The 110 Tall (48x18x30) Project. Picture Intense!

[cerreta]

Today was a good day of work. I managed to get the tank bottom board in place and drilled. I also started the overflow plumbing and Closed Loop Circuit.

The challenge of the day was getting the tank on top of the stand so I could line up the holes and get ready for a water test. I had lots of help yesterday to help me lift the tank, thanks Ed and Mike, but I was not ready for them, so I thought no big deal, Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ll just ask the neighbors to help me.

So, the next series of photos will be more of a journey through the day, so read each caption as the story goes on. You will enjoy it.

I started off this morning by marking holes for the bottom white board to replace the black plastic sheet that I destroyed. This actually turned out great!!! I was looking for a place to put the whiteboard so I could drill it without cutting holes in the workbench. Then I remembered that I need to drill the stand too. So, I lined up the whiteboard exactly where the tank would be on the stand and I drilled through both surfaces at the same time.

now drilling

Now to cut the overflow region

a look before the stain

Stained for protection

Ok, so now I need to silicone the whiteboard to the bottom of the tank. In order to press the board tight and squeeze the silicone, this would be a good time to recruit the neighbors and help get the tank on the stand. The weight of the tank would do a fine job of squeezing the silicone to seal on the whiteboard.

So, now with the board on, off to the neighbors I went. Knock knock, crap, no one home. It is 1pm, why isnââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t anyone else home today, I thought. Off to the other neighbors, knock knock, crap! Ok, last neighbor, ring ring, CRAP!!! No one home on a Monday afternoon, sucks to be them, but now I am screwed!

ââ"šÂ¬Ã…"œMeoooooowââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ says skinny as she stretches:

ââ"šÂ¬Ã…"œOK, fineââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ skinny can help me.

So off to the work shop and skinny helped me tip the tank back over to its proper side and onto the dolly. Whew! So we wheeled it over to the stand. Skinny did a lot more supervising and bossing than lifting, but at least I had some helpââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¦hehehe

 

[cerreta]

So, I remembered back to the boring days in physics class about leverage and prayed that LeeMar built a tank that was solid on all sides. They did. So, the tank was placed on the side and positioned near the stand for a big lift.

After moving Garyââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s tank on Saturday, this was a moment I knew I could handle. My tank was light compare to that stand and 280 gallon monster he had. So I bent my knees for the big lift, ââ"šÂ¬Ã…"œcrack, crackââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ go the knees, and up it went as my 35 y/o back cracked and snapped! I think I pulled a muscle in my calf too. So, I took a Motrin break and I was back at the plumbing.
You can see my 5ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢5ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ 140 frame flex in the glass, skinny cheered me on too.

It was not that heavy really. The scaring part was when I had the tank on the stand it began sliding back at me and I had to heave it forward to prevent it from slipping off the edge of the stand.

Here is the overflow bulkhead in place. Due to limited room, I decided not to place two Ã"šÃ‚¾Ã¢â"šÂ¬Ã‚ returns in there. Instead, I will put one bulkhead and use a ââ"šÂ¬Ã…"œYââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ to run two Loclines.

Here are the PVC glues I use. I have never been a fan of Teflon tape. It takes to long to apply and it will sometimes leak anyways. I have had great success with Pipe joint thread. It goes on as a paste and will harden in 24 hours. It will be very hard in a week. It is a non permanent bond, so it is great to use on fittings they may be reused later on. I will glue other joints, but some need to be non permanent.

 

[cerreta]

Here is the Durso Standpipe. My last pipe was positioned too low in the overflow and the water would fall too far, creating some noise. I saw this modification to the Durso, and it is used by ALL-Glass. See the hole in the ââ"šÂ¬Ã…"œTââ"šÂ¬Ã‚? This should keep the water level up to the midpoint of the street El and prevent oscillations and slurping.

It was also important to keep this stuff black so it is not noticeable like white PVC. It also fits completely under the acrylic cover. This was important too. I want nothing above the tank. It looks nice!

cover on

Here is a profile shot

Cover on

Here is a PVC drain strainer. I had to dremel the street el to get this to fit.

If you look close you can see the return line plumbing. This was also another tricky thing to build. Not sure if it will work yet. I will update later.

Here is the issue. I wanted the return line below the water surface. It is, six inches. The problem is that when the pumps power down, the tank will drain into the sump and overflow, since the return line is so low. So, I put a riser pipe in the T that fits to the return bulkhead. This pipe goes up to the overflow slits and then has 2 90 degree elbows and a cap. There is a small hole drilled into the cap. The hope is that this will act as a siphon when the pump turns off and the tank will only drain to the bottom level of the slits. The best part is that the riser is built inside the overflow and nothing is hanging above the tank. Not sure if this will work!

Finished overflow

 

[hondadude2k5]

Looking good Scott

 

[cerreta]

. . . so after a week off sunning in Mexico, I am back at it. Plumbing is slow work. More thinking and planning than working.

So, for the Closed Loop Circuit (CLC), I wanted to keep it low profile. In other words, I wanted it to stay as close to the underside of the stand top as possible. Therefore, I would not be able to put unions and ball valves under the tank. Instead, I decided to use the Locline 3/4" ball valves (pricey at $12 each).

This way, in the future if I decide to change out the plumbing scheme, like changing over to a OceanMotions controller, I could just turn the valves to off and pull the CLC manifold out and replumb it all.

I sure am glad I used the SpaFlex on this job. I was very tempted to use the rigid PVC, but I never would have been able to complete it. This tricky install does require some flexing.

I also wanted to incorporate a ball valve on the CLC to permit for easy draining of tank water during water changes. After two years of tank siphoning, this valve will make the chore a breeze! Just shut down the tank, hook up some vinyl tubing and drin the water into a bucket located in front of the tank. Perfect! New water still needs to be added to the main tank.

Here are some pics:

These are 3/4" bulkheads used for the CLC returns. These are slip x slip devices. So, in order to keep them water tight but permit changes to the plumbing in the future, I glued 3/4" riser pipe (used a 4" grey riser pipe and cut it so one end is threaded and the other is slip) into each end of the bulkhead. This will allow full recovery of the bulkhead in the future without having to cut the pipe.
This pic shows that the two on the left are complete. The two on the right have the top riser pipe glued in place and the bottom pipe is shorter and about to be glued in place.

This pic shows the four 1" Ts with a 1" slip to 3/4" slip reducer. The reducer will be glued in place to the T and joint compound will be used to secure the 3/4" riser pipe to the T. This non glued part is where the CLC manifold can be separated from the bulkhead. I am a bit worried about vibrations and leaks to this spot. So, I will secure teh CLC manifold with clamps to the inderside of the tank wood support panel. All other parts of the manifold are glued. I will post later if there are major leaks here.

Before I secure the bulkheads in place, I wanted to cut out more room for getting a wrench in to tighten the bulkhead nuts. I later discovered that the holes around the 3/4" bulkeahs are not large enough either. When moving the tank into the house, I will drill these out to a larger size.
http://members.cox.net/starin/TankPlumbing 009.jpg

http://members.cox.net/starin/TankPlumbing 010.jpg

The CLC manifold is assembled. You can see the Ball Valve centered for easy water changes. Black SpaFlex tubing was used for this.

This is a shot of the back of the CLC Return Manifold. The Ampmaster pump will be kept outside of the sump. therefore, you can see the plumbing exit the stand for this reason.

I work the next couple of days, so more to follow on Wednesday.

 

[cerreta]

crap, pics not working. Try this

 

[cerreta]

Another point I forgot to mention is the circular design to the CLC manifold. Many systems feature linear runs to each bulkhead, but this creates a situation of unequal pressure to each bulkhead. Therefore, the CLC return spigot with the longest run of tubing will have the slowest flow output.

To keep all spigots equal in flow output, all one needs to do is build a circular manifold. This creates equal pressure within the system and all outlets will have approximately the same flow output. I am using a LocLine wye on the two back bulkheads with a single LocLine spigot on the front two. This may create a difference in flow output, but I am not certain until I test it. I don't recall if pressure will remain constant and flow changes, or viceversa.

 

[cerreta]

Boy, this has been going slow as of late.

I have finished the rough plumbing of the sump / return lines and CLC. Today I filled the tank and there were no leaks!!! Woohoo! That is a first. I was worried the ball valves on the CLC lines may be a bit leaky, but they seem to be holding.

I filled the tank and ran the return pump. If you recall, I wanted to run the return line 6ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ below the water surface with LocLine via a ââ"šÂ¬Ã…"œYââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ fitting. The problem I suspected was that the water level would drain down to the spigots and empty 6ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ more of tank volume below the overflow slits. So, I built a rise pipe in the overflow with a siphon hole. I was not sure if this would work. Well, it failed. Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢m uncertain why, but I think the water pressure in the tank is too great and forces water through the return spigots.

I have two solutions, one, is just angle the locline up towards the water surface. I did this in testing and all works fine. It also creates a lot of surface agitaion. The other solution is to redesign the return line so that it runs up to the slits, then back down to the return bulkhead. Currently the design features a T. If I run the loop design and place a siphon hole, I think it will break siphon. The third option is to use locline one-way check valves. These are only available on the Ã"šÃ‚½Ã¢â"šÂ¬Ã‚ locline, but I think that is what I will go with anyways.

The return pump is the Panworld 50PXX rated at 1110gph. I estimated a flow return of about 400-800gph, based on a head calculation. But today I measured the true output by running the system and collecting the water in a 5 gallon pale, while timing the event. Results are later in the pic profile.

So here are the pics:

Tank is half full for a water leak check.

Here is the plumbing in the back. These two lines are for the CLC. The bottom line goes to the Ampmaster 3000 intake and the upper returns the water via the CLC manifold.

Here is a look under the stand. I kept the plumbing as close to the top of the stand as possible. SpaFlex was used for most of the plumbing

The tank is full and running. The sump level is right where it should be, about one inch above the return chamber baffle.

Great water surface agitation.

Close-up of the Ã"šÃ‚½Ã¢â"šÂ¬Ã‚ LocLine via a Ã"šÃ‚¾Ã¢â"šÂ¬Ã‚ bulkhead and Ã"šÃ‚¾Ã¢â"šÂ¬Ã‚ wye to Ã"šÃ‚½Ã¢â"šÂ¬Ã‚ reducer. Nice surface agitation too.

The overflow chamber came out nice too. The water fall is only about 2.5ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚, very quiet.

Water level of the sump when the system is running.

Water level of the tank when system is off, about Ã"šÃ‚½Ã¢â"šÂ¬Ã‚ below Overflow slits when the LocLines are situated near the surface.

Water level of sump when the system is off. Keep in mind that the skimmer, pumps, phosban reactors and other stuff still need to be added.

 

[cerreta]

I tested the water pump output by direct measurement. I did this based on three different configurations.
Ã"šÃ‚½Ã¢â"šÂ¬Ã‚ LocLine with 5 links and fan nozzles produced 514gph with medium strength wide distribution currents.

Ã"šÃ‚½Ã¢â"šÂ¬Ã‚ LocLine with 5 links and jet nozzles produced 315gph with very strong currents. Pic not seen.

Ã"šÃ‚¾Ã¢â"šÂ¬Ã‚ LocLine with 5 links and jet nozzles produced 620gph with medium week currents.

I have chosen to use the Ã"šÃ‚½Ã¢â"šÂ¬Ã‚ LocLine with fan nozzles, which produces 514gph. This is roughly 5-6 times the tank turn over ratio, based on about 110 gallons of total system water. This flow rate is perfect for running through the chiller too. I was considering

 

[cerreta]

. . . Time for some skinz.

Today I built the face frames w/ pocket holes for the front and two sides of the stand. There will be no skin for the back. The back will be covered with paneling, which is thin and easy to remove for access into the stand from the rear.

The edges were routered to match the canopy. The back side of the doors will have a 3/8ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ rabbet edges to permit placement of the door backing. The same feature will be spplied to the sides too. The sides will have some holes drilled into them to permit passage of controller wires, Ca reactor feed lines, chiller plumbing, etc.


Basic stuff today, tomorrow I will stain the frames attach them and fit the trim work. I have never built furniture this elaborate before, so I am hoping the trimming comes out ok.

Here are the pics:

Front face frame

Side face frame

Back side of side face frame

This is a picture with the piece of wood that will cover the black plastic tank trim on top of the face frame. The trim paneling will cover this joint for a nice effect. The entire panel will then be attached to the stand by only two or three screws, so that the tank can be easily placed on and removed from the stand.

Here is a pic of front face frame with the tank trim panel removed.

More tomorrow.

 

[Satori]

Looking great Scott! It's going to look very nice.

 

[cerreta]

Mike, have you seen this thread by Marino. He has a decorative stand with a flip top canopy like you want to build. I like the way the lid wraps around the sides.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=787189&perpage=25&pagenumber=6

 

[cerreta]

. . . two days work is here. On Wednesday I finished cutting the wood for the skinz and chose some trim work. It is nice, but moderate in price, about $40 for the complete trim package.

I also used select grade Pine for the skinz, and that cost more than anticipated, about $100.00, but it has excellent wood grain and no knot hole. The wood is also straight, so it is worth the extra money.

The stain is Dark Walnut by Watco. I applied it as directions state. Today was a nice day for staining. It was overcast all day, so no direct sun drying the stain too fast. It did get a bit windy when I was tacking the Face Frames to the stand.

Ok, so here are the pictures.

These few shots are of the raw wood. I was planning, prepping, and sanding.

Front Face Frame (FF) with trim laid on top for effect.

Front FF with door skeletons in place for effect

Door skinz with the back panel glued in place. I use a 3/8ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ rabbet bit to cut out a groove for the panel to fit into. It is a poor mans version of building a raised panel cabinet door.

These next pics are from today. I did the finishing detailed work and staining. Later the FF were attached to the stand.

This is the side panel. It has routered side edges and the hole will be filled with a panel, just like the doors. Each panel will be fixed to the FF by screws so they can be removed in the future. The right panel will have a large whole in the center allowing plumbing to exit the stand and go to the chiller, in the separate chiller cabinet. I will build this next week.

From top to bottom: Door, tank trim panel, Pillar trim piece that fits onto tank trim panel (this will be glued on after the stain dries), 4ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ wide door backing (it attaches to the left door and seals the light into the stand. The right door will have to be opened first. See my pics of the canopy for more detail), One of two Pillar trim pieces for side of Front FF, door.

The Front FF will be glued to the stand first. I like to hide as many nails and screws as possible on the finish work, so the FF will be brad nailed to the stand then the trim piece will be glued on top thus covering all the brad nails. This has a clean look and is solid too.

Here the FF is glued on and fastened with clamps.

Look close and you can see the brad nails lined up in two rows. There is also a row of brad nails on the top and bottom pieces which too will be covered with trim pieces.

 

[cerreta]

This is a cool piece. I call it the tank trim. When it sits in place as pictured, it rests on the top of the Front and Side FFs. It will be secured with two screws on the back portion of the side panels. This entire trim piece is removeable. It will allow for the tank to be easily placed on the stand and removed without having to shove it on from the back, or lifting it over a fixed panel.
I have seen many tank stands that either do not have the trim piece, so you have to view the ugly tank trim (usually black or oak plastic) or it is a solid extension of the FF. It came out very nicely and will cover 3.5ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ of the tank bottom. The DSB should be about 5-6 inches.

Here you can see that all the trim pieces are in place.

Here is the tank trim with the side pieces attached by pocket holes. When setting the screws, I gave the side pieces a bit of a inward tilt, so that they flex in towards the tank. The fit is snug. I may not even use screws to secure it now. Not sure yet.

Another look at the side piece

Everything in place here. You can see the doors are on. The 2ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ space between the doors is that panel I described earlier. It is attached to the left door. Therefore, when the door swings open, there is no beam in the middle of the stand, thus permitting full access into the stand area.

Here the side FF is in place.

Up next, I will be removing the 10ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ center glass brace on top of the tank and replace it with a four-six inch strip. This should be plenty and will allow for better access into the tank and better light penetration too. I know this is risky, but I have seen many other tanks that are bigger and have small (4ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ strips on the sides. If it breaks, I will be the first to call myself an idiot!

I just got my order of black foam, so I will be spraying the back wall, overflow chamber, and CLC drain pipe to make them look like the rock sculpture.

I will also be getting in the new T6 lamps tomorrow. I read about these in the new Sprung book, The Reef Aquarium Vol 3. I am very excited to try them out, and will be posting in a few forums about the bulbs and the LUX they produce in comparison to the current T12 VHOs and the 250 watt MHs.

I also need to finish the trim application on the canopy and stand to bring the pieces into harmony.

I should be doing the switch out on April 23-25, that is very soon and I still have a lot of work ahead.

 

[Roll221]

WOW, looking pretty fancy there Scott!! BTW, I got you CA reactor in my garage.

Ed

 

[cerreta]

Cool, can you send it with Mike on his visit here Monday? thanks for getting the stuff Ed.

 

[Satori]

That looks really nice Scott!
I'll send you a PM about the calcium reactor if my internet connection holds out a few more minutes.

 

[cerreta]

I began working on the chiller stand. It will have the same height as the tank stand. It will butt-up against the right side of the tank. Later, the chiller stand will support a nano tank that will be custom built by me (my first try at a glass tank). The dimensions will be the same as the chiller stand with the height of the main tank, 30 inches. I will use this tank as a frag tank or maybe a softy tank, since I have so many soft corals that will need to move out of the main tank to make room for the new sps corals that I will be getting.

The nano tank will be plumbed into the main tank, so water chemistry will be the same.

So far the chiller stand is built and stained. Tomorrow, I will finish the face frames and stain the stand. If I have time, I will wax the main tank stand and the canopy, while adding a finishing touch to the canopy with trimming.

Here are the pics:

Bottom frame support is raised 3/8ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ from floor. This matches the main stand and is necessary since the tank will be placed on an uneven Saltillo tile floor.

Chiller stand in the raw. This side will be butted up against the main tank

This side will be the right side and will be the exhaust side of the chiller.

Stained chiller exhaust side (right side).

Stained front side of the chiller stand. This will be the viewed side of the chiller stand. It does not have the skinz on yet.

I like waxed wood for its rich luster and feel. It is a bit more work to care for, but looks beautiful and protects wood much longer than any polyeruthane, IMO. Waxing is the common method used to protect antique furniture. This wax is colored and will be applied in two thin coats. Then for future coats, regular furniture wax will be used for added protection without the additional color.

 

[cerreta]

I worked a bit on the Ca reactor. I drilled a hole into the top plate to facilitate a bulkhead fitting for the pH probe. This is a design idea from a GEO reactor. When the probe is not in place, a rubber stopper is placed in the hole and squeezed tight with a compression fitting to create a leak free seal.

Here is the rubber stopper in place.

Ca Reactor. The mag pump is noisy and leaks. I think the o-ring may be at fault, I will try to locate a replacement tomorrow. After doing some research, I decided to change the mag pump out for an Ehiem 1248 pump. They work better and run quieter than mag pumps.

Projects up next:
1. Finish chiller stand and stain face frames.
2. Add tank trim to canopy and wax wood.
3. Spray black foam on back tank wall, overflow and CLC drain pipe.
4. Replace center divider in main tank from 12ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ to 5ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ divider.
5. Build nano aquarium.
6. Hook up Ca reactor to current tank and test it out.
7. Build rack to mount electrical switches.

 

[Satori]

Looking great Scott. It looks like you're way ahead of me (even with your list...)