reefnewbee
New member
Very Sweet work! Quite an inspiration...
The Fish Room 500
- Thread starter pch90265
- Start date
SOMEthinsFISHY
New member
this is an awesome thread !
therealacarolla
In Memoriam
awesome work!
SOMEthinsFISHY
New member
I agree !
pch90265
Premium Member
Another [OMG HOTTTT] Day in Paradise
Another [OMG HOTTTT] Day in Paradise
Well, I had to jet to AZ for a family emergency over the weekend, so I took yesterday and today off to work on the project. Unfortunately, it was 110 deg here yesterday, and is already 105 as I am typing this. So, not a lot is getting done on the system.
This morning I did rise early, however, do get the piers poured for the reinforcement of the floor. In the shot below you can see two of the four rebar "pins" I drilled 6" into the foundation of the office. Four pins have been set in construction epoxy for each of the four piers that I am pouring.
This second shot clearly shows three of the four pier locations. Notice the "QuikTubes" by QuikCrete. Nice, easily cut pier-forms. Great for decks, patios, oh, and for reinforcing the floor under exceptionally heavy objects -- like a reef tank.
The tank runs parallel to the 2x6 floor joists. There is a nice set of piers that were poured in the early 90s that you can see in the picture anchored to a 4x6 and 4x4 posts. The span between the end of the joists and the 4x6 is five feet. My brother-in-law [structural engineer] told me to reduce the span, add more joists, or both. So, I'm putting a set of piers and a 4x6 beam 30" from the wall, and another 30" from the existing beam. That will give me the foundation and three beams (six piers) for support. I'm torn about doubling up on the floor joists. It's a PITA to get under the office in the first place, and trying to get another 2x6 between the existing joists that are 13" O.C. might be nigh unto impossible.
I've poured the first 3" into each of the four forms. That has to set up nicely before I can put the post-ties in the remaining 9" of cement. I'll probably get that poured this evening, or first thing Thursday morning.
Other stuff...
*** The Polyethylene surge tank arrived to day
*** The Polycarbonate panels for the skylight arrived today
*** 48" quad-beckett skimmer from MRC is now on order
*** All remaining dry-goods now on order
*** Lowe's expected to install the "Fish Room" (aka, Tack Room Modular Shed) NLT 5/18.
*** I'm finish my PADI Open Water Cert at the end of this month!!!! [no, not so I can dive into my reef tank . . .
]
Another [OMG HOTTTT] Day in Paradise
Well, I had to jet to AZ for a family emergency over the weekend, so I took yesterday and today off to work on the project. Unfortunately, it was 110 deg here yesterday, and is already 105 as I am typing this. So, not a lot is getting done on the system.
This morning I did rise early, however, do get the piers poured for the reinforcement of the floor. In the shot below you can see two of the four rebar "pins" I drilled 6" into the foundation of the office. Four pins have been set in construction epoxy for each of the four piers that I am pouring.
This second shot clearly shows three of the four pier locations. Notice the "QuikTubes" by QuikCrete. Nice, easily cut pier-forms. Great for decks, patios, oh, and for reinforcing the floor under exceptionally heavy objects -- like a reef tank.
The tank runs parallel to the 2x6 floor joists. There is a nice set of piers that were poured in the early 90s that you can see in the picture anchored to a 4x6 and 4x4 posts. The span between the end of the joists and the 4x6 is five feet. My brother-in-law [structural engineer] told me to reduce the span, add more joists, or both. So, I'm putting a set of piers and a 4x6 beam 30" from the wall, and another 30" from the existing beam. That will give me the foundation and three beams (six piers) for support. I'm torn about doubling up on the floor joists. It's a PITA to get under the office in the first place, and trying to get another 2x6 between the existing joists that are 13" O.C. might be nigh unto impossible.
I've poured the first 3" into each of the four forms. That has to set up nicely before I can put the post-ties in the remaining 9" of cement. I'll probably get that poured this evening, or first thing Thursday morning.
Other stuff...
*** The Polyethylene surge tank arrived to day
*** The Polycarbonate panels for the skylight arrived today
*** 48" quad-beckett skimmer from MRC is now on order
*** All remaining dry-goods now on order
*** Lowe's expected to install the "Fish Room" (aka, Tack Room Modular Shed) NLT 5/18.
*** I'm finish my PADI Open Water Cert at the end of this month!!!! [no, not so I can dive into my reef tank . . .
]
SOMEthinsFISHY
New member
whjat you have there is fine most people would not even have done that i see it all the time !!
pch90265
Premium Member
Hey Travis,
Thanks for the encouragement! When you're snaking around in the crawlspace under a building in 100+ deg heat it's easy to loose objectivity as to whether, or not, your efforts are necessary for the project... or pure insanity.
I ordered a "MR-C8448." It's a four-Beckett model that I am going to run with two Iwaki MD-70's. Andy is making a manifold special for me so I can run that way... should be great for maintainence -- I can take either pump off-line without bringing the skimmer to a halt. And, it should still service my system as I eventually bring more volume on-line.
--Sean--
Thanks for the encouragement! When you're snaking around in the crawlspace under a building in 100+ deg heat it's easy to loose objectivity as to whether, or not, your efforts are necessary for the project... or pure insanity.
I ordered a "MR-C8448." It's a four-Beckett model that I am going to run with two Iwaki MD-70's. Andy is making a manifold special for me so I can run that way... should be great for maintainence -- I can take either pump off-line without bringing the skimmer to a halt. And, it should still service my system as I eventually bring more volume on-line.
--Sean--
120bamaguy
New member
What a fun looking project. One day I hope my tanks will grow up to be like yours:beer:
:hammer:
:hammer:
pch90265
Premium Member
June Update
June Update
Ooops, accidentally posted this as a new thread a sec ago... hopefully I can delete...
Well, the month of May was pretty much wasted as far as progress on the tank goes.... but, June is looking much brighter. My time was not a complete loss though -- I got my PADI Open Water Diver Certification knocked over in two weekends, so I can now "swim with the fishes" anytime I can find a buddy to go take a dip with...
I've made some progress over the weekend...
The Skylight is now framed!!! I'll be putting the panels on Friday/Saturday. That will let me get moving on the surge tank.
Here's the roof shot:
And, here it is from bellow:
June Update
Ooops, accidentally posted this as a new thread a sec ago... hopefully I can delete...
Well, the month of May was pretty much wasted as far as progress on the tank goes.... but, June is looking much brighter. My time was not a complete loss though -- I got my PADI Open Water Diver Certification knocked over in two weekends, so I can now "swim with the fishes" anytime I can find a buddy to go take a dip with...
I've made some progress over the weekend...
The Skylight is now framed!!! I'll be putting the panels on Friday/Saturday. That will let me get moving on the surge tank.
Here's the roof shot:
And, here it is from bellow:
pch90265
Premium Member
more pics...
more pics...
So, the Lowe's Shed finally arrived on Friday, 5/28, two weeks late. I guess I can't begrudge them that, since I was out diving the weekends before anyway.
My dry-goods order will be here on 6/4, thankfully, so I can start sniffing glue, as Chirs implied. I'm really stoked to be ready to make some significant progress.
At this point I'm only waiting on ... hmm, lets see:
1) the Heat Pump from AquaLogic
2) a new relay for the surge system from Grainger
3) my boss to approve some time off so I can plumb the system
4) the electrician to run all the 220VAC circuits to the sump area (scheduled for 6/14)
I think I should be ready for the first fill on/around 6/12. I really can't wait.
Here is the new shed and the 180G sump:
Cheers!!!
--Sean--
more pics...
So, the Lowe's Shed finally arrived on Friday, 5/28, two weeks late. I guess I can't begrudge them that, since I was out diving the weekends before anyway.
My dry-goods order will be here on 6/4, thankfully, so I can start sniffing glue, as Chirs implied.
I'm really stoked to be ready to make some significant progress.At this point I'm only waiting on ... hmm, lets see:
1) the Heat Pump from AquaLogic
2) a new relay for the surge system from Grainger
3) my boss to approve some time off so I can plumb the system
4) the electrician to run all the 220VAC circuits to the sump area (scheduled for 6/14)
I think I should be ready for the first fill on/around 6/12. I really can't wait.
Here is the new shed and the 180G sump:
Cheers!!!
--Sean--
justgettinstarted
New member
how exactly are you gonna keep the surge from blowing bubbles into your tank???
I have some idead i have been thinking about but have not tried out any of them... more or less a theoretical exercise which i like to do on ocassion! HAHA
I have some idead i have been thinking about but have not tried out any of them... more or less a theoretical exercise which i like to do on ocassion! HAHA
JeromeBaker
New member
I need some more pics. Awesome thread.
SOMEthinsFISHY
New member
PCH that is an awesome project thanks for sharing and keep us informed
a 180 gal sump some minnow tank !!
a 180 gal sump some minnow tank !!
pch90265
Premium Member
All, thanks for the complements... if the system actually fills without leaking I'll feel worthy of about 10% of them.
"justgettingstarted"... i'm planning to follow the set-up advise of H2OENG and Greg65 on the surge system. In brief -- the surge inlet will never be open to the air. I am going to gravity drain a small sump that will be above the tank. The drain at the bottom will be stopped up by an electrically actuated ball valve. The valve will be wired to a timed relay, so when the surge tank fills a float switch will open the valve. The timer will be set so that the valve closes before the sump closes completely. The sump [surge tank] is 70 Gal capacity, so I figure I can have a surge of 50 Gal with 10 Gal of "oops" room a the top, and 10 Gal [+/-] still in the bottom after each "flush."
Like I said, Greg65 has had this working for a while, and has no major problem with bubbles.
However, in the likely event that I get bubbles, I'm really not going to stress it. If you've ever been surfing/diving/etc you'll notice the ocean seems to have lots of bubbles... I don't mind, and I don't think the fish/coral will either.
Cheers,
Sean
"justgettingstarted"... i'm planning to follow the set-up advise of H2OENG and Greg65 on the surge system. In brief -- the surge inlet will never be open to the air. I am going to gravity drain a small sump that will be above the tank. The drain at the bottom will be stopped up by an electrically actuated ball valve. The valve will be wired to a timed relay, so when the surge tank fills a float switch will open the valve. The timer will be set so that the valve closes before the sump closes completely. The sump [surge tank] is 70 Gal capacity, so I figure I can have a surge of 50 Gal with 10 Gal of "oops" room a the top, and 10 Gal [+/-] still in the bottom after each "flush."
Like I said, Greg65 has had this working for a while, and has no major problem with bubbles.
However, in the likely event that I get bubbles, I'm really not going to stress it. If you've ever been surfing/diving/etc you'll notice the ocean seems to have lots of bubbles... I don't mind, and I don't think the fish/coral will either.
Cheers,
Sean
justgettinstarted
New member
ok cool! i have been trying to think of a way that avoids the actuated ball valve... and also avoids bubbles... but as of yet i have not come up with a solution... but i am still thinkin about it!
