Scott's 270 aka Project Mayhem

[qwuintus]

Pimp build. Nice color palette.

Can we see the rest of the space?

 

[Noamurmac]

you created a great space with this tank! You have really put a ton of thought into this build love the tile as well as the lights. Is it just going to be gravity that will take the water from the first and second tank to the third or will you have to use more than one return pump?

 

[Scythanith]

Pimp build. Nice color palette.

Can we see the rest of the space?

Sure, I am stuck at work and don't have updated shots but here is what I have.

The tank is behind me on my right.

The cabinetry is going in the start of next week, and carpet shortly after. We should be over 90% done in a week! When I get home in a week I will shoot some new pictures for everyone.

Cheers,
Scott

 

[Scythanith]

you created a great space with this tank! You have really put a ton of thought into this build love the tile as well as the lights. Is it just going to be gravity that will take the water from the first and second tank to the third or will you have to use more than one return pump?

Correct. There is an overflow section in first (top) sump that will only overflow what the return pump in the second (bottom) sump puts back into the top sump. Kind of like an open "closed" system. If for some reason the return pump in the bottom sump quits (failure, plugged, etc.) the lower sump will not overflow. It will simply have no flow going through it. But just in case an ATO gets stuck on or something equally as bad, there is an emergency overflow in the bottom sump that will have an alarm on it that will shut off the ATO and notify me.

My friend built the 1st version of the system and designed mine with the changes he'd like to make. He's a smart guy so I trust him

 

[Scythanith]

Just bought this beauty, a BK Double Cone 250 with RD speedy 3. Should be here next week!

I am really having a dilemma right now on choosing a return pump and manifold pump. I was waiting for the Waveline DC12000 but I am getting a little scared of the rumours of spotty customer service and reports of the new DC6000 having flow issues. I really like the Abyzz pumps but they are a lot of cash. I need reliability, over anything else, it needs to be reliable. I am going for long stretches and I don't expect my wife to change pumps out for me.

Can anyone rationalize one pump over another? Waveline, RD3's, Abyzz A400...

Thanks!

 

[Scythanith]

So I have been doing a little figuring on costs for DC pumps. Here is what I came up with.

RE RD3 speedy 65W 1848 gph $753 2.45g per $ 2yr warranty
Speedwave DC10000 2640 gph $200 13.2g per $ can't find literature (assume 1 yr)
Waveline DC12000 3170 gph $280 11.3g per $ can't find literature (assume 1 yr)
Abyzz A400 4910 gph $2340 2.1g per $ 10yr warranty

Where does this leave me... I don't know. The higher the inferred quality, the higher the price. I just have to decide what my pocket book will handle.

 

[Scythanith]

Some progress has been made! You can see the scullery sink we had made up sitting in place. It will sit "on top" of the countertop once it's in. I think we will buy some back splash tiles from HD or Rona and do a back splash as well. Above the back splash will be some peg board or something like that to hang tools.

You can see the opening on the left for the mini freezer.

 

[Scythanith]

Delivery day!

I have an issue with the dimensions of the sump and my sump chamber. It fits almost perfectly aside from a bulkhead I have in the back righthand of the sump. The base for the skimmer just overlaps the bulkhead so the skimmer doesn't sit flat. I am going to find someone that CNC's plastic and have them build me a little 1/2" tall base that the system sits on.

Cheers,
Scott

 

[rocknut]

Totally understand the skimmer excitement! I waited for nearly two months to get my Supermarin 200 in June, but it was all worth it once I took it out of the box. I loved the Royal Exclusiv "bag". . Enjoy. Also, build looks great. What I wouldn't give for a basement/tank room...

 

[Scythanith]

The cabinetry is close to done. There are some big corrections that need to be made but you can get the overall idea. The gap in the doors on both the snake tanks and aquarium top need to be backed so there is no light leak. The lower brace on the aquarium top needs to be altered so I don't lean on it when I get into the tank from the front. Countertops need to be installed. Blah blah blah. Carpets were to be installed on wednesday but they double booked and bounced us to next week.

On a side note, I am tired of dealing with contractors that don't seem to care.

Enjoy!

Snake wall

 

[RJT]

Looks great You did all of this work yourself?

 

[Sonicboom]

This is exactly how i would do my build if i can find a sub contractor not wanting to get rich off me., wife and i have already agreed to enclose a portion of the house for an in wall tank. will tag along to take notes:wavehand:

 

[Newbie Aquarist]

That there is some nice cabinetry work sir.

 

[matt.fhm]

nice build. Following this.

 

[Scythanith]

Looks great You did all of this work yourself?

I didn't do the cabinetry myself. That's the one thing I contracted out since it has such a drastic effect on the final look of the project. The company I hired had good references but has been less than a dream to work with.

 

[Scythanith]

This is exactly how i would do my build if i can find a sub contractor not wanting to get rich off me., wife and i have already agreed to enclose a portion of the house for an in wall tank. will tag along to take notes:wavehand:

The original quote we were given for about 60% of the work was almost $30K. Not including: fire place or installation, any cabinetry work, carpets, the fish tank or equipment. So far, not including the fish tank & equipment, I am under $25K for the basement development. It wasn't that hard, asking for help from friends in areas I wasn't 100% sure about. I hired out the jobs that directly affected the look at the end of the project.

All in all we saved ~$20K by doing what we could on our own. That's money that can now go into the tank!:bounce2:

The carpet is in but I am at work. I have some iPhone pictures from Wendy but the iPhone won't do the work justice. I will post new ones once I get home

I also worked on the overflow plumbing that connects the overflow to the sumps. I am regretting using spa flex since it still had a bit of curl to it. I am concerned that the PVC cement won't fill the slight angle that the spa flex enters the bulkhead. If I have a leak I will re do the span with rigid 2" PVC.

I am still unsure about Apex vs Profilux. I was pretty sure Apex was the one for me, but the new wireless Mitras control has begun to sway me to the GHL side I want to be able to control my pumps (I decided on the new RE RD3 pumps that are 5-10v controllable), my mp40es vortechs, have water leak detectors, control water changes, run my doser, and control my lights. Well neither could run my lights not that long ago, but the new wireless module from GHL is a bit of a game changer. the more I have been reading aquadigital's reviews on how to set up AWC and ATO features on the Profilux, the easier it looks.

Any words of wisdom? I know nineball switched from Profilux to Apex and they said it was a great switch. Help....

 

[Sonicboom]

I am already working on getting at least the foundation permit and hiring a contractor to come lay the foundation and do the plumbing.
I was on the fence about Apex vs ReefAngel, so many options...

 

[Scythanith]

The majority of homes in Canada have poured concrete foundations. We are lucky to already have a strong based for tanks. Wendy and I knew we were going to have this system in the house before the home was built. We had the plumbing planned out for the fish room specifically. Whomever buys the house after us can put a bathroom or wet bar in the place of the fish room if they so choose.

Sonicboom, have an advantage since you can lay out your plumbing to work exactly for your tank. Then they pour the foundation around it. Make sure you have all the floor drains you'll need And what did you decide to go with, the Apex or Reef Angel?

Cheers,
Scott

 

[h.cordero]

Really nice cabinatry looks top clean work. Really like the fire place and that awsome BK supermarin with Dc pump. Do you think that its worth the extra cash for the pump DC on the skimmer?

 

[Scythanith]

In any case it's more efficient than AC pumps when it comes to power usage. Maybe a little safer since there is less juice in the water?

Thanks for the compliments! That fire place warms the basement up quite quickly.