Mountains of sawdust (360g plywood, LED, Arduino build)
- Thread starter der_wille_zur_macht
- Start date
der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
Thanks for that suggestion. Looks very similar to what I want to do, only it's made out of fancy acrylic. Mine will probably be tupperware bins or something, if/when I get around to building it. :lol:
HeneryH
Henery Hawk
I hope all the health issues work their way out for the best.
Edit, never mind the part below, it was totally not what the context of the original quest was. I should read more closely.
Anyway, I'll leave it hear just as something interesting I saw about siphon drains. (not feeders,)
On the starting siphon front, I saw a great idea on a new product that ran the return line up next to the siphon drain and built a venturi which used the return flow to pull the air out of the siphon.
Sounds like a DIY challenge if you ask me
Challenge as in, I bet someone here can make it work with a single run to the HomeDepot and less than $10 in parts.
Edit, never mind the part below, it was totally not what the context of the original quest was. I should read more closely.
Anyway, I'll leave it hear just as something interesting I saw about siphon drains. (not feeders,)
On the starting siphon front, I saw a great idea on a new product that ran the return line up next to the siphon drain and built a venturi which used the return flow to pull the air out of the siphon.
Sounds like a DIY challenge if you ask me
Challenge as in, I bet someone here can make it work with a single run to the HomeDepot and less than $10 in parts.
Gary Majchrzak
Team RC
I wish you well on the home front.
der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
Thanks Gary.
Just had an interesting occurrence. Noticed one of the cardinals was missing the other day but didn't really have time to look for it. Then, last night, what do I see sticking out of the slot in the TS? A cardinal tail. I fished him out and he was long gone. Still not clear exactly why he died, but there were signs of physical trauma.
This poor fish went on quite the journey:
1) Sucked out of the display tank through the overflow
2) Through the sump baffles to the return pump
3) Through the return pump (!!!) to the TS, which is T'd off the return line, where it was stuck when I found it.
I'm wondering if he died of other causes in the DT and made that journey dead, or was simply sucked over and died at some point along the journey (possibly in the return pump?) Still it's pretty amazing that his body made it through the return pump mostly intact. I've noticed the cardinals huddling under the rim of the tank, right near the overflow box, during the day - so maybe he was simply sucked over.
Just had an interesting occurrence. Noticed one of the cardinals was missing the other day but didn't really have time to look for it. Then, last night, what do I see sticking out of the slot in the TS? A cardinal tail. I fished him out and he was long gone. Still not clear exactly why he died, but there were signs of physical trauma.
This poor fish went on quite the journey:
1) Sucked out of the display tank through the overflow
2) Through the sump baffles to the return pump
3) Through the return pump (!!!) to the TS, which is T'd off the return line, where it was stuck when I found it.
I'm wondering if he died of other causes in the DT and made that journey dead, or was simply sucked over and died at some point along the journey (possibly in the return pump?) Still it's pretty amazing that his body made it through the return pump mostly intact. I've noticed the cardinals huddling under the rim of the tank, right near the overflow box, during the day - so maybe he was simply sucked over.
XSiVE
New member
Is there a reason that you can see why they have been huddling near the overflow? In a tank so big with so few small fish I would not expect there to be any aggression issues especially with the chosen fish... very strange.
username in use
Sciencing Daily
Really sorry to hear about the family health problems Dwiz. Sending thoughts and prayers your way that everything works out for the best :thumbsup:
der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
IME it's just the way cardinals behave during the day - they huddle/hide.
Thanks, appreciate it.
kcress
New member
der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
Pushed. :lol: Hey, you never know. There was some light bickering between the three of them from time to time.
On a sad note, the tank is coming down. Last night I found a hairline crack in one of the eurobraces. Here's my thread on my local club forum:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1925219
Basically what happened is this. Back during the construction phase, I planned for the water level to be about half an inch below the bottom of the eurobrace. So, when I was doing epoxy, I poured the bottom of the eurobrace about 1/8" thick - a little thinner than the walls/floor, but still PLENTY thick enough. On the face and top of the brace, I just brushed 4 or 5 coats of epoxy on, which in theory should be plenty, but brushing is definitely not as "reliable" as pouring. At that stage, I figured I was just protecting those sections from splashes, and didn't need a super-thick coat.
Well, when I set the tank up, I STUPIDLY decided to glue the overflow in such that the water level was about an inch higher than planned - i.e. half an inch up from the bottom of the brace. I posted that photo a few pages back showing the bottom of the brace under water. There were no obvious problems with this, but it was a deviation from plan.
Anyways, here we are, a month later, and now one of the eurobraces is cracking - the plywood is delaminating behind the epoxy, because it's wet. It turns out there was a tiiiiiiiiiny pinhole in the epoxy I brushed on, where there was a little void in the core of the wood. That pinhole has slowly let water soak in to the brace, which has now caused it to delaminate.
The tank is full as of this very moment in time, but drained down an inch, such that the damaged section is no longer under water. It's a very very subtle crack, but I have zero faith in the tank and will be draining it completely within the next few days. The big issue is that I don't have any foolproof way of knowing the extent of the damage at this point. If the wood was wet enough to split, I don't know where else the water has gotten to through that hole/crack - if the water seeped along a screw hole into the side panel of the tank, or weakened the bond between the eurobrace and the side wall, disaster would not be far behind. And I can't risk that.
The only thought I have for potential repair would be to completely cut out that brace, replace it, and re-coat that whole area with epoxy, but that would mean complete dismantling of the tank, which would be no small task (it's behind drywall). And, I would still not have a totally foolproof way of knowing if the water had caused other structural damage. So, I'm considering other options besides repair at this point - i.e. using the tank for something dry. In the meantime, with some local help, I'm setting up a temporary home for the livestock.
This all sucks but in the grand scheme it's just a fish tank and not the end of the world.
On a sad note, the tank is coming down. Last night I found a hairline crack in one of the eurobraces. Here's my thread on my local club forum:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1925219
Basically what happened is this. Back during the construction phase, I planned for the water level to be about half an inch below the bottom of the eurobrace. So, when I was doing epoxy, I poured the bottom of the eurobrace about 1/8" thick - a little thinner than the walls/floor, but still PLENTY thick enough. On the face and top of the brace, I just brushed 4 or 5 coats of epoxy on, which in theory should be plenty, but brushing is definitely not as "reliable" as pouring. At that stage, I figured I was just protecting those sections from splashes, and didn't need a super-thick coat.
Well, when I set the tank up, I STUPIDLY decided to glue the overflow in such that the water level was about an inch higher than planned - i.e. half an inch up from the bottom of the brace. I posted that photo a few pages back showing the bottom of the brace under water. There were no obvious problems with this, but it was a deviation from plan.
Anyways, here we are, a month later, and now one of the eurobraces is cracking - the plywood is delaminating behind the epoxy, because it's wet. It turns out there was a tiiiiiiiiiny pinhole in the epoxy I brushed on, where there was a little void in the core of the wood. That pinhole has slowly let water soak in to the brace, which has now caused it to delaminate.
The tank is full as of this very moment in time, but drained down an inch, such that the damaged section is no longer under water. It's a very very subtle crack, but I have zero faith in the tank and will be draining it completely within the next few days. The big issue is that I don't have any foolproof way of knowing the extent of the damage at this point. If the wood was wet enough to split, I don't know where else the water has gotten to through that hole/crack - if the water seeped along a screw hole into the side panel of the tank, or weakened the bond between the eurobrace and the side wall, disaster would not be far behind. And I can't risk that.
The only thought I have for potential repair would be to completely cut out that brace, replace it, and re-coat that whole area with epoxy, but that would mean complete dismantling of the tank, which would be no small task (it's behind drywall). And, I would still not have a totally foolproof way of knowing if the water had caused other structural damage. So, I'm considering other options besides repair at this point - i.e. using the tank for something dry. In the meantime, with some local help, I'm setting up a temporary home for the livestock.
This all sucks but in the grand scheme it's just a fish tank and not the end of the world.
Aww man! What a bummer after all that work you did! Live and learn though huh?
Hope all is well with the family. I've been keeping you guys in my thoughts and prayers.
Hope all is well with the family. I've been keeping you guys in my thoughts and prayers.
digitalchrisg
New member
Wow, that really is sad to hear. I know we all have pit falls in this hobby, but sorry to hear you had such a blow. Keep us posted with what you decide to do.
Two observations.
1) People learn by making mistakes. By sharing your mistake, we all benefit from your experience, so thank you. Not only did I learn about the risks of brushing epoxy (something I wouldn't have considered), I got a nice reminder about the importance of over-engineering, and the value of inspections as a part of preventative maintenance. Can you imagine if you hadn't noticed the delamination?
2) My dad always said when I was younger that every problem is an opportunity to excel. (Heck, he probably still says it, I just haven't heard it in a while.) I am sure that whatever comes next, it will be excellent.
der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
I am trying to have the same attitude. My wife has been a big help in the last 18 hours, encouraging me to do something exciting rather than ripping it all out. We've got some plans in the works but not really enough to describe at this point. I think it's fair to say that I'm done as far as having a large reef tank, but definitely not abandoning things completely.
SpacedCowboy
New member
It's always darkest before the dawn
It's always darkest before the dawn
Sorry to hear that, man. I know exactly how you feel, if it's any consolation. We had to go back to the UK for several months to wind up my family's affairs - not a great time in itself. When we got back to CA, the "house-sitters" had completely ruined our tank. They'd switched off the pumps because "the splashy sound was too loud for the TV" !!! Everything was dead, and it looked more like a swamp than a reef. You can imagine my reaction - exactly what I didn't need...
However, after a few days of wondering whether to call it a day, we decided to turn a setback into an opportunity, and I'm now upgrading the tank to a 240 long - the build thread (very early days - http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1921327 ) is in the large-tanks forum.
So take heart. Try to find a way to excavate that silver lining, and things will start to look better
Simon.
It's always darkest before the dawn
Sorry to hear that, man. I know exactly how you feel, if it's any consolation. We had to go back to the UK for several months to wind up my family's affairs - not a great time in itself. When we got back to CA, the "house-sitters" had completely ruined our tank. They'd switched off the pumps because "the splashy sound was too loud for the TV" !!! Everything was dead, and it looked more like a swamp than a reef. You can imagine my reaction - exactly what I didn't need...
However, after a few days of wondering whether to call it a day, we decided to turn a setback into an opportunity, and I'm now upgrading the tank to a 240 long - the build thread (very early days - http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1921327 ) is in the large-tanks forum.
So take heart. Try to find a way to excavate that silver lining, and things will start to look better
Simon.
DWZM, I have been following your build but never posted. Needless to say not too excited to hear that this wont be a Reeftank, but Since you've decided not to tear it down here's some food for thought - (not sure if I can link to another forum...if not I will PM you)
http://www.tcmas.org/forums/showthread.php?t=21428
Construction thread, very detailed ~ http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/parts-construction/43615-large-vivarium-construction.html
http://www.tcmas.org/forums/showthread.php?t=21428
Construction thread, very detailed ~ http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/parts-construction/43615-large-vivarium-construction.html
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Nate - this is the tank I was telling you about. I searched for this thread but duh, it was on another forum.
