And it begins - Tank Build - 70 Gallon reef (1 Viewer)

[TiAg]

Updated Pics - Tank Build - 70 Gallon reef

Hey all, this is going to take awhile as you all know LOL. Really excited about getting started. Got the tank picked up this weekend and went around to a few places to meet some people. Met Dennis at FJW - that is really a sweet store and will be heading back over after I get my RO/DI!

Huge shout out to Donnie at City Pets, thanks for the help and hook-ups.

So I get all my gear Saturday and plan on being a plumbing fool on Sunday - that is of course until my wife decided to buy 4 discus for another tank we had but hadn't set up yet. So I lost yesterday to the discus build (which I got done and all 4 of the expensive little buggers made it through the night) and of course that led to a water change in the 200 gal freshwater tank since I used some to prime the discus tank, but will get purple fingers tonight after work. Here is the gear so far, should have everything short of water to get it setup!



Now I do have one question, this tank is built to have the returning water come in via a split T (that I need to plumb) and returns the water to the DT via outputs that are very low in the tank. Since I am going to have a sand bed in there I was initially planning on just using a couple elbows to raise the return in tank a bit, but was curious if you guys/gals had a better idea. I could always just plug them and come over the top in a different manner, there is only one drilled hole in the overflow. Is there something I should use so that I can control the current direction/position?



The little PVC in the front is just some spare stuff that came with the tank.

 

[trb]

I would not feel comfortable using returns like that at the bottom of the tank. If you do, you will NEED a pretty big siphon break hole where the plumbing is at the top of the overflow, and pray that it does not get clogged or covered, because in a power out situation, the returns could siphon back flow and drain the entire tank onto your floor.

Personally, I would just plumb the returns over the back of the tank and then down to right below the water level. Then get some loc-line for the outlets so you can use them to direct your flow. I don't have a direct picture of my return, but you can see the loc-line in this picture. I drilled it through the overflow, and siliconed the opening after I screwed it into the plumbing behind the overflow. That way I have a somewhat counter-clockwise circular flow in the tank from the returns.

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu77/trbstang/IMG_4658.jpg

 

[TiAg]

Thanks TRB, thats exactly the type of input I was looking for.

 

[TiAg]

Hit a minor snag with the overflow. Went ahead and pulled it out and am in the process or replacing it. Got all the silicone scraped out though and cut the egg crate for the bottom. RO/DI on order as well as some Loc-Line (thanks TRB!!), check valve (being a former rock climber I like having 3 safety's for everything) and fittings. Even dropped the dime on a reef keeper L3. So holding now I suppose for a couple weeks till I can get the overflow, though I might go ahead and replace the bulkhead fitting and water test the tank this weekend.

Since I have a single drain I've come up with a bit of a plan to try an thwart any major plumbing issues and wanted to get some feedback perhaps in case I'm crazy.

Idea is to plumb the main pipe a couple inches below the overflow for fill which seems pretty standard. At the bottom of that pipe I'm going to put a t fitting and run another second pipe up next to it, but have it be an inch higher then the main drain as a backup. Both covered with a screen (that I ordered from BRS). I'm also thinking about putting a water level float in there as well so that in the event the first plugs up the backup will flow and the alarm will go off on the RK (again giving me the 3 safety's). I think I can also program the RK to shut off the return pump if the alarm goes off which may or may not be a good idea. If the main drain gets plugged up with something below the t fitting it wouldn't drain - so might be an idea worth looking at in case I'm not home when it happens.

 

[Diesel]

I use this on my drain pipes in the overflows, both for noise and against the idea that your drain might get plugged up, Maggie Muffllers!



http://www.aquacave.com/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=833

 

[trb]

How are you going to run the main drain? Durso drain? Otherwise it might not be too quiet. The best way to provide a backup is to drill a second hole in the overflow for the emergency drain. It does not have to be a big hole, even a 3/4" bulkhead would do. And since you are replacing the overflow, you can make it a bit larger for the additional hole. I have 3 holes in mine, all 1" bulkheads, and my overflow is about 6"x9". But if you keep it clean inside the plumbing, you can probably get by with a single drain. Or you could even drill the back and install an emergency drain through the back wall of the tank, with the plumbing entrance inside the overflow and the drain pipe down behind the tank. That way you don't give up any tank real estate to a larger overflow box.

If you plan on a durso drain, I came up with a few tricks to make it smaller than the standard one. I used a street L on the T that I cut down so the pipes were as small as possible and also used a recessed cap for the top with a screw in insert that I drilled the air hole in. You can see it in this pic:

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu77/trbstang/IMG_4533.jpg

My build thread : http://www.marsh-reef.org/showthrea...-thread-with-new-pics-added?highlight=finally

Very few people use check valves since they rarely work right. But as a secondary backup on the return line draining it might help.

I'm not too far from you if you want to talk about it sometime. I'm at West Rd & the beltway and am often out your way. My wife likes going to the HEB, although it can be dangerous!

Thomas

 

[Diesel]

Don't know what happened to my first comment but use a Maggie Muffler on top of your drain, no noise and no plugged drains.

http://www.aquacave.com/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=833

 

[TiAg]

Thanks Thomas! I'll PM you my #, maybe we can get together and have a beer. You are right down the road. I'm really hesitant to further drill the tank. I've drilled porcelain and know it can be super tricky and if I screw it up then I'm really down for a long time I had no idea what a Durso drain was before now so thanks again. That looks like a good idea. I too have heard that check valves don't always work, so I got one that you can take apart and clean. Little pricey but if it works, great. And again, it's a backup to a backup, the vent holes in the return nozzles are the primary. Guess I'm off to HD for more PVC tonight

 

[TiAg]

Thanks Diesel! Your comment is showing up now, wasn't earlier. Site's been acting crazy all day, not sure what's up.

 

[TiAg]

Well I was able to make some progress! Got the bulkhead replaced. The hole was 2" so I had to use some silicone to hold everything in place. But I did a couple leak checks and everything looks good! Also got my new overflow from PM via Fish Gallery (really nice store btw).


Fabricated a bit of a water transport device and have been making RO/DI since I got the unit in yesterday. Also got my Loc-Line return put together and hope to be cycling the tank by tonight!



And here is a picture of a cat in a sink

 

[Diesel]

Mmmm, I really like the overflow......wait a minute.........!!
One thing, you should have used black silicone. The skimmer would have blend in totally with the tank.
Other than that awesome job.

 

[TiAg]

Yeah, but you can't really see it, that side is right next to a stairwell. The silicone is pretty clear though and as messy as I am had I used black it probably would have looked like hell LOL.

 

[trb]

Looks good! I've been meaning to call you, but I've been way too busy, barely get to check the forums a couple of times a day!

We had a cat like that. She curled up in the sink and made us turn the water on so she could get a drink, then wondered why she got all wet! All of a sudden she would bolt up from the sink. LOL!

 

[TiAg]

Funny, he does the same thing, cept he doesn't really care about getting his paws wet. He actually tests the water now with his paw before taking a drink since he drank hot tap water a while back.

No worries on the call, just give me a shout when you can. I'm hoping I'm not leaking too bad tonight when I have enough water in the tank to turn on the pump.

 

[TiAg]

Got it on it's cycle last night! Floor hasn't flooded yet so that's a good sign. Now, I need to get a quiet pump. The one I bought was less expensive but sounds like I've got an electric shaver sitting on a megaphone - not good for the living room. So if it hasn't broke in and quieted down by Friday I'll get a new pump. Also will be getting some live rock to aquascape Friday. Anyone have any feedback on a quiet sump pump?? The one on my skimmer isn't that bad so I know they can be quieter then the one I have.

 

[Diesel]

Mag pumps are pretty good. I use them a lot in my outdoor pond designs for the UV cylinders and my disappearing fountains. On my tank I have running Mag 12.....no noise and a Aqua Medic, Oceanrunner OR2500 (for skimmer and UV) again no noise!

 

[trb]

The only bad things about mag pumps is they generate a good amount of heat and use more electricity. I have a mag 9.5 and a Quietone 4000. I ran each of them in separate buckets mixing salt once, and the mag bucket was quite a bit warmer. The pump was very warm to the touch, not too hot to handle, but much warmer than the Quietone pump.

How do you have the pump sitting? It could just be vibrations on the glass or whatever. My mag has a foam pad on the bottom, otherwise it can be noisy if sitting on the side. If it is still loud with the pump suspended in the water, then do look for a new pump.

 

[TiAg]

I do have it sitting in the fuge with no buffer, but even when I pick it up and suspend it in the water it's still very noisy....it's not just the acoustic vibration.

 

[TiAg]

I'm going to be adding live rock this weekend so I know my numbers will probably go all over the place. I ran a series of tests this morning just to see where I was to start. Bear in mind I'm color blind so I'll have to wait until tonight to run the tests again with my wife (otherwise known as SWMBO) to see how far off I am in my comparison guesses

So here are the #'s:

• Salinity 1.025 (should be perfect)
• pH (I have a PH probe on the way so using test kit for now which measures dkH/megL)
  • dkH - 9.2 (this is about 1% high I think, should be in 8.3 range, though I found that 7 to 11 was ok?)
  • meg/L - 3.3 (this on the other hand is in the good range which I don't understand)
• NO3 - .75 (should be 0)
• CA - 400 (should be good - 420 optimal)
• MG - 1240 (needs to be bumped up a bit 1280 optimal)
• PO4 - .36 (should be at 0)
• Temp - 78ish (should rise, heaters only been on 12 hours or so)

So at what point should I start supplementing the tank? I assume I should wait until after this weekend when I add the LR and Chaeto, then maybe let it go another week with daily tests to watch the #'s.

Am I off my rocker or is that right?

 

[TiAg]

Oh and for the record, my brilliant design mod on the Durso to add a T at the bottom with a second overflow for backup was a dismal failure. Caused the flow to vapor lock. Had to cap it. Lesson learned! Now I get to stare at a useless second pipe until the next major maintenance on the tank