gutterguy Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 WATER...WATER...WATER...WATER...WATER...WATER...WATER... Link to comment
animalmaster6 Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 I'm sure I've said it before but that stand is amazing! Can't wait to see it set up. Link to comment
ajmckay Posted January 3, 2011 Author Share Posted January 3, 2011 Uh oh.. What's this??? WATER!!!!!! Just in the sump for now. I still need to finish my overflow box before I transfer everything over to the display tank. Also, some bad planning on my part I need more salt ;p. I did start rinsing the sand though... 60lbs of the oolitic aragonite (caribsea aragamax) sand... I've never used stuff this fine before... hopefully I like it. Jerz, thanks for your thoughts.... I used 3/4" type M copper pipe. I figure that the MH pendant will weigh in around 5 lbs. (remote ballast). I was also thinking a similar thing though.... Mostly due to the height. It's 3 feet tall and extends 12" out over the tank. For reinforcing I was considering sliding some thinner diameter conduit or wood dowel into the 2 vertical sections and the connecting horizontal... What do you think about that idea? I was originally going to do it with conduit, but I couldn't find a good solution for the 90 degree bends and I didn't want to buy a conduit bender. The copper pipe actually only cost me about $25 in the end... Then again I may just leave it be for now and watch it. I'll probably just use some 1/4" self tapping screws to hold it all together, so if I need to modify anything it shouldn't be a big deal. I was originally thinking superglue gel, but I think screws will be a little more trustworthy since this thing will hang a light over my tank. Link to comment
ajmckay Posted January 3, 2011 Author Share Posted January 3, 2011 still it looks great mate. Hehe... I would hope so, your input helped a lot you know! Link to comment
bitts Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 hope so Other wise I kinda steered you up a gum tree without a paddle. hey check your in box in a min. Link to comment
plapczynski Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 Really Nice!!! How tall is that stand? It looks a little higher than the "store" models. Link to comment
gutterguy Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 Yaaahhhhhh!!!!! Now I can sleep at night!! Link to comment
ajmckay Posted January 4, 2011 Author Share Posted January 4, 2011 Haha yeah it is really tall compared to most stands. The stand itself is just under 49 inches tall. The whole thing, including the light hanging fixture is about 83 inches. I really wanted something I could enjoy without having to squish my neck or hunch over. So I made it such that my eyes are a little higher than the top rim of the top tank. I'm 5'11" or so, and I figure that most people fall in the range of 5'5" to 6', so it should provide adequate viewing for most people. Short people can enjoy the display sump. Link to comment
bitts Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 you &^*%$ I'm 6'6" so it won't do me any good. thats it I'm done. off to find a thread that doesn't discriminate. Link to comment
ajmckay Posted January 4, 2011 Author Share Posted January 4, 2011 you &^*%$ I'm 6'6" so it won't do me any good. That's a huge b!tch! Haha... Today's update: FTS: Not much of a change... I added more water, mixed it to the right S.G., and put in the return pump (just circulating the water within the sump). Next, we have the soupy mess that occurs after rinsing 60lbs of fine grain sand... it took a looong time to get it this clean. Finally, here's the crappy overflow box I made... The cheapest 1/4" black acrylic I could find was $30... crazy. So I had an 11x17 piece of home depot crappy 1/8" stuff and I figured I would paint the inside black with spray paint and call it a day. I used weld-on #4, only about 1/2ml of it too... hardly any. The seams aren't perfect and there are some bubbles and stuff, but I think it'll hold water. (Yes, I measured a little off and forgot to take off 1/8" from the side pieces, so it sticks up a little.) I'm just going to sand that down tomorrow. And btw the dimensions are 7" wide, 5.5" tall, and 3" deep. Link to comment
bitts Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 hey just cause I'm like 270 doesn't mean you can get away with calling me fat. can't wait to see it up. I figure you've already leak tested & every thing. Link to comment
ajmckay Posted January 4, 2011 Author Share Posted January 4, 2011 Hehe... It's probably my favorite quote from Deuce Bigalow... either that or "Did you say steak"? Leak testing? What's that... I used a ton of cement, so hopefully the overflow and return pipes seal well enough. I already leak tested the tanks. I'll leak test my little overflow box tonight as well. I'm quite impressed with my skills in making that box. Besides the little measuring error (which I was too lazy to just fix before assembly) It's square and I'm sure it'll hold water well. Tonight I'm going to spray paint it black... My new $2 overflow. I just need to drill the holes now and find some gaskets. Link to comment
ajmckay Posted January 5, 2011 Author Share Posted January 5, 2011 Update... So while drilling the holes in my overflow box I must have been pushing too hard. So it cracked 4 ways... I love weld-on. I just solvent welded it back together. It's not completely perfect, but it's the back of the box and it seems to be water tight still. I'll make another box later when I have some more $$. On another note, I hate how many different standards there are for thread spacing. So I need a 3/4" threaded barb fitting. I got one from Lowes in the section where you buy all the little plumbing parts... It has a different thread pattern than the PVC... stupid. Link to comment
tangboy Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 Tank build is nice, I like how you can see even the sump from any angle unlike most of us who tend to have them hidden away for none to see. I anxiously await more updates! Link to comment
ajmckay Posted January 6, 2011 Author Share Posted January 6, 2011 IT'S UP AND RUNNING!!! No, seriously... Want proof? BAM! I haven't done any scaping yet... It's pretty late already. The only problem I'm having at the moment is the main drain bulkhead. When I had the overflow box installed the main drain leaked a little bit. It was a small, but steady stream. So I took away the overflow box and now I just have some elbows controlling the water level. The backup drain is perfect, but the primary drain still leaks. It's about a drop every 10 seconds or so. I've got a scam-wow shoved back there to absorb the water, but I'm not sure what to do. I've tightened both of them as tight as I could by hand. I even wiggled the pipes a little bit just in-case one side was loose. Any ideas? Also, while I was being cheap and trying to devise a way to make a cheap bulkhead strainer ($9 at the LFS for 1.5"!!), I made this for less than $4 and a little bit of time. HERE's the DIY thread. And here's my overflow box painted black: Link to comment
bitts Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 did you use the silicone grease on the bulkhead thing, damn that round rubber thing that I cant think of @$$#$%^%^&&&&*%$$%^ blasted you know what I mean. Gasket, Gasket Damn it. Gasket. but yeah that might do the trick. one more thing don't do that to a man, you %^%^&. I'm like half, blind now. its like you expect us to sit here with our shades ready for those lights. Link to comment
ajmckay Posted January 6, 2011 Author Share Posted January 6, 2011 You know, I couldn't find any silicone grease at HD or Lowes... I looked all over the plumbing section. I found the plumbers putty, but not the silicone grease. I think I might try that. I think I'll also try and re-do my overflow box. The box is water tight but where the cracks are (you can see them in the pics) there's a little ridge, which could be preventing me from getting it tight enough. *edit* I went online and I found it on the HD website... It must be in a different location. I think I will try that though. It's a really slow leak. Link to comment
bitts Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 but no really that first pic must go. you need to post like 20 others so we can pic one to replace it with. oh you know sea bass is going to be hoping mad you got yours up first. Link to comment
ajmckay Posted January 6, 2011 Author Share Posted January 6, 2011 Haha... Yeah there might have been some additional motivation coming from our equally slow progress. Okay I replaced the first pic, better? The room still isn't finished, so once that's done I'll probably have more to post. On a side note, tuning the herbie isn't so easy. You have to wait like 10 minutes every time you adjust the flow to let it settle into the level. Link to comment
bitts Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 actually ten min isn't that bad, hope you have a gate valve on it just makes things easier. oh love the photo shopped clown in that first one. he's so cute. Link to comment
ajmckay Posted January 6, 2011 Author Share Posted January 6, 2011 Ha... gate valve? No I have a ball valve. I did turn it back and forth probably 50 times before installing it to loosen it up a bit and make it easier to turn. I basically found a good range and I tap it with a little wrench to adjust it. I probably should have gotten a gate valve but I couldn't find one that was 1" in PVC. Only 1/2" and 3/4" or brass. I'm running the system low though in-case my overflow elbows fall out or something. Also I've noticed that my anti-siphon tube isn't working. There's probably not enough water pressure coming from my weak pump. I'll have to mess around with it at some point. Link to comment
gutterguy Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Looking good AJ. Are you going to do anything special to keep the sump clean, like adding a seperate cuc or just manually clean. I notice in my sump that i get a coulple of different kinds of algea. I threw a coulple of blue legs and nerites in there and they seem to be taken care of it but i wouldnt want it to be out in the open to see. Link to comment
seabass Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 oh you know sea bass is going to be hoping mad you got yours up first.I can't believe it...what a rip. You're just making me look bad now. I might just have to quit this hobby! Buy seriously, it looks good. I'm right behind you. Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.