New In-wall Project Begins

[dougchambers]

Wet testing started late tonight. No real problems so far. The sump and main tank are fully loaded and water is flowing very nicely. I love the Sequence and OM 4-way combination with ports in the top and bottom of the tank. Going with two 2" drains in the bottom for the sequence feed seems to be working well also.

Only a few minor drips so far. Two of the four are on the OM 4-Way. I will need to drain them off and add more Teflon tape.

Pictures to follow once our DSL comes back up.

-Doug

 

[JustOneMoreTank]

Over two days I read through all 12+ pages... looking great! I am ready to finish the plumbing and bring in my new 120 into the house and now my wife and I are discussing moving to a new house! Ahhh so now a screaching hault to the reef tank. Fun to read along as you are going though what I may be experiencing in a few months????
I cant wait to see the pictures of the move and the tank in the wall

 

[dougchambers]

Thanks JustOne...

Pretty good setbacks today in the overall plan. During the wet test I noticed two leaks on fittings coming from the OM 4-Way. Today I tore everything down and re-taped the two fittings. In my effort get everything tight, I split the case of the 4-Way. Of course I didn't see the split until we came back from dinner tonight and found lots of water on the floor. Want to know the best thing about having an in-wall that backs to a separate room off the garage??? It has a concrete floor! Granted some moving boxes got wet in the main garage, but at least it isn't carpet.

The second setback came when I picked up a 300W heater during dinner to get the tank up to temp. It wasn't a brand I've used before, but you don't have a lot of choices at 8PM in Boise Idaho. I plugged it in and immediately blew the breaker. The heater is bad and the tank will have to wait until Thursday for heat.

The rock I planned to put in the new tank is looking better, but has a huge algae bloom on it. I'm debating if I want to put it in yet or try to get it cleaned up more. I need it in the base for the exisiting rock. I'll have to see how it cleans up Thursday.

For those keeping score, we are at least 1-1.5 days behind schedule. We were planning to move the old tank over tomorrow (Thursday), but that won't happen now. If I can get things settled down, we will shoot for Friday. We've got to be out of the old house by 5PM Sunday and I have some dry wall to patch where the chiller routed to the garage.

Looking back.... We could have had some nice landscaping by now for what this thing is costing in time, money, and stress!

-Doug

 

[dougchambers]

Just heard from Cassie over at Oceans Motions. She is working to get us a new body shipped out ASAP.

I really can't say enough good things about Paul and Cassie. They have been outstanding to work with. Customer service like theirs is hard to find...

-Doug

 

[NOLACLS]

Thanks JustOne...

Pretty good setbacks today in the overall plan. During the wet test I noticed two leaks on fittings coming from the OM 4-Way. Today I tore everything down and re-taped the two fittings. In my effort get everything tight, I split the case of the 4-Way. Of course I didn't see the split until we came back from dinner tonight and found lots of water on the floor. Want to know the best thing about having an in-wall that backs to a separate room off the garage??? It has a concrete floor! Granted some moving boxes got wet in the main garage, but at least it isn't carpet.

The second setback came when I picked up a 300W heater during dinner to get the tank up to temp. It wasn't a brand I've used before, but you don't have a lot of choices at 8PM in Boise Idaho. I plugged it in and immediately blew the breaker. The heater is bad and the tank will have to wait until Thursday for heat.

The rock I planned to put in the new tank is looking better, but has a huge algae bloom on it. I'm debating if I want to put it in yet or try to get it cleaned up more. I need it in the base for the exisiting rock. I'll have to see how it cleans up Thursday.

For those keeping score, we are at least 1-1.5 days behind schedule. We were planning to move the old tank over tomorrow (Thursday), but that won't happen now. If I can get things settled down, we will shoot for Friday. We've got to be out of the old house by 5PM Sunday and I have some dry wall to patch where the chiller routed to the garage.

Looking back.... We could have had some nice landscaping by now for what this thing is costing in time, money, and stress!

-Doug

:eek2: what a mess that could have been doug! One question...you didnt put a floor drain in your room behind the tank? How did the body of the OM crack...pics...I ordered mine yesterday so I would like to know what not to do. I have talked to Paul over there a few times....great guy really. Like you said...customer service is top notch...and that is KEY! He told me he is like 9 miles from Derek at MIG

The huge algae bloom on that fresh rock is normal IMO. If you plan to have some hermits in your tank once its setup I would throw a handful in the bin you are curing the rock in as long as its not uber toxic still, let them get to munching! From what I have seen and gone through the rock looses all its color turns brown and then once hermits or whatever eat up all the much the color comes back.

 

[tgunn]

Looking back.... We could have had some nice landscaping by now for what this thing is costing in time, money, and stress!

Hey Doug,
I've been following along from the start... Just think how great of an accomplishment it'll be to get this all done! It's something that you'll have for many years to come.

Who needs grass anyways?

Tyler

 

[NOLACLS]

Who needs grass anyways?

And then who wants to cut it every weekend...I would rather look at my tank :lol:

 

[dougchambers]

Wow - Where has the time gone...

A couple of updates, but no pictures yet. I need to get some images shot and uploaded. Everything is still a little unorganized so I've been waiting until I can get all the drips and little issues resolved, tuck the wires and blast some photos.

Friday I picked up a new PinPoint pH meter. My old handheld Hanna got submerged in saltwater for a number of hours and is no longer functional. I like the PinPoint with constant readings on the display. Our pH first thing this morning was 8.25 which isn't bad for overnight.

Sunday I finally had it with our DIY Ca reactor. I set it up and had it running only to find that the MAG2 had developed a leak around the head. I tore it down again and wrapped Teflon tape around the O-Ring and fired it back up. 30-min later and there is a small puddle in the catch basin. Further investigation showed a cracked seam in the acrylic. Could be due to more pressure on the feed line or the chamber got dropped during the move. The reactor was a good design but the chamber wall was only 1/8" and we got more lockups and melted media than I would like. Our local shop had a MRC CR-2 so I picked it up and started cycling water through it last night. No leaks this morning so I will fire the system up tonight.

:eek2: what a mess that could have been doug! One question...you didnt put a floor drain in your room behind the tank? How did the body of the OM crack...pics...I ordered mine yesterday so I would like to know what not to do. I have talked to Paul over there a few times....great guy really. Like you said...customer service is top notch...and that is KEY! He told me he is like 9 miles from Derek at MIG

Concrete is your friend! I didn't put a drain in the floor like originally planned, but it hasn't been much of a problem. The builder was a little unsure of the implications associated with having a drain in a garage. I guess some people were running a repair shop out of their garage a while back and dumped their oil and solvents down the garage drain.

The cracked OM 4-way was purely my fault. I kept having a slight drip from one of the ports and I simply over-torqed the street elbow when I put it in. I thought I could get that extra 30Ã"šÃ‚° out of the rotation and snap! Very ugly, but Paul and Cassie took care of us. Expensive mistake none the less... My recommendation is to use LOTS of Teflon tape.

The huge algae bloom on that fresh rock is normal IMO. If you plan to have some hermits in your tank once its setup I would throw a handful in the bin you are curing the rock in as long as its not uber toxic still, let them get to munching! From what I have seen and gone through the rock looses all its color turns brown and then once hermits or whatever eat up all the much the color comes back.

The rock has been a string of errors. First error was rinsing with fresh water. Second was not firing up the skimmer right off the bat and letting the rock go stagnant. Third was a run-away heater that drove the water temp to 89Ã"šÃ‚°F for a few days.

As of now the rock is in a separate tub with our old EuroReef CS6-1, two power heads, and overhead lighting. Everything is developing a very nice neon green algae in spots. I brushed a few pieces off and added them to our display tank sump to see how they do. I'm very hesitatant to move much of it into the main system and throw off the water levels. I really need the rock for building up our base and creating some ledges for frags.

The main tank has started it's first diatom blooms in the sand. I will need to pick up a number of hermits in the next week and start the aquascaping. If the algae gets too bad, I'm considering a Phos reactor.

Last night we mounted the trim work on the exterior. It looks good and matches the rest of the woodwork in the house.

Tyler - Thanks for the encouragement. Two weeks ago when the whole garage smelled like a bad day at the fish market and it seemed like every joint was leaking, I had serious thoughts about pulling the tank and installing an LCD or DLP in the wall. My lovely bride had already picked out the Sony Wega 50" LCD...

Now I've just got to sell the 75g system to recover some funds...

Pictures to follow - I promise...

 

[NOLACLS]

Wow man what a mess of bad luck huh. Glad to hear it seems to be on the up and up Looking forward to some pics....since mine is still on the darn floor :lol:

 

[vanburen]

Doug- I see you are using stock tanks for sump/refugium. Do you have any intalled pictures? I'm planning the same thing in my basement and am looking for inspiration. Thanks!

 

[tgunn]

Tyler - Thanks for the encouragement. Two weeks ago when the whole garage smelled like a bad day at the fish market and it seemed like every joint was leaking, I had serious thoughts about pulling the tank and installing an LCD or DLP in the wall. My lovely bride had already picked out the Sony Wega 50" LCD...

I've had my own set of frustrations that have discouraged me.... Just the other day I dumped 55lb of crushed oyster shells into the gravel pile for the sidewalk blocks I'm laying outside. The crushed oysters were supposed to be for my DIY liverock. 7 months later the first batch still hasn't cured.

What else... I managed to ressurect the dead Gen-X I had bought online but not without almost breaking part of it in the repair process...

It's all part of the process though. I'm glad my wife has been supportive of this adventure or I'd be sleeping outside by now!

I'll be starting my plumbing this month. I just sat down and simplified it considerably from my original plans... I'm sure I'll end up soaking myself a few times during the wet test.

Now I've just got to sell the 75g system to recover some funds...

Heh, I wish I had something to sell to make more funds for the project. :lol:

Later,
Tyler

 

[dougchambers]

Doug- I see you are using stock tanks for sump/refugium. Do you have any intalled pictures? I'm planning the same thing in my basement and am looking for inspiration. Thanks!

I'll be updating some pictures in the next few days. I've got to get the forms set for the dog run and hot tub first. Essentially we have a 110g oblong rubber stock tank (Tuff Stuff) with a 54g round rubber stock tank in one end of it. I drilled holes in the round refugium for drainds and pointed them towards the opposite end from the skimmer and sump return pumps. Makes for ZERO micro bubbles in the main tank. The main tank drain points towards the gap between the sump and refugium so the water has to travel all the way around the refugium before it hits the dead space in the sump. So far the design is working well. The plumbing is still a little ugly while we try to get our new CA reactor running, but it's coming along.

I've had my own set of frustrations that have discouraged me.... Just the other day I dumped 55lb of crushed oyster shells into the gravel pile for the sidewalk blocks I'm laying outside. The crushed oysters were supposed to be for my DIY liverock. 7 months later the first batch still hasn't cured.

What else... I managed to ressurect the dead Gen-X I had bought online but not without almost breaking part of it in the repair process...

It's all part of the process though. I'm glad my wife has been supportive of this adventure or I'd be sleeping outside by now!

I'll be starting my plumbing this month. I just sat down and simplified it considerably from my original plans... I'm sure I'll end up soaking myself a few times during the wet test. [/B]

Why do we abuse our selves like this??? My wife has been INCREDIBLE through this whole thing! I'm not sure why she is still putting up with me to be honest...

 

[vanburen]

Doug-
If I understand correctly, in a line you have - a) dead space where the tank water enters and the refugium drains, b) the refugium tank, c) an area for the skimmer and the return pump suction. Are you using an insump needlewheel (ASM, ER etc) or an external skimmer?

 

[dougchambers]

Doug-
If I understand correctly, in a line you have - a) dead space where the tank water enters and the refugium drains, b) the refugium tank, c) an area for the skimmer and the return pump suction. Are you using an insump needlewheel (ASM, ER etc) or an external skimmer?

A picture will really help, but let me see if I can describe this a little better.

The main tank drain enters into the dead space of the sump, but is diverted around the back of the refugium to allow for bubbles to settle out before mixing back in with the rest of the dead space.

The skimmer is an external MR3. We use the effluent from the skimmer to feed the refugium. The drains from the refugium are pointed towards the wall of the sump opposite the return and skimmer feed pumps. The dead space has two (2) 1.5" bulkheads with single union ball valves and strainers. One drain feeds a PCX55-HP for the skimmer, and the second PCX55-HP serves as the sump return to the main tank. All plumbing is 1.5" with the exception of the two (2) 2" drains in the bottom of the tank that feed the Sequence pump for the OM 4-way closed loop.

Here is a rough drawing that might help:

 

[tgunn]

Why do we abuse our selves like this??? My wife has been INCREDIBLE through this whole thing! I'm not sure why she is still putting up with me to be honest...

Well we can both be so thankful we have understanding wives. I think we've given up trying to "fix the price" on this project; things just keep on coming up. Ohwell, nearing the end of the "equipment" portion of expenses. So that's always good..

Tyler

 

[tgunn]

Doug,

I notice you're using the exact same kind of stock tank I'll be using for my setup. Did you use regular bulkheads on the tub? Did you install them on the flat part of the tub (ie the side) or on the curved part? Just wondering how that worked out?

Neat idea for the refuge within the sump; should help cut down on bubble problems...

Tyler

 

[dougchambers]

Doug,

I notice you're using the exact same kind of stock tank I'll be using for my setup. Did you use regular bulkheads on the tub? Did you install them on the flat part of the tub (ie the side) or on the curved part? Just wondering how that worked out?

Neat idea for the refuge within the sump; should help cut down on bubble problems...

Tyler

Tyler -
We picked up some heavy duty bulkheads from the same place we got the tubs. They were HUGE, but vey cost effective and work well. I put them on the curved part without any problems. The tank conforms very easily and sealed right up. It was one of the few things that actually sealed the first time.

With the fuge in the sump, it limits our overall water capacity, but minimizes one more leak source and fits very well. With all the water pushing around behind, it really cut down on our bubbles.

-Doug

 

[vanburen]

Doug,
Thanks. That was very helpful. I have been wrestling with methods to partition the stock tanks - the inner tub seems the best bet. I plan to use an ASM skimmer in sump (in tub!), and could probably use a tub to take the tank water and hold the skimmer. Then I'll route the skimmer effluent into the main stock tank (where your refugium drains), and I should have no bubble problems. If I understand correctly, you just mounted bulkheads essentially where you chose with no regard to curvature, and the stock tank conformed nicely? My trashcans did that (current sump) but I wasn't sure if the stock tanks were too stiff to get away with it.

I need to figure out how to elegantly include my old 30g as a refugium, and I'll be done!

Thanks.

 

[dougchambers]

Doug,
Thanks. That was very helpful. I have been wrestling with methods to partition the stock tanks - the inner tub seems the best bet. I plan to use an ASM skimmer in sump (in tub!), and could probably use a tub to take the tank water and hold the skimmer. Then I'll route the skimmer effluent into the main stock tank (where your refugium drains), and I should have no bubble problems. If I understand correctly, you just mounted bulkheads essentially where you chose with no regard to curvature, and the stock tank conformed nicely? My trashcans did that (current sump) but I wasn't sure if the stock tanks were too stiff to get away with it.

I need to figure out how to elegantly include my old 30g as a refugium, and I'll be done!

Thanks.

The tub conformed very well. Just make sure you have room for the pump(s) to come off at an angle if put the BH into the curved ends. If you use the black rubber type like I did, you shouldn't have a problem. The more rigid Rubbermaid ones wouldn't conform on the curves like these did. The BH I used are big and thick. I got them at more of a farm implament type place (D&B Supply).

For your glass refugium, can you mount it off to the side and run it with a powerhead and gravity drain into the tank or sump? I've seen a system locally where he feeds the fuge with a powerhead and then drains directly into the main tank. His pod population is HUGE!

-Doug

 

[tgunn]

Tyler -
We picked up some heavy duty bulkheads from the same place we got the tubs. They were HUGE, but vey cost effective and work well. I put them on the curved part without any problems. The tank conforms very easily and sealed right up. It was one of the few things that actually sealed the first time.

With the fuge in the sump, it limits our overall water capacity, but minimizes one more leak source and fits very well. With all the water pushing around behind, it really cut down on our bubbles.

-Doug

Great! Yeah, the plumbing place I get my stuff from has some inexpensive huge bulkheads in 1 1/2" size; I think they need a 3" hole or something (compared to the 2 1/2" hole for the bulkheads in my tank that's big)....

Did the tank have to conform quite a bit or just a little?

I guess another option I could always use is to run them through the bottom since my stock tank will be elevated off the ground about a foot.

I had priced the rubbermaid stock, but they want $260 CDN for the similar sized one; I couldn't even compare that to the $85 CDN that they want for the 110 gallon tuff-tub..

I guess I need to think about a refuge of some kind; perhaps I'll have to use another smaller tuff-tub external to the sump or something.

Thanks,
Tyler