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  #76  
Old 01/07/2008, 09:49 PM
boviac boviac is offline
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Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Chico, California
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Thanks for the details on the trim facing options. That's the planning stage I'm at and would like some details for ideas and help as I'm only a rare woodworker and often forget the little details.

Yes things are expensive in Cali but at least where I live it isn't too bad. Plus the overall quality of life is much better than other places I've lived. But what quality of life do I have... I have reef aquaria as a hobby.
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  #77  
Old 01/07/2008, 11:11 PM
chrismunn chrismunn is offline
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yeah, chico's not too bad. the further north you go, the better off you are in terms of living in cali. chico is beutifull too, like all of nor*cal. where i live now reminds me of sonoma co. ca.
and dont be fooled by my mediocre wood working skills, i am no expert. the stand ended up the way it is, purley by accident! the framing i had a plan for, but the trim and finish work was a mistake that worked... when i first thought of doing the trim like that i said "nah, thats not right. i shouldnt do it like that." but then i thought about it and decided that if i did it that way, it would be slightly less bulkey than if i had made a box with raised corner caps. and im only talking like 3/4" less bulkey, but it worked? i just wish i would have been able to afford nice wood that all matched up. you can see pretty clearly in the pics that the ply panels, and the trim boards are two different materials. now when i stain it, its more than likely going to be very noticable.
another thing i dont like about the stand is that its so overbuilt for that tank! i literally built the stand to accomodate a standard 10g tank, and figured that the tank would just fit anywhere on top? at this point im a little dissapointed, and am considering calling kingfish and having them make me a custom acrylic tank 27 1/2"x21 1/4"x24" (lxwxh) which is roughly 58g or somethnig? the stand will easily support it,and thoes dimentions will fit perfectly in the trim work on top. but then ide have to mess with new lighting and all that. maybe a little later?
glad to hear your looking at my stand for ideas, good luck to you boviac...
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  #78  
Old 01/09/2008, 08:22 PM
chrismunn chrismunn is offline
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got my SCWD today. ive never had one before so im pretty excited. i was playing with it for a little bit. it doesnt put out quite as much flow as i thought it would with the mag7, but it will suffice. im not buying a new pump, and ill spare you the pitures.
ive been meaning to grab a piece of granite for the stand, but i havent yet. i had a chance to get a nice piece of engineered stone today, but it was only 2cm thick, and i want 3cm....
i think that there wont be much more action untill the weekend after this upcoming weekend. i gotts to get some scrill...
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  #79  
Old 01/09/2008, 10:02 PM
chrismunn chrismunn is offline
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Thumbs down DISSAPOINTMENT!

well i ran a few flow tests using that SCWD. im dis-satisfied with the results.
i tested using all 3/4" plumbing, the scwd, and a mag7.
i hooked the mag7 to about 2' or 3' of tube attached the SCWD, then attached 1' of tube off of each outlet, into 2 ball valves that were connected to about 2' of rigid pipe each. the outlet was simply the end of the rigid pipe. i figure thats going to be close to the ristrictions i will be using, minus the check valve... the test was at 0' of head.
well the flow sucked! there is no way im going to be able to split the return of the SCWD into 2 outlets like i had planned. im not buying a! new pump..... im hoping that somethnig will change after the actuall set up is in place, but if it does change, it wont be much, im sure.
it turns out that whats going on in my head is a little off of reality but not alot. thats ok right?
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  #80  
Old 01/09/2008, 10:36 PM
Snowboarda42 Snowboarda42 is offline
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Personally, I think the SCWD's are complete garbage. I also wouldn't trust one if you put any sort of back pressure on them, I'd hate to see it split and leak everywhere.

Look into getting an OM Squirt. They're much more quiet than the bigger 4 or 8 ways according to most who I've talked to. And they're capable of LOTS more flow.
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  #81  
Old 01/10/2008, 08:42 PM
chrismunn chrismunn is offline
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that brings up a good point snowboarda42. they way i have my return set up, there will always be back pressure on the unit. i dont know how that will affect it, but somehow im thinking that my little idea here is not going to work!
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  #82  
Old 01/10/2008, 08:51 PM
chrismunn chrismunn is offline
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as it turns out, im just so good at my job that i was done before my 8 hours. soooo, got my granite top.
i wanted to take a few pics of the fabrication, but i left my camera at home. i didnt know i was going to get to it today?
i pretty much searched our bone yard for anything close to the size that i needed. what i found was a piece of the more exotic, (and expensive ) pieces of stone. its called crema boardaux. (bore-doh)...
here's what the stone looks like


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  #83  
Old 01/10/2008, 08:54 PM
chrismunn chrismunn is offline
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here is a few shots looking the the stand level from the front,and back.


this is a shot from the back showing how the stone rests within the trim work
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  #84  
Old 01/10/2008, 09:13 PM
rommelgin rommelgin is offline
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Thats a sick idea using granite for the top of the stand. Looking good so far. Have you decided how to reconfigure your plumbing to get more flow?
  #85  
Old 01/10/2008, 09:26 PM
melev melev is offline
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That looks amazing. Too bad the tank will cover up most of it.
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  #86  
Old 01/10/2008, 10:08 PM
chrismunn chrismunn is offline
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well rommelgin, no. i havent figured out how to reconfigure the plumbing. i know what i CAN do. but i dont know what i WANT to do?
if i were to do the plummbing in the manner that i DONT want, which is running it up the back and over the tanks back wall, i will end up moving the tank to the back of the stand. that will allow me to see more of the granite, but honestly, i see stone all day everyday. ide rather have my plumbing work the way i want iit to.
its not really the amount of flow im worried about really. its more of the fact that i know the back pressure on the SCWD will have some adverse affect.
i think im going to make a moch up of the plumbing and attach it to the bottom of a rubbermaid tub.that way i can see exactly how its going to work before i go drilling the bottom of the tank. if it works well, then ill go with it. if not then ill just run the plumbing over the back wall of the tank...
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  #87  
Old 01/11/2008, 10:59 PM
chrismunn chrismunn is offline
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so i think i have figured ot a way to make up for my lack of flow, but its going to require another SCWD. i made a crude moch up of a closed loop using the mag7 and SCWD. it basically sits in the overflow box, and comes right over the back wall of the tank. this doesnt ease my worries of the return plumbing design, but it will contribute to some A+ flow in the tank! detritus will have nowhere to settle.
this first pic shows the CL unit in the overflow box. disregard the bulkyness of the system as i will not be using so many fittings to build the final product. for right now i had to use extra fittings because thats all i had laying around.

what an ugly machine right. it will look better with the right fittings, and black or grey pvc.

this works in my favor because i actually have 2 brand new mag7 pumps that im not using. i can use one for the CL, and one for the return. i just need 1 more SCWD. now that i have run the prototype CL, and am satisfied with it, im not so concerned with the return. since i was going to be relying soley on the return for all water movement in the tank, i was not content with using the plumbing scheme i had planned. now that i will be resorting to the CL, i will resume with the origional return plumbing plan.
the only thing that im not satisfied with at this point is the noise. i had planned on sound proofing the stand where all the equipment will be housed. this would eliminate almost all the pump noise. that pump, and the SCWD both make noise. its not alot, but it still bothers me!
ill never be satisfied!
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  #88  
Old 01/12/2008, 12:04 AM
melev melev is offline
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The SCWD should become silent when it has had time to slime over, and when any trapped air is worked out of it.

Small silicone feet under the pump should help with that.

Using some of your plumbing, try to increase the diameter up to the SCWD. 1" is what you want during your test, and ramp down at the last point possible. Adding some height should give you some room to work during your test.
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