Mike M.

The smallest I can get from Texas Welding Supply is a 5 lb tank. I'd be interested to know what outfit will trade out 2.5 cans also.

Post this question in the Tunze forum on Reef Central and Roger and the boys will answer no later than Monday! Direct line to the horse's mouth so to speak.

Even if its load bearing, there are ways around the problem. a 2x12 doubled is used to reinforce load bearing areas. Just takes some umphh to get them in.

Putting the 20 amp service in is a snap IF you can get a 10-12 gauge romex line from the service panel to your tank area. Sometimes it just takes some creativity to snake the wire through the chases and get it where you need it. Plugging it into the service panel is super easy as long as you'll swear you'll turn ALL THE POWER OFF TO THE PANEL before attempting. DO NOT GET FRISKY WITH YOUR SERVICE PANEL LIVE!

Projects like this are HUGE but great fun in my opinion. I am working on a kitchen right now, since this photo was taken, we got the sheetrock, plumbing and electrical finished. My dad and I work on it Friday through Sunday and I am hoping to have it completed by September 1st:

DO IT!

Before you order the tank and set things in motion that might be irreversible, take some time to make certain there are not vent lines or plumbing running through the walls in the area you want to modify. That would be the only thing that would throw a wrench in your plan. Cutting a small section of sheet rock out along the 60-72" that you plan to demo would allow you to PROVE that nothing will be in the way. If you find unfortunate plumbing, you can button it back up and forget the dream.

Also, look to see if you can fun a dedicated 20amp service to the area from your household service panel. That will give you the power you need to run a reef tank without risking overload on a circuit.

I'm jealous!

Mike

I can't help but believe the victim in this scenario is tired of advice, but I have been watching this and see one pretty significant issue to a limited approach to drying out the floor joists, sheet rock, and what not between the bathroom and garage. The garage is not a humidity controlled environment. The technique of taking off the base boards and making small holes through the sheetrock to allow air circulation depends on a low humidity environment to allow for drying out the rock and insulation. You don't have that luxury in your garage unless it is pimped out with AC. If you are concerned about mold and I think that there should be some concern, but not panic, you are likely going to have to take out the sheet rock in the garage and wait for our weather to dry out. Who would have guessed it would still be 90-100% humidity as we approach August. Anyway, sheetrock and insulation need to come out to allow all wet areas direct air circulation. We'll dry out in a couple of weeks and throw that garage door open and turn on the fans.

The "pros" use a humidity sensor to check and see if the materials have dried out. If you are going to DIY it, you might look to pick up one of these devices. I am sure they are not terribly expensive just like the new Hanna Checkers and what not.

If you do call in Blackman Mooring or some other remediation company, be ready for some HUGE estimates on remediation. I was completely and utterly dismayed at the quotes I got when a water heater flooded the first story of my condo. I opened up the sheetrock and rented some fans that ran continuously for ten days until my sheetrock and studs came down in moisture content. That, however, was in an air conditioned space. This garage problem is not cared for by an AC system that will dehumdify the air.

So bottom line is that you have some major work ahead to care for this accident and it was an accident. Try not to beat yourself up. That being said, just letting things take their course will likely result in a remediation later that will be a MAJOR expense and hassle and could involve more than the affected areas where the water ran.

If any of you have used a company that you feel didn't rip you off for remediation, it's probably time to start offering up some names so that the community can keep the con artists out of Mama's back pocket! I don't know any as I handled out flood issue by myself...well, my wife and I handled it. Three months of remodeling.

Best wishes,

Mike

This is all clear as mud....What fixture do you have? With that info, we can help guide you in your quest for more horsepower.

u can change anything u want in the fixture w/o harming it. You just have to buy the correct ballast for the higher wattage bulb if you want more wattage. What size is the tank? Why are u wanting more wattage? Growth? WE can get more in depth into this if we knew what you are wanting to do.

This may not be entirely sound advice. If your fixture is say, a Lumen Brite reflector or the like, yes, you can put a higher wattage ballast and bulb combo in without harm; however, if you have a fixture that is designed for a 150W lamp and you retrofit with a 250, it may be adversely affected by heat. Watch this!

I'm the guy with the rig outside and yes, it will be fine. I built a cover to shield the TDS meter and solenoid from water and to hide the ugly equipment installment from view.

I am sorry to hear of your calamity. We've all had them!

Mike

Copper band butterfly and a Leatherback(aka Aptasia Eating Filefish)-both good options for a predator style approach outside of the usual peppermint shrimp technique. I enjoyed my Leatherback tremendously...cool community fish. No trouble to anyone in the tank. Yellow tang hassled my Butterfly incessantly and most likely contributed to its early demise. It ate brine shimp and everything! So anyway, those are two good alternatives to approaches mentioned above. I'm also an Aptaisia X user and like the product.

Mike

Sorry to hear that the wrasse was a trouble maker for you. I could have given you my fishing rig to help catch him!

Mike

Fairly interesting article.

A couple of ball valves on the overflow lines into the sump and a ball valve which I assume you have on your return pump and you can isolate the sump. I have a ball valve after a Wye on my return so I can prevent siphon or backflow from the tank and use the return to pump to a plumbed waste line in a closet across the living room. Just run a garden hose over and pump it out!

My chiller is definitely the safety back stop for the summer water changes. Wouldn't recommend the practice to anyone without a chiller.

Now, you could turn your return pump off, pump to the sump in the house, and let it sit a couple of hours and come to room temp or near room temp before pumping to the display. That would accommodate the summer water temps from outside storage.

Mike

Rob,

I'd be happy to have you in my patient family and we probably do process your insurance. Let's not talk shop here though. Just know that you all are welcome to come and visit me at the office.

Cheers!

Hey folks,

Just found this thread. Nice job Mark! Everyone should check out his MrSaltwater channel on YouTube. His dog, Bart, is an entertaining co-star.

Saltwater outside...Yep, its hot during the, summer. If I did huge water changes, it would be a big problem; however, I am only changing 5-10 gallons a week. Barely makes a blip on the temperature graph and the chiller knocks it back down in a hurry. It would be what you might call an Acute Mild temperature spike weekly. The SPS don't mind. Now, if I did a 50 gallon change, you know what would happen. Call Shrek for Reef Stew!

My stuff is not in my garage because I got tired of dragging the hose in and out of the garage 70 feet to fill the tank. That is where it used to be and my RO unit was in a closet adjacent to the living area. Another hose coming out twice a week to fill topoff containers. The solution was my outdoor reef room where it all could get conveniently plumbed to the tank. No more hoses. Automated RO unit that replenishes daily, Calcium Reactor inline with chiller plumbing, and mixed saltwater all right there. Just turn a few valves and make the magic happen for weekly water changes.

The chiller is rated to run in environments up to 104 degrees F. I have my photoperiod set to operate the heat generating halides during the morning hours when our worst temps are still in the 90's. T5's run through the afternoon and evening when the chiller might be operating at a temp that would make it ineffective.

Best of all is that servicing the calc reactor, mixing tank, chiller etc is a no worry deal as far as mess is concerned. I can dump saltwater and waste anywhere and just wash down with the hose.

Of all the permutations I have run in the last eight years, I am most happy with this current setup. The indoor/outdoor rig has made keeping a labor intensive SPS tank as convenient as possible and I am to date, not having any issues with heat.

I did notice during the winter that I needed a fairly respectable heater to keep up with the cooling effect of the plumbing outside. No problem...just added a 1000W Won and that problem was put to bed.

Mike

In the flooring department, you can find 1/4" thick dense foam floor cushion. Not carpet pad, but cushion for high traffic hard floor applications. I have used this under a sump and liked how it performed. Just enough deformation to accommodate irregularity in the deck surface and to fully support the glass bottom of the sump. It is sold by the foot. Looks like it also comes in 2x3 sheets:

Cushion

Check it out!

I usually take two days to get a batch of saltwater to stable salinity. Initially the mix is cloudy, and I find in measuring salinity overnight that it creeps up from the reading I take a couple of hours after tossing in the salt and measuring. Overnight, the mix clarifies and the salinity rises a few more increments. Basically, I think a cloudy mix is just not completely dissolved.

Now, I have had multiple experiences with Instant Ocean mixes where a brown scum is left in the bottom of my mixing tank. Makes me wonder what that stuff is.

No problem. Try it out and see what you think.

I would bet money that you have a short in your wiring harness. I have experienced a similar scenario and it just took reworking the wiring harness to the end caps to trouble shoot it. If the first response suggestion that wayneb offered doesn't work, go through the harness.

You are welcome. As much information as is available on the internet, nuts and bolts stuff like this is hard to find. Good luck with your rig!

Got home early enough to measure the tubes and endcap dimensions. I have some URI lamps labeled as 60". Well, with the endcaps on the tube, it measures 60" outside-outside nominal. The tube itself is 59" in length. So, the endcaps will demand 1" of length in addition to the length of the tube.

This then begs the question...is a 46.5" lamp actually 45.5" in length?

I thought 60" lamps were in fact, 60". Not the case.

Either way, the 46.5 tubes with endcaps will still measure out end to end with an inch to spare IF your canopy inside dimension is 96"

Hope this helps,

Mike

I had forgotten that 46.5" tubes were available. In all likely hood, it'll fit. Tight for sure though. Listen, I have two VHO endcap and lamp sets at the house on 60" tubes. If I can remember when I get home late tonight, I'll measure what the offset is with the endcaps. That is the dimension you are looking for.

2-48" are not going to fit with end caps in a 96" hood. Your best bet will be to go with either a 36" and 48" or 2x36". Offset the two rows of lights to reduce dark corners and you'll be okay. I went with 36" actinic T5's in my 48" wide hood and the T5 lighting is excellent and even.

Premium Aquatics stocks the 60" tubes. Put together a $175 order and there is no up charge to ordering lamps. Two day delivery time from Kansas via UPS Ground. Good deal!

Mark has a sweet video rig and knows what he is doing for sure!