Hop's 800 gallon rebirth

[Hop]

Don't be fooled... There is no trick photography It really is just about to be in the way I cut too many corners when building the wetroom almost two years ago and trusted a tape measure and the floor. So it's about 1/2" lower than the other 2 outlets. Unfortunately I didn't notice until I was getting everything level and square for this build. I actually had to drop the counter height a tad to make up for it. The subflooring will fit perfectly under the outlet, but the laminate is going to hit it. Good thing this area where the plugs is located will be completely sealed to house the electrical It will hopefully make sense when I get the next couple levels built

[Hop]

Originally posted by melev
That is a very pretty tank, Toddrtrex.

Hop, I really don't have any plans for anything different lighting-wise, except maybe to buy the more expensive reflectors. For me, electricity consumption is something I think about a lot, and adding another light bulb over my 6' tank seems unnecessary.

Well I'm definitely going with the pricey reflectors The other issue with the lighting choice is I'm trying to light 8' of tank with 3 MH... I finally got an answer that a par of 90 and above should be a good starting point, so that really helped. I'm sure I'll swing back and forth a few more times before the cash is thrown down

I mean just when I had flow figured out tonight I thought it would be nice to run a small closed loop in addition to the return and tunzes that is plumbed in and under the rocks to blow debris out from under the rocks so that it can be skimmed more efficiently. After running a tape and surfing the net, it's still a possibility

[Hop]

Well I got the work bench level all wrapped tonight So far it's coming out as I envisioned it for the most part. Basically so far I've done a lot of work to hold my skimmer. I would post pics, but the shop is so dirty from five days of work, that I need to get it cleaned up.

I'll try to update the thread after 3am or when I wake up tomorrow.

[LarryW]

very nice... Just tagging along. I'm in the process of building my laundry room/fish room out as well....

[Hop]

Welcome aboard LarryW... I've been following your thread Really nice build.

[Hop]

Just a few pics of the workbench area completed... Sort of. I know I still have some touch up to do here and there, but until everything is built and wrapped, I'm not going to worry about it. Better to touch everything up once than over and over I also moved the skimmer in, if for anything else my own amusement. Makes it feel like I've accomplished something!









Next up will be to complete the shelves that the RO/DI and SW storage vessels will go. After that I've been contemplating switching up where the electrical control panel and the Neptune AC unit will go. I'm thinking about building a shelf with the control heads built in right about eye level. Two things happen. 1. The electric is way above where the water is and 2. I get some additional storage in the room...

[LarryW]

Thanks, it's getting there....

what are you going to use to store your water? I was thinking about using a 35g bulk water tank for my RODI, and a 44g brute to mix SW....

[Hop]

I'm building 75 gallon acrylic tanks The RO/DI storage vessel will just have a float valve and plumbed into the SW storage below. The SW storage will have an externally plumbed eheim, affixed like a recirc skimmer. This build will certainly bring out the tech/equipment geek side of me.

[melev]

I still think you'll want to relocate that prop tank. The corner is going to be very tight. Looking forward to the next update.

Btw, it looks like that counter top is floating. You've done a nice job hiding the construction, so I can't tell how strong it is. What happens when that skimmer is full of water? Are you still adding more uprights to that end?

[Hop]

The design has changed a bit from the drawing, so there is definitely some changes. The prop tank will now take up a section of the work bench, but still leaving enough room to get some fragging/gluing and repairs done. Rather than making a whole new drawing on sketchup, hopefully it will make sense as things come together. In addition to the reach issue, I had to work around the electrical, which was not planned for in the drawings. Basically I'm working around the premiss that if the RO/DI or SW storage had a catastrophic failure and I was standing in the room, I would be completely safe from the electrical aspect

As far as the support goes, it's definitely over engineered. Everything is tied to the studs right now and held three of us last night while trimming and cutting There are additional supports planned, but each needs to be wrapped in the sheeting before going in. Also some of the supports will have to go in after the sump and fuge are in and plumbed and will be removable to that nothing becomes landlocked(for lack of a better term).

There is still a ton of work to do in this room. I still have a few levels to build and wrap, then build the electrical holding area that will be completely watertight. All of the plumbing through the bench will be through bulkheads to keep any spilled water from going down in between the laminate and the wood. I'm still debating about running all the electrical cords through PVC for a clean look or wether I'm going to build channels for everything to be ran inside of...

[Hop]

Oh melev, I couldn't tell if the skimmer question was about the weight when full or what I'm going to do about if the cup overflows.

It will definitely hold the weight of the skimmer and for the collection aspect... The cup drain will go to an acrylic waste collector. In the event that that overflows, it will then allow everything to go back to the sump. This way if the skimmer goes nuts and I'm gone, I won't have a massive flood

[melev]

Sounds good to me.

[douglaslindsey]

Hello Hop. I'm enjoying fallowing your thread. Just a question for you, who makes that skimmer of yours? It looks similar to a Deltec or a Euro Reef. Thanks....

[Hop]

douglaslindsey: Thanks for following along! The skimmer is a GEO Professional Series. It's based on the 846 series, but 2" taller

[Mojo Jojo]

Just finished reading everything. The set-up is looking pretty sweet. Hope it all comes out the way you plan on.

[jnarowe]

Hey guys...I am back in action and posted to Hop's nano thread by accident.

As far as micro brews go...Hop and I didn't embibe. It was about a two hour drive on mountain roads and I didn't have the brain "bucks" to be messing with beer.

And to my dear friend James: BITE ME!

Wow! You have gotten a lot of work done and a couple of my comments in the nano thread are mute at this point. During my visit I wasn't at full brain power unfortunately but I really enjoyed BS'ing with you.

I am concerned about water getting under the bottom deck either behind next to the wall or from the floor in front. My guess is that you will heavily caulk those joints. That is one sweet skimmer and let me know if you want any info. on modding it.

You are doing a great job on the stands. It really looks nice. You can pick up wall plate gaskets at HD too to help keep water out of your electrical boxes. I actually foamed around mine and used gaskets on all the house in-wall mounted ones, and used waterproof outdoor top-mount PVC boxes with water-tight flexible conduit for tank room power.

So did you add the fire extinguisher after we talked about my tank room mishap???

[Enderrea]

ROFLMAO!
I was wondering when you would be commentying on that one.
Hop! looken good man!

[Hop]

One day I'll learn my lesson. I just posted a huge reply and when I hit submit, I lost it

So janarowe, thanks for visiting, I really enjoyed it! I'll repost the answers and responses to both threads later. I had a long night and little sleep and my brain is dead today

joeyjoeq: Thanks, welcome aboard!

Enderrea Thank you.

[jnarowe]

yeah I hate that. What I have started doing is copying long replies to the clipboard before hitting the button!

[Hop]

That exactly what I normally do, but forgot and lost it... Stupid, stupid...

[jnarowe]

I find the best way to resolve that is to bang my head on my tank.

[Enderrea]

haaahaaa i have a steel frame on my tank.... just bash your head on that a few times and every thing becomes much clearer...in the morning.

[Hop]

Let's see if I can do it this time without deleting my response:

So here is the mis-posted post

Originally posted by jnarowe
Hey Hop! I am finally back in Poulsbo...long trip...

I really enjoyed visiting you and believe me, I needed a break from Keystone Ranch.

For all your fans I have to comment on various issues as follows:

First of all, I really commend you for undertaking tank projects being so far from any sort of decent supplier. It is about 100 Miles to a regular LFS and we all know you can only go so far with the PetCo you have in town. And may I add that I gotta love a town with a "Winchester Motel"?? What a cool place...

Based on the space you have to work with, I can honestly say the HOPSTER is a serious reef nut! The timing of my visit was a bit off since your big system was completely dismantled, but I really admire your ability to cut losses and re-do it. Of course, there was no way I would NOT come visit and yours was the only tank related visit I had while on my trip. I just wished we had worked through more issues...we got so caught up in BS'ing about different stuff that I don't think I gave you much help.

Anyway, I am really interested to see how you combine the two tanks and have everything meet in the equipment room. I think it will be a stellar set up when you get it back up and running.

Your remaining livestock all looked great and I did get that pang of jealosy when checking out your Naso. It is a beautiful specimen!

I really do want to encourage you to check out 400W Ushio 20K SE lamps as I think your main display would greatly benefit. You could use T5s on your wife's FOWLR and save energy across the board.

I also thought, while driving back, that you could employ Vortechs on the right end of the main display and decrease your plumbing and electrical requirements. They are very powerful and you could arrange the tank with LPS etc. on the left end and SPS on the right end. Then you could concentrate the 4-way in exactly the right places if you still think you need it. I realize that Vortechs are expensive, but they pay for themselves through electrical savings fairly quickly. I am NOT a fan of the Loc-Line system because I don't like the flow or the salt creep.

I am concerned as I am sure you are, that the wall system you have installed in tthe equipment room may not stay up. It had come loose in a couple places and I would recommend using high quality SS screws and finishing washers like these:



You may also be able to find the washers in plastic as I am certain I have sold them before through my store. As you install the screws, I would apply silicone around the screw and under the washer. BTW, I would only use 316 SS or better. Regular SS like you get at HD or most marine stores is only 18-8 and it does not stand up to SW corrosion. You can get the 316 from a variety of sources like Fastenal. They are NOT cheap but the result is far better than using 18-8.

The corners are another hurdle to be dealt with as I am not convinced the joints will stay sealed. I guess about all you can do is use a top-quality silicone adhesive/sealant. You may also be able to apply edge and joint pieces like what are made for FRP. These would essentially be thin plastic inside corners and strips that could be glued to the joints with a good silicone adhesive.

As far as ventillation goes I think you have already learned that lesson! The only sticking point I think will be allowing cold air direct access to the tanks during the Winter season. I guess vent baffles will help but that is an issue you should put some though into. I do think you have a good direction in your desire to "seal" off the tanks from the house and reduce moisture, but after spending a few days in your area, I would think the ambient air is dry enough that you shouldn't have to go crazy to get a good result.

During my ride home and subsequent battles with my sinuses, I did wonder how the altitude may affect your tanks, like maybe the ORP would be different, or pH would swing more or less?

Well that's enough for now...I am very eager to watch your re-build and help wherever I can. Don't forget that I deal in marine products and may be able to source stuff for you at good prices. In particular I think marine grade 12V bilge exhaust fans may make your life easier.

Thanks for the fun visit!

First off, thanks for coming down! It was nice to actually share some info with someone else in the hobby and reassure me that I'm not completely crazy... Yet!

Thanks for the comment on the livestock! I just try to keep them fat, happy and quiet!

I haven't even thought about lighting the wife's tank yet... I have the PC hood right now that I may use and then upgrade to a more cost efficient means later. As mentioned it's going to be FOWLR, so lighting it is not at the top of the to do list yet.

As far as the main tank, I'm pretty set on 400 watters now. The initial cost of them is not that much more than 250s. It's the cost of replacing something once you already have the wrong stuff that get expensive...

As far as the flow, I'm pretty set on the 4 tunzes with the return plumbed on the 4-way. The only thing that popped up since you left was I spent some time on weast's site after hearing of his crash. I really like the flow through the rocks to clear out the crud and I thought about a eheim pump on a closed loop. This pump would be on a timer, connected to a spraybar set up to blow crud out from the rocks maybe 3-4 hours twice a day. But it was just thought about, no serious plans yet.

I'll likely pick up some of the screws and washers you mentioned. I really neat thing happened over the weekend... The adhesive set up and the wall panels are really stuck on I only have that one corner, but I re-did it and then caulked the snot out of it I have some other ideas if something begins to pop up, but I really think I got the right materials to hold those sheets down. Plus the addition of the support structure really pulled them into the wall while the adhesive cured.

The ventilation I think is going to work fairly well. The biggest issue will be the induction of cold air in the winter which could negate the heating/cooling of the tank. I'm hoping that with the cooler temps, the humidity will be less, therefor the time the ventilation is on will be reduced and the cold air issue will be a minor problem. I guess we'll have to see on this one, but I think the rest of the ventilation plan is on track and should work perfectly. I hope!

I'm not sure sure on the effects of the altitude. I know mountainreef has a decent set up and he's about 1200 feet higher than I am. Might make for an interesting study... But I would have to travel to warmer climate for a control sample

Thanks for the help, I'm sure I'm going to need some more as the build goes on! Right now I've got a nice direction to head, but I'm sure a couple more hurdles will present themselves soon!

I'm sure I left a bunch out since the lost post, but it's all my head can do right now!!!

[jnarowe]

Also when you install the cabinets and upper shelving that may be more than enough to keep the sheets in place.

As far as I am concerned, 400W lamps really are the minimum for any 30" deep tank with SPS. You will not be disappointed.

You know I have a 7'+ long spray bar along the back of my tank at the bottom and it blows under my rocks 24/7. You could also connect one leg of the 4-way to a spray bar and simplify your plumbing a bit.

I would check out those Tunze rocks carefully. They sound like a good idea but you will have to figure out how to hide the cords etc. and they may be simple enough that you could build them yourself. You could also just mount pipes in the same manner.

Since you have been checking out Steve Weast's tank, take a close look at how he circulates water...no Tunzes I can tell you that. I am not happy with my first Tunze purchase as I already told you.

For your wife's tank. You can probably rig something out of what you already have. Your old planted tank lighting fixtures would probably be fine. If you dedide to build new, I would recommend T5 or overdriven NO T12. T5 lighting is getting fairly cheap and I can give you some recommendations on that, and I built my 48" fuge lamp with DIY parts and Ice Cap end caps and a 660 ballast. It rocks! It will go through lamps faster but they are very cheap to replace.

[Hop]

Also when you install the cabinets and upper shelving that may be more than enough to keep the sheets in place.

I think so, but everything really cured nicely.

As far as I am concerned, 400W lamps really are the minimum for any 30" deep tank with SPS. You will not be disappointed.

Yup, now it's just color temp decisions. I'm going to order the ballasts and reflectors and go with a couple different bulbs when the time comes and see which ones I like.

You know I have a 7'+ long spray bar along the back of my tank at the bottom and it blows under my rocks 24/7. You could also connect one leg of the 4-way to a spray bar and simplify your plumbing a bit.

I thought about that, but I'm concerned that even with a syphon break, the small possibility of disaster could loom, with the potential for Murphy to completely drain the tank That's why I was thinking of the low watt, closed loop since the tank is already drilled. Still something to think about when the plumbing phase comes.

Since you have been checking out Steve Weast's tank, take a close look at how he circulates water...no Tunzes I can tell you that. I am not happy with my first Tunze purchase as I already told you.

I love the way his tank is plumbed, but the electricity consumed with that type of set up goes against my mission on this build

For your wife's tank. You can probably rig something out of what you already have. Your old planted tank lighting fixtures would probably be fine. If you decide to build new, I would recommend T5 or overdriven NO T12. T5 lighting is getting fairly cheap and I can give you some recommendations on that, and I built my 48" fuge lamp with DIY parts and Ice Cap end caps and a 660 ballast. It rocks! It will go through lamps faster but they are very cheap to replace.

My plan is to get the 370 up and running and then sit down with her and have her come up with a basic livestock list. From there we'll go onto the habitat required and plan the tank around that. I'm guessing that her tank won't be plumbed in for six month or longer after the system is up and running. But who knows, once we get rolling, it may come on line faster than that.