to hear the pex loop is working out for you. Do you have a tankless or a tanked heater? Do you remember what type of pex you used? Did it have an oxygen barrier? Thanks for the feedback!

That floor is absolutely amazing. Completely unnecessary other than looking cool, but damn does it look cool..

It's almost like if some really really nice wood had a baby with a bowling ball... Yep, that's what it looks like. And I mean that in the BEST way possible.

Ha! Great analogy. For a decent looking, durable, and sealed floor, we couldn't come up with any better solution than epoxy.. And we looked at everything, believe me! Thanks!

Just for kicks though.. this is the floor look/design we were originally going for, but we couldn't make it come to fruition. Seems like it's a big thing overseas in Dubai, but it hasn't quite made it to the US yet.. at least I couldn't find any one around here that was able to do it.

Maybe this thread will motivate someone else to make this floor idea come to life!

 

[bvysochin]

Small update.. got the tanks picked up and set in place. Phew.. glad that part is over!

Loadin em up..

This truck was pretty massive.. 24' box truck with lift gate.

Had to build a small pallet/platform to get the big ones lifted up into place.

Glad we went with 3/4" glass bottoms.. these things hardly flex at all, if any..

Thank god for whoever invented this piece of machinery.. Lifting 535 lb empty frag tank 8' into air..

 

[bvysochin]

Next one will be easier and easier..

We expected the tanks to be almost level to how we wanted them.. but we knew there would be gaps underneath the plastic trim, from previous experience..

So for peace of mind, and to help spread the load.. we decided to take action. This may or may not be necessary.. we didn't want to take any chances.

Incase any one wants to use this stuff in the future.. $18 for a big roll at homedepot, near the concrete tools/section.

We would have used the typical foam board, but we didn't want it coming apart over time, since the edge was going to be exposed.. plus, this stuff looks better.

 

[bvysochin]

Cool sunset tonight.

This is why the fragging station is by the big windows

Our first fish.. catfish

Starting to plan our sumps and plumbing..

 

[All Delight]

If you ever move or sell your house, I will buy it just for the fish room.

 

[sil40sx]

Oh my gawd! This is an insane build! Dedication and hard work you're putting on this build is incredible.

Is this gonna be open to the public? LOL

 

[laverda]

Next one will be easier and easier..

We expected the tanks to be almost level to how we wanted them.. but we knew there would be gaps underneath the plastic trim, from previous experience..

So for peace of mind, and to help spread the load.. we decided to take action. This may or may not be necessary.. we didn't want to take any chances.

Incase any one wants to use this stuff in the future.. $18 for a big roll at homedepot, near the concrete tools/section.

We would have used the typical foam board, but we didn't want it coming apart over time, since the edge was going to be exposed.. plus, this stuff looks better.

The problem with the felt is it will act like a sponge and retain salt water in contact with the steal causing the beams to rust. The foam is a better choice as it does not absorb moisture. Otherwise it looks great!

 

[Zatoichi]

This is every reefers secret dream hahaha did you consider geothermal? Might be a little late in the conversation at this point but it seems like your power consumption is going to be a big expense

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[karm40]

Great Great Great, and nice to have an unlimited budget!:lolspin::lolspin::eek1:

 

[Rakie]

The problem with the felt is it will act like a sponge and retain salt water in contact with the steal causing the beams to rust. The foam is a better choice as it does not absorb moisture. Otherwise it looks great!

What felt?

 

[sandyland]

Good to hear the pex loop is working out for you. Do you have a tankless or a tanked heater? Do you remember what type of pex you used? Did it have an oxygen barrier? Thanks for the feedback!<br />
<br />

I have the loop hooked up to a 50gal tank water heater that services our house. I used the off the shelf pex from our local plumbing supply store. I have a 100' roll coiled in the sump hooked to a ronco temp controller. This keeps the tank within one degree of the setting at all times. I have not seen any noticable increase in our gas bill. The electrical bill went down more than $40 per month.
Total water volume is right around 600 gal.
On a side note when I built the tank I installed 3 14" Sola tubes above the tank. The results were minimal at best, we removed them when we had our roof done and reinstalled them in other parts of the house. I just wanted to give you confirmation that you made the right decision not using them on your system.

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[bvysochin]

If you ever move or sell your house, I will buy it just for the fish room.

Deal! We gotta get the rest of the house done after this, which should be more spectacular than the fish room

Oh my gawd! This is an insane build! Dedication and hard work you're putting on this build is incredible.

Is this gonna be open to the public? LOL

Ha! We'll a nice big BBQ once everything is presentable.

The problem with the felt is it will act like a sponge and retain salt water in contact with the steal causing the beams to rust. The foam is a better choice as it does not absorb moisture. Otherwise it looks great!

Yeah, I agree. It's probably hard to see in the pics, but the stuff we used isn't felt. It's like plastic bubble wrap. A bunch of layers, all compressed together. We wanted to be sure no moisture got trapped underneath.

This is every reefers secret dream hahaha did you consider geothermal? Might be a little late in the conversation at this point but it seems like your power consumption is going to be a big expense

Yep, the biggest power consumption will be lights and pumps.. At least with the heat being taken care of with natural gas, I still think we'll be alright, compared to using electric heaters. We did consider geo thermal but don't think the added trouble was worth the expense and headache.

Great Great Great, and nice to have an unlimited budget!:lolspin::lolspin::eek1:

I wish! If that was the case, we would have just hired someone to build it all, and it would've been done up and running two years ago

What felt?

Yep.. no felt here!

I have the loop hooked up to a 50gal tank water heater that services our house. I used the off the shelf pex from our local plumbing supply store. I have a 100' roll coiled in the sump hooked to a ronco temp controller. This keeps the tank within one degree of the setting at all times. I have not seen any noticable increase in our gas bill. The electrical bill went down more than $40 per month.
Total water volume is right around 600 gal.
On a side note when I built the tank I installed 3 14" Sola tubes above the tank. The results were minimal at best, we removed them when we had our roof done and reinstalled them in other parts of the house. I just wanted to give you confirmation that you made the right decision not using them on your system.

Thanks for the feed back! Looking forward to getting the pex re-circ system all plumbed up and operational. Can't wait for the power bill to go down!

 

[innerspark]

Can't wait to see the finished build in person.

 

[ReefRescue]

Wow
Things have come a long way since I was there last.
This is amazing guys.
Nice work. Can't wait to see the finished product.



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[roli112]

Is the BBQ going to be open to the public? lol

 

[pga7602]

Is this still going? Thread died a year ago.....

Didn't even get to see water....

 

[bvysochin]

Is this still going? Thread died a year ago.....

Didn't even get to see water....

Wow yeah it's been some time since we updated this.. there has been A LOT going on around here but hopefully soon we can post up some stuff..

And yes the tanks are wet!

 

[pga7602]

wow yeah it's been some time since we updated this.. there has been a lot going on around here but hopefully soon we can post up some stuff..

And yes the tanks are wet!

woooohoooo can't wait crystal!

 

[keepLearning]

Man, all the nice pictures are gone.