World's slowest custom 85g system. ...and there was coral. (p.18)

[Rollermonkey]

I kind of wonder what's going on in this tank right now: I added the live sand after I put the first 20 gallons in, then when the sump leaked, I drained all of the water except just enough to keep the sand submerged. How will that affecting the cycle once I finally refill it and actually have some heat in there?

[Reefmaster1996]

I would say the same as before since live sand comes just barely wet, maybe slightly quicker if you put a pellet or two on the sand to decompose other than that probably the same.

[specore]

What's the ETA on the new sump?

[Rollermonkey]

Good question.

 

On Tuesday I asked and he said he had one small piece to cement in and then he could water test it. Today, I had to go down to that area, so I called to see if it were ready. The gal said that she'd just walked in the door and would find out then call me back.

 

Four hours later, I'm sitting at home and still have not gotten a call which sucks because it's a 30 mile drive each way.

[Rollermonkey]

Picked up the replacement sump.

 

It's obviously all new acrylic, and the seams are pretty heavily cemented this time. I'll wipe it out, place it and start reinstalling everything after dinner. I may or may not get to the point of refilling everything tonight. I've still yet to add salt to the last 20 gallons of RODI that I made when I spotted the leaking and I'll have to make more water for the ATO reservoir since I didn't keep anything over the 5 gallons I put into the bucket I'm using temporarily.

[Rollermonkey]

After I wiped out the sump, I removed the center brace from the stand. I went back and picked it up the sump to place it in the stand and realized that I had the reservoir in the back, so set it down to turn it around when I realized that the eurobrace is on upside-down. That puts the holes for the ATO lines ATO on the skimmer section and the hole for the overflow pipe over the return chamber. They also forgot to put the filter sock holder and probe holders in.

Aaack!

I called the shop that fabricated it and we worked it out. He's going to come up in the next day or two, plug the hole on the wrong side of the ATO reservoir, bring up the pieces for the holders, and the cement and glue them in. The hole for the overflow pipe isn't a problem. I'm not using a bulkhead anyways, so I don't need it on that side, and the one over the return section doesn't block my return line.

Frustrating, to say the least, since I'm still stuck.

[Rollermonkey]

OK, so he came up this morning and made the fixes mentioned. Probe holders, and sock holder are in, plugged the ATO holes and drilled new ones. (Not as pretty as the laser cut ones, but it isn't a display sump...)

 

We also talked about how the floor isn't level and what I'm going to have to do to shore up the floor under the tank.

 

The tank is 24" front to back and the front is roughly 1/2" lower than the front. That slope is consistent at the top of the tank, top of the stand and the floor, so it's definitely the floor that's sagging.

 

Sigh.

[ElmoC]

and the front is roughly 1/2" lower than the front.

 

Now that must be interesting to see.

[Rollermonkey]

Not really. I couldn't even tell until I put the water in.

 

Now I have to shore up under the tank with floor jacks. Since the floor isn't level even with the tank empty, I can't do any of the things that would make the supports stronger until I level it out first.

 

I'm considering adding enough supports to handle the biggest upgrade that I'd consider in the future, now, so I don't have to do more later.

[Rollermonkey]

Ok... The sump and equipment within have been reinstalled.

 

So, I'm pretty much back to where I was three weeks ago, but need to get some floor jacks in the crawl space before I can go any further.

[Rollermonkey]

Ordered the floor jacks last night. Hopefully they get here by the weekend.

[Rollermonkey]

Nope. January 2nd is the expected delivery date.

 

Sigh.

[FlowerMama]

Man, one thing after another. Can someone give this man a break???

[Rollermonkey]

Well, I got an Amazon gift card, but the only thing on my list of needed hardware that was available through them was the LSM. I don't know why some things at MD are available through Amazon and some aren't.

[ElmoC]

Its just to drive you crazy by not letting you order from one place. ☺☺

[Rollermonkey]

Anybody want to come over Friday? Help me scoot the stand back into place, put the additional supports in my crawl space?

 

So I can FINALLY get this cycle started?

[eww]

Anybody want to come over Friday? Help me scoot the stand back into place, put the additional supports in my crawl space?So I can FINALLY get this cycle started?

I wish I could but I'm working on Friday. We are practically neighbors now as well.

[Rollermonkey]

Where'd you move to?

[Rollermonkey]

OK, tank has been repositioned back to where it needs to be. (My back hurts, it was a lot more difficult with the 10-15 gallons of water, plus the salt creep underneath from when the sump leaked. )

 

Now, I just need to map out the joists under the tank so I can position the supports correctly.

[Rollermonkey]

I wish I could but I'm working on Friday. We are practically neighbors now as well.

 

I could wait until Saturday.

[Rollermonkey]

Or not.

 

It's done.

 

(They may not look plumb, but I was laying on the ground when I took that, sorry if I didn't frame it perfectly. )

 

The whole point in buying from a company that specializes in shoring equipment for mines and emergency use is that it's supposed to make it easier when you use the stuff they make for doing houses.

And it did.

 

Took me about 2 hours or so including all the measuring to make sure I had the right joist and was actually under the tank. Before I started, I checked the level between the two joist bottoms under the tank and got about the same as the floor above. (Makes sense, but still good to check.)

 

I crawled in there, (the clearance from vapor barrier to joists varies, but 3-feet is about average) dragging the concrete deck blocks on some cardboard, and used my tape measure as a rudimentary plumb to locate where the blocks should go.

 

I used a 12" piece of plywood wood as a makeshift shovel to dig down into the rocky ground and kept flipping the block into place to check if the pad was level. (With an actual level.)

 

Once I had both blocks dragged in, I went back out and dragged in the floor jacks and joist supports. I measured the clearance between the two and took off an inch for working the pieces into place.

 

Crawled back out and cut the 4x4 pieces to length. They were about 1.5 inches different in height based on the uneven ground in the crawlspace, and it turned out the shorter piece was perfect for the bigger opening.

 

Just before putting the floor jacks into position, I repositioned the vapor barrier over the deck blocks and flattened it back out as best I could.

 

I had to crawl back out again to cut the longer piece down, now that I knew how much wiggle room was really required. Crawled back in and worked that piece into place.

 

I used the level to make sure the 4x4s were vertical, and I hand turned the jacks until the support was firmly wedged. I used an 18" 2x4 for leverage, and gave it about 3/4 of a turn more, and checked the level between the joists.

 

Looked pretty good, so I took that picture, dragged my weary carcass out one more time with my tools (left the 2x4 in case I have to crank more when the ground settles) and checked the level up at the tank.

 

I actually went a tiny bit too far, but it's not so far as it should be a problem. It might even work out if the blocks don't settle too far.

 

 

I wish I could but I'm working on Friday. We are practically neighbors now as well.

 

 

 

Where did you move to? (I ask because I'm a long way from your old house.)

[jack1978]

Nice job man. Where did you get those jacks....I've been thinking about adding some extra support just because.

[Rollermonkey]

Ellis Manufacturing out of Oklahoma City. I won't say that the stuff is the cheapest option, but these guys make the gear that rescue workers use in mine collapse rescue operations. I could have gotten all-metal floor jacks from Home Depot or Lowes for a couple bucks less, but this stuff just looks so much stronger. I'll probably get some more of these and do the joist under back corners of the tank, just because, but it'd probably be overkill, the tank is only 4 inches from the wall.

 

http://ellisok.com/ellisok/rescon.html

[jack1978]

Thanks for the link......those prices are nothing compared to what could / would happen without them.

I may order a few.

[Rollermonkey]

Thanks for the link......those prices are nothing compared to what could / would happen without them.

I may order a few.

 

No problem. I had a hard time finding them in the first place.

 

(I don't remember, but keep me in mind if there's a referral block.)