Trey's New 115g

[texhorns98]

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Arriving at Fish Scales with what I was SURE would be all the plumbing I needed...Riiiiight!

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A few more build pics.

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This is the plumbing after many do-overs. I know it LOOKS simple, but there was a lot of thought that had to go into this set up. Angle, heights, connection compatibility, blah, blah, blah...

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The ball valve on the right will allow me to do easy water changes. The ball valve on the <u>upper</u> right is so the middle return will have varying flow rates as well off the SCWD. BTW, those SCWDs are MUCH bigger than you might think!! That's a 1.25" T it's plumbed into for size reference...also a 1" ball valve on the right.

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Not the best picture, but I loaded the tank up with fresh water after I got all the plumbing in place. This is where the water level ended up, though it will be slightly higher because my garage floor is not perfectly level.

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A little better pic of the water line. This is the back of the tank, so the actual line will end up being somewhere in between this pic and the one above. In this pic, the water is pretty much touching the Euro bracing.


Seriously, I have decided that THE BEST place to plumb a tank would be on a trailer in the parking lot of Home Depot or Lowes. I made a total of 5 trips (in three days) to the store for parts, spending probably a total of 6 or 7 hours.

Everything ran tight for 4 or 5 hours tonight with my little mock setup. I used a rubbermaid for a "sump" and my water moving pump as a return. It's a smaller Quiet One pump though, so not even enough to get the SCWD switching. No leaks in that same period of time except one. Oddly enough it's one I already glued. What can be done about that?

 

[smoothie]

Let me know how you like the scwd. I am about to get one for my tank

 

[weaglereefer]

Looks great! Very clean install.

 

[lees]

Trey, LMK if you want help with the move today or any day this week except Thursday night. My wife is out right now but I will be available when she gets back.

 

[texhorns98]

I appreciate it Lee! I had a minor setback occur this morning, so I'm not sure when the actual move will take place. I hope to have an answer today, but I'm guessing this Saturday or Sunday will be the day.

 

[lees]

Saturday is my girl's B'day party but Sunday is actually her birthday. I may be able to get away Sunday or even after the party on Saturday, but it would be late afternoon. Sorry to hear about the setback what actually happened?

 

[lees]

If the glue is outside of the tank MEK would probably disintegrate it. If it is in the tank I would not use any kind of chemical, just some good blades, probably lots of them. Only other thing maybe put more glue on it.

 

[texhorns98]

LeeS;355060 wrote: If the glue is outside of the tank MEK would probably disintegrate it. If it is in the tank I would not use any kind of chemical, just some good blades, probably lots of them. Only other thing maybe put more glue on it.

MEK? I'm confused. The leak I'm having is just below the SCWD on the "T". It's glued in there, I think...it's hard to tell because the seam is so close and clean!

As for the move, I'm pretty sure I "can" do it mostly by myself. That being said, it's much more fun (and easy) with help. If I can get everything out of the old tank before help arrives, it should only take an hour or two to get everything back in!

 

[lees]

Methyl ethyl keytone. Very powerful stuff. Highly toxic and flammable. I love the stuff. As for the leak if you don't want to go the chemical route, I'd say just saw it up and start over. I'm no plumbing expert, only plumbed one tank but got it right the first time with no leaks. I guess it's better to be lucky than good.

 

[texhorns98]

Sorry about going MIA with this build. My setback has been resolved now, so I'm looking forward to getting things moving along again! I'm posting a few pics below:

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I forgot to post a picture for size reference of the SCWD. This thing is MUCH bigger than you might think it is looking at it on-line or something. As big as this one is, the smaller SCWD is actually pretty small!

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Here is a picture of my "setback". This is the back right of the tank and there was another identical crack on the front left. I say "was" because the top has now been replaced. I'm still not sure exactly what caused this issue, but it happened overnight while I had water sitting still in the tank. We've worked on different theories, but never came up with something we were 100% sure on. Whatever the cause of it, Chris at Fish Scales made it right and came by last Thursday to replace the top. Can't beat that with a stick!!:thumbs:

I THINK I'm going to attempt the move this weekend. Depending on possible afternoon plans, it may not be until Sunday. :boo:

I need to get this thing up and going so I can actually see some FISH in there!! I've held off on new purchases until the move is done. This means it's been well over two months since I've bought anything new. Tell me THAT doesn't suck...

 

[ralph atl]

any updates?

 

[texhorns98]

mysterybox;370065 wrote: any updates?

Actually yes and no!:unsure:

I've had to replace the eurobracing top piece again due to my complete lack of patience and ample stupidity. This time, however, I've decided to utilize a piece of rubber weather stripping around the perimeter of the top instead of siliconing it. The top is not necessary for the integrity of the tank itself, but more to curb splashing. This way, I have a VERY clean line and a removable top if I need to really get in and work with the tank. I'm hoping to move this Sunday!!:yay: