Tank in place
 

Got the tank in place and to my surprise I caught a Mermaid.

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/u...d/IMG_5589.jpg

Next years Christmas Card photo.

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/u...d/IMG_5594.jpg

Next comes plumbing.

Joe

I heard mermaids were expensive to feed !!!!!!:lol:

Cool. I wish I could teach my livestock to pose for me when I take pictures.

Now that is a cute photo... Nice size tank!

Hope you got a lid, I heard mermaid/mermen are jumpers....

http://www.themermale.com/uploaded_i...6_w-784845.jpg

Any updates? You're going to have a good solid 2 week break coming up! Any plans for working on the tank?

It has been too long without updates. Things have slowed down considerably due to work and my wrestling season. After practice I just don't have the motivation that I need to get things going. But I have made some progress.

I plumbed the tank and gave it a full leak test. The tank held up great but when I turned the OM4-way on, my connections (threaded) to the bulkheads in the bottom where all dripping. I think I was too cheap with my teflon. Also I had a leak going into my OM as I was afraid of tightening too much as the male connectors went in too far and stopped the OM from revolving. Needless to say I tore it all apart and redid all connections with added teflon tape and a dab of silicone for insurance. Re-connected and everything turned out great.

Once that was solved I started testing my overflow to sump and return. Plumbing went well but when I fired up the return pump it sounded like there was marbles in it. I talked to BRS and they gave me some suggestions to try but unfortunately it didn't solve the issue. I phoned Panworld and they also gave me some advice but in the end we determined that the pump had a problem either with a bearing or the pump head. As I am in Canada they told me I had to go to my retailer. Now I bought the pump in probably August in anticipation of a quick build but never got the pump in until January. I called Bulk Reef Supply back and they asked why Panworld would not warranty the pump and I told them "because I am in Canada and they told me to contact you." BULK REEF SUPPLY WAS GREAT ABOUT IT!!!!! They said no problem we will send you a new one, just send the old one back. They didn't even wait for their traditional Friday Canadian mail out and they covered shipping on the new pump.

New pump arrived within 6 days and works much better.

Full tank shot showing OM 4 Way nozzles locations.
http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/u...d/IMG_8091.jpg

Plumbing shot from underneath.

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/u...d/IMG_8092.jpg

Return Plumbing to sump.

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/u...d/IMG_8093.jpg

Thanks for looking.

I totally agree with your bother-in-law about the cornor bracing it is a large stand / tank and you dont want a wobble. That is why I built mine like this for a 165 gal - 8' tank:
http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/x...d/100_3053.jpg

Nice build so far, that tank is shiny, how mant $$$ did that set you back?

[quote=The Grizz;491839]I totally agree with your bother-in-law about the cornor bracing it is a large stand / tank and you dont want a wobble. That is why I built mine like this for a 165 gal - 8' tank:
http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/x...d/100_3053.jpg

I love your stand. In retrospect I would have put several more points of contact with the floor like you have . Right now when the tank is full I am not confident with it's stability and I think I will have to secure it to the wall to reduce vibration etc.

Love your stand.

You could just bolt in a couple more vertical braces in between the main legs, from the top frame work and make them touch the floor.

Great looking Build can't wait to see more photos

Well it has been a while with not much happening. I was off work for the two weeks during the Olympics and although it would have been a great time to get things done we escaped to Miami (South Beach) to visit family. My dad's condo is right on the bottom tip on the water and every morning we would go out and look at the fish by the sea wall. Beautiful Parrot fish and some said baby marlins. My dad's favorite quote as I did this was "Imagine that tropical fish in the tropics". I finally got fed up with the mocking and informed him that he was actually in the sub-tropics as my iphone indicated that they were at 25 degrees and not 22.
http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/u...alat/Parot.jpg

When I got back I finished off the plumbing and had initial problems with my return pump. Once the replacement arrived things were starting to look up... but the tank seemed "un stable". Even though the legs are perfectly level the tank still vibrated when you gave it a shot. It reminded me of the glass of water in Jurasic Park when the dinosaur walked by. I thought at first the stand just needed more points of contact with the floor so I welded in 3 more legs (2 in back and one center front) but I still wasn't satisfied. I added some plywood to the walls under the tank and built up the gaps and added shims which seemed to do the trick. I then drilled the the back cross beam and the side beam and bolted them to the studs in the wall. The city of Vancouver phoned and wants to put a sign outside the house indicating that the area under my tank can now be used as a safe haven in case of an earthquake.

I am going to try to start building some of the rock structures that will hide the closed loop this week. We will see how far I get. My plans for getting salt water into the tank by Christmas(last) now seem so unrealistic.

Finally got the RO/DI water in the tank and raised Salinity to 1025. It has been running for a few days now and the water has cleared and things look pretty good.

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/u...d/IMG_6565.jpg

I am pretty happy with the rock structures I built but the closed loop needs some modifications as the two back outlets are blasting all the sand away from the front of the tank.

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/u...d/IMG_6567.jpg

I am hesitant to do the full tank move over and instead think I will cycle the new tank with a sacrificial chromis or two and see how things go that way. I just couldn't imagine moving everything and having it all die.

Looks good!

We went to Hawaii during Olympic break too! Snorkeling in Hanauma Bay! So we got to see fishies too!

What are you doing for ATO? Are you still going to do it by hand?

(PS.. next meeting is at your house.. ;) )

I have been running the tank for about a month now and I am happy with how things are going. I had to adjust the outlets of the 2 back 90s of the closed loop as they were blowing the sand away from the front of the tank. I cut the 90 flush so that their stream is wider and it seems to fix things except now I get a bit too much at the top. The eruobrace keeps everything in but I might have to dial it back a bit, we'll see.

I put a Blue Chromis in about a week and a half ago and he is doing well. Ammonia and Nitrites are 0. Added my two clowns on Friday and I can say they have settled in nicely. I thought with such a larger tank they would be all happy and free like birds but they still just hang out near the overflow like they did in my 75 and rub up and down against each other. Ahh the life of a fish.

I think I will try to move over the rest of my livestock next weekend and then try the corals slowly or should I just do it all at once and shutdown the 75?

I've been working on my reflectors that I have been planning on making since January 09. http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=48082 This is a picture of the second one. Just one more to go.
http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/u...d/IMG_6738.jpg

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/u...d/IMG_6737.jpg

I went with the scattered finish but will use the smooth finish aluminum for the t5s.

Joe

Wow, this is really coming along. Nice work...you're a real DIY guy!

For ato I bought a bulk reef supply auto top off. When I refinished the wall behind the tank I ran a water line to where the ro/di will be under the tank.

Haven't hooked it up yet but maybe tomorrow.

Thanks Mark. It progresses in spurts. The DIY is just a matter of necessity.

I've been working on my light rack the last couple of days. I am trying to come up with something that will hold 3 250s plus 4 t5s. Right now my t5s are from my 4ft tank so they will be too short unless I stagger them. I want the option of upgrading down the road to 8 36" t5s.

I am also thinking of different ways of supporting the rack. Right now I think I will use aircraft cable and suspend the rack fr the ceiling. I am trying to come up with an easy yet secure way to raise and lower the rack when needed. Does anyone use pulleys and if so how do you set the height?

Light Rack
 

So this is what I have so far.

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/u...d/IMG_7076.jpg

I still need to make one more reflector but I am getting good at it.

What look like feet on the rack will hold the t5 strips depending on what I end up using. For now it will be the 48" staggered but time will tell.

Here is a FTS with the prototype reflector mounted on some PVC and held up with 2X4s.

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/u...d/IMG_7077.jpg


Everybody in the tanks seems happy so we will keep going.

My wife really likes the way the rock looks now "all clean and everything". I am slowly adding the old live rock from my 75gallon as I transfer fish. It won't look as tidy but oh well.

Well one step forward and two steps back. I noticed some moisture from the emergency overflow for the Herbie and realize that the seal to the bulkhead is leaking. I will have to drain the overflow and take apart the connection and re-seal.

It is a bit anoying as I will also have to replace the pipe to the sump because it is all glued up and no way to get it out without cutting it.

Anyway I guess it could be worse.

On a side note does anyone else who runs a herbie notice that your water level changes from daytime to night time. It seems that during the day my herbie never uses the 2nd overflow and at night the water rises in the display to the second overflow. It is weird and troubling.

Joe

Trying Weekend
 

I had a rough start to the weekend on Friday. During my original leak test the overflow bulkheads didn't get much of a go. Needless to say the emergency drain on the Herbie was showing some signs of leaking. I the joint from the bulkhead to the drain pipe seemed to be the problem. Everything below that is glued up and I there was no way to undue the joint and fix so I cut the bottom pipe away.

It was very tense as I was using a saws all and the power caused the bulk head to work its way loose and then bang around. Once the pipe was cut I realized how stupid I had been but the damage or lack their of had been done.

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/u...d/IMG_7078.jpg

That was just the start of my troubles. With the pipe gone I tried to loosen the nut to the bulk head but the threads of the bulkhead had gotten so beaten up that it a bugger in a half. I still couldn't loosen the drain pipe from the bulkhead as I couldn't get a grip on anything. The bottom pane of glass sits on 1/2 foam then I have 1" plywood under that. The hole I cut for access to the bulkhead is too small to get much into it and the tension was mounting.:frown:

I also knew that it didn't even matter if I was able to get the nut off the bulkhead I still wouldn't be able to get it over the the threaded pipe nut.

I tried using a blade held with pliers to cut between the two but nothing was working and I couldn't get any decent access to it to get any kind of grip. I finally had a eureka moment and thought what if I just use a cutting wheel on a dremel and cut the nut.

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/u...d/IMG_7080.jpg

Voila! Everything replaced and water tight. :biggrin: I don't know how many more frustrating evenings it might take but it was a close one.

The Big Move
 

Well I haven't posted in a while but I did the big move two weekends ago. Everything went better then I thought with no losses. It was also pretty cool that within a day the cyano in the new tank cleared up. The skimmer also got the load that it enjoys and I couldn't be happier with my Bubble Magus.
http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/u...d/IMG_7325.jpg

The lights turned out pretty good but I have to work on leveling them and finding a better way to hang them. I think I will just go with chain.

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/u...d/_MG_7327.jpg

I will also add t5s to the lights as soon as I get a chance and maybe some LEDs.

Joe

good to here the transfer went well.....thats gonna be ton of light:biggrin:

Right now it is 3 X 250MH. The T5s will only be 2 X 54watt as I don't want to replace the ballast at this time. For LED it will only be 6blue and 6white.

Well I have added the T5s to the rack. They are a bit short but they will do. I am running them both with Fiji Purples and it is a nice transition light and makes the corals pop at night.

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/u...ld/FTSJune.jpg

I have also added two strips of 3X3Watt LEDs that make great moon lights. I stopped running them for now as I need to set up a better way to put them on a timer as I don't want them running full power all night, it's too bright.

I am still working on the cabinetry and hope to have the doors and the top on this weekend (wishful thinking, looks like it will be a gardening weekend).

I also added an exhaust fan that you can see in the top left of the picture and will need to hook that up to a humidistat.

Thanks for looking.
Joe.

Your tank looks great! What brand of leds are you using and where can you buy them?

Hi Sebae,
The LEDs are Prolight 3W that I got off ebay. http://cgi.ebay.ca/20x-White-3W-LED-...#ht_3088wt_962

I bought blue and soft white.

Well things have been up and running for a couple of months now and no real big issues. I did have a bit of a problem with the return pump being too loud. It is a PanWorld PXX100 and I thought it was supposed to be quiet but the noise was shaking my fillings loose. The room is supposed to be a media center but with the noise coming from the pump it wasn't going to work out.

I had the return line bolted to the wall so that it was suspended above the tank. I had put the black foam insulation that you put around pipes around it to help dampen the noise but it was useless. In the end I think the wall was reverberating the pump noise.
http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/u...d/IMG_7730.jpg

So.. I unbolted the pipe and reassembled it so that it sits on the rim of the tank. Below I cut away a section of solid pipe and replaced it with clear vinyl. Things are better but once I get the doors on the cabinet it might be acceptable.

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/u...d/IMG_7731.jpg

The summer heat was also causing a problem with my tank getting up to about 84F. I had already installed an exhaust fan that I thought I would need once I encased the lights but it didn't seem to make a difference. The Halide ballasts were stored under the tank and generate a metric butt load of heat. So even when the lights were off there was still a couple of hours of radiant heat coming off the ballasts.

I also didn't like the way the three cords had to come up the back of the tank to the light rack. I decided that I would build a shelf in the garage to hold the ballast and simply drill a hole through the wall and have all the hot stuff on the other side of the wall.

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/u...d/IMG_7734.jpg

It worked well, heat fluctuates between 78-80 and the wires are all cleaned up.

The blue wire on the left is for the eventual surround sound speakers that will be mounted in that corner.

- Joe

Nice... the tank looks good. Are your clown's hosting anything?
I would have built my own tank but the local glass company's said they couldn't be accurate enough.

Thanks, the polished edges were all perfect but the sides that I didn't get polished had about an 1/8 of variance on them.

The clowns have just started to host in my bubble tip anenome. It is still too small for both of them so they sort of take turns then return to their corner of the tank. I am very exited about the hosting and can't wait until it is their permanent home.

Your tank is absolutely STUNNING! Love the orange shoulder tang. It's an amazing fish!

I enjoyed reading your thread, the tank looks great.

Looks great Joe...

How is the Arduino working out for you? (I chickened out and bought an apex :( )
Also looking at your other pics.. did you plumb your RO/DI directly to your sump for your ATO?

I am still working on the Arduino. What I have so far is:
1. Temperature for both hood and water.
2. PH probe working with Arduino.

What I need to still do:
1. Wire the 5v - 120V relays for controlling, lights, ATO, Dosing Pumps, exhaust fan.
2. Ethernet shield and data logging.

I have all the parts I just need to get down to putting it all together.

--------

As for the sump

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/u...d/IMG_7732.jpg

I do have the ATO running directly into the the RO/DI. I have it on the BRS ATO switch and set to a timer that turns it on for an hour early evening and early morning. The waste water goes back out to the garage and the drain on the other side of the wall there.

I would like to build a mixing tank for my water changes that is tied into the system. It would sit in the garage as well and once the water goes down the drain on the sump side I could pump the new saltwater through the wall into the sump.

All in due time.

Thanks for the kind words. I really like the Orange Tang as well, a great natured fish. He doesn't seem to bother anybody and eats just about everything.


http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/u...ngShoulder.jpg

In the picture you can see some of the ICH, or something similar, he developed in the first couple of days of having him. It is visible on the orange streak. It all disappeared after about a week and hasn't returned (knock on wood).

Great build. Took a while to read the thread. Learned some tricks. Will keep watching.