Mota's 125 Tank build thread(custom) - Page 5

pito · #**101** 11/01/2006, 09:58 PM

Let me guess, the final color stain choice was hers? I'd imagine keeping a healthy marrige is tough when involved with this hobby. I'm a dating man myself and most girls I date think i'm insane when it comes to my hobby.
I've read great things about the PCX versions. Have you heard otherwise. I plumbed it up to the bathtub to test it as I purchased it used, and was satisfied. I originally wanted to go with a submersable pump like the mag, but you can't use them with penductors as they need pressure rated pumps.
I will definatly start my own build thread now that I have a digi cam. I'll post you a link when I get'er goin. Maybe tomarrow.

Michael Mota · #**102** 11/02/2006, 12:59 AM

I could be wrong on the pump making noise, but to me anything louder than silence is too loud. Your right you do need a pressure rated pump for those. As you may have figured out I did go with the wifes choice for the stain color. I figured since she is letting me do this project with no restrictions then why not let her pick the stain. After all she is the home decorator

Cool, I can't wait to check out your system, hurry get me the link

Michael Mota · #**103** 11/02/2006, 01:02 AM

Here is a couple of pics of the wood work after I finished staining it today. Now I need to give it three coats of polyurethane and it will be done. let me know what you folks think of the stain color.

Michael Mota · #**104** 11/02/2006, 10:03 AM

I was shopping on line last night. I ordered one Aro 250watt MH electronic ballast. I have been using these on the 90 reef for about two years now and they have been great plus the price is decent. I will be moving the two halides from the 90 reef to the 125 and with this ballast It will give me three MH bulbs to span across the tank evenly which will be one bulb for every two feet. I also ordered a ARO vho ballast, again I have one on the 90 reef and it has worked nicely without issues for over four years. I am going to use the two ballasts to run four 36" vho over the tank. Why use two ballasts and four bulbs when you could use one ballast with the 72" bulbs, you ask? Well the 36" bulbs are cheaper to replace four bulbs than two of the 72" bulbs and the 36" bulbs will put out more wattage all together than the 72". Weather or not more wattage overall will make a difference I do not know. The last reason is I already have a 48" vho ballast on the 90 reef so it was cheaper to just add another 48" ballast than to change the whole setup.
I also got a great deal on digital timers, bought two. These are the ones that the plug goes into it through the front and not the side.
Well thats all for now and I am off to do put some poly on the platform.
Take care all,
Mike

Michael Mota · #**105** 11/02/2006, 01:51 PM

OK today I was able to give the platform two coats of poly. I also moved the heating/cooling thermostat from the wall where the tank will go. Reasoning was 1. I think it would be too close to the tank and it would be reading incorrect temp of the home due to heat coming from the tank itself, and 2. The other side of the house is much larger and is the coldest part of the home so being in that room and about in the center of the house will probably help to keep the home much warmer overall in all parts of the house. This home really needs two heat zones.

pito · #**106** 11/02/2006, 07:33 PM

I see you're thinking with your wallet on this.
I started a thread.
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...11#post8467611

Michael Mota · #**107** 11/02/2006, 09:46 PM

Yes I am but for some reason it is still costing a fortune! Saw your thread and me likes so far.

Michael Mota · #**108** 11/03/2006, 12:51 PM

Well today I was able to give the platform its third and final coat of polyurethane. Came out much better than I expected and in case you guys and gals have not notice I really love the furniture look. Here is a pic of the wood work with three coats of poly:

What I have to do now is clear the section of wall where I want to put this monster. I need to move the bird and computer to a different spot in the home. Also need take down all the pics and stuff on the wall and touch up the paint. Once this is done I can try to move the platform up the stairs to the second floor. I hope it will fit up the stairs if not it will have to go through the window.

pito · #**109** 11/03/2006, 12:56 PM

If you can't get the platform up, how are you gonna get the stand up?

Michael Mota · #**110** 11/03/2006, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by pito
If you can't get the platform up, how are you gonna get the stand up?

Oh I can get it up stairs, just a matter of going up the stairs or through the large window which is used for a few select items when I moved in here. Sometimes through the window is so much easier than the stairs. Either way I want to be careful so I do not damage the finish after all that work I put into this. Still a ways away cause I have to get the room ready for this to be placed in the room.

Michael Mota · #**111** 11/04/2006, 02:32 PM

Here is were the tank will go. As you can see I have removed the thermostat ( far left) And the shelfs ( far right). I have to move the bird into the other room and today I bought a new computer desk for the new spot that the computer will go to. The holes in the wall are covered and drying, once that plaster is dry I can spot paint the wall to the original cream color. I also have to install the 20 amp circuit in the wall.

Michael Mota · #**112** 11/06/2006, 05:25 PM

Here is a pic of the 20 amp circuit. The circuit is specifically for the tank only. I have a 20 amp GFCI on the right side and on the left is a regular plug that will always stay hot/on. Reason for this is if the GFCI ever trips then the return pump will stay on to help support tank/critters lives. I will hook up all non essential items like the lights, skimmer, etc on the GFCI and the return pump and maybe one circulation pump will plug into the hot (unprotected plug). My 90 is set up on a 15 amp GFCI and one time it tripped due to moisture build up which cause my whole tank to shut down. I do not want this to happen to the 125 and I do not think this will be a safety issue ether cause I can always test the pumps etc. for stray voltage plus I will have a ground probe. The 20 amp circuit should be more than enough power to operate the tanks equipment.

craftedpacket · #**113** 11/07/2006, 12:06 PM

Any updates on your stand? Very interested in your design. I am looking at building one in the next 2 weeks.

Michael Mota · #**114** 11/07/2006, 03:16 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by craftedpacket
Any updates on your stand? Very interested in your design. I am looking at building one in the next 2 weeks.

All I have done is finished the platform. I am actually working on getting the room ready to move the platform into its place. I have moved everything in the room and spot painted the wall. I also needed to move the baseboard heat to accommodate the platform. The electrical is in place. The last thing is to setup the R/o filter with another DI canister (ordered it today) and run the R/o tubing to the area where the tank is for the automatic top off. Lastly I will install the drain line that will go from the sump to the sink drain pipe. This will make water changes much easier and will be a back up in case the sump overfills for some reason.
The reason this is going slow is cause I am working a lot of hours and the family takes a lot of my time also. Bare with me, it will all come together albeit slowly.

craftedpacket · #**115** 11/07/2006, 03:25 PM

I know how you feel I have been working on my 140 for close to a month. Hard to squeeze in the time it needs to get it all going. I was almost done when my dad said it would look a lot better with a nicer stand...I agreed so we are going to start that project soon. Good luck.

msp2673 · #**116** 11/07/2006, 06:17 PM

Those look like 15A rated fixtures. Don't 20A fixtures have a slightly different plug like this:

Michael Mota · #**117** 11/07/2006, 07:09 PM

edited cause I could not delete this post, see below

Michael Mota · #**118** 11/07/2006, 07:09 PM

What I have is a GFCI receptacle, back and side wired 15AMP 125V at receptacle, 20 AMP feed-through.
The one you posted is a 20amp 125v at receptile with20 amp feed through.
Could some one tell me what is the diference other than the feed amperage? Would using the one I have on a twenty amp circuit make any difference?

Michael Mota · #**119** 11/08/2006, 09:27 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Michael Mota
What I have is a GFCI receptacle, back and side wired 15AMP 125V at receptacle, 20 AMP feed-through.
The one you posted is a 20amp 125v at receptile with20 amp feed through.
Could some one tell me what is the diference other than the feed amperage? Would using the one I have on a twenty amp circuit make any difference?

Does any one know or can explain the difference Between a 15 amp and 20 amp gfci? Hello is this mike on! Tap Tap tap

I have a sinking feeling that the home depot guy gave me some bad info.

Michael Mota · #**120** 11/08/2006, 10:00 PM

Some news!
I finished painting the wall where it needed it and the radiator heater has been moved. Today I ran the new R/o line which will be need for the auto top off. I also was able to modify the sink drain pipe so it will accept a 1" pipe. I still have to run the pipe through the wall to the kitchen sink. Here is a simple pic of the wall area:

I am in the drawing stage trying to complete the waste/overflow draining system. Not sure how I will get this to work but I am thinking of using two floats, one for the when I do a water change it will kick on the external pump automatically. Then I will switch it over manually so the other float valve will be in control. This float valve will be placed high ( about the top) in the sump so if for some weird reason the sump becomes over run with water the float valve will kick on and send it to the drain before it can spill in the room. I don't for see this happening but I figure why not add this little feature just in case.

Michael Mota · #**121** 11/08/2006, 10:34 PM

Here is the drawing of the stand section. This is just a preliminary rough design/drawing and I will make changes if need be as I build it. I just wanted to give you folks an idea of how it will be built.

Michael Mota · #**122** 11/13/2006, 01:10 AM

I have not been able to start on the stand as of yet, maybe this week I will have some time. I did order all the electronic stuff/parts to make the ato and the waste water systems.

Michael Mota · #**123** 11/13/2006, 11:04 PM

Today I actually did a few things. First I went ahead and changed the GFCI to the proper 20amp GFCI receptacle just like the one posted above by another reefer. After talking to an electrician I know it was best to change it so it can handle the 20 amps without a problem.
The second thing I did was I added an extra DI canister filter to my R/O 5 stage filter system so now it is a 6 stage. It has one sediment, two carbon, two DI and one R?O membrane cartridge. I also ran all the piping in some type of manner were everything looks somewhat neat and organized. Not to mention it gives me more room to work on things (like filter changes when needed), being under the sink as it is it is a tight fit already. I also have a reservoir/reserve r/o water holding tank that was cleaned out today. I actually store water in the reserve tank for when it is needed for water changes or what not.

pito · #**124** 11/13/2006, 11:58 PM

Mr. Mota, Glad to hear you got the GFCI thing figured out. I don't know jack about electrical stuff, but I got a good friend that's (what I like to call) a backyard electricion. So, I plan on letting him help me when i get there.
Quick question on the stand plans above. Why are you only makeing the stand 15.5"deep? Isn't your tank 18"deep?
I have'nt made any progress on mine at all due to a knee injory. I'm hopeing to have all the silicone off the glass and have it put back together by x-mass, but I'm not sure how the knee will feel.

Michael Mota · #**125** 11/14/2006, 12:30 AM

Pito, the stand side piece is 15.5 cause the front section will mate up with the side section. You have to account for the 2x4's width.15.5 plus 1.5 plus 1.5 equals 18.5". I am really not good with explaining this maybe someone else can explain it better than I can but I think you will understand once you see some pics of it together. I am hoping tomorrow I can start on the stand plus I still have to move the platform upstairs from the basement. Just waiting on my hired hand to show up tomorrow and help me. Once thats out of the basement I can start on the cabinet.
I thought I was going to get a lot done this week being on vacation but my twin daugters came down with strep throat and one of my boys are sick. So again the tank takes a back seat to everything else in life, especially family but let me tell ya the itch to get it done is killing me. You must take care of yourself first and nuture that knee, thats an order,lol. I am following your thread too cause I am a bit excited to see how your tank build turns out. Especially since your planing the cabinet design based on mine.
Today I ordered the 1" sea swirl used from a reefer here on RC and I have all of the electronic stuff on order for the top off system and the water change system. The 30 gal long tank that will be used for the sump was picked up last week but I still need to figure out how many baffles to use and were to put them. I really have alot of thinking to do,

Take care,
Mike