The Stoney Waters Experience

[stoney waters]

Thanks for all the kind words. She is scheduled to get the cast removed next Monday. Hopefully both our lives will be back to normal.

[AdriftQuasar]

Glad that her recovery is going smoothly. You are a great inspiration to me in this hobby, so thank you for that.

[xmen0075]

Awesome work on the tank!!!

Hope to see more pics in the near future....

[Needreefunds]

OK Stone, I hate to be a PITA, but ............It has been awhile

 

Any progress??

 

(the wife AND the tank?)

[stoney waters]

OK Stone, I hate to be a PITA, but ............It has been awhile

 

Any progress??

 

(the wife AND the tank?)

 

LOL. The wife is recovering nicely, she is out of the cast but still needs to wear a restraining boot. She still has trouble keeping up with the kids.

 

As for the tank, I have run into an unexpected problem. It seems who ever wired the basement decided it would be wise not to run ground wires to the wall outlet I was planning to use for the tank. It won't be an easy task to rewire considering the basement has a finished ceiling. I was not prepared to take on such a project, but I guess I have no choice, just need to find the time.

 

I have done a few modifications to the tank and sump. I enlarged the overflow slots in the fuge area to improve the surface skimming in the sump and built a nice shelf to support the closed loop pump.

 

 

 

I have also been experimenting with a pulley system to help raise and lower the pendant. The spring loaded SunRise lifts alone are a little herky jerky so I am thinking some pulleys in the right configuration might smooth out the operation. I think I am getting close but might need to break out the old physics book.

 

 

I get anxious to finish sometimes, but I told myself when I started this tank that I would not rush. I don't want to kick myself later.

[tam]

Hey Stoney,

I just found this thread and wanted to say that your project box is stunning along with everything else you've built. I'll be tagging along on this thread also.

[NanoClown]

you sir are my hero....lol that sounds dumb if you read it a few times

[slmbuyer]

Sweet setup. It is exactly what I want! Good job. Looks professional.

 

I'm working on a 40 B myself and made an overflow with acrylic. Now I'm having trouble finding a good glue/silicone to bond it to the glass. I heard someone using black auto gasket maker.

 

What did you use to glue your internal overflow to your back glass?

[stoney waters]

I did a lot of research on that very subject and decided on regular silicone. I figured there was no real integrity issue and the water pressure would be almost balanced on both sides. I have not heard of gasket maker, but I have seen people use black urethane used to seal windshields. It supposedly bonds better to plastic.

[stoney waters]

Update.

 

I fixed the wiring problem in the basement and set up the tank and controller in its final spot. The tank has a bed of special grade reef sand waiting for water.

 

 

I gave up on the idea of a vertical lift system for the pendant, I just couldn't get it to operate smoothly. I decided to go with a horizontal slide using closet door tracks. I like it because it gives me easy and full access to the tank.

 

 

 

The wall behind the tank has a cut out which gives me access to the back of the tank from an adjacent room.

 

 

I hope to get water in it tomorrow. I just wish my RO would work faster.

[ProFlatlander15]

Wow Stoney, this is sick. It looks so awesome! I love the power center next to the tank. I'm glad you took your time, this is a well thought-out set up, and you should have an awesome experience keeping this beast. Props.

[divecj5]

Looks awesome Stoney and congrats on getting the wiring and everything figured out in the basement. I agree that the setup looks perfectly thought out and I love the idea of the closet door slides to move the light out of the way.

 

Everything looks nice and clean and I'm sure it will be the highlight of the basement without a doubt. Looking forward to seeing it pumping away filled with water.

[stoney waters]

Thanks Pro and divecj5. I'm so psyched that I'm at this stage, I just hope everything goes smoothly from here on.

 

 

Oh Yeah...

 

 

Salt water, Woohooo!!

[divecj5]

Congrats on getting it WET. I'm sure that although there will inevitably be some hiccups along the road, the amount of research and thought that went into the tank will pay off. I'm sure things will proceed smoothly from here.

 

Any plans on when you will be adding rock?

[Needreefunds]

SWEET!!! Alright, we have flow!!

 

Just lovin' this tank Stone, really enjoying watching it come together.

[stoney waters]

Any plans on when you will be adding rock?

 

 

I am planing on heading over to Indy to cherry pick some Marshal Island rock. I talked to them yesterday and they are out until early October, so unless I can find some I like locally I will be waiting till then. I will be adding some pieces from my nano-cube to help jump start the cycle.

[bdare]

I LOVE THIS TANK!!!

 

How is it working having the drain for the sump and he closed loop in the same overflow? I've been thinking about doing the same, but I was afraid it wouldn't work. How many GPH do you have flowing through that 20L?

 

I do have one question for you about the returns you have for your sump. They seem to be quite a bit below the water level. What are you doing to prevent a siphon and back flow when your return pump stops?

 

Thanks,

Ben

[stoney waters]

Thanks Ben, best questions yet.

 

I chose to put the intake for the closed loop in the overflow to keep it hidden. I works fine. I just needed to keep it as low as I could to prevent it from sucking air bubbles caused by the spillover. I also adjusted the standpipe as high as possible to keep splashing to a minimum. Too much turbulence would cause micro-bubbles to be grabbed and spit out by the closed loop. My guess is that there is close to 600 GPH through the sump, but about 1200 GPH spilling over the overflow.

 

The main return pump is fitted with a wye check valve to prevent back flow in case of power failure. I am able to turn the pumps off for feeding. Just as a precaution, in case the check valve fails, I carefully calculated the sump to take on the water with 1/2" to spare.

[stoney waters]

So I tore down my nano-cube today and added the rock to the tank to help jump start the cycle. This is not my final aqua-scaping, I am still looking for some nice pieces to build up the walls. At least it is nicer to look at while I wait.

 

[fishgeek31]

wow every aspest of this tank is amazing! There are huge tanks with endless amounts of money throw at them that are not even close to being in your ball park. Keep up the great work!

[got2envy]

freakin' AWESOME!!!! I love this tank...that light is the shizzle!!!! keep posting pics as it comes along..I am tagging along

[mcarr3]

The tank tank looks excellent. Great work. Is that the AquaC ev-120. If so how do you like it? I am starting a 50 breeder with 20 long sump and I think that is the skimmer that I am going to go with.

[stoney waters]

The tank tank looks excellent. Great work. Is that the AquaC ev-120. If so how do you like it? I am starting a 50 breeder with 20 long sump and I think that is the skimmer that I am going to go with.

 

It's actually an EV-90 an older version of the 120. I ran it on my 90 FOWLR and it was a decent skimmer, but I had it in a larger sump. Right now I am trying to find a way to deal with the micro bubbles in the 20 L. I might be trading for a different skimmer (possibly an octopus or euro-reef) if I cant find a solution.

 

I fired it up the other day. Sadly there is not much to skim yet

 

[jokercykoe]

This is probably the best build thread that I have read on this forum. Just went through and read the whole thread. I'll be following along from here, can't wait until you start aquascaping.

[divecj5]

^^ I totally agree ^^