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  #51  
Old 01/05/2008, 10:50 PM
chrismunn chrismunn is offline
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thanks crab0000. you know i did actually think of that, but using the snaps instead of magnets. on the stand i built for my 75g i did use that idea so that the entire panel is removeable. using magnets might just be the easiest approach, but i would still need to mortise the frame to recess the magnets. simple enough! now i just need to figure out how to lock it up so my daughter cant get in. anybody have any ideas that are simple with contemporary style?
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  #52  
Old 01/06/2008, 12:58 AM
melev melev is offline
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I like it.

All the wood you've used is yellow pine. Yellow pine has a pattern to it. White pine is more 'clear' in that it has few knots, tends to be straighter, and feels significantly lighter. It also isn't as strong as yellow.

Poplar is a very nice clean 'clear' wood that doesn't break the bank. Oak is better because it is far stronger, and looks great when stained. Redwood is beautiful and left untreated smells good, but can definitely be painted or stained.

When I was in Austin, I saw a tank in Mike's office that had magnet catches. He used a huge magnet (like a mag float) on the cabinet doors to magically open the doors, which would otherwise be locked and inaccessible. The huge magnet released the catch. It was a great idea.
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  #53  
Old 01/06/2008, 09:12 AM
crab0000 crab0000 is offline
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I would look into something like Marc suggested. Man we reefers love magnets don't we? If you used round magnets a simple paddle bit could be used to make the mortise for it; then a little epoxy and you'd be set.
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  #54  
Old 01/06/2008, 02:48 PM
chrismunn chrismunn is offline
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yeah, mounting magnets wont be a problem, i think ill end up going that route. dont they make child proof door locks like what you described on mikes tank melev? its like a little latch on the inside of the cabinet, and to release the latch you hold a magnet to the outside of the door... we'll see???

well i think i have my plumbing figured out? i have a sketch that ill post, but first i gotta let my camera batterie charge. my scanner is on the other computer, and i dont like using that one. its very simple, but has one aspect that i hate! since both of my return lines come through the bottom of the tank, ill have to rely on a check valve to keep the sump from flooding in the event of a power outage... but im already dead set on where i want my returns. in the end im sure it will be fine, but the idea is just soo dependant on the check valve. give me a minute here and ill post that pic with a semi-detailed description
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  #55  
Old 01/06/2008, 03:38 PM
chrismunn chrismunn is offline
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ok, im not sure if the picture will be ledgible enought to read, but here it is...



well im not quite sure if there will be enough room to have the mag7 used externally, as i havent gotten the sump tank yet. there are a few things missing in the drawings, andits not to scale. this is the description in order going from the sump, up to the display. keep in mind that the SCWD is a tee, and every thnig after that is x2.
we start out with a 3/4" bulkhead and strainer to exit the sump. 3/4" rigid pipe-
union ball valve-
3/4" rigid pipe-
3/4" female adapter-
return pump-
3/4" female adapter-
3/4" rigid pipe-
union check valve-
3/4" rigid pipe-
3/4" female adapter-
3/4" x 3/4"male threaded hose barb-
3/4" vinyl tube-
SCWD-
3/4" vinyl tube-
3/4" x 3/4" male threaded hose barb-
union ball valve-
3/4" rigid pipe-
and enters the display through a 3/4" bulkhead.
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  #56  
Old 01/06/2008, 03:48 PM
chrismunn chrismunn is offline
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oops.
edit:
SCWD-
3/4" vinyl tube-
3/4"x 3/4" male threaded hose barb-
3/4" female adapter-
3/4" rigid pipe-
union ballvalve-
3/4" rigid pipe-
3/4" bulkhead.

all the unions will be true unions, and not thoes bullstuff slip unions.
the drain start with a durso stand pipe-
1" blukhead-
1" rigid pipe-
union ball valve-
1" rigid pipe-
filter sock-
somewhere inbetween the union ball valve and the filter sock, there might be a 45* elbow or two?
as far as the sump goes, im not sure of anythnig except that there will be a 3 baffle bubble trap, and that it will be a10g tank. i probably wont add the ATO for a long time after the system is running. thats gonna be a whole new project of its own!
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  #57  
Old 01/06/2008, 04:02 PM
crab0000 crab0000 is offline
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You could extend your returns to the top of the water and put loc-lines on it. It wouldn't look the best, but would keep you from having to rely on check valves.
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  #58  
Old 01/06/2008, 04:31 PM
melev melev is offline
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I don't trust nor use check valves, because invariably the day you need it, it won't work.

The plumbing looks good to me.

I'd rather see 1" plumbing from the Mag 7 all the way to the SCWD, which I would put right behind the tank rather than under it.

Mag pumps do sometimes leak externally. You could probably silicone the coverplate to avoid that, or just use an Eheim instead. With the Eheim, you could go back to 3/4" plumbing again.

I don't think you'll need a ballvalve under the drain line.
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  #59  
Old 01/06/2008, 04:35 PM
chrismunn chrismunn is offline
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yeah crab0000, i thought of doing that too, but the thing is that i really dont want to see anything in the tank, at all! the way i have the return plumbing planned on the inside of the tank is as follows.
from the 3/4" bulkheads coming from the bottom of the tank there will be a small stubb up of 3/4" rigid pipe, just enough to attach a 3-way 90* elbow. that 3-way 90* elbow will essentially split the dual return into 4 returns. one end of the 90*will be attached the the stubb up, one will point towards the front of the tank, and the other end will point towards the opposite side of the tank along the back. (crappy explanation i know) and on the end of each 90* outlet will be a 45* to controll direction of flow. its like a small series of swing joints, noneof witch will be glued.
after thats in place then il just throw a rock in front of it so it wont be seen. there wil be one on each back corner of the tank.
ill try to draw a picture and post that, but for now, here is a pic of an idea i had.
the idea is for a bubble trap system consisting of pipe instead of baffles. the pipe wil come from the drain and go all the way to the bottom of the sump, then 90* into a tee. one end of the tee will point straight up and have a piece of pipe that serves as a vent, and goes above the waters surface. there could be a series of these tee's with vents. then after the last tee, it would 90* back up and hit another tee. the end of the tee pointing up wil have another vent pipe, and one end will have the water drain.

the arrows show the path of the water, and the little circles represent bubbles exiting through the vent pipes
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  #60  
Old 01/06/2008, 04:43 PM
chrismunn chrismunn is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by melev
I don't trust nor use check valves, because invariably the day you need it, it won't work.

The plumbing looks good to me.

I'd rather see 1" plumbing from the Mag 7 all the way to the SCWD, which I would put right behind the tank rather than under it.

Mag pumps do sometimes leak externally. You could probably silicone the coverplate to avoid that, or just use an Eheim instead. With the Eheim, you could go back to 3/4" plumbing again.

I don't think you'll need a ballvalve under the drain line.
do you think that 1" pipe up the the SCWD will help increase the efficiancy of the output?
why would you put the SCWD behind the tank?
and your probably right about not needing the valve on the drain, but if im going to add a union there, i might as well make it a union valve. that shouldnt hurt anythnig right?
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  #61  
Old 01/06/2008, 05:02 PM
melev melev is offline
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Correct, a union there would be far more useful.

1" provides more flow from that pump, and the SCWD can handle it. Water going in will be cut back by 20% before it comes out. I know you are only talking about 24" of plumbing before the SCWD, but it will help.

I was suggesting putting it behind the tank so you have as straight a shot as possible to the SCWD and shorter return lines into the tank.
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  #62  
Old 01/06/2008, 05:11 PM
chrismunn chrismunn is offline
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well here is a crude drawing of the plumbing inside the tank. on the side view drawing there is a black circle. that circle is one of the outputs pointing towards you.
instead of using 45* elbows on the outputs for directional flow, i could use loc-lines with like 3 links, and use specialized nozzels?
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  #63  
Old 01/06/2008, 05:19 PM
chrismunn chrismunn is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by melev
Correct, a union there would be far more useful.

1" provides more flow from that pump, and the SCWD can handle it. Water going in will be cut back by 20% before it comes out. I know you are only talking about 24" of plumbing before the SCWD, but it will help.

I was suggesting putting it behind the tank so you have as straight a shot as possible to the SCWD and shorter return lines into the tank.
yes, thats whats in the drawing, a union ball valve.

im coming into the tank with my returns, straight through the bottom of the tank. its pretty much a straight vertical shot from the pump, to the SCWD, to the bulkheads into the tank. i have approximatley 30" of vertical head, with no horizantal runs at all. the SCWD wil be hanging mid-air by plumbing, just above the pump.

so how much flow (gph) would you approximate i would have with 30" of head, a check valve, the scwd? and 3 ball valves, using the mag7? (700 gph i think?)
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  #64  
Old 01/06/2008, 07:24 PM
chrismunn chrismunn is offline
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ok MARC, im a little confused here. im trying to minimize the amount of adapters and bushings im using, and all the plumbing schemes im coming up with utilize more than seems neccasary...
should i be using 1" pipe from the sump outlet, through the pump, and right up to the bottom of the SCWD?

OK, so do they make a 3/4"fpt x 1" slip adapter fitting? if not i have to use a 3/4" female adapter w/ a 3/4"x1" bushing... i dont wanna do that.
also, is it ok to run 1" rigid pipe from the pump to the SCWD, and just before the SCWD, use a 1"x3/4" reducer bushing, with a 3/4" hose barb to attach the vinyl tubing to the SCWD?
im not sure how to go about this?
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  #65  
Old 01/06/2008, 08:45 PM
chrismunn chrismunn is offline
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well, its official! as soon as this tank is complete, i will run it for 1 week to test if for efficiancy. as soon as it runs as desired, i will be draining it, and putting it in the garage... PERMANENTLY!
i was looking on liveaquaria.com for a blue carpet anemone, and the things are like $300.oo .......thats why im doing this! its all for the blue carpet, and at that price. forget about it!
ill use the $300.oo bucks to pay off this computer, and then sell the tank to pay for air ride suspention on my s10...
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  #66  
Old 01/06/2008, 08:47 PM
kar93 kar93 is offline
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a carpet wouldnt be good in a tank that size to begin with.

Couldnt you just put coral in the tank.
  #67  
Old 01/06/2008, 10:19 PM
chrismunn chrismunn is offline
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kar93 i know. to be honest with you i didnt do any research till like a day ago, and when i did i realized how far in the wrong direction i was going! this sucks. i really had this set in my heart, now i dont know what to do? there will be nocrpet going in this thing! you picture it, 20" anemone ina 24" tank. doesnt fit right! crap... ill just have a GSP tank. i dont want a mixed reef! i just want 2 or 3 animals to acommodate. grrr.
i could always put a 20g tall, or custom build a big acrylic cube?i like the cube idea, A CUBE IT IS!
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  #68  
Old 01/06/2008, 11:11 PM
melev melev is offline
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I think you could make it a beautiful species tank. It could be all the various acans, or a suncoral tank! or a seahorse tank, or a ricordia tank with zoanthids.

On the plumbing, it is tough because of the SCWD. There are some SCWD mod threads where you alter it to accept PVC connections, which would be ideal. If anything, make all three arms unions, so you can just connect plumbing to those and still be able to remove it when necessary.

The Mag 7, at 30" head with 1" plumbing would be 525gph as it entered the SCWD. You would get 420gph out of each side as the gear rotate, switching back and forth every 7 - 8 seconds.

You may lose a little more flow due to resistance of any ballvalves. Definitely skip the check valve.

For angling your returns, Paul at Oceans Motions has OmniFlex nozzles that take very few lobes to make the turns we use locline for.
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  #69  
Old 01/07/2008, 06:00 PM
chrismunn chrismunn is offline
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thanks for the info marc!...
and skip the check valve? i cant do that, its the only minor (major)safegaurd against iminant flooding should the power go out! sure theyre not reliable, but its the only way i can think of. one idea i had was to buy 2 true union check valves, and every month, swap out out valves. that way i could clean one of the valves in vinegar, while the other one is in operation. i would think that would keep them in good working order? by the way, thoes things dont have a minimum operating pressure do they?
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  #70  
Old 01/07/2008, 06:08 PM
chrismunn chrismunn is offline
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well i took my work truck home today so i could get that stand going. here are some pics. i took tons of pics, but thier all pretty much the same.... but here's a few

this shows the straight edge i used to make a good clean cut. i didnt have convenient access to a table saw, so i just clamp the rail up there as a rip fence. i didnt trust myself to free hand a long cut like that.



i used the straight edge to cut all 3 panels, here is the front panel

when you see how tight the panels fit, you will understand why i chose to use the straight edge. they are pretty tight. there is a 1/16" gap all the way around the panels

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  #71  
Old 01/07/2008, 06:14 PM
chrismunn chrismunn is offline
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the front, and left side panels are doors, and the right side panel in permanant. here is the right side, it didnt turn out as well as the other 2 sides. i am glad that it was this panel that turned out bad, and not the other 2. this one will be up aginst a wall.

i had to notch around the framing for the interior floor piece.

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  #72  
Old 01/07/2008, 06:42 PM
chrismunn chrismunn is offline
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im guessing these are the omni flex nozzels?
these are expensive! too bad they dont make then in 3/4" tho, or do they?
im wanting to buy all sorts of stuff before i put anythnig in the tank, and if it turns out the way my 75 has, ill never get the tank running. ive been buying parts and pieces for this tank for like 2+ years, and still dont have all the parts i want to start running it. and alot of what i want is things like pinpoint meters and stuff. im kinda stubbourn and probably wont start anythnig till i have every thing! ilove the salifert test kits, but thier so dangtime consuming. i know that if i start this thing with out all the things i want to make my life easier, ill get lazy and fall behind. but all the stuff i want is so expensive. i need to find a new hobby... i think im going to take up sleeping.
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  #73  
Old 01/07/2008, 06:43 PM
chrismunn chrismunn is offline
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duh, forgot to post the link

http://www.oceansmotions.com/store/p...e38fc1d8db3cb9
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  #74  
Old 01/07/2008, 07:00 PM
melev melev is offline
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I didn't say they were cheap.

Then again, you are doing a lot of this yourself, PLUS you moved from California just so you'd have more spending money. Spend it on your freakin' tank.
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  #75  
Old 01/07/2008, 09:19 PM
chrismunn chrismunn is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by melev
I didn't say they were cheap.

Then again, you are doing a lot of this yourself, PLUS you moved from California just so you'd have more spending money. Spend it on your freakin' tank.
both are true, and you have quite the memory i must say. at this point i had almost forgotten why i came to this great state!
as a matter of fact, the mortgage on my 3 bedroom house is less than the rent on my last 2 bedroom apt in cali. and i make more money at my new job. its the 2new trucks i just bought that make me pay very close attention to my finances! that black s10 is one day going to be my project truck. $3500.oo says i get air ride suspention with 2 air tanks, 2 compressors, 1 nitrogen tank, and a 10 switch controll. another 2000.oo or so says i get a "c" notch in the trucks rear end frame, so i can lay the body of the truck flat on the street.
thats a whole different story tho. the fish tank comes first!
you know what marc, i might not have said it before, but thatnk you for taking the time to respond to my little thread here. if you didnt notice, nobody else is paying attention... so thanks for your support.
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