~200+ gallon in-wall, both sides open, reef build - Long term project

[MarsRover]

Demo day two yesterday after working A LOT this week. Demo Went pretty well! Wall is down on one side. Enough to know there are no more surprises I have to worry about. Also excavated mostly enough for the plumber to move the gas pipe! Got a quote, about $300. Is what it is.









Also, have my two first attempts at making rocks. Small one is 2:3:3 cementerlite:sand the big one is 4:7:6.

Both with grey Portland cause that's all they have at my local shop. Will call cement company tomorrow.

The little one I made upside down in a bucket and then topped it off to turn it into a stand for fun. The big one is more realistic of what I will need in my tank. Both cast in sand.

Super easy to make! Easy to get decent quality looking rock. I was surprised.

Photos don't do it justice

[MarsRover]

alrighty folks, i designed a sump today. let me know what you think. i was finding it difficult to manage keeping the water level at the proper hight for the reef octopus elite 220int skimmer while also trying to keep the depth as deep as possible for the fuge section. Marked around the skimmer box (on a red stand to elevate it as much as i can with still being able to empty it without being stuck under the bottom of the tank) is the range which the skimmer needs the water level for operation.

it's not quite where i want it yet, but close....

big blue thing is a chiller

[Brunzy]

I personally have 3 inch and a half lines for return our exit lines on my 150gal tank.

I feel like your in lines are going to just get in the way with your build. I would personally drill your tank. I would just do 4 corners with baffles

[MarsRover]

phew! busy day....

today, among other things, i think i finished the first cut of the tank CAD, I finished setting up my watering station, we moved my current tank out of the way and did demolition day 3!

Here are the color coded items:
1. blue: Full syphon standpipe/drain
2. green: open channel standpipe
3. orange: emergency standpipe
4. red: Skimmer stand
5. fuchsia: skimmer footprint extended the height of the skimmer. Pink band in the middle is the required operating water level
6. Grey: Ecotech marine vectra M1 envelope plus return pipes and manifold
7. Turquoise: chiller and fans to ensure there is enough flow in the cabinet area
8. 12 outlets hooked up to and hidden behind raisable louver style light switch panel
9. Orange box: 10 gallon ATO and support structure. Elevated above everything so it will be a passive system with a float valve etc.. etc.. the structure holding it up is the sump tank and additional structure as you can see. under the structure is open for storage of chemicals plenty of room for reactors if i want to grow in to that






























still gotta pull that knotty pine off the wall but that'll take all of ten minutes. Got the hard part done: drywall and fracking popcorn ceiling.

what do you all think???!!?

[Darthv247]

plan looks solid. no way to move the chiller away from the tank? I have a feeling it will only be chilling its own added heat in the stand.

[MarsRover]

Originally Posted by Darthv247

plan looks solid. no way to move the chiller away from the tank? I have a feeling it will only be chilling its own added heat in the stand.

unfortunately not...unless i move it like 30feet away and route the piping through the attic crawlspace which will completely defeat the purpose.

i'll probably have to insulate the lines going to/from the chiller and maybe insulate the partition between it and the electrical and sump sections. Easy peasy.

also, i've been toying with the idea of having a squirrel cage fan pumping out the roof and drawing air up through the structural boxed column which will be open to the chiller box area. I think i'll build to suit that end, but the installation of the squirrel cage fan can be added later.

[FernandesReef]

Looking great, some good planning and design work going into this tank.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MarsRover]

thanks folks!

Talked to A.G.E sales rep yesterday and he's thinking likely mid may they will be delivering.

This weekend i am planning to tackle the structural portion of the wall.

also picking up some white portland this afternoon after work to start working on making rocks

[MarsRover]

It's officially real!

Got a message from A.G.E. this morning with this picture. Sounds like they're 3 weeks away from knocking on my door!

This past weekend I did the structural work in the house. Need to finish cleaning up the last bit before I can take down the dust tenting. Stay tuned

[MarsRover]

So, I finished the demolition and structural support yesterday! Good start to an odd day.... went to petsmart and then the hardware store before going to the grocery. Getting out of the car, i must have ****ed off a bee because it aggressively stung me. I have been stung by bee's hundreds of times, certainly many times in a single day on multiple occasions in the past (used to be a bee keeper) and never had a bad reaction. About 20minutes later i started getting intensely ichy all over my body and then my chest started to tighten. Went to the ER after quickly popping some Diphenhydramine. Ended up being okay. Sounds like the diphenhydramine really helped keeping it from getting bad! Got a script for an epi-pen incase this episode is an indication of a more severe reaction next time

Before encountering grumpy bee, I stopped at my local petsmart.... First of all, no one sells the standard 50gallon size (37x19x20) anymore......which is what my sump CAD is of..... PetCO has dollar a gallon sale right now (ends today) but only for 20, 40B, and 55. 55 is too long for my application and very tall and skinny. I then went to my local petSMART to see what they had. They had a 50 gallon, but it was longer/taller/thiner than what the standard size is.

After spending some time looking at the options, i concluded that the 50 gallon petSMART tank wouldn't fit under my tank, too long and the height would make it impossible to get my hand in there for the skimmer. Looking at the dimensions, a 40Breeder was roughly the size of a 50 except shorter (36.1875 X 18.25 X 16.9375) I checked my CAD and looks like it will work for me. The water level in the sump will be higher relative to the top of the sump tank in a 40breeder, but because of the under-tank size restrictions, and the dimensions of the skimmer and required operation water level, i won't loose much water volume by going with a 40breeder for the sump and i gain some space under the tank.

heres a quick update of the CAD with a 40Breeder sump (highlighted in orange) overlayed on the original 50gal sump (grey):






As you can see, the waterline will still remain at the same location but i lose about 1" on the length and 1" on the width. Not bad. So i asked PetSMART if they'd be willing to match PetCo's 1$/gallon and my store said sure!

So i saved a trip to PetCo and got the deal right down the street from me. Never hurts to ask!

Now on to the fun stuff! Here is the wall at this time, Almost ready to accept a fish tank:



Next up is moving the gas line and leveling the floor! I have a neighbor who is a plumber. He is supposed to come by sometime this morning to let me know what it will cost me for him to do the gas pipe.

Also hoping to make rocks out of the white portland i got a week ago. Then i need to figure out the effects of using a buffer like superbuffer on the water while aqua "Kuring" the rocks to leech out the high pH.....thoughts?

[MarsRover]

Just spoke to my plumbing neighbor and he said its going to be $286 parts and labor and he'll do it either monday or tuesday!

i think this is going to work!

[Darthv247]

nice! removing that wall really opened up the house too. gonna be a great addition.

[MarsRover]

Thanks @Darthv247 we were really surprised and pleased at how much it opened things up!

Turns out my plumbing neighbor used to be a nano-reefer! He asked me if i'm willing to sell/trade my current tank when my new one is up and running. Looks like the epidemic is growing on this street!

yesterday i made white rocks...more like a volcano...around the base of the standpipes. i tried to make it more like a shell'd cone rather than a solid cone. so i laid a volcano of sand and then coated it in the 4:7:6 portlanderlite:sand mix with the standpipes in the center.

Hope it turns out!

[MarsRover]

Well I think the base of the standpipe tower turned out....okay.... I have to keep reminding myself that it is only a base structure, like base rock. Going to let it keep baking until tomorrow when I can get more sand after my exam and pile more concrete on top. I'll have to seal the bottom, probably with an acrylic sheet and some silicone just to prevent detritus from accumulating somewhere unreachable.











Gas pipe moved last week, i cast the concrete this past weekend!




all ready to accept the tank!


also today i got the pipe coupler i'm going to use for the overflow! I think this will be big enough...no?!?!!!

[callsign4223]

That is coming along nicely. I really like your triple pipe setup though. Very innovative.

[MarsRover]

Originally Posted by callsign4223

That is coming along nicely. I really like your triple pipe setup though. Very innovative.

Thank you callsign!

Got a message from AGE today. Tank will be delivered on the 25th!!!

[gilweb]

Maybe I missed it somewhere but what are you planing on using for flow? It appears your return how you have the plumbing laid out.

[MarsRover]

Originally Posted by gilweb

Maybe I missed it somewhere but what are you planing on using for flow? It appears your return how you have the plumbing laid out.

Haven't gotten there yet. I expect i will have to get some hydors in the tank.

I also have 2 SCWDs on order for those return pipes you see too. Got the 1" versions. Hoping they are a little more robust than the 3/4" that everyone has had failures with. If it fails, i'm stoked about the opportunity to hack it. Have plenty of 3D printers at my disposal....might try and make my own too.

The location of the SCWDs would be where it's indicated in the new CAD below.

[MarsRover]

Steep driveway made just using the dolly a chore!


Close up of the leveling feet:





Close ups of construction:







Final:

[callsign4223]

Where' the tank!

[MarsRover]

whoops!

sorry, i guess with having to upload using photobucket caused me to miss some photos!

[saf1]

Originally Posted by MarsRover

still gotta pull that knotty pine off the wall but that'll take all of ten minutes. Got the hard part done: drywall and fracking popcorn ceiling.

what do you all think???!!?

I like the barn / sliding door. Did you make that yourself or purchase?

Other than that - nice tank and work. Good job.

Edit: I forgot to ask is that a computer server lift/dolly? If so, how did that work if you don't mind me asking. I've been looking at the possibility of renting one to move my 240 into the house after a leak and water check.