Myka's 69 SPS Tank 2015

[gregzz4]

I know how you feel about a silicone mess.
I just built a new salt mixing tank and forgot to tape off the inside
Oh well, it's just for me ...

[Madreefer]

Originally Posted by Myka

He's not a welder, but he's done a ton of bodywork on his 1965 Ford F100

Cool. Any pics? There's a car pic thread on here that needs to be bumped

[Myka]

Originally Posted by gregzz4

I know how you feel about a silicone mess.
I just built a new salt mixing tank and forgot to tape off the inside
Oh well, it's just for me ...

I'm usually pretty good with silicone, but when I end up having to move things it gets messy real quick. You should see the mess I created today!!! It will take me some time to clean it up tomorrow.

Originally Posted by Madreefer

Cool. Any pics? There's a car pic thread on here that needs to be bumped

He has a 1966 and a 1965 Ford F100, and actually, my bad, it's the '66 that he's done all the body work to. I'll see if I can sneak some pics. The '66 has the engine pulled for the last year as he's been doing all the bodywork. Then he bought the '65 which is in much shape, and got all distracted.

[Myka]

The stand is coming along. Hubby isn't the quickest, but he's doing a great job! He just has to install the bracing and then I can paint it - maybe tomorrow?

Sump has been completed. I just need to clean up my messy silicone job. Nothing a blade and some rubbing alcohol can't fix. Good thing for clear silicone.

[Myka]

The sump holds water! I'm just waiting for trim for the sump (so I can partially cover it) which will arrive with the tank. I wish I left the divider between the RO chamber and the sump 1/2" lower than the sump sides to allow room for the trim. When I designed the sump I wasn't planning to put trim on it. I think this is the only detail that I overlooked.




Done welding and grinding!






(Almost) Finished product! It has 3 coats of paint on it, but I'm going to put another 3 coats on. I'm also going to fill the inside corners of the braces where the welder couldn't get in. I still need to install the tray for the filter pad and get the Uniseal figured out (my drill bit was a tad too big for the Uniseal so it is not a snug fit). Maybe I will use a bulkhead instead (which fits well).

I will install some plywood on the bottom of the stand to go between the stand and the floor to protect the floor. I will also install some plywood under the sump side of the stand (on the top of the stand framing) to help support the sump.

I'm also considering building an acrylic "tray" that the sump will sit in to catch any drips, leaks, or spills (I'm paranoid about damaging the new flooring). I might even build it tall enough to help protect the back of the stand area from salt spray from skimmer overflow as that area will be tough to clean - even with the removable panels. The sump will be easily removable for cleaning it as well as the inside the stand. The sump will slide out the left side of the stand.






I'm not real excited about how the Red Dragon pump attaches to the skimmer body - the inlet to the pump is SO close to the outlet of the skimmer. Considering the basic sump runs from one direction to the other (mine has a circular flow), you would think they would design the skimmer to have the inlet of the pump as far from the outlet as possible. All they had to do was change the pinwheel cover so that the inlet goes into the left side of the pump instead of the right. I'm not sure why it is designed the way it is. It doesn't matter in my sump too much because the flow of the sump is less than the flow of the skimmer pump, so the skimmer will be sucking in already skimmed water no matter what.

[coolhandgoose]

Nice looking stand, great work!

[Myka]

Thanks! It's coming along, and lots more to do!

[Wretch]

The stand is looking very nice. Great build so far.

[Myka]

I didn't do too much with the project this last week/weekend. Needed to do yard work and had MIL 60th bday.

I did get the last few coats of paint on the stand and got the media rack silconed into the sump. I bought the plywood for the stand skinning and a new blade for the saw, so I'm all ready.

On the other hand, I have a vat of dirty rock that had half dried and sat in the shed for the winter. I bleached it a few weeks ago and refilled with RO water then kinda forgot about it. This morning I tested PO4 at 0.49 ppm (Hanna) and NO3 >100 ppm (maxed out Salifert kit). So I drained the water and refilled it with used saltwater from my 50-gallon. I might need to acid wash it...we'll see how it tests in a few days.

[Myka]

Let there be light! (thanks to riceboy)

It's an ATI Sunpower 6x39w dimmable T5 fixture. I plan to mount a couple of Reefbrite blue LED strips on either side. Not sure if I'll be wanting the XHOs or the if the Techs will do the trick. Maybe XHOs on a dimmer? This way I can run some high PAR T5 bulbs and have the LEDs for the blue supplementation. I'll be running a combo of ATI Aquablue Special and Coral Plus.