My wood tank build
- Thread starter dsandfort
- Start date
dsandfort
Premium Member
School started and got real busy all of a sudden. My wife is growing tired of the uh, rustic look, so I've been concentrating on finishing the view side of the tank.
We decided to go with slate under the glass so the tank looks like it is sitting on a stone wall. Here is a full shot.
A little closer look with the stone ledge to lean on while close-up viewing. Still need to grout.
Plumbing is coming along and I have about 11K gph moving right now. Brought the calcium and Nielson reactors on-line and waiting for the water to clear.
I have leak-checked, flow-checked and power failure checked everything. It all seems to work the way I envisioned. If you see something wrong, give a holler. I'm going to build the cat-walk this weekend so I can get to the back of the tank above the plumbing.
We decided to go with slate under the glass so the tank looks like it is sitting on a stone wall. Here is a full shot.
A little closer look with the stone ledge to lean on while close-up viewing. Still need to grout.
Plumbing is coming along and I have about 11K gph moving right now. Brought the calcium and Nielson reactors on-line and waiting for the water to clear.
I have leak-checked, flow-checked and power failure checked everything. It all seems to work the way I envisioned. If you see something wrong, give a holler. I'm going to build the cat-walk this weekend so I can get to the back of the tank above the plumbing.
viperdragon666
New member
i love the slate that is cool glad everything is moving along well
dsandfort
Premium Member
Thanks everyone. I kind of like the look so far. Bart, the above stone finish is a secret (meaning I don't know yet). When we talk about the public view side of things here in my house, the rule is...If she wants my opinion, she'll give it to me.
Regarding the double sump thing, here is how it works.
Water overflows the tank and goes to the left sump. Skimmer takes water from there and delivers it to the right sump so I don't skim the same water over and over again. Calcium reactor runs off the left sump. Left tub fills up and overflows to the right tub. Most bubbles are gone by now but there is a sump within the right tub where I can use filter floss, etc. I also have an auto topoff in the right tub which is fed through a Neilson reactor so I can replace with any percentage of regular RODI water or Kalk. Main return pump picks up from the right tub and goes to 2 Wavysea divices. There is also a manafold off the main return for carbon, phosban, etc.
It would be easier if I labeled the photo. Maybe the finished product.
Del
Regarding the double sump thing, here is how it works.
Water overflows the tank and goes to the left sump. Skimmer takes water from there and delivers it to the right sump so I don't skim the same water over and over again. Calcium reactor runs off the left sump. Left tub fills up and overflows to the right tub. Most bubbles are gone by now but there is a sump within the right tub where I can use filter floss, etc. I also have an auto topoff in the right tub which is fed through a Neilson reactor so I can replace with any percentage of regular RODI water or Kalk. Main return pump picks up from the right tub and goes to 2 Wavysea divices. There is also a manafold off the main return for carbon, phosban, etc.
It would be easier if I labeled the photo. Maybe the finished product.
Del
jnarowe
New member
:lol: no kidding!
This is very similar to what I do. Part of thinking was also to be able to isolate the bubbles in the "inbound" sump, so that I didn't need baffles. It works extremely well. I put my probes in the inbound as well and have the Ca, Kalk, etc. flow into the outbound sump, that way I get a more acurate system reading.
IMO, two sumps is really the way to go if you have the room. Then you never have to worry about bubbles in your display, and you get much better control of your system. Also, at least in my case, because I used flexible PVC for my overflow drain lines, either sump can be taken offline for cleaning, repairs, or a swap out, while still running the system for whatever time period it takes.
jnarowe
New member
There may be too many bubbles in the overflow for the probes to work correctly. I would ask Curt at Neptune about that.
Yeah, and that is the other, other reason for two sumps: Being able to absorb the water from a power outage or do large water changes. I change out about 90g once a week.
Yeah, and that is the other, other reason for two sumps: Being able to absorb the water from a power outage or do large water changes. I change out about 90g once a week.
dsandfort
Premium Member
I've been messing around building rock structures. I built these using fiberglass rod. The base rock has 3 rods as a tripod. The rods slide through the sand easily and bottom out holding the structure up off the sand. Subsequent rocks have longer rods and go through the base rock to the bottom. I takes a little trimming to get it all to fit together but a Dremmel with a tile bit makes it easier.
It sure is easier rockscaping when you have 42" to mess with. The visual depth is really nice. Excuse the unbalanced photos and the cloudy water.
Del
It sure is easier rockscaping when you have 42" to mess with. The visual depth is really nice. Excuse the unbalanced photos and the cloudy water.
Del
coralfever
New member
Looks sweet, I like the openess. Do you have a FTS?
dsandfort
Premium Member
Anyone know what FTS is/means?
Jonathan- There is a small plastic shop here in town. They do a lot of custom work for the University and other Federal agencies that are located here. Neat place. You can walk in and they might be fabricating 50, 5 gallon tanks for some USDA project or maybe some mosquito rearing cubes.
Anyway, they have all sorts of bits and pieces you can paw through. 1/2" fiberglass rod is like steel. Extremely rigid.
Del
Jonathan- There is a small plastic shop here in town. They do a lot of custom work for the University and other Federal agencies that are located here. Neat place. You can walk in and they might be fabricating 50, 5 gallon tanks for some USDA project or maybe some mosquito rearing cubes.
Anyway, they have all sorts of bits and pieces you can paw through. 1/2" fiberglass rod is like steel. Extremely rigid.
Del
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