Insides of stands????

[jgoal55]

Hey all,

Before I finish setting up the new tank Id really like to get ideas on how to organize the equipment inside my stand. I love the idea of placing an electrical panel inside the stand and I have seen some set ups that have that but I am not sure if I can pull that off.

Anyway, the interior space of the stand is 59L x 27W so I have plenty of room (finally) to be organized.

I was hoping some of you could post pics of what the insides of your stands look like so I can get some ideas!!

Thanks!

 

[weaglereefer]

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[smoothie]

That fuge is still one of my favorite diy's

 

[jgoal55]

thanks for the pic....took a look at your whole build....great stuff.

I forgot to mention that my stand is actually extra, extra tall (44in) so I have plenty of room for shelves and things of that sort.

 

[grouper therapy]

au01st;385174 wrote:

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Nice job!

 

[elfloyd]

Here's mine. It was better organized when the build started... but I started adding and moving, and, oh well....

 

[glxtrix]

Ohhh purdy!

 

[jgoal55]

elFloyd;385242 wrote: Here's mine. It was better organized when the build started... but I started adding and moving, and, oh well....

Haha! isnt that what always happens?? looks great though.

Right now I have 2 vortechs, 1 BRS dual chamber, 1 AC3 w/ DC8, 1 wireless router, 2 DJ strips....those are all the things that need to go somewhere in the stand like you have them.....I could tell that it was once very organized just cuz of the layout.....the trickiest part is all the cables.

whats the alarm on the bottom right.....is that a leak alarm? if so, do you mind sending me the link? How do you have it hooked up? to your AC?

 

[acroholic]

Here is the inside of my 60 cube stand. Note the stand is bigger than the tank (24" cube), about 32" x 28".
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[elfloyd]

I had all the cables tie wrapped... now some are tie wrapped!

I got the leak alarm at Home Depot. I believe is was around $12.00 and runs off a 9v battery.

Works great too! My return dumps into a 100 micro felt sock. It starts to clog in a day or two (although you can't see much.) When this happens the return bubbles over the top of the sock and splashes onto the wall and accumulates water in the bottom.

The alarm will let me know when it happens if I go too long without changing the sock.

I hope to upgrade to a 240 next summer. Of course I'll need a bigger sump, but still should have another 18"-24" to spread things out a little. I think I have all the equipment I need... although upgrading my AC Jr. to the Apex appeals to the geek within.

Here's what I have in there:

30g sump
UV filter
BRS Dual reactor
AC Jr.
DC8
DC4
Level Controller
pH Controller (for Ca reactor)
Knob Ca reactor
5lb CO2 bottle
two power strips
Refugium light
Serial interface (AC Jr. to PC)
Water (Leak) detector
Two heaters
MD 9.5 return
Ephram connected to UV and BRS reactors
probes

Have fun!

 

[jgoal55]

wow! its crazy how much stuff we have on our tanks.

Acro, you have your return split 3 ways? I like the way your organized your plumbing.

 

[acroholic]

Jgoal55;385276 wrote: Acro, you have your return split 3 ways? I like the way your organized your plumbing.

I run a manifold that feeds my calcium reactor, refugium, and an unused feed that I'll use for a phosban reactor, most likely. IMO, the more submerged pumps you can eliminate thru the use of a manifold, the better. There is already a dedicated pump for the skimmer and the chiller in there.

Return pump isa mag 7, and the chiller circulation mump is a mag 3.

 

[elfloyd]

Arco... I agree. My return is set up with a feed to the main compartment and to the refuguim plus another feed I have setting in the main return compartment (inherited this way). I do have the Ca fed off the return pipe to the tank, but have a submerged pump feeding the UV and dual reactors. I think a modification is in order to eliminate one pump!

 

[elfloyd]

Is anyone feeding the return plumbed into the skimmer? I bought a used skimmer and can see remnants of Teflon tape at the skimmer pump intake.

 

[weaglereefer]

elFloyd;385292 wrote: Is anyone feeding the return plumbed into the skimmer? I bought a used skimmer and can see remnants of Teflon tape at the skimmer pump intake.

I'd think you would want to plumb the drain into the skimmer, not the return.

 

[jgoal55]

i have heard of some ppl doing that but my question has always been how you can be sure when using manifolds that you are getting the correct flow rate through all the equipment. And also, it seems like the plumbing would be a big Pita b/c you have to constantly be switching sizes.....ie - the dual reactor is 3/4" inlet, the UV is 5/8" inlet, the skimmer is another dimension and so on........

I guess in the end its probably worth it to get rid of the pumps. One other issue I thought of though is what happens if you run your UV or reactor inline and then you want to shut one of them off because you are dosing a medication or something? How do you do that?

 

[weaglereefer]

Install true union ball valves in front of everything, so you can shut things down and remove for service if needed.

 

[elfloyd]

lol... that's what I meant... the return from the tank into the sump... i.e. drain

elFloyd;385292 wrote: Is anyone feeding the return plumbed into the skimmer? I bought a used skimmer and can see remnants of Teflon tape at the skimmer pump intake.

 

[acroholic]

Jgoal55;385296 wrote: i have heard of some ppl doing that but my question has always been how you can be sure when using manifolds that you are getting the correct flow rate through all the equipment. And also, it seems like the plumbing would be a big Pita b/c you have to constantly be switching sizes.....ie - the dual reactor is 3/4" inlet, the UV is 5/8" inlet, the skimmer is another dimension and so on........

I guess in the end its probably worth it to get rid of the pumps. One other issue I thought of though is what happens if you run your UV or reactor inline and then you want to shut one of them off because you are dosing a medication or something? How do you do that?

What is a "correct" flow rate, anyways? I don't mean that to sound like a smart arse, but most flow rates are pretty subjective. Example, I have just set up two chillers (one on each of my systems), and found that most people don't use the "manufacturer recommeded" flow rates thru them, simply because the head pressure created by the chiller itself makes it unrealistic. Ask anyone that owns a chiller if they have actually measured net flow thru them, meaning a stopwatch and a bucket. Most folks buy a pump and put it on and are done with it.

You would be amazed to see the actual sized pump you'd have to place on most chillers to get the manufacturer recommended flow rates (real flow rate) thru them. Most chillers 1/3 HP and under have 90 degree blarbs that acommodate 1/2"-3/4" tubing (different diameter plastic on same barb). You can place 3/4" tube on there, but you are only getting flow thru 1/2" ID max, simply because the barb is that diameter.

My 1/2HP chiller has 3/4" inlet/outlet, and with a dedicated Mag 12 and 3/4" ID tubing to and from the chiller, I was only getting actual 360 gallon/hr flow. I'd have had to size up to a mag 18 or 24 at least to get anywhere near the manufacturers recommended flow rates.

The flow rate thru my Calcium reactor is about 50-60 ml/min, which isn't a tax on any pump, IMO. My refugium is low flow, so I set it to a rate that looks decent, but I don't measure it. The valve that feeds a GFO reactor is set to a flow rate where the top of the GFO is moving.

If you run UV inline and need to dose something, just turn the bulb off and you don't need to do anything else. And I don't know anyone that runs a carbon reactor in line with the return. It is always a Tee. And if you need to shut off a reactor connected to the manifold, you just turn off the ball valve that feeds it.

 

[rbredding]

I couldn't tell whether I agreed with you or I was learning...


EXCELLENT POST...

I have almost finished up my plumbing for the 90... I've got "flow restricting" true gate valves on the drain line that feeds the refugium and the return line branch that feeds the chiller (which doubles as a "return loop" back into the sump)... If I restrict the drain line feeding the refugium, I will increase the flow through the sump intake (and protein skimmer), and if I restrict the loop running through the chiller, the return line sends more "filtered" water directly into the display..

I've got ball valves in a few places, but they are primarily just there so I can completely shut off flow (or leave it running, fully open)...