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Unread 11/30/2018, 09:18 AM   #26
FlatBrokeMedic
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ReefingHavoc View Post
Thanks. I’m enjoying the process of the build a lot. Knowing the cost of materials in the industry has forced me to do a lot of planning to reduce waste.

If I could DIY everything I would, but there becomes a certain point where time and quality come in to play.

Go BG!
Lol I enjoy diy projects as well the process is fun, but the satisfaction of stepping back and saying I built the majority of the life support system is the best feeling


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Unread 11/30/2018, 05:40 PM   #27
ReefingHavoc
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Got my light rack up. Using 8020 series 15. Screwed to the back of the stand with 4 angle brackets



Arm and pivot point went together pretty easy.





My T5 Hybrid light fixture will hang from the horizontal arm. I went with the 90 degree pivot to give me some flexibility to raise the fixture when I need to do maintenance.

Looking to get the fixture hung tomorrow


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Unread 12/01/2018, 07:09 AM   #28
JamesHolt
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That crate they sent the tank could almost be skinned for the stand....lol
Nice looking build..


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Unread 12/03/2018, 08:54 AM   #29
ReefingHavoc
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That crate they sent the tank could almost be skinned for the stand....lol
Nice looking build..


Thanks. The tank was well packaged for delivery. It took a while to pull all the nails and remove all the screws holding it together. Good news is that I now have a decent inventory of 2x4s


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Unread 12/05/2018, 09:12 PM   #30
ReefingHavoc
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120 gallon rimless with basement sump

Update...I finally got the AquaticLife T5 Hybrid fixture installed on the tank. For mounting, I drilled holes in the 8020 about an inch in from the ends, ran the cable through and reattached the stop.





Once attached I adjusted the wires to make level. I’ll have 9” of clearance between the fixture and water line.



One of the cool things I can do is raise the fixture up for maintenance, giving me 17” of clearance above the edge of the tank. Cost a little bit more for the hinge but I think worth it.





All that’s left for lightning is to add the Radions to the fixture and manage the cords.

Also started working on the mounting board for the Apex. I first cut out the size I needed using 1/2” plywood. I had an extra box of laminate flooring so I then cut the flooring slightly long to cover the plywood and glued it down. Once dried I cut the mounting board to final size so the plywood and flooring are flush.





I’m going to add a small frame on it to finish and can then start mounting the equipment.


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Unread 12/07/2018, 09:42 PM   #31
ReefingHavoc
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Lights are up and working.



Wires tucked in nicely to the frame





Mounting board is complete. I’ll get it on the wall this weekend and mount the Apex




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Unread 12/09/2018, 10:02 PM   #32
ReefingHavoc
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Got some more work done in the basement fish room



Plumbed the RO to the saltwater mixing tank. Added an exterior line to the tank to I can see the water level



Control board is mounted with Apex. Still have to get the dosing containers mounted and add another FMM. Lots of work left on programming




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Unread 12/10/2018, 08:11 PM   #33
ReefingHavoc
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Got the power supplies for the Radions and Gyre mounted along with the battery backup under the stand.



Also, mounted the Gyre controller




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Unread 12/11/2018, 11:12 PM   #34
Zoahoarder
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Wow love the build so far. Your attention to detail is on point. Following along.


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Unread 12/12/2018, 06:36 PM   #35
ReefingHavoc
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Wow love the build so far. Your attention to detail is on point. Following along.


Thanks. The build is taking way longer than originally anticipated, but the details are what will make it worth it.


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Unread 12/12/2018, 06:42 PM   #36
ReefingHavoc
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After getting the lights up and functioning I realized that the light spill is more than I expected. I’m not happy with it and my wife said she’ll avoid the room when the lights are on

So...it looks like I’ll be building a floating canopy to contain some of the spill. Already starting to think of how I can incorporate into the current frame.

Should be a fairly simple build, but continue to delay water going in.


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Unread 12/26/2018, 08:57 PM   #37
ReefingHavoc
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Holidays have slowed down progress and updates, but off work for a few days with a goal of getting water in by the new year.

Updates...

I pulled down the lighting and am going to work on a canopy after the cycle starts

I built a removable plate for the return lines but realized that the thickness of the plate was too thin so I re-made it out of 3/8”. Much better.



For my saltwater mixing barrel I want a way to tell the temperature before pumping to the sump. Cut a notch out of the bung for the cable of a probe



To help weigh down the cord in the barrel, I cut a channel down the length of some PVC.





For mixing the saltwater I originally intended to put an elbow on the pipe returning water to the barrel from the pump. Since my barrel doesn’t have a removable lid I had to heat some pipe up and add a curve. Works ok. Probably not as good as a true elbow.





I’m looking to do water changes by flipping switches. One for the new saltwater that enters the refugium and one to drain from a small Sicce that sits in the return section. I added the pump to drain the water and the line from the saltwater mixing station to the sump





Looking to wrap up the majority of plumbing tomorrow


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Unread 12/30/2018, 08:32 AM   #38
ReefingHavoc
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I previously had the idea of trying to weigh down the temperature probe inside my mixing barrel with some PVC. Well, that didn’t exactly work as the tip of the probe still floats. Still thinking of something else.

Needed to build a stand to get both my skimmer and reactor up to the right height. Constructed it in a way where my two heaters could fit diagonally underneath





As I’m trying to automate as much as possible, I’m setting up the ATO reservoir for auto fill (ATO for my ATO container). To do that, I added a Neptune optical sensor to the top of the pump. This was done by first fitting with cardboard and cutting the final out in acrylic. The acrylic is attached to the pump with silicone.





To organize the ATO and dosing lines that will run to the sump, I found some PVC trim and drilled holes in it. This will allow me keep nice and straight runs. I’ve done this before with wood, but the trim is already white to blend in with walls. I’ll post another pic once the lines are run





Got all the drain lines and return line plumbed. This took way longer than I expected. Lots of dry fitting and cutting. Unions saved me some major headaches — still had quite a few though





For those interested, these clamps are awesome for the PVC. They’re made by Arlington and can be found in a lot of places, including BRS. I found them at Zoro.com for the best price and a flat $5.00 shipping. One note, make sure you don’t get the hanger for EMT Conduit.



Water is going in today!


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Unread 12/30/2018, 10:05 AM   #39
GQuinn
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Great build and DIY skills. What reeflo pump are you using for the return and who built the tank?


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Unread 12/30/2018, 11:07 PM   #40
ReefingHavoc
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Great build and DIY skills. What reeflo pump are you using for the return and who built the tank?

It's a swordtail. The display was built by Custom Aquariums


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Unread 01/03/2019, 12:21 AM   #41
leslie hempel
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looking great, massive skills there!


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Unread 01/12/2019, 09:24 PM   #42
ReefingHavoc
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looking great, massive skills there!


Thanks!


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Unread 01/12/2019, 09:41 PM   #43
ReefingHavoc
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Been a while since my last post. I did a water test and had a slight leak on the return line flow meter. Turns out I didn’t seal the threads enough. Disassembled and sealed.

Once I got the rock and sand in the tank I wasn’t happy with the height, especially since I’m going mixed reef. I ended up ordering 30 lbs of rock from reafcleaners.org. I let them know I was using it for one structure and they cut the rock flat on top and bottom, making stacking easy.

Got the new rock in and water.



Still debating on the height as it’s about 16” tall

The problem I’m facing now is that after seeing the Apex report wattage on my return pump north of 600 I immediately shut the pump down and contacted the manufacturer. Turns out the pump was mislabeled and I have a 4,000 gph pump vs the 1,750 that I expected. They were very accommodating and are sending me the correct one. In the meantime, I’ll focus on building the canopy




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Unread 01/26/2019, 09:24 PM   #44
ReefingHavoc
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The new pump came and it was an easy swap. Started the cycle with a shrimp and added Fritz TurboStart. Never used bacteria in a bottle; we’ll see.

Finished up the shell of the canopy, part of which included notching out for the 80/20 bar to connect to the vertical support



Needed a way to eliminate the wires when hanging the light fixture. Found that I could slide pan head bolts into the slots



Those bolts are fastened to the canopy in eight spots



80/20 support is also connected to the canopy by drilling holes through the channel and using bolts and nuts. Nuts are in the 80/20 channel



Test fitted on the tank to see if the light spillage is under control. The wife approved so I’ll add the final trim pieces and start painting




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Unread 01/27/2019, 08:24 PM   #45
ReefingHavoc
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120 gallon rimless with basement sump

Figured I post an update on the sump. Running around 750 gph with GFO and carbon in reactors coming off the manifold



I originally had issues with housing filter floss between the last two baffles before the return chamber; it floated. Found out that I could create a basket out of light diffuser and hold the filter floss in place. Here it is in the sump.




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Unread 01/28/2019, 10:30 AM   #46
HarveyO
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This is unbelievable and you have some extraordinary skills. Bravo! Cant wait to see what is next. Also when can I schedule you to come build mine ha.


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Unread 01/29/2019, 10:30 AM   #47
ReefingHavoc
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This is unbelievable and you have some extraordinary skills. Bravo! Cant wait to see what is next. Also when can I schedule you to come build mine ha.


Thanks. It’s been fun to think about a problem I’ve had in the past and find ways to solve it. While some of the ideas for the build have been from me, the majority come from lots of research and adapting them to my situation.

I plan on doing some recap updates once everything is done for those that aren’t as interested in the build process and more in the outcome and functionality.


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Unread 01/31/2019, 10:41 PM   #48
taliesin
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This is a cool thread. I'm jusst starting building a rimless 120 setup myself. Tank is ordered, so waiting on it to come in. Just wish I could do a basement, but they don't do basements in Texas very often. But have gotten a few ideas from your build.


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Unread 02/01/2019, 10:11 AM   #49
ReefingHavoc
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This is a cool thread. I'm jusst starting building a rimless 120 setup myself. Tank is ordered, so waiting on it to come in. Just wish I could do a basement, but they don't do basements in Texas very often. But have gotten a few ideas from your build.


Thanks. Glad you’re getting something out of it


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Unread 02/06/2019, 06:33 AM   #50
ReefingHavoc
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While the tank is cycling I’ve shifted focus on some of the smaller things. I picked up an Avast Marine Skimmer Swabbie for the vertex. I went with the “you build it” option and it was pretty straightforward.

The most nerve racking thing was drilling the hole in the lid...measure 5x, drill once





Turned out good





One thing I made a slight mistake on was with the height of my skimmer stand. I measured from the floor of the sump to the top of the baffle to get the depth of the water in the chamber. Should have accounted for the height of the water going over the baffle. This left the skimmer sitting a little too low. Decided to create a disc made out of leftover acrylic to add additional height




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