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

[Rollermonkey]

One of the bad things (besides the monthlong delay) about the sump having leaked is that I won't be able to get quite as accurate a total system volume now as I would have the first time.

 

Since I don't actually know how much water leaked, or I removed into the brutes, or was left in the tank, or evaporated, etc.

 

I do know that I got all the water from the brutes back into the tank and it had just started trickling over into the overflow box as the bucket was empty. So, based on the earlier calculations, I should be at about 54-55 gallons right now.

[Rollermonkey]

Just ordered some more stuff:

 

From Marine Depot

Backup heater: 200W Cobalt Neo-Therm

Neptune Systems Ph Probe, Temp probe, Energy Bar 8, and 3-string LED Moonlights

Two more filter socks (brings me to four total)

 

From EcoTech Marine:

a new wetside for my old MP10 and an RF module for the same.

 

I am 100% completely done ordering hardware for this tank.

 

(Until some awesome new bauble catches my eye or something breaks.)

[Rollermonkey]

Also: 20 more gallons are mixing now, which ought to bring me to @75-ish total. Not sure how close it will be to filling the system yet, though.

[eww]

We are up north in the Lynnwood/Everett area now. Glad to see you got it worked out. Those supports look super beefy for your application but overkill never hurts right?

[Rollermonkey]

I'm at 75~ish gallons, and I'm almost ready to turn on the return pump.

 

The level it's at now is almost perfect, I'm just waiting for the water to stop moving, so I can see exactly where it's at. Then I'm going to make another gallon of water to replace what ends up in the return line.

 

I've had so many problems so far, I'm afraid to turn on the return pump.

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Initial test SAT. No leaks in the return line!

 

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The water level was definitely a bit low for my taste in the return section with the pump on, so I'm definitely adding another gallon or so.

[Reefmaster1996]

I'm exactly in the same boat but I still have another 20-25 gallons to go. It's gonna be a long night as I rather not overflow my tank yet.

[Rollermonkey]

I'm exactly in the same boat but I still have another 20-25 gallons to go. It's gonna be a long night as I rather not overflow my tank yet.

 

Same boat as in your filling your tank for the second time because after 9 months of delayed building, the sump leaked and you had to get yours rebuilt, then you had to shore up the floor in your crawlspace before you could proceed...

 

or

 

Same boat as in your filling your tank today?

 

[Rollermonkey]

I was nervous about 'tuning' the herbie overflow, but I got it dialed in and dead silent now. With DC drives for both the return and the skimmer, the loudest thing on the whole setup is the fans on the Kessils, and those are not loud. I can hear the Biocube more than I can hear the new tank.

[Angel<3Nanos]

 

[Rollermonkey]

I wanted to use Carlton's happy dance but the gifs I found of his were grainy, and stuttered too much.

 

[Angel<3Nanos]

I like the one where Jazz is playing the drums and will is dancing haha

[FlowerMama]

I know it's felt like an eternity but you're almost there. It just seems like it's been like a mirage, you get to the line and it disappears further away. I'm sure alot of us are looking forward to seeing it after the all the setbacks. Funny, I never ever heard the fan on the kessil that I truly forgot it has one.

[Reefmaster1996]

Same boat as I'm filling tank today, and it's actually done, and this is the 3rd time if built this tank from scratch, and after 13 months of hard work I've filled it with salt for the first time after months of planning and designing.

[Rollermonkey]

...and I thought I was being patient.

 

 

Started dosing ammonia on Saturday.

[Mojado]

Well, I drained the overflow box and removed all the gear and plumbing from the stand except the sump itself and there's still water oozing out from under the sump. I think I have identified the culprit, but I'll test it in the garage anyways.

 

However, I'm done for the weekend. I have three Finals this week: Calculus II, Engineering Physics I and Engineering Statics, and I haven't studied at all yet. First test is Tuesday at 5:30 PM, with the other two Wednesday morning, so I have all day tomorrow and part of Tuesday to study.

Cal II is one of the hardest math classes you'll take. That trig makes it tricky. How'd it go?

[Rollermonkey]

My worst math grade ever! Got the big D for dunce!

[Rollermonkey]

May have a line on the Red Velvet Fairy Wrasse pair...

 

(The females are super hard to find, and this is a spawning pair.)

[specore]

Cal II is one of the hardest math classes you'll take. That trig makes it tricky. How'd it go?

 

Differential Equations FTW (at least in my experience)

[ElmoC]

Holy crap. I used 94 screws on that stand.

 

It looks like Tiki's recent stand before he sheathed it, but taller and not as pretty.

 

http://s179.photobucket.com/user/rollermonkey/media/P1000841_zps8a332c40.jpg.html'>

 

Do you have a photo of the finished project with the plumbing?

[Rollermonkey]

Funny that you should ask...

 

I'm working on it tonight, and I've found the primary disadvantage to my vertical arrangement:

 

The narrow dimensions of the stand mean I am having a bit of a time figuring out how I'm going to fit exactly what I want in there. It's one thing to draw a diagram saying "elbow here, T here, ball valve here, union here". It's another thing to actually fit all that into place.

 

I was thinking that I could stagger the containers and put the bulkhead for the top/fresh jug straight out the bottom, and into the side of the bottom/salt.

 

I don't think I'm going to find a way to fit that.

 

I will have a valve right at the drain from the fresh jug and a T-fitting near the top of the salt jug with two valves. The water will go down from the fresh and if the down valve is closed, it will go into the bottom jug, and if the down valve is open and the side valve is closed, it will continue down to a T at the pump.

 

The second side of the lower T will be the outlet from the salt jug, with a valve between the jug and the T.

 

I want to be able to make a jug of RODI, and with the salt valve shut and the fresh valve open, pump to my ATO reservoir. Then if I shut the valve at the T at the top of the salt jug, and open the fresh valve, water will drop from the fresh to the salt. After mixing, if I keep the valve at the top of the salt jug closed and open the valve at the bottom, I can use the same pump to send salt water up to the tank.

 

I'm just going to dangle a Koralia 425 in the bottom jug for mixing, and since I'm using Aquavitro Salinity, it gets mixed at or below room temperature.

 

Now I have to shoehorn all that into a stand that's 22" square and has a jug 14" square and those big supports taking up most of the space.

[Rollermonkey]

I had bought some extra elbows, including a pair of 45s, and those were the key to making it fit, and got it almost 100% assembled...

 

Then the drill ran out of juice because the wife unplugged the charger at some point.

 

AGAIN.

 

I was working on the last hole when it died. I got through the first of the doubled 1/2" plywood sheets that make the top shelf, so I'm literally "this close" to being done.

 

Once through, I will place the top jug with it's bulkhead through the hole and the hard part is done.

 

The only project to do to make it even easier, will be to get an auto-shutoff for the RODI from Spectrapure and install it.

[Rollermonkey]

And pictures because some peeps don't read.

 

 

I'm numbering the valves from #1 at the top to #4 at the bottom for brevity and these first three photos are taken with the containers pulled forward so you can see the plumbing better:

 

This alignment is to move water from the RODI container on top down to the salt water mixing container on the bottom:

Open: 1 and 2

Closed: 3 and 4

 

http://s179.photobucket.com/user/rollermonkey/media/P1000888_zpsc0d34ecc.jpg.html'>

 

This alignment allows me to pump RODI water to the ATO reservoir whether the saltwater container is full or empty:

Open: 1 and 3

Closed: 2 and 4

 

http://s179.photobucket.com/user/rollermonkey/media/P1000889_zps2aca4c2c.jpg.html'>

 

Lastly, this alignment allows me to pump saltwater to the tank for water changes whether the RODI container is empty or full:

Open: 4

Closed: 1, 2 and 3

 

http://s179.photobucket.com/user/rollermonkey/media/P1000890_zps5fbe91de.jpg.html'>

 

Finally, a shot of everything in its proper place, RODI pipe through the shelf and the MAG-5 plumbed in with the flexible hose for delivering water to the tank and sump attached:

 

http://s179.photobucket.com/user/rollermonkey/media/P1000891_zps07129c6a.jpg.html'>

 

Yay for no more buckets up and down the stairs!

[Rollermonkey]

I'm filling the top bucket now. Hopefully nothing leaks, since I didn't cement anything in yet. (I'm hoping I don't have to since everything is low pressure apart from the pump outlet.

[ElmoC]

Looks really nice. How tall it the entire unit? I am looking at making something similar and putting in a closet in the bedroom so have a limited height with the clothes bar and shelf in there.

 

Did you think of putting a pipe from the mag back into the SW tank, putting a T on so you could direct the water to either the tank or the hose? That way you could skip having the powerhead in the tank.

 

And what is that controller for on the the front? Something to do with the RO/DI?

[Rollermonkey]

If I recall correctly, the 20 gallon jugs are each 28" tall and 14" square. The stand is 22" square and I think I put 12 or 14" between the jugs for access to the lid. I used 1" plywood for the shelves, 2x4s for the frame and 2x10s for the base. (I wanted to elevate the bottom jug a bit to reduce the static head to the tank which is up a half-floor.)

 

The station I based this off had side-by-side tanks and used a pump to move the water between them or to mix. I was more interested in using the pump for delivery to the tank, and I have the extra powerhead...

 

Plus my static head is pretty high, so I didn't want to add anything extra to the discharge side.

 

The thing on the front is the inline TDS meter.