Reef Central Online Community

Go Back   Reef Central Online Community > Special Interest Group (SIG) Forums > Large Reef Tanks
Blogs FAQ Calendar Mark Forums Read

Notices

User Tag List

Reply
Thread Tools
Unread 08/23/2013, 12:35 PM   #51
RJT
Registered Member
 
RJT's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Maryland
Posts: 769
Looks great You did all of this work yourself?


__________________
220g In-wall mixed reef with LED's
RJT is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 08/23/2013, 01:13 PM   #52
Sonicboom
Addicted to salt
 
Sonicboom's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Carrollwood, FL
Posts: 2,450
This is exactly how i would do my build if i can find a sub contractor not wanting to get rich off me., wife and i have already agreed to enclose a portion of the house for an in wall tank. will tag along to take notes


__________________
"60% of the time it works every time..." - Anchorman

Current Tank Info: 180 Aqueon RR / SRO3000Int / BLDC15 / TriggerSys custom Sump / AI Hydra 52 and Hydra 26
Sonicboom is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 08/23/2013, 01:28 PM   #53
Newbie Aquarist
Reefing is my middle name
 
Newbie Aquarist's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Clearwater, FL
Posts: 5,796
That there is some nice cabinetry work sir.


Newbie Aquarist is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 08/23/2013, 02:10 PM   #54
matt.fhm
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 64
nice build. Following this.


matt.fhm is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 08/24/2013, 08:51 AM   #55
Scythanith
Premium Member
 
Scythanith's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Saskatoon
Posts: 1,350
Quote:
Originally Posted by RJT View Post
Looks great You did all of this work yourself?
I didn't do the cabinetry myself. That's the one thing I contracted out since it has such a drastic effect on the final look of the project. The company I hired had good references but has been less than a dream to work with.


Scythanith is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 08/30/2013, 09:40 PM   #56
Scythanith
Premium Member
 
Scythanith's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Saskatoon
Posts: 1,350
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sonicboom View Post
This is exactly how i would do my build if i can find a sub contractor not wanting to get rich off me., wife and i have already agreed to enclose a portion of the house for an in wall tank. will tag along to take notes
The original quote we were given for about 60% of the work was almost $30K. Not including: fire place or installation, any cabinetry work, carpets, the fish tank or equipment. So far, not including the fish tank & equipment, I am under $25K for the basement development. It wasn't that hard, asking for help from friends in areas I wasn't 100% sure about. I hired out the jobs that directly affected the look at the end of the project.

All in all we saved ~$20K by doing what we could on our own. That's money that can now go into the tank!

The carpet is in but I am at work. I have some iPhone pictures from Wendy but the iPhone won't do the work justice. I will post new ones once I get home

I also worked on the overflow plumbing that connects the overflow to the sumps. I am regretting using spa flex since it still had a bit of curl to it. I am concerned that the PVC cement won't fill the slight angle that the spa flex enters the bulkhead. If I have a leak I will re do the span with rigid 2" PVC.

I am still unsure about Apex vs Profilux. I was pretty sure Apex was the one for me, but the new wireless Mitras control has begun to sway me to the GHL side I want to be able to control my pumps (I decided on the new RE RD3 pumps that are 5-10v controllable), my mp40es vortechs, have water leak detectors, control water changes, run my doser, and control my lights. Well neither could run my lights not that long ago, but the new wireless module from GHL is a bit of a game changer. the more I have been reading aquadigital's reviews on how to set up AWC and ATO features on the Profilux, the easier it looks.

Any words of wisdom? I know nineball switched from Profilux to Apex and they said it was a great switch. Help....


Scythanith is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 08/31/2013, 07:42 AM   #57
Sonicboom
Addicted to salt
 
Sonicboom's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Carrollwood, FL
Posts: 2,450
I am already working on getting at least the foundation permit and hiring a contractor to come lay the foundation and do the plumbing.
I was on the fence about Apex vs ReefAngel, so many options...


__________________
"60% of the time it works every time..." - Anchorman

Current Tank Info: 180 Aqueon RR / SRO3000Int / BLDC15 / TriggerSys custom Sump / AI Hydra 52 and Hydra 26
Sonicboom is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 08/31/2013, 11:29 AM   #58
Scythanith
Premium Member
 
Scythanith's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Saskatoon
Posts: 1,350
The majority of homes in Canada have poured concrete foundations. We are lucky to already have a strong based for tanks. Wendy and I knew we were going to have this system in the house before the home was built. We had the plumbing planned out for the fish room specifically. Whomever buys the house after us can put a bathroom or wet bar in the place of the fish room if they so choose.

Sonicboom, have an advantage since you can lay out your plumbing to work exactly for your tank. Then they pour the foundation around it. Make sure you have all the floor drains you'll need And what did you decide to go with, the Apex or Reef Angel?

Cheers,
Scott


Scythanith is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 08/31/2013, 12:37 PM   #59
h.cordero
Registered Member
 
h.cordero's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Costa Rica
Posts: 227
Really nice cabinatry looks top clean work. Really like the fire place and that awsome BK supermarin with Dc pump. Do you think that its worth the extra cash for the pump DC on the skimmer?


h.cordero is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 08/31/2013, 04:46 PM   #60
Scythanith
Premium Member
 
Scythanith's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Saskatoon
Posts: 1,350
In any case it's more efficient than AC pumps when it comes to power usage. Maybe a little safer since there is less juice in the water?

Thanks for the compliments! That fire place warms the basement up quite quickly.


Scythanith is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09/02/2013, 10:03 AM   #61
acesq
Registered Member
 
acesq's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Calabasas, CA
Posts: 1,501
Great build Scott. I am starting a large build myself and my cabinet maker and I have not decided how to secure the hood. How did you? Is it attached to the wall, the ceiling or sitting on the tank? Any issues with it?

I was at MACNA this weekend and spoke with Klaus from Royal Exclusiv about the new DC pumps. He had the 80W 2150gph on display at the Premium Aquatics booth and said it will be shipping at the end of the month. It will have a 0-10V connection so it can be controlled by an Apex or Profilux. The big news for me is that they are releasing a 240W 4000+gph controllable pump at the end of the year! That will be perfect for my closed loop. The hard part is waiting. I may have to spring for a couple of Blue eco 240W pumps so I can complete my build before next year.


__________________
Current tank: 340g AGE peninsula
acesq is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09/02/2013, 07:31 PM   #62
Scythanith
Premium Member
 
Scythanith's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Saskatoon
Posts: 1,350
Hi acesq, thanks for the compliment. The cabinetry is affixed directly to the bulk head I have made above the tank. The cabinet door hinges are right into the 2x4 framing around the opening. Now I had a specific request for the front doors which they didn't do correctly. I wanted there to be no, as in zero, cabinetry in my way to lean into the tank when the doors are open. They built a bottom portion that stays when the doors open. Since then they have removed it and are rebuilding it to my original requirements.



Jeremy took a video of the 80w RD3 for me from MACNA haahaa I was planning on going but then work needed me. Ah well, next year is Denver! I will bring the wife and take her to a show at Red Rocks.

The plan has been to get that exact pump you mentioned. I am a little disappointed if there is still going to be a 1-2 month wait for the 0-10v connection though. I want to get this puppy running! I may just put a dummy pump in to get everything running. I am using vortechs in tank to bump up my turn over. 4 MP40's gives me ~4000-12,800 GPH above my return pump. I have been seriously debating getting the Abyzz A200 if the RD3's aren't ready soon! I haven't found one negative about them aside from price.

I had a friend of mine, who is smarter than I am, to work out my max flow through my weir. His math said I could flow ~3800 GPH through the overflow teeth. I wanted to figure out what size return pump to get that wasn't under/overkill. My buddy Colby, and LFS owner, suggested 5x turnover (of display tank volume) through the sump was sufficient. So that would mean I should aim for ~1350 GPH from the return pump. I will likely go for a little more, but I don't want the pump I choose to be running at 100%.

Cheers,
Scott


Scythanith is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09/02/2013, 08:05 PM   #63
acesq
Registered Member
 
acesq's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Calabasas, CA
Posts: 1,501
Scott, thanks for the picture. I'll show it to my contractor and ask him to build the hood in the same way.


__________________
Current tank: 340g AGE peninsula
acesq is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09/03/2013, 10:22 PM   #64
Scythanith
Premium Member
 
Scythanith's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Saskatoon
Posts: 1,350
They are supposed to be back on thursday to finish up the work. Once they finish it up I will take a couple more pictures of the finished product for you.


Scythanith is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09/07/2013, 10:29 PM   #65
Scythanith
Premium Member
 
Scythanith's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Saskatoon
Posts: 1,350
Some tank shots. Carpet's in, baseboards are on!









Fish room.





The Snake wall. Still needs some backing, tanks cleaned, a little light sealing, bla bla bla.



Fireplace, cabinetry, carpets, tile... nearly done!



I still need some ducting work, and a light fixture or two. Then all the work on the tank

Cheers,
Scott


Scythanith is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09/08/2013, 05:32 PM   #66
Hurting2Ride
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Southern California
Posts: 8
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scythanith View Post
RE RD3 speedy 65W 1848 gph $753 2.45g per $ 2yr warranty
Speedwave DC10000 2640 gph $200 13.2g per $ can't find literature (assume 1 yr)
Waveline DC12000 3170 gph $280 11.3g per $ can't find literature (assume 1 yr)
Abyzz A400 4910 gph $2340 2.1g per $ 10yr warranty

Where does this leave me... I don't know. The higher the inferred quality, the higher the price. I just have to decide what my pocket book will handle.
I feel your pain; I really want a fully controllable DC pump but between quality reports, production delays, etc...well, ugh.

In your case with a new build and lots of room (so jealous) have you considered going with the less expensive pump but plumbing in a 2nd, back-up pump as either fully redundant or splitting the flow between them? Since you'll have the controller in place if something bad happens while you're away all the wife would have to do is turn a valve or two and you'd be back in business - unless, of course, you add in controllable valves!


Hurting2Ride is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09/08/2013, 05:51 PM   #67
Hurting2Ride
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Southern California
Posts: 8
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scythanith View Post
I have an issue with the dimensions of the sump and my sump chamber. It fits almost perfectly aside from a bulkhead I have in the back righthand of the sump. The base for the skimmer just overlaps the bulkhead so the skimmer doesn't sit flat. I am going to find someone that CNC's plastic and have them build me a little 1/2" tall base that the system sits on.

I ran in to a similar problem and ended up going the DIY route. I had some spare grey Matala sheets for my pond filter. It cuts easily with a bread knife in to any shape you want and you can slice it as thin as about 1/4". Since I vacuum my sump during water changes I didn't worry about accumulated gunk but you could wrap it in 50 micron filter pad material if prefer to keep it clean.

Total time: 10 min. Total cost < $5.00.


Hurting2Ride is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09/09/2013, 08:40 AM   #68
Scythanith
Premium Member
 
Scythanith's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Saskatoon
Posts: 1,350
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hurting2Ride View Post
I feel your pain; I really want a fully controllable DC pump but between quality reports, production delays, etc...well, ugh.

In your case with a new build and lots of room (so jealous) have you considered going with the less expensive pump but plumbing in a 2nd, back-up pump as either fully redundant or splitting the flow between them? Since you'll have the controller in place if something bad happens while you're away all the wife would have to do is turn a valve or two and you'd be back in business - unless, of course, you add in controllable valves!
The system is already designed for two return pumps Great minds think alike ! I won't have controllable valves on them but they will have their own check valves in case one fails the other should still deliver water to the tank.


Scythanith is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09/09/2013, 09:05 AM   #69
Scythanith
Premium Member
 
Scythanith's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Saskatoon
Posts: 1,350
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hurting2Ride View Post
I ran in to a similar problem and ended up going the DIY route. I had some spare grey Matala sheets for my pond filter. It cuts easily with a bread knife in to any shape you want and you can slice it as thin as about 1/4". Since I vacuum my sump during water changes I didn't worry about accumulated gunk but you could wrap it in 50 micron filter pad material if prefer to keep it clean.

Total time: 10 min. Total cost < $5.00.
I had a local plastic CNC company make me a base out of 1/2 acrylic. I put the skimmer and pump on a piece of cardboard and traced it out. I then cut out the template and put it in the sump to account for the bulkhead. It worked out great! Cost was $75 though!


Scythanith is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09/09/2013, 09:52 AM   #70
Scythanith
Premium Member
 
Scythanith's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Saskatoon
Posts: 1,350
And I forgot to mention we just had 10 babies hatch Not fish, but they have scales!




Scythanith is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09/09/2013, 06:18 PM   #71
wrxreefer823
Registered Member
 
wrxreefer823's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Raleigh, NC
Posts: 601
Wow. That's all I can say. You, sir, have accomplished what I dream about. Keep up the good work!!


__________________
"Before you swim you've gotta be okay to sink..."

Current Tank Info: Currently setting up a Red Sea 625 XXL
wrxreefer823 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09/09/2013, 07:45 PM   #72
Lilmatty5dimes
Moved On
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: PSJ, FL
Posts: 2,235
this is such an awesome set up can't wait to see some more progression. keep the pics coming.


Lilmatty5dimes is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09/09/2013, 08:04 PM   #73
has no life
Registered Member
 
has no life's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: cape coral fl
Posts: 23
nice build . love snake rack !!!!


has no life is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09/09/2013, 10:24 PM   #74
Scythanith
Premium Member
 
Scythanith's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Saskatoon
Posts: 1,350
Quote:
Originally Posted by acesq View Post
Scott, thanks for the picture. I'll show it to my contractor and ask him to build the hood in the same way.
The contractor told me after the fact that it would have been better if he had built the bulkhead/cabinetry from scratch and suspended it himself. My bulkhead wasn't exactly plumb and that gave them some fitment issues. FYI.


Scythanith is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09/09/2013, 10:39 PM   #75
acesq
Registered Member
 
acesq's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Calabasas, CA
Posts: 1,501
Good to know. The finished product looks great!


__________________
Current tank: 340g AGE peninsula
acesq is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
abyzz

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On



All times are GMT -6. The time now is 06:36 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Powered by Searchlight © 2024 Axivo Inc.
Use of this web site is subject to the terms and conditions described in the user agreement.
Reef CentralTM Reef Central, LLC. Copyright ©1999-2022
User Alert System provided by Advanced User Tagging v3.3.0 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.