garrettm's 187g In-Wall Build

[garrettm]

Originally Posted by Brando457

we want pictures we want pictures

I unfortunatley didn't take any pictures of the shameful removal of the background but this is the tool I used. Very inexpensive and effective.

[newglider]

Nice folowing

[garrettm]

I might need to start calling this thread lessons learned while building a reef tank.

When things go wrong they usually come in pairs or more. This weekend the laminate on the display tank stand started pealing in places so I decided to strip it all off and just paint the dang which I should have done in the first place. Unfortunately I used a very tough adhesive so I spend about an hour with an angle grinder and 25 grit sand paper to get it all off. Next steps now are to fill in the screw holes and any gaps, sand down with finer grit and paint. I am really making this difficult for myself.



On a brighter side I did pick up my hospital tank at petco during their dollar per gallon sale!

[Settings]

Nice looking build this far. What neck of the woods do you live in? I'm in La Jolla.

[garrettm]

Originally Posted by Settings

Nice looking build this far. What neck of the woods do you live in? I'm in La Jolla.

Hey thanks!! Glad to see another reefer in the neighborhood. I am near Mission Trails/Mission Gorge if you are familiar at all with that area. I do work in UTC however. What kind of tank are you running right now?


Hopefully some updates coming soon! Stay tuned!

[garrettm]

Update!

Hello everyone. It's been awhile since an update but it has taken me awhile to get everything in order while trying to finish another back patio project.

I have everything placed where it should be and am set to do the pluming.

RO/DI unit in place



I changed up a little bit of the plan and put the hospital tank next to the fuge/extra live rock tank. The plan is to have the hospital tank easily connected to fresh salt water and easily drain-able connected by a valve to the sink drain pipe.



I was also generously given an acrylic 50 gallon tank by my friend that I modified to be a fuge/extra live rock holding area. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures of the process by I removed the baffle and sealed the 1 1/2" hole at the bottom. This is what I did....

I first took an angle grinder to the major parts of the overflow to get them out. I used a metal cutting blade thinking it would be strong enough to cut through the acrylic, mostly it was melting. I then sanded as much as I could until I got sick of sanding. This is going to be filled with extra rock and cheato so the aesthetics weren't my top priority.

To fill the hole I cut a piece of acrylic about 5"x5" acrylic and used weldon 4 to bond the square piece to the bottom of the tank. I knew I would get some bubbles and it wouldn't be a perfect job but all I need is for it to be water tight. I then measured the hole and cut a circle piece of acrylic to place on the bottom side of the tank. I again used weldon 4 to bond this piece from the bottom of the tank to the 5"x5" piece I just placed. Finally I used silicone to seal the four corners on the inside of the tank. I ran into some problems here because the silicone still has not cured in the last 24 hours. I might have gotten a bad batch or it could be expired. Not sure but will give it another 24 hours to see if it cures.



And the shot of where everything will live!



P.S. That silicone and weldon 4 can get real messy....Best be prepared.

[garrettm]

Well in true "what not to do when building a fish tank" fashion. I used the wrong silicone....clearly states on the bottle "not for use in aquariums."

I wiped up as much as I could and cleaned the area well. Luckily I think this was a bad tube because it still wasn't dry 48 hours later.

I'm off to the store to get some 100% silicone good for aquariums!

also....this came today. ROCK!

[frankabagnale]

Nice!

[Electrobes]

Which RODI unit did you get from BRS? I just set up my new unit, the BRS 4 Stage Value Water Saver Plus RO/DI System - 150GPD. On my old system, I added a dual DI section because my well water seemed a bit nasty towards it, but I did not add it to my new unit. I'm curious to know why you added a dual DI unit?

[garrettm]

Originally Posted by frankabagnale

Nice!

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Electrobes

Which RODI unit did you get from BRS? I just set up my new unit, the BRS 4 Stage Value Water Saver Plus RO/DI System - 150GPD. On my old system, I added a dual DI section because my well water seemed a bit nasty towards it, but I did not add it to my new unit. I'm curious to know why you added a dual DI unit?

Hey Electrobes. I bought the RO/DI unit last year when it was called the chloramines plus system and then added the 150 gallon upgrade and the dual canister DI. Really the only reason I wanted two is so I can fully exhaust on of the canisters of resin.

[garrettm]

UPDATE:

I don't know if I have mentioned this before but I am in countdown mode to saltwater in the tank! This is how I know I am marrying the right girl. We are having a party on May 9th for our engagement and "The Filling of the Tank." I was even able to put a bangia cardinal on the invite!



The countdown is in full swing and I'm feeling a little anxious considering I still have to do ALL the plumbing and ALL the electrical

Tank Progress -

I have been doing a good job of buying goods from BRS.

240 lbs of sand



MP10 for the mangrove tank and Maxspect Gyre 130 for the frag tank. (unboxing will be delayed gratification when I finish plumbing and electrical)





As far as build progress goes I have been putting off making the "ghost overflow" type of overflow for the display tank, refugium, and mangrove tank. I finally got the courage to make the cuts.

I started with the frame of the overflow for the inside of the tank sans the back where the bulkheads will live.



I then went to work on lining up the back piece. I used some tape to level off the back plate to the back of the tape keeping in mind where I would potentially want the water level. Not knowing the actual capacity of the overflow made this essentially my best guess work.



Then I proceeded to trace an outline of the bulkhead holes from the inside and it was on to making a cut with the hole saw bit.



Before I started gluing I inserted the 2" bulkheads.



Glue time! Used a mixture of weld-on 4 and weldon 16 this time. For some reason I just love using this applicator.



Will post pictures of the finished product soon. Still need to make some cross pieces that will hold up a piece of egg crate to prevent snails from getting in the overflow.

[iced98lx]

Looking good, you've got a real keeper there!

[garrettm]

Big Update! I started the plumbing today!

Before I get to that let me start with the finished product of the overflow.

I had been putting off these final cuts because I was a little intimidated knowing there was very slim margin for error and I didn't want to have to make another box should something happen.

One thing I did notice while drilling theses holes was the acrylic would start to melt because of the friction. I ended up using a slower setting on the drill and taking breaks to let the hole saw cool down.



Finished and thankfully it all lines up!




PLUMBING TIME!!

I started with the overflow and drains for the display tank.



I will be doing the beanimal drain pipe style.



I have been going on back and forth on if I like the way I did the overflow to the sump...I was originally thinking the quickest path down the the sump but now realizing it's not as tucked away as I might have liked. Oh well... This will have do do for the time being until I find it really driving me crazy. Best case it might not end up getting in the way.

[garrettm]

I also had the chance to start on the returns.





Realized I need some more fittings so it's off to Home Depot after work today and hopefully I can finish the plumbing and get a water test going this week.

I still need to do the returns and overflows from the frag tank, refugium, and lagoon.
Not to mention the water mixing station.

[Brando457]

Looking great!!

If it were me I'd probably tuck the drains now, but I'm a bit ocd.

Where can I get such a beautiful sump/how much approximately does it cost?

[garrettm]

Originally Posted by Brando457

Looking great!!

If it were me I'd probably tuck the drains now, but I'm a bit ocd.

Where can I get such a beautiful sump/how much approximately does it cost?

Thanks!

Gosh I really think you are right about tucking those pipes, right now is the most direct path but it does look a little funky for my liking....great, here I go again doing something over again. At least I am staying consistent with the theme of the thread hahaha.

I have a friend who worked at an acrylic fab shop so I was lucky enough that he said he would help out. Earlier in the thread I talked about the build.

[Brando457]

If it were me I'd be getting annoyed everytime I had to remove the skimmer top/etc with them there. I think out of sight is best, but that is just me.

[garrettm]

I am sure this will eventually be changed but after running into some more problems I am going to make this a project for later down the road. Right now the plan is to have a water test done by this weekend and start on electrical by Sunday.

One thing I am not sure of is how my lagoon tank will drain into the refugium. The refugium will be gravity fed but I'm not sure how to situate the drain to make sure there are minimal bubbles.

This is a quick and dirty shot of the fuge. Water will gravity feed into the chamber on the right, flow over the baffle into the next chamber (from right to left) and then into the overflow box (back to the sump). There is already a hole on the back of the refugium section. Do I plug this up or use it for the inlet?

[dave.m]

Originally Posted by garrettm

The refugium will be gravity fed but I'm not sure how to situate the drain to make sure there are minimal bubbles.

Having the return pipe go through one or two 90° bends and a horizontal length will go a long way towards reducing bubbles.

Dave.M

[garrettm]

Hey Dave. I don't think I am understanding. The refugium will be gravity fed by the tank above it so there won't really be a return line off any pump feeding this tank. This is what I have planned for the supplemental system. What I can't figure out is the right way to get water from the lagoon to the fuge.

[dave.m]

What's wrong with a simple overflow as you have illustrated?

To reduce/eliminate bubbles in the line from the Lagoon to the Refugium as drawn, just make sure that red length of pipe above the words "Refugium (Sand/" is at least 1.5'-2' long. You appear to already have couple of 90° bends in it.

Dave.M

[garrettm]

Hey Dave, nothing was really wrong with it at all. I just have the bad habit of trying to exhaust all my options before executing.

I ended up having the lagoon and frag tank drain on the same line and ran a separate line for the fuge. This way I can control the flow to each tank individually.

Some progress pics:

[Brando457]

coming along great!

[csantanavaz]

update!

[yellowRubi]

great build!!

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