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 03/28/2014, 02:07 PM   #76
Chebby
Registered Member
 
Chebby's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Folsom, CA
Posts: 65
Quote:
Originally Posted by fixmgood View Post
How do you have your Tunze level controller hooked up.Do you have it plugged into your Apex with a separate float switch
It is a self contained device with it's own high/low sensors, no communication to Apex except for always on power.
Quote:
Originally Posted by fixmgood View Post
What type of float switches are you using.Are you using a breakout box to control them
Just cheap generic floats that connect to the Apex breakout box.


Chebby is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 04/28/2014, 03:39 PM   #77
Chebby
Registered Member
 
Chebby's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Folsom, CA
Posts: 65
Added an eductor to get more flow in my salt mix tank. It helps some but still get dead spots of unmixed salt on the bottom. I may have to add an extra powerhead for good mixing or find a way to directly inject the salt into the flow?

Finally filled the whole undertank system with enough water to run the whole system. Ran for about an hour. No major leaks! Found 1 media reactor that only leaked a bit when under pressure, simple overnight fix.

There are a whole lot of valves to get the system tuned which is great but concerns me a bit that it is possible to screw up and make a mess. I found I need some more vibration dampening material under the main return pump. Itself is not very noisy but the stand can start to reverberate and amplify what is there. I need to add another bubble trap before the return intake. I am also going to try an elbow instead of the strainer so I can prevent any air suckage while equilibrium is reached.

I need to work on my mechanical filter pad system as too much flow can roll it away. I will make up some lexan spikes. Also the drip system does make more noise than I like. I can cover some holes to help but need to find permanent solution.

I also learned when everything is on I can overload my battery backup while it is on AC. Not sure if I will get a bigger one as it is my 300 watt heater that puts it over the edge and I still have two 100 watts running. If on battery I would never run more than a single 100 watt. And once it is near the correct temp, all of them would never be running together. I may just end up moving the 300 watt heater to the salt mix tank and run it off the EB4 that is not on battery backup since that is the water that needs the big temperature boost.


Chebby is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 01/23/2015, 05:31 PM   #78
Chebby
Registered Member
 
Chebby's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Folsom, CA
Posts: 65
I haven't given up on this project, just was taking care of some other stuff in the meantime. Upgraded to Gen3 Radions on my existing 90G tank. Seeing nice growth responses.


I had the whole sump system running about 5 days straight to check stability and most things were working fine. The flow to the ozone reactor was not strong enough to trip the leaf switch so I changed to a plunger type device. When water flow it pushes the plunger up and makes a contact that will be used to control the ozone generator. When water is off, *in theory* the plunger will drop enough to break the contact. I don't think it will float at the top anyways.



Another thing I wanted was to produce my fresh water more quickly. I have good pressure so I did not think a booster pump would help much but indeed it did. I got a Smart Buddie. Works well and allowed me to remove my RO flush valve as it has one built in.


I also made my own 'filter sock silencer' which also keeps any bonded material that might lay over the opening from sagging into it with time.


I have also put a lot of thought to the material to use for the stand top. I wanted one large solid surface but at ~35 sqft. it would be stupid expensive to have custom made with even the on sale stuff. I can find a blank slab for ~$800 but shipping to my home was like $200 more. So I decide I am going to do a plywood/epoxy solution myself for ~$350. More effort for me but I can test fit all the holes first and get the color exactly as I want.


Chebby is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 01/23/2015, 06:00 PM   #79
aquaenthusiast
Registered Member
 
aquaenthusiast's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Garner, NC
Posts: 416
Nice! thanks for the update was getting a little worried there


aquaenthusiast is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/16/2015, 09:21 AM   #80
silentscream
Registered Member
 
silentscream's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Sacramento, CA
Posts: 1,136
How's progress? One of my favorite local builds!


__________________
Justin
silentscream is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/20/2015, 10:02 PM   #81
Vanoble
Registered Member
 
Vanoble's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: China mainland
Posts: 32
time to update!


Vanoble is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 12/30/2015, 03:51 PM   #82
Chebby
Registered Member
 
Chebby's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Folsom, CA
Posts: 65
Been too long

I have not stopped working on this build, just slow progression. I still have my other tank that keeps me busy. Upgrades in lighting and flow pumps to that tank will get transferred over to this one.

I have the base rough cut now with 5/8" and will start drilling holes for plumbing, power cables, and get the sink cut out and mounted. Going to add a short back-splash around the perimeter (so any splashes don't run down the walls) before joining all the pieces. I'll round the front edge, add an underhang drip cut, and then finish with the epoxy coating.


I also now have my low profile 24" overflow from Modular Marine. I figured this route would be much more cost effective than an endzone external overflow custom build into the tank.

The 5 gallon jug is for transporting RO water to my other tank.


Chebby is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 01/13/2016, 12:00 AM   #83
Chebby
Registered Member
 
Chebby's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Folsom, CA
Posts: 65
Sink and faucet are mounted. Drain and return pipe holes drilled. I taped the outline of the tank.




Chebby is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 01/18/2016, 01:41 PM   #84
Chebby
Registered Member
 
Chebby's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Folsom, CA
Posts: 65
Built my own chaetomorpha grow chamber by re-purposing an Avast Marine Ozone reactor, added aluminum rod, heatsink and fan, enlarged a few holes, wrapped some grow LEDs, quick disconnects, mylar, some extra parts. Certainly not as powerful as the commercial ones, but way cheaper.






Chebby is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 01/21/2016, 06:28 AM   #85
Cuzit
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2015
Posts: 20
Wow great job.


Cuzit is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09/06/2016, 02:58 PM   #86
Chebby
Registered Member
 
Chebby's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Folsom, CA
Posts: 65
Finally poured my acrylic counter top. I'd been putting this off FOREVER. Thought it would be messy and it wasn't too bad. I would not consider it good enough for use in a kitchen, but good enough for my tank which will cover 90% of it anyways. The front edge, which will be exposed, is what I am least happy with. I would certainly be able to do a better job next time. The fact that it's self leveling made it very appealing.




Chebby is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09/07/2016, 07:44 AM   #87
McPuff
Registered Member
 
McPuff's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Michigan
Posts: 1,735
That looks amazingly smooth! Excited to see how this turns out.


McPuff is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09/07/2016, 09:24 AM   #88
wowkingjames
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 242
Look nice so far.


wowkingjames is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 01/06/2017, 08:17 PM   #89
Chebby
Registered Member
 
Chebby's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Folsom, CA
Posts: 65
Yes I've been going really slowly! Life gets in the way sometimes and I already have another tank running so no real urgency on this build.

Base cabinet doors installed! The whole facing is removable in 3 parts in case I need more clearance to get to stuff inside. The doors all have magnetic sensors hooked up in series so when any door opens, the under cabinet lighting will automatically turn on.

I also cut some foam sheets to the size of the tank and will begin some initial rock work placement ideas while I pay off some expenses before getting the tank and doing the upper cabinetry.





Last edited by Chebby; 10/30/2017 at 08:22 PM.
Chebby is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 10/30/2017, 08:27 PM   #90
Chebby
Registered Member
 
Chebby's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Folsom, CA
Posts: 65
Tank is finally ordered!


Chebby is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/03/2018, 07:00 PM   #91
Chebby
Registered Member
 
Chebby's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Folsom, CA
Posts: 65
Hey look what arrived this week



Gotta work up the courage to drill the overflow holes. Drilled plenty of tanks before but none this expensive. Then will paint the back and sides. I've used acrylic paint in the past but now I'm thinking why not use Plasti Dip? It's more scratch resistant and probably is a good heat insulator.
Also got my upper cabinets a few weeks back and those are mostly assembled; was waiting for the tank's true width measurement before final assembly.


Chebby is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 11/11/2018, 06:27 PM   #92
Chebby
Registered Member
 
Chebby's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Folsom, CA
Posts: 65
Overflows drilled and sides blacked out a few weeks back.

Wheeled it into the house. Jack lifted up til the lift cart could fit under it


and voilą




Everything seems to be perfectly level all thanks to the choosing to do the self-leveling epoxy counter top. Tons of work left to do. My RO system spung 2 irreparable leaks so I bought a new one to install. I'll get the chiller and overflow plumbed next and start wall mounting the energy bars.


Chebby is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 11/12/2018, 12:05 PM   #93
McPuff
Registered Member
 
McPuff's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Michigan
Posts: 1,735
You might be the king of patience.


McPuff is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 12/03/2018, 12:05 AM   #94
Rotknee
Registered Member
 
Rotknee's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Pasadena, CA
Posts: 592
Blog Entries: 9
The stand was worth the wait. Really like the way you finished it. I'll admit I didn't see that coming and then "BOOM" you drop the mic on us.


__________________
| Lee-Mar 62x26x24 Eurobraced Starphire | Profilux P3.1N eX | GHL Mitras x 3| BK SM200 + RD3 | Vortech MP40 x 4 | Reef Dynamics BP Reactor | ATB Flowstar 1800 |
Rotknee is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/12/2019, 07:36 AM   #95
wrxreefer823
Registered Member
 
wrxreefer823's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Raleigh, NC
Posts: 601
Holy crap this is amazing. Jumping on for the ride!


__________________
"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 03/13/2019, 02:42 PM   #96
Chebby
Registered Member
 
Chebby's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Folsom, CA
Posts: 65
Since my last update I have done a lot. Bought a lot of "toys" during the holidays. Reconstructed the filter sock path in my sump. Now the overflow will go over a filter fleece drip tray to remove the big particles and into a 7" Klir Filter. Replaced my dosser with 2 DOS pumps. Replaced my wimpy fuge lights with a prime fuge. Got myself a 3D printer to make clips and brackets.



Plumbed my return lines to the chiller and into tank. Added flow rate sensors. Made screen frames. Plumbed the overflow box. Mounted all my apex modules. Created an adjustable light fixture with 2020 for mounting 8 R15pros with diffusers and two 48" t-5 to reduce shadowing upfront. I can adjust the mounting system height and when servicing I can tilt each side up for more clearance.



When finished all this is hidden behind cabinetry which I already mock assembled during the summer. Next steps are to work on flow pump placement, some programming, and start aquascaping.


Chebby is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 04/18/2020, 10:21 PM   #97
Chebby
Registered Member
 
Chebby's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Folsom, CA
Posts: 65
Smile It's alive

Feels like it has been forever (it has) but it's finally alive. Took 4 days to fill and been cycling a few days with Brightwell QuickCycl and Start XLM.




All my pumps were seized up from sitting so long. Lots of little things to fix up like the return generating a surface vortex of air every once in a while, think i need to enlarge some siphon holes, filter roller controller did not work but they sent free replacement, I bumped some wire somewhere so cabinet lights don't turn off when doors close, more apex programming, etc.


Chebby is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

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 10:06 PM.


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.