btucker7587
New member
A lot has changed since I last posted…my wife bought me the Apex Controller with an additional energy bar for the tank. This pretty much makes the power panel and outlets useless since everything will be plugged into the controller.
The controller also reduced my need for installed outlets from 12 to 3, so I pulled the power panel and the outlets out and replaced the back panel with a piece of plywood with a water resistant coating on it. I only took the inside panel of plywood to the center of the stand since I had already installed plumbing and left no room on the sump side for ply-wood to fit between the sump tank and the wall. Instead, I took another piece of coated plywood and screwed it in from the rear of the stand, but only mad it about 5-6” taller than my sump to control splash. This also allows for my plumbing to still be accessible from the rear of the stand as intended.
Below is a pic of the stand during part of the water resistant prep. I took clear silicone and filled all gaps and joints to prevent water from getting beneath the stand. To take it a step further I also sprayed over the silicone and the exposed L-brackets with Flex-Seal spray sealant which is the black stuff you see on the inside of the stand. The right side isn’t completed yet because I have not secured the back wall to the stand. Until I get the sump back in to ensure there is plenty of clearance to align the plumbing properly I won’t be able to secure it.
Silicone filling gaps...
The plumbing is pretty basic. I use dual 1.5" (40mm) PVC for the return which allows for a lot of flow on gravity alone. I was thinking of splitting one of the drains to my UV sterilizer, but since I am going to put in a second submersible pump to feed the multiple reactors, I decided to just add the UV Sterilizer to that. Instead, i put two lengths of pipe in the overflow on a 1.5" T-connector to deliver water to the sump.
I made one shorter than the other to act as a backup of sorts should something prevent flow down the shorter drain pipe. My return pump is about 1800gph on a 1" return which is split at a "T" to either side of the tank.
The controller also reduced my need for installed outlets from 12 to 3, so I pulled the power panel and the outlets out and replaced the back panel with a piece of plywood with a water resistant coating on it. I only took the inside panel of plywood to the center of the stand since I had already installed plumbing and left no room on the sump side for ply-wood to fit between the sump tank and the wall. Instead, I took another piece of coated plywood and screwed it in from the rear of the stand, but only mad it about 5-6” taller than my sump to control splash. This also allows for my plumbing to still be accessible from the rear of the stand as intended.
Below is a pic of the stand during part of the water resistant prep. I took clear silicone and filled all gaps and joints to prevent water from getting beneath the stand. To take it a step further I also sprayed over the silicone and the exposed L-brackets with Flex-Seal spray sealant which is the black stuff you see on the inside of the stand. The right side isn’t completed yet because I have not secured the back wall to the stand. Until I get the sump back in to ensure there is plenty of clearance to align the plumbing properly I won’t be able to secure it.
Silicone filling gaps...
The plumbing is pretty basic. I use dual 1.5" (40mm) PVC for the return which allows for a lot of flow on gravity alone. I was thinking of splitting one of the drains to my UV sterilizer, but since I am going to put in a second submersible pump to feed the multiple reactors, I decided to just add the UV Sterilizer to that. Instead, i put two lengths of pipe in the overflow on a 1.5" T-connector to deliver water to the sump.
I made one shorter than the other to act as a backup of sorts should something prevent flow down the shorter drain pipe. My return pump is about 1800gph on a 1" return which is split at a "T" to either side of the tank.
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