Padrino's 220 Upgrade

[acesq]

My vote is go with a hood. Aesthetically it will look at least as good (and your vertex mod, while genius, IMO does detract from the clean lines of the unit) and it gives you the ability to do what you want above the tank, particularly with your return lines. You could even consider sea swirls or Moceans for better surface agitation and random flow.

I'm interested in the dual Blue Eco set up. They are going to discharge into the same line and you will tee off that to feed your reactors and frag tank? That will leave you with a ton of available flow to go back to the tank. Do you need that much given the output of those pumps? Or is the driving factor redundancy?

 

[Padrino]

So here are some pictures to help explain. Lets start off with a general picture. This is my progress to date.


Next we have a picture of the one area that still requires to be boarded up with green board. I have also drawn a small box as to where I am thinking of adding a recessed area in the wall to mount 1 (maybe 2) blue eco controllers and eventually a vertex cerebra controller if ever released.



Here is another picture of the other end showing how much physical room I have in there. Its about 17" deep. While the side will be drywalled the top will be open so any heat generated will be able to escape into the ceiling. Not sure if it will be an issue but thats why I'm asking the questions now.


Here are two views of where the access panel will be so I have access to plug items in and make revisions as required in the future.

 

[Padrino]

acesq,
This is my thought process. One blue Eco could probably run my main tank returns, (I want about 800-900 GPH flow to my tank. This will provide a good volume through my sump thus making my skimmer efficient. The last thing we want is to have water racing through the sump making it inefficient from a heating and skimming aspect. Now I want to feed my main display upstairs, the frag tank located beside the sump, a ca reactor and potentially 2 media reactors.

Now lets look at this from an efficiency stand point. As I drive the pump harder (increase the RPM), the Wattage consumed started to raise pretty quickly. If I add two pumps and drive them lower, my consumption is half. Here is an example, upstairs when I tested my main tank with water and tested my abyzz pumps. I ran one at the flow I wanted. It was closer to 180-200W consumption. Not only was this pounding water through the ocean motion but it was also louder in operation. When I lowered the power to 50% and added another abyzz online, the noise was reduce and the total consumption was maybe 100W together.

So from a consumption point of view, it makes sense. If I pipe it into the main tank supply line with a valve. It allows me to service the main pump without affecting the flow to the main display. A "CONTINGENCY PLAN" so to speak. During normal operation that valve will be closed but it adds a level of comfort and I am more likely to service the pumps this way.

Before anyone states that it doesn't make sense because of the high dollar value required to purchase these type of pumps. Lets leave the cost out of it. Im not rich but it just means the project moves slower as I save for these items.

The plumbing will also look neater I feel rather than having one pump split off in a bunch of directions...

Now that I have tried to explain my thought process, what do you think? Maybe I should make another decision matrix on plumbing???
Cheers
Rob

 

[Padrino]

Sorry here is the picture of where that pump would go,

 

[Padrino]

I am curious about your recessed electrics cabinet. Aren't there going to be heat concerns, especially with a UPS in there? Also, how will you line it to keep it flame-retarding?

For the cabinet top I would make it appear enclosed but have it easily removable for maintenance. As you plan for all your wonder lamps of today, just remember that they will all be outmoded in a year or two and you'll probably want to upgrade eventually, so I don't think it is a good idea to make any of it too permanent. I think you are better off making things as flexible as possible so that you are in that much better position to make changes in the future.

Dave.M

Dave,
You are quite right about the lighting! I have been thinking about this exact issue and I have not made a decision of how to proceed just yet. The more I think about it, I think enclosing it with panels or doors may be the best route to take. My issue in this becomes, replicating or following the look of the tank up above. I used a stone on the bottom with a Bamboo Ledge. I think the only way to move forward is to continue with flat bamboo panels. This becomes tricky as Bamboo only comes in plywood 3/4" thick 4 x 8 feet. Oh and its $350 a sheet :eek1:

 

[dave.m]

There's a lot to be said for cheap vinyl/naugahide stretched over a frame.

Dave.M

 

[mseepman]

In regards to light lifting...I researched a long time and finally found a simple way to do it with one little linear actuator. See the attached video

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysyQ_S1wxso

Hope that helps...I love your build.

 

[acesq]

While I love your decision matrices, I don't think one is needed here -- the two Blue Eco set up seems to be the clear best choice. :fun2:

What kind of flow do you get out the the Abyzz at 50W as a closed loop pump? Does the Blue Eco have similar performance at 50W with no head?

 

[veloboy]

Rob, if it were me I'd go with two abyzz pumps. Lower wattage, less noise, easier maintenance, potential for redundancy. It makes too much sense.

As far as your canopy is concerned, it would be tough to get away from the bamboo aesthetic! That is beautiful stuff. I'm unsure of bamboo's water and heat repelling characteristics but I would think these potential pitfalls could be overcome with the correct topcoat. I had thought you were looking at LED's for your main light source meaning you won't have to worry about heat as much as the halide folks do. This gives you the option to enclose the canopy if you wish. I like the advice Dave M gave you regarding flexibility, that will certainly be important. Remember also that when an enclosed canopy is added to a tank it seems the tank has more impact on the surrounding room-this can be both positive and negative depending on the room.

I am anxious to hear which route you take with your canopy, either way I'm sure it will be stunning!

 

[Padrino]

Thank you all for your thoughts. Just to clarify the additional pump I plan to add is another Blue ECO 240 not an Abyzz. While they are comparable, their respective price tags are not. Due to the fact that this will not have a large load, I think the blue eco will be will suited for the application. What I really want to avoid is water racing through the sump. I believe in contact time for heater, chillers, skimmers ect. Increase the contact time and you will increase your efficiency of the device in question.
Like I mentioned previously, I am not exactly sure what the plumbing will look like just yet. I thought of the main tank drain could flow into the frag tank and then flow into sump. Or have the second blue eco beside the first and pipe it over to the frag tank. Or I could just mount the second blue eco under the frag tank and make an intake like a small closed loop, 1 intake, two returns and then have the main tank drain into the frag .. so many options make it that much harder........ Decision matrix??????

As for the canopy. I started really looking into this and its complicated. You see the bulkhead above my tank which also has a separate circuit containing 2 plugs for lighting is not quiet square to my tank. Actually Its quite literally an abomination. When it was built and installed I had no tank or anything to really reference it to and when the tank came, it was more important to be square as possible to the walls. Anyways without tearing it apart and creating a huge mess, I decided to square it up and build it out. Once the bulkhead is built out, I will build the canopy from there down. Everything will be built using a sheet of 3/4" x 4' x 8' Bamboo. The doors will be flat flush panels with two modern handles to pull them on and off. I will integrate hidden magnets to assist me in keeping them in place. Inside the canopy will be LEDs of some kind which will help with heat and humidity. Here are a few pics so far.







Cheers
Rob

 

[Padrino]

Here is what I was thinking for the canopy plan. You will really have to look closely for the different blocks which are rear supporting members and flush mount panels that will be in contact with the viewer. I want to keep the lines simple but elegant. That and the fact that there is not a lot you can do with plywood. Machining it becomes hit or miss.

 

[tredreef]

I'm so glad to see this build n the forward move. Your bamboo canopy will look amazing as the rest of the build does. Forgive me if I missed it somewhere, but have you decided on lighting yet?

 

[saltymix]

Good choice with the faux rock it looks good.

 

[Padrino]

I'm so glad to see this build n the forward move. Your bamboo canopy will look amazing as the rest of the build does. Forgive me if I missed it somewhere, but have you decided on lighting yet?

There are some pictures of the vertex lights I purchased some time ago in pages 2 and 3 I think. The main light is a illumina 260 with 2 illumilux blue strips to support.

 

[naldopr]

beautiful set up man

 

[[]V[]addog]

man, this build is amazing, just went thru the whole thread, lots of great thought and ideas went in to this, once i get a chance at a larger build... I may have to steal some of your ideas, ha ha

 

[Newbie Aquarist]

Those are some great plans and progress.

 

[Padrino]

Thanks guys. I have 2 major projects at work that were launched on Friday. I have been working 15 hour days to try and expedite the timeline so I can get back to my personal projects. I hope to have some progress within the next 16 days as my projects have me busy for the next 2 weeks solid.
Stay tuned..

Rob

 

[lanshark]

I am getting ready to start a new build. It makes me nervous to see a build like this come to a grinding halt You're not alone, several on RC are in this position.

 

[Padrino]

Oh I'm still making progress. Even slower than before. I'm now dealing with the spouse factor. A lot of things are up in the air at the moment. However at least I can still make some people happy. I'll post an update in a bit