Austin goes Rimless - Dudester's 203g mixed reef

[CAreefer]

Dudester,

Great job, loving the progress.

I would like to offer one suggestion on your closed loop plumbing however. A Tee with a small ball/gate valve between the OM and SUBV on the pump would allow you to draing the OM and all water between the 4 SUBVs and pump. Keeping everything nice and dry when you need to service the OM, which will require occasional service due to sand particles.

Just thought I'd throw that out there.

CAReefer

[GSMguy]

coming along nicely

[Dudester]

melev - Thanks for the tip on the PVC, better late than never! erics3000, when you plumb your tank with spa-flex, definitely use that technique and let me know how it goes for you.

invincible569 - Thanks for the compliment, Edward, means a lot coming from someone with such a keen eye for aesthetics.

Fliger - My home is your home, just let me know next time you want to tour some restaurants and/or tanks in Austin. Of course, now that I've learned your sinister side, you'll need to comply to a thorough search before you leave the premises .

CAreefer - Glad you like it, and your comment is brilliant! I actually thought of doing that before plumbing the 4-way, but once I got started the idea somehow slipped away. It's an easy modification to add, and I'm going to do it for sure. Thanks for the input and for following along - please chime in often.

GSMguy -

[erics3000]

Will do ...I am checking around now to order some so I have it when I get back.

[Dudester]

I had a fairly productive weekend. I finally got around to making the wood mount for the Barracuda pump. I screwed 2x4's together for height so that the pump would rise above the drip pan, and holes were drilled for the lag bolts, which were countersunk. The wood was then treated with 2 coats of urethane. For vibration control I'm using drawer liner material between the wood and the pump, and between the wood and the pan. The pic shows the bottom and top of the wooden risers. The one without the holes is for the "inlet" side of the pump, which doesn't have holes for mounting.



Fortunately my measurements were correct, as the pump was resting on a temporary mount and I didn't mark the holes with pencil. Not the smartest thing, but it worked out fine. The photo doesn't show it, but like I said, I put 3 layers of the drawer liner material between the pump and the wood.



At this point I was ready to photograph the system as it stands, with the closed loop fully plumbed, including the pump. Here's the left side ...



and the right side ...



and here it is from the front.



Here's a more detailed view of the CL strainer in its place. That's a 6" riser to help prevent sand from blowing into the CL and potentially clogging the 4-way drum.

[Dudester]

Next came the time to add some water and test my plumbing. This would have made a huge mess if there were a problem, but even though I'm a novice I still felt pretty comfortable that everything would be water tight. I have been making RO/DI for a little while and storing it in trashcans. So here's the 1st 80 gallons or so.



Fortunately everything was dry, so it was then time to fire up the closed loop. I aimed all of the outlets sideways since I didn't know if the water would fly out of the top of the tank (wishful thinking, right?). I was psyched to finally see some flow in this bad boy!



The pump mount worked wonderfully. There was no rattling, and all I could hear was the sweet hum of the Barracuda's fan. Now it's just a matter of making more water and then the aquascaping can begin.

[jnarowe]

wow, looking great, and all the hard work on the plumbing has paid off as you have a lot of room under the stand to work with. Good job!

[cbui2]

great job on the CL, and thats what i call flow. i must haved missed it on your sand bed, also how much live rocks will be used? keep them pics coming

[melev]

So clean and new. You have 30 days to get it up to my standards.

[invincible569]

Coming along nicely!

[Dudester]

jnarowe - That was the goal, to have as much room under the stand for equipment as possible. And by the way, I don't think those fittings and hard plumbing are hurting me too much. I put my hand in front of the returns and about blew the skin right off. That barracuda's really something!

cbui - I'm going with a 1-2" sandbed, which is why the Omniflex return nozzles are as long as they are off the bottom. They should be pretty easy to conceal with the LR, of which I'll have about 180lb. I'm picking it up this weekend, and can't wait.

melev - Thanks for the banner, but I don't know if I'll ever have it up to your standards. We all need a goal though, right?

invincible569 - Thanks for the encouragement, and I'm happy to receive any pearls you may have to offer with all of your rimless experience behind you.

[erics3000]

Dude that is SWEET...

[Bax]

Very nice Dude! I just love it when a new install gets water tested, BIG milestone! Congratulations!!!!

[Dudester]

Eric - Thanks, man, glad you like it.

Bax - Cheers, my friend. The leak test was definitely what I'd refer to as a brown trouser moment. My heart rate went up by about 100 beats/minute as soon as the water level reached the drains. It was a huge relief not to have any leaks to deal with. The tank continues to fill as I write .

[cbui2]

i'm pretty sure a lot of us had plenty of heart attack when setting up a large system . keep those pics coming, cant wait to see your rock work.

[GMFett]

Dude- so clean and leak free! Gotta love it bro!

[gkarshens]

Mike it is really looking great! Can't wait to see it in person. hint, hint.

[melev]

Originally posted by Dudester
My heart rate went up by about 100 beats/minute as soon as the water level reached the drains. It was a huge relief not to have any leaks to deal with. The tank continues to fill as I write .

It ain't full until we've seen it with our own eyes!

[GSMguy]

when does the ATI powermodule show?

[jnarowe]

I just had a scary realization: I don't recall leak testing my tank!

[JackJack7]

looks good so far

[Dudester]

cbui - The rock is currently sitting at Kingfish, and is nearly fully cured. The aquascaping will hopefully be done this Sunday. That should give the tank time to fill and salt time to mix. I estimate I'll be ready to add salt tomorrow when I get home from work. Naturally I'll keep you posted.

Marcus - Thanks, I love it too! As I understand it our sumps should be ready at about the same time, so I expect to see your thread updated with some clean and leak-free pics soon as well.

Gabriel - Thanks for the compliment, and you have an open invitation to come over and check it out whenever you want. I'd wait for a little more action if I were you, but I'm really enjoying this stage of the game myself.

Marc - I didn't claim that it was full, but I'll surely provide a photo of a nice, full, wet tank once it is. I hope my sump is baffled by this Sunday, that way I can get the skimmer ready and running when the LR is added. I'm also anxious to hear how the CJ standpipes sound in the overflow. It's recommended that the standpipe openings sit around 1" below the lowest portion of the overflow teeth for optimal (quietest) operation, but I had to set them about 2 1/2" below so that the top of the CJ's wouldn't be seen above the overflow box. I'm hoping that extra inch and a half of waterfall won't make a big difference. If it does, I can always install an acrylic lid over the OF box, which I might end up doing anyway.

GSMguy - You always seem to ask the hard-hitting questions, don't you ? That IS the big question as of now. I don't think I've mentioned it before, but the entire system was actually built around that light fixture. I chose a 60 x 30 tank so that it would be well-lit by a single fixture, and without excess light spill over the front or sides. Sounds crazy to build a tank around a light, in retrospect, but there you have it. I'm 2nd or 3rd in line on ReefGeek's wait list for the 10-bulb units (I put myself on the list way back in February when I was planning this system), and he's not expecting any to arrive with the current shipment from ATI. I can only hope that ATI sends 3 units with their next shipment, which may be anywhere from 1-3 months from now. If I miss that shipment it could be another couple of months. If nothing else this will force me to move slowly on stocking the tank, but I'd sure like to get this light hung ASAP. If need be I could always look for a temporary lighting solution if I become too inpatient.

Jonathan - OMG, you better get off the web and go check your tank. For all you know there could be 1000 gallons of saltwater on your floor right now!

JackJack7 - Hope JackJack 1-6 are all doing well, are there more? Glad you like it so far, stay tuned.


And for any carpenters out there whom I do not wish to offend, I need to correct a statement I made before. The bolts used for the pump mounts are actually carriage bolts, not lag bolts like I had mentioned.

[fishypets]

I feel the urge for some beer drinking at your house this weekend.......(hint hint)

[GSMguy]

i knew you must have built the tank around the ati because you seemed confident that you could actually get one, at the time i thought he must have a hookup but now i know you ordered it many months before ordering the tank. that light is PIMP from what i have seen.
i would love a 36 inch version.


i also wondered when a big texas rimless would go all t5.

[melev]

but I'd sure like to get this light hung ASAP. If need be I could always look for a temporary lighting solution if I become too inpatient.

You could always make one out of pink foam for now.