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#326
04/15/2007, 02:03 AM
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Hiya folks,
No significant progress this past week other than waiting for orders to be delivered. The base rock will be delivered Friday, but we leave for vacation (diving!) early Saturday morning. I don't expect much to happen between now and two weeks from today... except a little evaporation.  Ben |
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#327
04/15/2007, 09:18 AM
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As for the skimmer flow, it needs to be roughly 500-700gph according to the BK experts. The skimmer input already has a valve for dialing it in, so what I need to do is tee the front drain to both it and the sump and put a (second) valve between the tee and the sump. Then I can hopefully adjust the primary drain's flow between the skimmer and sump by adjusting the ratio of the two valves. The concern I have right now is that I don't know how predictable the skimmer is with backpressure. In other words, if the skimmate head crashes (because of some oil in the water or whatever), does the skimmer end up taking more water (or less water?) and would that create a nasty imbalanced feedback loop? Also, if the skimmer shuts down (power failure, whatever), can it passively flow the 500-700gph that will still be feeding into it?
These things I have not tested, and I will have no good way to until I plumb to Bertha and try it. Moreover, sadly, some of them will have to wait until there is "real water" in the tank, as the skimmer won't do anything until it's salty in there. That may turn out to be a true adventure, but I'm kinda just hoping at this point that my theoretical concerns are just that -- theoretical. Ben [/B][/QUOTE] The only problem I have had feeding my DIY skimmer from the drain is that when I cleaned the algae from the overflow, it went into the skimmer and blocked the exit gate valve. The skimmer cup overflowed. I only clean the overflow about every three months and I just open the gate valve and then readjust the skimmer. The skimmer should flow the same with pumps on or off, the water in the skimmer well rise when the pumps are on from the air mix. |
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#328
04/20/2007, 08:28 PM
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Hey folks, just a quick update: the rocks, all 500lb, arrived today by freight in what looks like great shape. I don't have the space or time to unpack them and take pics, so nothing to see of interest here yet. Tomorrow morning I leave for the Bahamas for a week of diving and relaxation, and then back and at 'em. I also got in all the aforementioned plumbing parts and pumps, so everything is here and just waiting for me to do the work. I'm looking forward to it!
Have a great week, Ben |
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#329
04/20/2007, 08:35 PM
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go ahead and forward the live rocks to me ben, I will cure, feed, and cook them while you're gone since my skimmer will definitely do the job and send them back to you when your vacation is over with, pm for more details.
__________________
Bart ********************* a woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle (red house for 600gal) |
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#330
04/20/2007, 09:03 PM
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Quote:
B |
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#331
04/20/2007, 09:12 PM
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Have fun diving!
Take lots of pictures.
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#332
04/29/2007, 10:08 PM
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Quote:
I got back yesterday, so I eased back into the swing of things this afternoon by doing some more plumbing. I plumbed in the primary drain line (the closest, unfinished gate valve in the earlier pictures) to both the skimmer and the sump. I'm impressed how easy it is to dial in the precise flow rates for both channels using just the BV on the skimmer and the nice big GV. At max flow I'm registering about 700gph through the skimmer, which is in the right ballpark -- and it certainly won't need any more than that. I also switched out most of the bulkheads for the Hayward ones -- definitely the way to go there. The 2" Hayward gaskets are so much plusher and wider than the Savko ones. Interestingly, the 1.5" Hayward gaskets are not proportionally as wide and nice... though they are, indeed, just as soft and squishy. I have a few plumbing bits to procure from the hardware store before I can glue in everything and finalize the runs I just tape-fitted tonight. I also want to debug one more drip in the Dart thread fitting (darn that thing) and install the second Dart in place on the sump. Then, I believe, the tank will be ready for the long, tedious grind of RODI production. I'll probably aquascape the base rock in and add the sand while that's happening. Oh, and the generator is all wired up and working great. I haven't done a full test (power down at the road and watch the tank come back up), but we've a few circuits to tweak tomorrow and then we'll close out the construction permits for both the Bertha room and the generator! Whew. Ben |
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#333
04/29/2007, 11:01 PM
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sounds great Ben...you know I am not sure what you are referring to as "Savko" bulkheads but I bought all schedule 80 from him and they seem to be great. Are they not Haywards? I know I bought my 3" from a different supplier that had a better price.
__________________
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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#334
04/29/2007, 11:34 PM
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Quote:
Read back in this thread a bit and you will see the long discussion about bulkheads. The Savko sch80 bulkheads are not Hayward... far from it, I guess, at least from the perspective of a soon-to-be bulkhead snob. The working theory is that the Savko BHs are just custom-ordered injection-molded pieces from China or something. Not that the Hayward ones aren't, I don't know anything about them... but, there is a definite quality difference. If you've got working Savko BHs, it seems to me that there's no reason they'd fail... but if you're having problems like I was, well, you should've gotten the good stuff in the first place. Ben |
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#335
04/30/2007, 12:18 AM
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Good to see your thread going again Ben.
Hope you enjoyed your diving trip, any aqauscaping ideas picked up along the way?  looking forward to seeing the plumbing and such done. Chris. |
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#336
04/30/2007, 03:13 AM
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Quote:
Quote:
Also where did you get your Haywards at ?? When I ordered my tank from AO it came with the crappy sched 40 (left) even though I asked for sched 80 BHs  But I replaced them with sched 80s from Savko (right)... 
__________________
Shawn |
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#337
04/30/2007, 08:13 AM
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Hi Shawn,
I'm not sure if Ben is still on vacation but I'll try later today to post pic of some various Sch80 bulkheads, Hayward, Spears, Banjo, and I think I have a Savko as well. Ben got some of the Haywards from me, not sure if he got others elsewhere - I know AquaticEco sells them. I can't say anything about "hype" of the fittings; I know I like them and the Spears fittings far more than anything else. Spears however are only good for 3/4" and thinner materials. James |
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#338
04/30/2007, 09:26 AM
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yeah, I have some of the ones pictured above on the right. I also have some Hayward for my larger pipes, but the ones I got from Savko have been doing quite well. I have not noticed any issue with them.
__________________
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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#339
04/30/2007, 12:54 PM
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http://www.haywardindustrial.com/docs/pvs/Bulkhead.pdf
welcome back Ben these are the ones i used, didn't need to modify all i did was installed them either way and work out perfectly with no leaks at all. the thread on these are alot wider then savko's which makes it better to use on 1" or thicker glass. only one person is needed for installation.
__________________
Bart ********************* a woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle (red house for 600gal) |
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#342
04/30/2007, 11:34 PM
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Weeeell... finished off the last bits of plumbing on the primary drain and skimmer tonight after acquiring Yet More Plumbing Bits (YMPB) from the hardware store this morning. Now I have Yet Another Slow Leak (YASL) on my Dart again. I did an exhaustive search on RC and it seems there are tons of people who have this exact same problem. (Well, if "tons" means 4 or 5 threads devoted specifically to this problem, which I think should count.) The consensus seems to be to use liquid teflon/"pipe dope" to goop the threads and then seal. I already went to the outlet fitting with a big pipe wrench to no avail. If I had turned any harder I'm pretty sure I would have broken the pump housing. (Which would have, in some small way, made me feel better for a while.)
So, tomorrow I'll see if I can steal off to get some magical pipe dope and finish it off. I have an early flight out Wednesday morning, so I won't get to do any more tank work until Friday. I was hoping to get the tank drained by tomorrow so I could start pumping RODI into it while I'm gone. That may not come to be, however.  I have a 2" Savko and Hayward BH that I will photograph and post here later for your direct comparison. The most interesting difference is the gasket, which I will be sure to examine closely for you armchair bulkhead snobs-to-be. Ben |
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#343
04/30/2007, 11:51 PM
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ben how are you rolling on the teflon tape?
wrap 3 times, the same way i tighten and no leaks the first time. here's what i used from lowe's, sorry about pic's  
__________________
Bart ********************* a woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle (red house for 600gal) |
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#344
04/30/2007, 11:56 PM
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Thanks, Bart. I'll see if I can get some of that as well and give it a try with the heavy-duty pink stuff first. Given the amount of white I wrapped around, though (roughly the same thickness), I'm not optimistic.
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#345
05/01/2007, 12:11 AM
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you welcome, ben.
the way i look at it, doesn't hurt to try since so many attempt has been done anyways.  of course i would know with all the fittings i have done. this is my very first plumbing job ever, honestly never touch pvc for any projects. this is my first home and never owned one before so never had to do any handy work around the house. the only experience i have is 10yrs of custom building car audio fiberglass enclosures and body shop from my shop. my top installer had taught me alot along with others.   
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Bart ********************* a woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle (red house for 600gal) Last edited by cbui2; 05/01/2007 at 12:26 AM. |
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#347
05/01/2007, 11:56 AM
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yeah, I get a woody over Bart's plumbing too. I hope it's labeled!
 Ben, I think the problem with the Dart is due to the threads being slightly different. I am not really sure about using pipe dope though, as I would be concerned it could get into the tank. I used lots of Teflon tape and it worked fine. Seems odd that this problem would still be plaguing you. And Bart, there is clear PVC glue you can use! 
__________________
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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#349
05/01/2007, 12:37 PM
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Jim,
Unfortunately the genius that builds plumbing like that often lacks the aesthetic gene!
__________________
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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#350
05/01/2007, 12:39 PM
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Quote:
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Linear Mode
