Calvin415's LED lit 12 footer

[calvin415]

LOL! Yeah she knows better.

 

Sump will have to go in as 3' sections to fit through the door openings I'm making and anticipate it to be approx 10" wide, unknown height yet, it will depend on what I have for materials. I will have an overflow on each end of the tank, one side will feed a fuge the other will feed the skimmer. Both will flow towards the center where the return pump (Dart maybe just a Snapper) will pump the water back up. I want to have a RODI reservior in there also for ATO, but not sure yet where I'll put it.

[calvin415]

Do you guys think 8x turn over through the sump is fine for an LPS tank? The closed loop with be much higher...

[mikellini]

I think that judging sump/fuge turnover based on tank volume isn't the best way to go about it. Many people say 10x the tank turnover is good for a sump/fuge, but what happens if the tank volume is 25 gallons and the sump/fuge volume is around 1 or 2 (such as in a 29 gallon BioCube)? Pulling 250 gallons per hour through such a small space won't allow for filtration, macroalgae growth, or even effective protein skimming.

 

So, what I propose is that you base your flow rate on the size of the sump/fuge, not on the size of the display. I think your idea for the sump design is ingenious, because you can essentially separate the fuge and skimmer, and by adjusting the size of the two sumps you can adjust the flow rate. For example, you could make the skimmer half taller, with a smaller output to the return pump, which should decrease the flow rate. Same thing for the fuge. It would take some calculations to ensure that you wouldn't overflow one of the two sumps, but it wouldn't be too hard.

 

You could also just take the easy route and plumb it all together, making it all the same size. In either case, you should base your flow rate on the volume of the sump, not the display. I'd say anywhere between 10-20x turnover of the sump volume per hour should work well for your purposes. HTH

[calvin415]

Well if I go with two 36"x11"x20" sumps with about 8" of water that will provide plenty of room for back flow, but that's 72*11*8 or 27.4 gallons and with 1100 gph that would be 40x turn over in the sump... I can't believe that would be too much...

 

Reason is I'd like to be able to see into the tank from the end, and the support column isn't too wide, so I could be able to see in if I only put an overflow on one end. But with the limited room on the ends, it will restrict the about of flow into the sump.

 

Any other opinions or thoughts?

[reefone]

the only problem with that much flow through the sump is controlling micro bubbles. u could try it and if needed u could just vavle the pump down. is there a reason ur useing a snapper for return? it just seems kind of alot of pump for the little distance the water needs to be pumped.

 

one other thing why do u need so much room for back flow?

[calvin415]

Well the Snapper was for when I was going to have dual overflows, if I cut it back to 1100 GPH obviously I won't need a Snapper... I don't want to fill the sump with back flow and at 144*15*2 that's 18 gallons which will fill up almost 6 inches in the sump.

[reefone]

oops, i forgot that ur sump isnt going to be as long as ur tank and thats the reason for the room in the sump.

 

dont u love trying to figure out all the details

[lakshwadeep]

Very nice. I'm assuming that you made the long tank at RC's nTOTM? That was really clean and "simple"!

reference to those who don't know:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.p...hreadid=1060365

[Maco]

Wow taging along for this one... your making the tank yourself right?

[calvin415]

oops, i forgot that ur sump isnt going to be as long as ur tank and thats the reason for the room in the sump.

 

dont u love trying to figure out all the details

 

LOL! Yeah, sometimes I think the planning and building is more fun than actually having the tank. Guess I'll drag my feet on this one so I can keep the pleasure going.

 

Very nice. I'm assuming that you made the long tank at RC's nTOTM? That was really clean and "simple"!

reference to those who don't know:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.p...hreadid=1060365

 

Thanks!

Yes, that was the trial version. I orginally wanted to go 8' long on that one, but decided against it so I could compete in the N-R build off too.

 

Wow taging along for this one... your making the tank yourself right?

 

Yes I am... I still have some more test welds to try, I want to get the seam as clear as possible.

[keri2000]

Shame shame, selling your wife's car to fulfill your saltwater needs. LOL J/K I really can't wait to see this tank when it's finished. I loved that custom nano that you built. This should blow that one away!

[mikellini]

To tell you the truth, the first thought that came to me was to put in only one overflow. This way, you could direct the return flow from one end of the tank to the other. You'd have better mixing of filtered water with tank water, as well as reduce the chance of overflowing the sump. Plus you could have a longer distance between the skimmer and the return, and with a bubble trap placed right before the return pump you could virtually eliminate microbubbles.

[ChasingChickens]

wow, makes me want to do something like this, however I'm not sure the apartment landlord will be so understanding. blah hate renting.

[calvin415]

Shame shame, selling your wife's car to fulfill your saltwater needs. LOL J/K I really can't wait to see this tank when it's finished. I loved that custom nano that you built. This should blow that one away!

 

LOL! Thanks!

 

To tell you the truth, the first thought that came to me was to put in only one overflow. This way, you could direct the return flow from one end of the tank to the other. You'd have better mixing of filtered water with tank water, as well as reduce the chance of overflowing the sump. Plus you could have a longer distance between the skimmer and the return, and with a bubble trap placed right before the return pump you could virtually eliminate microbubbles.

 

Good call, I was thinking the same thing, just worried if it would be enough filtration... I guess really the LR in the tank will handle the majority of the filtration, everything else will be for polishing the water.

 

wow, makes me want to do something like this, however I'm not sure the apartment landlord will be so understanding. blah hate renting.

 

LOL! Yeah apartments are the best place to start tearing out walls.

 

 

Thanks for all the feedback guys, I just bought a Dart yesterday for the closed loop, so I guess that means it has officially begun.

[mikellini]

Calvin, I just wish I had the technical ability to make some of the stuff you do. You wouldn't be available for hire, would you?

[calvin415]

LOL! It's not tough, just have to think it through first. I'm currently trying to get my own calcium and kalk reactor line www.elite-reef.com up and going, but running out of time for everything. If you have a small project I might be able to help, if you just need someone to bounce ideas off of, just shoot me a PM, chit chat is always free.

Edited April 29, 2008 by calvin415

[calvin415]

Sorry for the lack of updates, we got the floors ordered this morning so now I have to get the stand finished, they will be here in 10 days! I'm hoping to get the plywood on it this weekend so I can drywall, texture, and then get to work on building the tank. Stay tuned...

[calvin415]

Here's what I did today.

 

 

My wife putting on the primer to make sure we don't have any issues down the road. However, I'm thinking about putting in a pond liner to really make sure there are no issues.

 

 

 

Corner Round and first layer of mud slapped on.

 

 

 

 

BTW, the green board on the top just because I had it leftover and it was the right size. It's not put there with a purpose.

[calvin415]

Well I was able to sand last night, put on a second coat, and we got confirmation that the floors are being delivered on Wednesday. We have plans tomorrow night so I hope to get everything (sanded, final coat of mud, spray texture) done tonight and then my wife can paint on Wednesday. We have our reef club meeting this weekend and I still need to prep for my acrylic demo so I'm afaid the tank construction won't begin until next week.

 

*fingers crossed I can get everything done tonight*

[mikellini]

Mush! Work harder, faster! lol

[GrandeGixxer]

Calvin, you forgot to drill holes for the overflow, return, and closed loop. I can't wait for this thing to be done, it is going to be awesome. For the closed loop, if you have the budget, I would go through the bottom with a 4-way on that dart. If you need extra flow from there, you can put eductors on the outlets. How are you planning on accessing the tank from the top?

[filefish949]

green board might have been good for the whole thing... but pricey. perhaps shoot the inside of the "stand" with a water resistant paint, KILZ is great primer for the whole stand and is mold resistant

 

alsi, i might caulk all the way around the base line 2X4, in case of a leak it will keep the wter off the floor,

 

you could put a 1/4" drain line out the exterior wall

 

just thinking out loud.

 

normaly i am opposed to CL systems but in your case, 2 reversing CL systems might be a very efficent way to get flow throuought the tank without powerheads inside and random flow to boot

 

oh yea, very cool build

Edited May 13, 2008 by filefish949

[calvin415]

Mush! Work harder, faster! lol

 

LOL! Thanks bud. Unfortunately we're calling it a night. The mud from the final coat is still too wet to sand and we're out of primer to finish priming the walls. Maybe we can get some more work done late tomorrow.

 

Calvin, you forgot to drill holes for the overflow, return, and closed loop. I can't wait for this thing to be done, it is going to be awesome. For the closed loop, if you have the budget, I would go through the bottom with a 4-way on that dart. If you need extra flow from there, you can put eductors on the outlets. How are you planning on accessing the tank from the top?

 

Holes will be drilled once the tank is built and I know where I want them drilled. I allowed room in the supports for all the plumbing to still fit through. I will likely be just running the dart through 6 return ports, all through the bottom. I don't want to see anything in the tank if I can help it. The tank will be accessed directly through the top, the canopy will sit on top of the tank but will have a lift system running to the soffit to allow me to lift it out of the way.

 

green board might have been good for the whole thing... but pricey. perhaps shoot the inside of the "stand" with a water resistant paint, KILZ is great primer for the whole stand and is mold resistant

 

alsi, i might caulk all the way around the base line 2X4, in case of a leak it will keep the wter off the floor,

 

you could put a 1/4" drain line out the exterior wall

 

just thinking out loud.

 

normaly i am opposed to CL systems but in your case, 2 reversing CL systems might be a very efficent way to get flow throuought the tank without powerheads inside and random flow to boot

 

oh yea, very cool build

 

Thought about the green board, but I'll have sufficient air flow through the stand to keep it from becoming humid. Here in Colorado we have nearly 0% humidity so any from the tank will be welcomed plus the air from the stand will be directed at the furnace to hopefully blow it to the rest of the house. I will likely prime the entire interior once it's all finished and then will run a pond liner on the inside to keep the water contained in the event of a leak.

 

For flow, I plan on the CL to keep the water circulating bottom to top along the length of the tank and then the sump return will be on the opposite end of the overflow to help force any surface scum to the overflow to be skimmed off.

[filefish949]

ok another idea,

 

a overflow at each end and reverse return sides every minute or so, if you have ever dove in costal reefs, that is the way water flows naturally except a lot faster intervals and more powerfully than most any of us are willing to pay for

 

and the kilz is not for humidity, it is for spills and splashes

[calvin415]

ok another idea,

 

a overflow at each end and reverse return sides every minute or so, if you have ever dove in costal reefs, that is the way water flows naturally except a lot faster intervals and more powerfully than most any of us are willing to pay for

 

and the kilz is not for humidity, it is for spills and splashes

 

Thought about it, but I'd really like to have it clear on one of the ends... Anyone else think I should go back to dual overflows and black out both ends? I can't get enough flow to span 12' without destroying what's close to the outlet so it would only work for the sump return to redirect the surface flow.

 

I think I'll just stick to the pond liner to seal up the stand.

Edited May 13, 2008 by calvin415