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#76
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I happen to be at Envision on the weekend (picking up my baby...), and I had a good look at Bertha.
She's coming along beautifully. You'll love it. It was too funny, actually...I was looking at the tank and I saw that cutout corner. Right away I said "Hey, I know this tank. This is....Bertha!" There were a lot of similarities in our designs. Bertha is larger (mine's only 6'x4'), but otherwise very similar. Small world. |
#77
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Ben |
#78
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No..no thread for me. I'm too busy building this thing to spend the time keeping up a discussion. Maybe soon, though.
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#79
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Welp, I think Bertha's about due for a thread update. Jame at Envision says she's almost ready to ship out, which is great, except some permitting delays here at home have set us back a bit on having the floor ready in the fish room. That means Bertha will likely have to sit outside (or possibly in the garage) for at least a week until the house is ready.
My stand builder has been working up a storm; here are a few pictures of the work in progress: I got a new RODI from AirWaterIce this week, an Eskimo, to help produce more clean water from our very cold well-water up here. It should produce maybe 150GPD, a nice step up from my 90GPD Spectrapure that actually manages to eke out about 50 with the chilly flow we get. I'll use them both in combination to fill the tank, since otherwise it will take weeks. See ya! |
#80
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Nice stand...that is coming out great. Will you have it powder-coated?
On the cold water issue, I have fairly cold water here too at about 45F so what I do is have 200 ft of 1/4" supply line coiled up inside the holding tank, which I keep at 75F. This warms up the incoming water enough to get good production.
__________________
Jonathan--DIBS Breeder and Card carrying member of the Square Skimmer Brigade (Click on the Red House to see my pics garage) |
#81
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As for the stand, I'm going to have it coated with Rhino truck bed liner. Hopefully it will turn out nicely! Ben |
#82
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I was just reading your thoughts on front access or not...
When I picked my tank up from Envision, James was very helpful in pointing out that it was structurally strong enough to lie on top of the cross braces. (Bertha is wider than my tank, so you should check this with James) This makes it easy to reach down into the tank just about anywhere with access only from the back. However, when you are lying on top of the tank, it is very difficult to clean/scrape the front panel. One's arms just don't bend that way. So I've decided that I need to have front panel access and am trying to figure out a nice way to do that. |
#83
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Here's a crazy idea....run the water supply through the sump before you run it to the RO/DI. Tank gets cooled, water gets warmed before it runs into the RO/DI.
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#84
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not a crazy idea at all as long as it doesn't bring tank temp down too low.
__________________
Jonathan--DIBS Breeder and Card carrying member of the Square Skimmer Brigade (Click on the Red House to see my pics garage) |
#85
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I'm planning to build a longer scraper (probably 5 feet) that I can use to get the bottom two-thirds of the front pane with from a "comfortable" sitting position in the middle of the tank. I just have to take care to design my rockwork to permit easy access to the front at steeper angles, I think. We'll see if reality pans out. In any event, I definitely won't have any front access, so I'll be left to invent an alternative if that doesn't work out. Scraping is never very fun, though. Ben |
#86
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That will be tough Ben. I am using a 1/2" PVC pipe over the end of a long Kent scraper, but there is still too much flexibility to get the tough coraline algae off. The other problem is not being able to see what you are scraping.
I have been trying out different scraper materials and bolting them to my magnet, but even with the really powerful magnet, I still cannot get a lot of the coraline off. So my quest continues.
__________________
Jonathan--DIBS Breeder and Card carrying member of the Square Skimmer Brigade (Click on the Red House to see my pics garage) |
#87
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I play to make some acrylic pieces that clip into the openings and allow me a "window" to see what I'm doing, but I've found I can usually scrape pretty well even not seeing the front on my old tank as long as the water isn't too turbid at the top. Ben |
#88
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I am just afraid of falling in when I am conecentrating on scraping. I dropped my cell phone in about a month ago...
__________________
Jonathan--DIBS Breeder and Card carrying member of the Square Skimmer Brigade (Click on the Red House to see my pics garage) |
#89
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Howdy all,
I thought I'd toss out a few more pictures to liven up the thread for the week. Here's the stand almost finished and ready for coating. (It needs a set of diagonal cross-braces and it will be ready.) And here's Bertha almost fully-born... she's a tall baby, huh? |
#90
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Goodness ! Ohh my! This is massive. I really need to get a second job. I cant wait to see some pictures with this in place and running with water. Keep the pictures coming. Approx how much longer til the construction is done?
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#91
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Thanks for the stand pics! I'm also drawing up plans for a stand and planning on 'cantilevering' as well so that it's flush with the front wall.
Ted |
#92
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What kind of pressure drop do you get after 200' of 1/4" tubing? I'd have nothing left to power the RO at my house at 40psi I plan to do the same, and possibly in the sump, but with 1/2" or so tubing to keep the pressure drop lower.
You guys have seen this right? You can add any kind of blade you want. http://www.oceansmotions.com/store/p...91e19f18a6e6d2
__________________
"Not cheap, but silent and absofrickenlutely no bubbles" "Be sure and wear a speedo lest tangs nest in your britches" |
#93
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About the link above supplied by H20ENG
I know first hand that the products made by OceansMotions are top notch. This would be a worthwhile tool for those trying to keep tanks with inaccessible areas clean. I dont have this tool but I have great faith that it will preform really well. |
#94
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H20ENG: No pressure drop since I am using a booster pump. I also have low house pressure and had to have the booster anyways. I did have to add abot 4 ft. of 3/4" PVC between the supply and the booster to stop the hammering.
That link is to a nice item but no help to us acrylic owners!! You can use all sorts of things to scrape glass. It's acrylic that is the tough one.
__________________
Jonathan--DIBS Breeder and Card carrying member of the Square Skimmer Brigade (Click on the Red House to see my pics garage) |
#95
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It all looks incredible. James and Scott are both fantastic to work with - you sure do have good taste! Love the BK, is it relatively silent? I had the 300Ext and the bubbles popping were louder than the RD!
I loved your last tank. I had the thread bookmarked as I loved your cabinetry. I hate molding. ;-) Aren't understanding wives the best?! I just remind her at least I'm at home playing with fishies and not at topless joints.
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When life hands you lemons ... add vodka! Growing old is mandatory. Growing up is optional. Closed minds should come with closed mouths. |
#96
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Is the pump before or after the coil of tubing? That is my scenario too. I'm going to run the coil > pump > RO
Not sure if Paul's got any plastic blades for those things yet. I know you can use UHMW.
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"Not cheap, but silent and absofrickenlutely no bubbles" "Be sure and wear a speedo lest tangs nest in your britches" |
#97
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That is one impressive looking, almost completed tank!!! Bertha IS BIG!!!
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Click my Red House to check out my 120 in office reef (upgraded in Aug 06) Seeking therapy for my fish tank ADD |
#98
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Quote:
Quote:
__________________
Jonathan--DIBS Breeder and Card carrying member of the Square Skimmer Brigade (Click on the Red House to see my pics garage) |
#99
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Instead of putting a razor blade in the magnet scraper contraption I am sure they could help you mount a plastic "blade". You could even try to use a piece of a credit card. May I suggest your wife's Macy's card? Give them a call at OceansMotions and I am sure that they have something worked out for you acrylic guys.
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#100
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credit cards seem like a good idea but they don't really work on coraline algae. I have tried several. "Sorry honey, that one's no good. It's got holes in it."
__________________
Jonathan--DIBS Breeder and Card carrying member of the Square Skimmer Brigade (Click on the Red House to see my pics garage) |
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