Serpentman's 300g upgrade

[serpentman]

Hey Vietcu, I've had tanks in my basement for years without any corrosion issues on the ductwork. Its encased here because the entire space behind the tank will be a dedicated room. I am having humidity issues elsewhere in my basement. I have an exposed wall with a walkout that has condensation in the coldest months. Although I plan to insulate it, I wanted to contain the humidity and vent it directly outside. I've been slammed at work so its taking a bit longer than planned. However, once the drywall work is completed, the rest will come together fairly quickly. I am hoping to have an open house / cook out later in May/early June.

Thanks, jtarmitage! The tank dimensions are 72Lx 36W x 27H

 

[serpentman]

I am toying with sump designs. Since the tank stand is 42"H, I want to utilize the space underneath the best I can. I am limited by access so I am thinking a 2 piece system would be best. I am trying to increase the return section as large as possible to allow for water changes while the return pump is running. My current skimmer is external but I also want to keep my options open for the future. Any thoughts or suggestions?

 

[serpentman]

Sean came over tonight and finished up the final skim coat on the drywall. Tomorrow I sand everything down and hopefully paint over the weekend. Once that's done, I'll begin plumbing!

One question maybe someone can help with. I am working out how I will heat the system (~550g) and am thinking of going with a higher wattage heating element, something in the 500-1000W range. However, after reading several reviews, it seems a lot of people have issues with many models burning up within a year. Anyone have any recommendations on a decent model?

 

[melev]

Normally, you want 3x the water volume to heat it. Is that even enough considering the amount of cold weather you have to live through?

 

[serpentman]

I think the 3W rule is pretty accurate. My current system is around 275g which runs well on 750W of heat. However, the display is upstairs which is considerably warmer than the basement. Since this entire system will be downstairs, it might take a bit more. I was thinking about 2 x 1000W elements. However, from what I gather, most that are on the market aren't the highest quality.

 

[melev]

I'm thinking you might want to buy those heaters that are elements only and use a controller to turn them on and off. Two drawbacks that I can think of:

1) Too many amps (2000w is a lot of juice)
2) Controller failure could cook the tank

That is why I use normal heaters that are set to a certain level (around 80F roughly) and use the Aqua Controller 3 to turn them on and off between 79.0 and 79.8. That way they turn on and do what they should, but if the controller tells them to stay on for some crazy reason, the internal themostat should turn them off if the tank gets over 80-81F (hopefully).

 

[serpentman]

That was my plan. As convenient as my AC3 is, in the event that it goes, I am cooked, no pun intended. I was planning to use a Socket Expansion so I wouldn't be running the amps through the DC8. Normally I would prefer to use normal heaters but I think it would take way too many...

 

[melev]

Four 500w heaters in a DC4 would probably be best, and 500w heaters aren't that hard to find that have internal thermostats.

I don't know what Hydor's reputation is at this time. I've used Ebo Jager for years, but that was prior to their being acquired by another company (Aqueon?). They are now called Jager.

I would do some due dilligence trying to figure out what is the best choice, maybe perusing more tank owners in this (Large Tanks) forum. What does KentE with the 1000g plywood tank from Rochester-area use?

 

[serpentman]

Good call, I still have a week or so before I will be forced to make the decision. Hopefully will start filling next week.

 

[GSMguy]

Aquatic tech has some really old drygoods, last time I was there they still had the old ebo jaeger heaters. Those IME are the best otherwise I like the plastic stealth heaters. New jaegers are not trustworthy. I use my ACJR for heaters as well, remember to calibrate the temp probe.

 

[serpentman]

A little update. First coat is on, tonight I'll slap some color on the walls. Tomorrow, I'll put down the floor.

Starting to fill up my reservoirs!!!!!

Starting to get to the fun stuff......

 

[PhilipOSU]

It is looking really goo Jeff. BTW I am in the same boat on heaters. I was thinking of going with 2 or 3 500W titanium elements for my 220 system volume of about 350, but have been holding off and using my existing heaters in the mean time (2-250W and 1-300W).

 

[serpentman]

Thanks Phil. I've had good luck with my stealth heaters and guess I could always go with 6 x 250W. Seems like a lot of extra cords that I'd rather not deal with. Let me know which brand you land on.

 

[PhilipOSU]

For me more so than the cords it is the DC8 outlets that they take up!!! That space is at a premium. I currently have 2 DC8s at capacity and I am sure you do too.

 

[DEERE G]

Looks good with everything all nice and white.

 

[serpentman]

Yeah, I am running heaters of the expansion sockets so they don't take up the 15a available through a DC8. Honestly, although its not recommended but I run them off a splitter after that.

 

[Ed Reef]

Nice and clean - great job there !!

 

[DiscoReefRover]

wow you are all business ...holler if you need a hand !!!

 

[Northside Reef]

Wow this is coming together fast. I wish I had that much room for my build, but I'm relegated to a tiny tiny corner and a filtration room I had built onto the side of the house.

6 kids seem to take up a lot of room and for some reason my wife thinks they should have their own space...

Anyhow this one (build) has got the juices flowing again and I am finally at the point I get to assemble my system.

 

[serpentman]

LOL, I painted last night for about 5hrs! I want to begin filling next week and since I am traveling Mon-Wed, I figured I'd better get crackin!

BTW Sean, the drywall looks awesome! Definitely gonna need some advice on the trim. A couple places have me stumped.