Zach's 120 Gallon Reef Resurgence
- Thread starter zachxlutz
- Start date
I'm going to go with painting it after doing further research. I've had good results in the past... no reason to change what works!
Non-hardening PVC paste is, IMHO, a far superior product to the tape. I did some research on why it's a better product and found that the tape is static while the paste is actually forced into the areas it's needed most by the water pressure. http://www.lascofittings.com/threads">Image below from Lasco Fittings.</a>
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v125/xatlzachx/threadsealant.jpg alt="" />
WE HAVE PAINT!
alt="" />
Last night and earlier today I put a couple of coats of gloss black paint on the plumbing and on the back of tank. It really turned out great aside from a few areas on the glass that I apparently didn't clean well enough. I'll be lightly scuffing those areas and applying a little more paint to hide the imperfections. The blue on the valves offsets with the black and creates a visually pleasing aesthetic that shouldn't be too obtrusive when viewing the tank from the sides once it's in place in the dining room.
Every day we get a little bit closer to bringing the tank inside and getting things going. I'm getting very excited!
Last night and earlier today I put a couple of coats of gloss black paint on the plumbing and on the back of tank. It really turned out great aside from a few areas on the glass that I apparently didn't clean well enough. I'll be lightly scuffing those areas and applying a little more paint to hide the imperfections. The blue on the valves offsets with the black and creates a visually pleasing aesthetic that shouldn't be too obtrusive when viewing the tank from the sides once it's in place in the dining room.
Every day we get a little bit closer to bringing the tank inside and getting things going. I'm getting very excited!
The project is on hold for a bit while I wait for a new tank to be delivered. I'm just not happy with the scratches on this one from the previous owner. I'll re-drill the holes for the bulkheads in the same spots so I should just be swapping all the plumbing over and then bringing it inside... Fingers crossed.
- Messages
- 1,127
- Reaction score
- 20
Did you ever get around to doing a water test, well really doing a simulated power outage?
The reason I ask is it looks like the the returns under water without a siphon break, there is a good chance water could siphon down to the sump.
The reason I ask is it looks like the the returns under water without a siphon break, there is a good chance water could siphon down to the sump.
I did a full several day leak test as well as some simulated power outage situations. The return loc-line jets sit at roughly the same water line level as the overflow boxes. The sump is a standard 55 gallon tank and with the baffles I imagine it sits around 40 gallons full while the return pump is running. When I kill the power to the return pump it siphons for a while and then settles out with quite a bit more room in the sump. It's safe as long as the loc-line return nozzles don't get bumped down very low but I really don't see that happening. Maybe I'll look at drilling two small holes in the return line at the highest point inside the tank in the event that a "perfect storm" happens and the loc-line gets bumped too low and the power goes out.
- Messages
- 1,127
- Reaction score
- 20
Cool, it's a well thought out system. Good luck with the swap other to the new tank.
In my experience, and in all honesty.... it it gets any light at all it will grow algae and get plugged within a couple of weeks.
In my experience, and in all honesty.... it it gets any light at all it will grow algae and get plugged within a couple of weeks.
Thanks. I'm trying to do things right the first time on this tank. I really don't want to go back and make big changes later. I read something one time that said something along the lines of "if you don't make the time to do it right the first time, you're certainly not going to make the time to fix it later." Trying to avoid that situation.
I may skip drilling those holes, given your experience with it. I'll do some more test scenarios when I get the new tank drilled and set up in the garage. I'll keep everyone updated. I'm having a blast getting this tank going!
Shac is doubling the size of his store. Seen it lately?
- Messages
- 5,121
- Reaction score
- 7
If I were you i would put some vertical 2x4s between your horizontal 2xs. All the weight is resting in you fasteners.
His store is looking great, awesome coral selection and the prices look very competitive.
I hadn't been there before but will definitely be returning.
I bought it second hand and will be doing some modifications to it to make it more secure and stable.
New Marineland tank... I took very careful measurements of the previously drilled holes in the old tank as I only wanted to drill holes this time around (measure twice, drill once!). I had no intentions of changing up the plumbing work:
alt="" />
Thankfully, I made all the plumbing very modular in the event I needed to change one part here or there... This made things infinitely easier in the dissasembly of the previous tank and reassembling here:
alt="" />
alt="" />
IT FITS! (I had my fingers crossed the whole time):
alt="" />
Paint applied to back of tank:
alt="" />
alt="" />
Filled with water for the leak test:
alt="" />
alt="" />
alt="" />
Shiny! No scratches or haziness:
alt="" />
Thoughts:
I'm a little disappointed I had this setback, but I know I'm going to be much happier in the long run. The leak test appears to be going smooth. It ran all night last night with no leaks. I assume I'll come home after work today to the same scene as I saw this morning. 170-ish gallons of water still contained within glass walls.
If all goes smoothly, I'll disassemble everything again and being working on reinforcing and painting the structural portion of the stand. I'm going to paint it with white appliance epoxy paint for a strong, somewhat waterproof coating. I'll be painting the inside of the canopy with the same white epoxy paint as well.
I need to get in the crawlspace under the house and add a few supports for under the tank and then I'll be bringing it inside to start filling it with water, salt, sand and live rock.
I'm getting excited! I placed an order today for new canopy cooling fans, live sand, refugium mud and a silicone insulation mat for the return pump to help keep the noise down.
Question:
I'm running 2x250w Metal Halide Lights in the canopy along with 2xPC lights. It's going to be hot. I'm thinking of running the fans in tandem. One on each side. One pulling air in and the other expelling air out. Does this seem like the best solution or would it be better to have them both pushing air into the canopy?
Thankfully, I made all the plumbing very modular in the event I needed to change one part here or there... This made things infinitely easier in the dissasembly of the previous tank and reassembling here:
IT FITS! (I had my fingers crossed the whole time):
Paint applied to back of tank:
Filled with water for the leak test:
Shiny! No scratches or haziness:
Thoughts:
I'm a little disappointed I had this setback, but I know I'm going to be much happier in the long run. The leak test appears to be going smooth. It ran all night last night with no leaks. I assume I'll come home after work today to the same scene as I saw this morning. 170-ish gallons of water still contained within glass walls.
If all goes smoothly, I'll disassemble everything again and being working on reinforcing and painting the structural portion of the stand. I'm going to paint it with white appliance epoxy paint for a strong, somewhat waterproof coating. I'll be painting the inside of the canopy with the same white epoxy paint as well.
I need to get in the crawlspace under the house and add a few supports for under the tank and then I'll be bringing it inside to start filling it with water, salt, sand and live rock.
I'm getting excited! I placed an order today for new canopy cooling fans, live sand, refugium mud and a silicone insulation mat for the return pump to help keep the noise down.
Question:
I'm running 2x250w Metal Halide Lights in the canopy along with 2xPC lights. It's going to be hot. I'm thinking of running the fans in tandem. One on each side. One pulling air in and the other expelling air out. Does this seem like the best solution or would it be better to have them both pushing air into the canopy?
I'm not too sure about aquariums, but with computers you want more exhaust fans than intake fans, giving you a negative pressure. The opposite will give you stagnant air; however, I've read exhaust fans in canopies will be exposed to all the humidity and won't last as long.
Is the canopy open in the top or back?
Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
Is the canopy open in the top or back?
Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
Oh! Also, I'm picking up a Reefkeeper Elite system from http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forums/member.php?u=6579">Braselton4</a> next week. This should help me get the whole system automated and hopefully make for a very clean install!
Temp, pH, Salinity and 3x power strips. SCORE!
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v125/xatlzachx/IMG_6720.jpg alt="" />
Temp, pH, Salinity and 3x power strips. SCORE!
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v125/xatlzachx/IMG_6720.jpg alt="" />
If it's at the top I would recommend having the fans both blow in and let the air exhaust out that opening.
Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
- Messages
- 1,271
- Reaction score
- 167
Angle the fans to as point them to blow across the top of the water. I ran 3 server fans over my 210 like this. My temp always stayed within .5 degrees, however now that I was using evaporated cooling I would top off 5 gallons a day.zachxlutz;1096008 wrote: New Marineland tank... I took very careful measurements of the previously drilled holes in the old tank as I only wanted to drill holes this time around (measure twice, drill once!). I had no intentions of changing up the plumbing work:
alt="" />
Thankfully, I made all the plumbing very modular in the event I needed to change one part here or there... This made things infinitely easier in the dissasembly of the previous tank and reassembling here:
alt="" />
alt="" />
IT FITS! (I had my fingers crossed the whole time):
alt="" />
Paint applied to back of tank:
alt="" />
alt="" />
Filled with water for the leak test:
alt="" />
alt="" />
alt="" />
Shiny! No scratches or haziness:
alt="" />
Thoughts:
I'm a little disappointed I had this setback, but I know I'm going to be much happier in the long run. The leak test appears to be going smooth. It ran all night last night with no leaks. I assume I'll come home after work today to the same scene as I saw this morning. 170-ish gallons of water still contained within glass walls.
If all goes smoothly, I'll disassemble everything again and being working on reinforcing and painting the structural portion of the stand. I'm going to paint it with white appliance epoxy paint for a strong, somewhat waterproof coating. I'll be painting the inside of the canopy with the same white epoxy paint as well.
I need to get in the crawlspace under the house and add a few supports for under the tank and then I'll be bringing it inside to start filling it with water, salt, sand and live rock.
I'm getting excited! I placed an order today for new canopy cooling fans, live sand, refugium mud and a silicone insulation mat for the return pump to help keep the noise down.
Question:
I'm running 2x250w Metal Halide Lights in the canopy along with 2xPC lights. It's going to be hot. I'm thinking of running the fans in tandem. One on each side. One pulling air in and the other expelling air out. Does this seem like the best solution or would it be better to have them both pushing air into the canopy?
Sent from my SM-N920T using Tapatalk
