SPS In-wall 2.0
- Thread starter javajaws
- Start date
javajaws
Premium Member
Not much new to report this week. Been finishing up the cabinet mods this weekend...sanding, applying finish, etc. Hopefully the tank will be finished this next week. I ran into a bit of a snag though in making new cherry trim to go around the tank. Since I last did any significant woodworking I got rid of my router table and fence. So it looks like I need to do some more shopping this week... 
I got a bunch of dead rock from BRS I need to start arranging into some semblance of a minimalist aquascape. I'm going with mostly fiji rock as I prefer the look of that as compared to the other stuff they offer. I did get some shelf rock too that I'm gonna try and incorporate.
I got a bunch of dead rock from BRS I need to start arranging into some semblance of a minimalist aquascape. I'm going with mostly fiji rock as I prefer the look of that as compared to the other stuff they offer. I did get some shelf rock too that I'm gonna try and incorporate.
javajaws
Premium Member
Hey, I think I remember you from when my old tank was up and running. What's your name/MAAST handle?
javajaws
Premium Member
I decided while I was waiting on the tank to be built that I wouldn't spam this thread with trivial/meaningless updates...
BUT, after almost 2 months of waiting I FINALLY have the tank. It took a long drive up to Dallas (from Austin) to pick it up (while sick nonetheless), but its now in the house:
Somehow the black vinyl got left off the end opposite the overflow. I never noticed it was missing until I got home! Tom at A.G.E. is great though and he's going to mail me some that I can apply. I'll have to wait to do that before I can put the tank into place though.
So did I do anything while I was waiting? Perhaps not all I could have done, but I did install my dosing pumps as well as mount most of the electronic controls:
Here's the 3 dosing pumps and 1 pump for evap:
Here's the real money shot though:
And new trim fitted to the front. This piece is attached with clips and is removeable for cleaning the tank, etc. Once the tank is in place I will finish trimming it out to sit flush with the front glass:
BUT, after almost 2 months of waiting I FINALLY have the tank. It took a long drive up to Dallas (from Austin) to pick it up (while sick nonetheless), but its now in the house:
Somehow the black vinyl got left off the end opposite the overflow. I never noticed it was missing until I got home! Tom at A.G.E. is great though and he's going to mail me some that I can apply. I'll have to wait to do that before I can put the tank into place though.
So did I do anything while I was waiting? Perhaps not all I could have done, but I did install my dosing pumps as well as mount most of the electronic controls:
Here's the 3 dosing pumps and 1 pump for evap:
Here's the real money shot though:
And new trim fitted to the front. This piece is attached with clips and is removeable for cleaning the tank, etc. Once the tank is in place I will finish trimming it out to sit flush with the front glass:
urbaneks
New member
I love the project you have going. Between the design, cabinetry, acrylic, It's obvious that you have some diverse skills. Looking forward to watching this progress.
One opinion on your apex installation would be to add a false wall that the equipment mounts to and allows the wires to be routed behind the false wall. It would really clean up your wire management. Here is a link to mine if you are interested. There is an initial photo of the panel on page 1 and an installed photo on page 3. Best of luck on the build.
One opinion on your apex installation would be to add a false wall that the equipment mounts to and allows the wires to be routed behind the false wall. It would really clean up your wire management. Here is a link to mine if you are interested. There is an initial photo of the panel on page 1 and an installed photo on page 3. Best of luck on the build.
midnight coffee
New member
Wonderful design, Looking for your beautiful tank soon.:bounce3:
JG1
New member
wakeboardgeek
New member
I love the design of your sump! Changing the sock will be a breeze. Can't wait to see this build come together. Great looking so far!
javajaws
Premium Member
Awe, now why did you have to go and show me a picture of that! Putting evil ideas into my head!
javajaws
Premium Member
I promise I haven't disappeared! Its just that since the tank took so long to build it has pushed my window/timeframe for the initial fillup too close to a vacation I had planned for the end of the month. I don't want a brand new tank filled up right before I'll be leaving town for a week so I'm just slowly plodding along until I get back from vacation to get it started.
In the meantime I've been dedicating most of my time to building a new workbench in the garage. I mostly followed the Veritas workbench plan and built it out of solid maple and a twin-screw vise on one end and a jorgenson vise on the front. It's a real beast! If anybody wants to see some tool porn pictures let me know and I'll post it.
I have done a few things on the tank though...got all the overflow/return plumbing setup inside the overflow box of the tank. That took longer than I thought it would. I'm not sure if I'll be able to get a good picture of the plumbing though since I used all black PVC and the overflow itself is black. Might have to overexpose a shot to get the PVC to show up.
In the meantime I've been dedicating most of my time to building a new workbench in the garage. I mostly followed the Veritas workbench plan and built it out of solid maple and a twin-screw vise on one end and a jorgenson vise on the front. It's a real beast! If anybody wants to see some tool porn pictures let me know and I'll post it.
I have done a few things on the tank though...got all the overflow/return plumbing setup inside the overflow box of the tank. That took longer than I thought it would. I'm not sure if I'll be able to get a good picture of the plumbing though since I used all black PVC and the overflow itself is black. Might have to overexpose a shot to get the PVC to show up.
javajaws
Premium Member
OK, I'm back from vacation and ready to get this tank going! One minor update...before I left on vacation I put all my dead/dry rock into a brute can and started cooking it...so it's been cooking for a couple weeks now. Hopefully this will shorten the amount of time the tank will have to cycle before I can start stocking (when it's..you know...actually filled with water!!!). I've gotta make a HD run later today and pick up some foam underlayment for the tank as well as some plywood to make a temporary stand to sit the tank on so I can slide it into the wall.
In the meantime I just have to show off my new workbench I built last month which occupied most of my DIY time. It should make all of you tool addicts cry:
In the meantime I just have to show off my new workbench I built last month which occupied most of my DIY time. It should make all of you tool addicts cry:
110galreef
New member
Very Nice looking bench...now on with the darn tank!! :headwally:
javajaws
Premium Member
Well, I got the tank in the wall today. Turned out to be pretty easy. I got a sheet of 1/2" pink foam and laid a piece of it down on top of the plywood then I built some temp stands (~7" high) to raise the tank up high enough to just slide it into the cabinet on top of the foam. Sliding it in was the only real way to do it because of the cabinet that runs over the top of the overflow which prevented me from lifting it and setting it in place. I'll snap some pictures tomorrow to show you. In the meantime I'm trying to finish up the trim that will go around the front of the tank. I just had to cut some more pieces of cherry so that the trim sits flush against the glass. Should be done tomorrow and I'll take the pics after that.
Up next will be the plumbing which should be a 30 minute job since I already have everything in place inside the overflow box. I couldn't get a good picture of it because all the plumbing parts in the overflow were black and it doesn't photo well against the black acrylic.
Up next will be the plumbing which should be a 30 minute job since I already have everything in place inside the overflow box. I couldn't get a good picture of it because all the plumbing parts in the overflow were black and it doesn't photo well against the black acrylic.
javajaws
Premium Member
OK, here's the update for the weekend:
Got the tank trimmed out on the front side. The trim around the tank sits flush against the glass and is removeable (for cleaning & tank inspection) by just popping it off. I used some of those screen door holders from the hardware store to hold it on.
Next up was water testing the sump (never got around to it when I built the thing). Went mostly well. Found an internal baffle that I hadn't glued all the way as well as the plug in one of the expansion bulkheads at the bottom was leaking slightly (needed some more teflon tape). When full the only deflection I got was along the back by where the return pump will go. It wasn't a lot but I had an idea to add a mounting bracket for all my dosing lines anyway so I made it so that it would serve as a reinforcing piece as well. Check it out in the second pick below (look for all the airline tubes going into the sump).
I also added another bulkhead near the top of the sump to take advantage of a "hole in the wall" I had from the last tank. This is an emergency overflow is case "something goes horribly wrong". You can see it and the 1/2 clear drain tubing in the second pick below.
Once I finished up the sump I brought it back in then plumbed it to the tank. I'm running the 3-pipe Herbie/Bean overflow system...the first vertical pipe is the siphon, second is the emergency overflow, third is the trickle pipe. The clear line at the very back is the return pump line. I really like that all my plumbing is constrained to these vertical runs. It's a far cry from my closed loop/Oceanmotions and external return pump setup from before.
Here's the shot of the plumbing as it hooks up to the overflow (the MP40 that's still in the bubble wrap will go under the overflow in that big cutout area). Also note the overflow cover(s). The black acrylic cover on the overflow slides off and will help keep things mostly dry around that part of the cabinet. A.G.E. did a bangup job on it - its got routed slots to make a better seal with the overflow. On top of the acrylic you can see that part of the wood shelf above is cut - this is because I made it removeable so that I can get into the overflow for maintenance. Details like this are where a scale drawing of everything becomes a necessity before you begin!
And a little lower down looking at the sump (that filter sock is gonna be a breeze to change!). You can also see 1 of 2 vents that I had previously installed. These vent all the way to the top/back of the tank into the dining room.
And with everything put back together (that wire is from the lighting...I haven't coiled it up yet):
Got the tank trimmed out on the front side. The trim around the tank sits flush against the glass and is removeable (for cleaning & tank inspection) by just popping it off. I used some of those screen door holders from the hardware store to hold it on.
Next up was water testing the sump (never got around to it when I built the thing). Went mostly well. Found an internal baffle that I hadn't glued all the way as well as the plug in one of the expansion bulkheads at the bottom was leaking slightly (needed some more teflon tape). When full the only deflection I got was along the back by where the return pump will go. It wasn't a lot but I had an idea to add a mounting bracket for all my dosing lines anyway so I made it so that it would serve as a reinforcing piece as well. Check it out in the second pick below (look for all the airline tubes going into the sump).
I also added another bulkhead near the top of the sump to take advantage of a "hole in the wall" I had from the last tank. This is an emergency overflow is case "something goes horribly wrong". You can see it and the 1/2 clear drain tubing in the second pick below.
Once I finished up the sump I brought it back in then plumbed it to the tank. I'm running the 3-pipe Herbie/Bean overflow system...the first vertical pipe is the siphon, second is the emergency overflow, third is the trickle pipe. The clear line at the very back is the return pump line. I really like that all my plumbing is constrained to these vertical runs. It's a far cry from my closed loop/Oceanmotions and external return pump setup from before.
Here's the shot of the plumbing as it hooks up to the overflow (the MP40 that's still in the bubble wrap will go under the overflow in that big cutout area). Also note the overflow cover(s). The black acrylic cover on the overflow slides off and will help keep things mostly dry around that part of the cabinet. A.G.E. did a bangup job on it - its got routed slots to make a better seal with the overflow. On top of the acrylic you can see that part of the wood shelf above is cut - this is because I made it removeable so that I can get into the overflow for maintenance. Details like this are where a scale drawing of everything becomes a necessity before you begin!
And a little lower down looking at the sump (that filter sock is gonna be a breeze to change!). You can also see 1 of 2 vents that I had previously installed. These vent all the way to the top/back of the tank into the dining room.
And with everything put back together (that wire is from the lighting...I haven't coiled it up yet):
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