amcarrig
Allons-y!
Knowing you, that drove you absolutely bonkers :lol:
Mountains of sawdust (360g plywood, LED, Arduino build)
- Thread starter der_wille_zur_macht
- Start date
Knowing you, that drove you absolutely bonkers :lol:
der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
I ALMOST didn't post the photo. :lol:
I needed this oh a month ago. Day late dollar short I guess.
Oh and attention loungers stop coming out here and go back to the safe zone.
eznet2u
Active member
der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
I'm on someone else's laptop, so for the first time ever, a photograph I took with people who don't have obscured faces:
der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
Earlier that day, helping Daddy with the screws. This was exciting enough to pull them away from the kiddie pool and sprinkler:
I subscribed to RC just to post on your build. It's been said 100 times already, but amazing work man. There is definitely a ton of great info in this thread. My work hates me or I might take the plunge into a ply tank.
I'm at Fort Drum so if you ever need an extra hand, I'd be more than willing to lend one. Best of luck on the rest of your endeavor!
I'm at Fort Drum so if you ever need an extra hand, I'd be more than willing to lend one. Best of luck on the rest of your endeavor!
der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
It absolutely will. Basically, I did what you see above - diagonals and posts in the corner - to get the top frame level and square. With the four corners supported, I could lay a level on the top frame and shim/adjust/unscrew and re-attach a given corner to get it level. Then, I went back and cut and installed additional studs along each side. This way, I didn't have to do fancy math and planning to get a level frame.
username in use
Sciencing Daily
Im loving the progress of this. The kids in the tank (although semi-cliche) give a nice sense of the actual size of the tank. This will be a great looking tank when all is said and done.
And Im a little dissapointed that you put in pictures without your signature face blockers.
And Im a little dissapointed that you put in pictures without your signature face blockers.
Wooo! Progress! Got to love the little helpers. Very cute kids DWIZM!
der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
That's my wife! my elbow is on the edge of the reflection in that glass panel.
Excited? Yes, to the point of losing sleep. Sadly I have to pace myself as summer is a busy time around here.
I did manage to get the stand and hood finished and painted (the portions that will remain exposed, at least.) And the sump is in place. Started cutting pipe for the plumbing. I'm going to be at around 50' of pipe once this tank is plumbed. You know you're off your rocker when you start thinking of 1.5" PVC as "small" for a fish tank. :lol:
amcarrig
Allons-y!
DOH! Don't you dare tell her what I said then :lol:
I can't imagine how difficult it has been for you to pace yourself :lol: It's definitely coming along nicely though and I'm sure that you'll be happy that you took your time with it once it's all finished!
der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
It's our secret. 
Other progress - I put vinyl flooring down inside the stand. My first time, but I'm hooked. I don't think I'll build another tank without it. It went down in like 8 minutes, it was dirt cheap (I used about $7 worth of material) and it's waterproof.
Regarding painting the stand - next time, I would just pre-paint the lumber before building the stand. Getting in all the nooks and crannies without covering myself in paint was really awkward.
Other progress - I put vinyl flooring down inside the stand. My first time, but I'm hooked. I don't think I'll build another tank without it. It went down in like 8 minutes, it was dirt cheap (I used about $7 worth of material) and it's waterproof.
Regarding painting the stand - next time, I would just pre-paint the lumber before building the stand. Getting in all the nooks and crannies without covering myself in paint was really awkward.
Coming along nicely! 50 feet of PVC. I can' even begin to fathom the extent of the plumbing you have going there. :lol:
TheFishMan65
New member
Looks great - can't wait to see the finished product.
der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
Really, it's not that complicated. It's just that everything is far away from everything else, because the tank is so big, and so high off the floor.
Basically, the sump plumbing is as such:
1) Two 1.5" drains from overflow box to sump
2) A very short section of 2" from the sump to the return pump. Really, this is just a bulkhead and true union ball valve with bits of pipe to glue them together.
3) 1.5" out of the return pump, back above the sump, with two 1" lines T'd and valved off for equipment in the sump. Then the 1.5" continues up the side of the tank and over the top edge to return to the display.
The closed loop is as such:
1) 2" pipe, about 18" long, inside the tank with slots cut to act as an intake strainer
2) 2" pipe from the bulkhead down to the pump
3) 1.5" pipe from the pump to a T under the middle of the tank
4) Each side of the T feeds a closed loop return in each back corner of the tank, all 1.5" pipe
In addition, there are unions and ball valves at pretty much every pipe/equipment junction, to allow for flow control and disassembly.
Total count is something like:
40' of 1.5" pipe
~16 x 1.5" 90's
~6 x 1.5" T's
2 x 1.5" caps
4 x 1.5" bulkheads
5 x 1.5" union ball valves
10' of 2" pipe
2 x 2" 90's
2 x 2" bulkheads
2 x 2" union ball valves
~2' of 1" pipe
2 x 1" ball valves
I bet the plumbing has cost around $300, but I haven't actually kept track. It's been interesting to note that some costs don't really change much with a larger tank, but others do - including some you don't think about beforehand.
