mojo's Blog

[mojo]

Andrew, you're welcome to come over any time you like, just shoot me a pm and we can work it out. You may want to wait until the tank's wet, though. I'd like to see your tank in person as well! And yeah, Deltec AP851, can't wait to fire that sucka up.

Headless donkey - Moving that mirror is really gonna blow, but it's essential. Other than that I planned pretty well, and nothing else major will have to move, except for the rug, the coffee table, the couch, a couple chairs, a few lamps, and several plants. Piece of cake.

John - B)

[thedude]

I'm assuming I get to experience the fun of that mirror?

[mojo]

I've been away for a week but just before leaving, John, Clint and I got started on the plumbing. I thought I had everything I needed before starting, but you know how that goes. Anyway, I'll show you what we got done so far. First off, here was the bait for getting some help.

No plumbing project should ever be attempted without these, IMO.

The first thing we did was to move the tank away from the wall to take down the mirror. Everything was re-leveled, then the plumbing on the closed loop began. Here's the CL pump, a Sequence Barracuda.

The drain to the pump is 1.5", and critter protection is provided by this strainer. The pipe is double male threaded and screws into the bulkhead and the strainer. This elevates the strainer 6" off the tank bottom to keep sand from being swept up into the closed loop.

Notice in the image above that the Barracuda was resting in the pan. I didn't like that since any drips would accumulate in that pan, and I didn't want the pump to be submerged. The pan is 2 and 1/4" deep, so we just elevated the pump temporarily on a few scraps of 2x4. To account for the extra thickness needed for vibration control, a few layers of drawer liner material was added to both the top and bottom of the 2x4's. Eventually I'll make a more suitable base for the pump to be affixed to, but this worked in a pinch.

Notice all of the turns that the drain pipes take? This is not ideal, I know, but I really wanted the pump fan to blow out the back of the stand toward the wall, to dissipate heat instead of blowing it into the cabinet. This also made the return plumbing a little easier. Here's another view.

And finally, a close-up of the 4-way with SUBV's at each outlet.

Not pictured is the plumbing inside the overflow box, both the drains and returns. For the drains, I went with CJ standpipes due to the experiences of greenmako and others.

It doesn't look like much was accomplished, but it actually took a while, especially when you include the unwelcome but almost expected trip to Lowes. At that point, progress was severely halted due to a lack of gray spa-flex and not enough gray 1" fittings. I ordered everything I thought I would need and, alas, I still haven't received the spa-flex in the mail. Hopefully it will come later today, and if not then early next week. As always, I'm happy to hear your comments.

[Headless_donkey]

That looks great! The gray plumbing always looks so good. Where did you get the stand pipes? I can't wait to see the tank with water.

[mojo]

That looks great! The gray plumbing always looks so good. Where did you get the stand pipes? I can't wait to see the tank with water.

Thanks, and glad you like it. Yeah, I've always been a big fan of the gray PVC - looks so much neater and more professional, IMO. I got the stand pipes at nautilusreef.com. The cutouts at the top were a bit uneven, so I just dremeled out one to match the other. I'll let you know how they sound once I fill'er up.

[mojo]

So I finished plumbing the closed loop. I'm no plumbing expert so please feel free to critique. Brian will probably cringe when he sees this, but it's the best I could do. I didn't waste any fittings in the process, and hopefully there will be no leaks. I'm a little concerned due to the fact that there's quite a bit of tension at a few of the joints, specifically at 2 of the connections onto the 4-way and at 1 of the elbows heading toward the left side of the tank. I guess I didn't cut the pipe at exactly the correct length, which forced me to torque the pipe a little at the unions. Should this concern me? Anyway, here's how it came out.

Here are 2 of the 4-way returns, heading to the left side of the tank.

I had to elevate 1 of the returns a little so that they'd both be able to pass behind the stand, offering a little more room inside the cabinet and avoiding the overflow drains.

Next came the 2 returns that were very close to the 4-way unit itself. The short distance and odd angles dictated that I use spa-flex, which if you haven't used it before, isn't as flexible as you'd think, or as I had hoped.

And here's the final picture, looking up from beneath the 4-way.

I realize that I need a photo, a "money shot," if you will, of the pump with all of the closed loop plumbing. I'll get that done tonight. Next step will be adding some water to the system to ensure there are no leaks and to check the flow generated by the 4-way. Wish me luck!

[mojo]

I had a fairly productive weekend. I finally got around to making the wood mount for the Barracuda pump. I screwed 2x4's together for height so that the pump would rise above the drip pan, and holes were drilled for the lag bolts, which were countersunk. The wood was then treated with 2 coats of urethane. For vibration control I'm using drawer liner material between the wood and the pump, and between the wood and the pan. The pic shows the bottom and top of the wooden risers. The one without the holes is for the "inlet" side of the pump, which doesn't have holes for mounting.

Fortunately my measurements were correct, as the pump was resting on a temporary mount and I didn't mark the holes with pencil. Not the smartest thing, but it worked out fine. The photo doesn't show it, but like I said, I put 3 layers of the drawer liner material between the pump and the wood.

At this point I was ready to photograph the system as it stands, with the closed loop fully plumbed, including the pump. Here's the left side ...

and the right side ...

and here it is from the front.

Here's a more detailed view of the CL strainer in its place. That's a 6" riser to help prevent sand from blowing into the CL and potentially clogging the 4-way drum.

Next came the time to add some water and test my plumbing. This would have made a huge mess if there were a problem, but even though I'm a novice I still felt pretty comfortable that everything would be water tight. I have been making RO/DI for a little while and storing it in trashcans. So here's the 1st 80 gallons or so.

Fortunately everything was dry, so it was then time to fire up the closed loop. I aimed all of the outlets sideways since I didn't know if the water would fly out of the top of the tank (wishful thinking, right?). I was psyched to finally see some flow in this bad boy!

The pump mount worked wonderfully. There was no rattling, and all I could hear was the sweet hum of the Barracuda's fan. Now it's just a matter of making more water and then the aquascaping can begin.

[+dapettit]

Awesome looking closed loop!

This may be a dumb question. . . What did you use to "join" the threaded pipe fittings teflon tape?

[Headless_donkey]

I am glad it went well. Looks sweet! Aquascaping should be tons of fun.

[mojo]

Yep, you got it, teflon tape. On the 4-way itself and on the pump I used the heavy-duty tape used for gas fittings. It's much thicker than the standard teflon tape and requires less wraps, but it sure makes a nice seal.

[+ACampbell]

A great milestone. Congrats. It looks great!

[mojo]

Thanks so much guys, and I appreciate you following along. Please feel free to comment/criticize whenever necessary.

[Headless_donkey]

It is hard to criticize a tank like that. When is the sump going to be in place?

[mojo]

I'm hoping to plumb in the sump and do the aquascaping this Sunday. The tank should be full by tomorrow, and I'll start circulating in the salt at that time. BTW, sorry I won't be able to make it to your house for the ARC meeting on Saturday, and I hope to meet you in person at another gathering.

Mike

[cmanning]

Hello Mike,

I got several questions. First let me start by complimenting on a well thought out plan on your new system.

My husband & I are trying to find a tank that is reef ready and no middle brace. No luck on that one, so what I'm thinking custom made....where did you get a local (Austin) quote? I'm thinking around 70 to 90 gal., reef ready, no middle brace and of course it would have to be 1/2" to 3/4" thickness glass (brick style).

On your previous posts you talked about the type of glass you decided to have it built, what was it and the purpose of this glass was for? Dont' want to take too much of your time...but any info is appreciated.

Thanks,

-Cindy-

[mojo]

Hi Cindy. I got my tank through Kingfish here in Austin, ph # 371-3366. Give'em a call and they'll get you a quote. The tank was made by AGE and it's made of 3/4" low-iron ("Starphire") glass on the front and both sides. The reason I went with Starphire is for the added clarity. Regular glass tends to cast a greenish hue if you look at it closely, whereas the low-iron glass is as clear as acrylic. It's more expensive but it was worth it to me. If you saw the 2 types of glass side by side you would not be happy with regular glass. I hope this helps and feel free to ask questions. Good luck on your new tank!

Mike

[mojo]

I guess now this will start to be a true marine aquarium. I'm about a day ahead of schedule from where I thought I'd be regarding water production. The RO/DI maker was on since 6:30 this morning, and below is the result.

I'm using a Mako 6-stage RO/DI unit, and I replaced both DI resins, as well as all of the other filters, just prior to filling this tank. The DI's have color-changing indicators so I'll know when they're exhausted, and the 1st chamber is about 3/4 spent. Here's the unit.

Here's the salt I'll be using, at least to start.

I fired up the 'cuda and added the salt. Here's the salt storm.

I'm amazed at how quickly the salt dissolved and the water has cleared. I'll let it circulate and aerate for several days, and I'm not adding any more water since the sump isn't plumbed into the tank yet. That's it for now, hope you still like!

[+ACampbell]

Mojo,

I just read through all 10 billion of your pages on RC and I am a little overwhelmed. I just wanted to say thank you for taking to time to blog on ARC.

Sorry we're gonna miss you at the meeting this weekend, but can't wait to see the aquascaping. If you ever need a hand, just let me know.

[+dapettit]

Where is your RO/DI unit located? How did you get the water to your tank? I have a small 150 I'm working on and would like not mix the salt in separate containers then haul inside the house!

[mojo]

Mojo,

I just read through all 10 billion of your pages on RC and I am a little overwhelmed. I just wanted to say thank you for taking to time to blog on ARC.

Sorry we're gonna miss you at the meeting this weekend, but can't wait to see the aquascaping. If you ever need a hand, just let me know.

Andrew,

I think it's important to post blogs here and not just on the larger sites. There may not be as much feedback locally, but it's good for the hobby, and it's good for the club to share our tanks and experiences with one another. Sure it's great to get help internationally, but when a crisis arises, no one in Seattle or Philadelphia is going to come to my house and help. Oh, and thanks for your offer to help, I may just take you up on that one of these days!

Mike

[mojo]

Where is your RO/DI unit located? How did you get the water to your tank? I have a small 150 I'm working on and would like not mix the salt in separate containers then haul inside the house!

My water maker is in the utility room, about 50 feet from the tank. I was carrying buckets through the house until I finally got smart and bought 75 ft of polyethylene tubing and fed the tank with RO/DI directly. Once the tank was filled I added the salt directly to the tank. In the future, when I do water changes, I'll have to carry buckets of mixed salt water from the garage to the tank, but that'll just be a necessary evil since I don't have a dedicated equipment room in the house.

[mojo]

I got a few more things done last night. Brian at Kingfish finished baffling the sump, and it turned out just great! Thanks a ton, Brian! Here it is, with the bottom covered by the adhesive material to protect the acrylic. Man this thing is solid, and heavy! For anyone who was worried before, I have no concerns for this thing ever bowing.

You'll notice that there are 2 bulkheads. They've been placed for possible future expansion in the event that I plumb in a frag tank or something. Anyway, the rear right chamber receives water from dual 1.5" overflow drains. It then passes to the front which is the skimmer chamber. Moving to the left it crosses some teeth to an equipment chamber which will house the calcium reactor (PF601S), carbon reactor, and kalk stirrer. It then passes across the over-under-over baffles to reach the return chamber. This is where I'll keep the Zeovit reactor, the sump return pump, and the chiller feed pump. Here's another view.

Here's how it looked when I put it inside the cabinet. It sits on top of 1 layer of the drawer liner material I used beneath the CL pump, just in case any of the pumps inside the sump would cause some vibration. Probably not necessary but oh well.

Here I got lucky! Notice how close the sump is to the Barracuda pump . When I planned the size I didn't account for the fact that I'd have a bulkhead on both ends of the sump, and it actually hangs off the starboard just a little and over the drip pan. The sump is literally 2 or 3 mm from the pump!

Lucky move #2: I almost couldn't get the equipment into the sump when it was inside the cabinet, and due to the CL plumbing I wouldn't have been able to slide the equipped sump into the stand. When planning out the sump, each chamber size was determined based on the equipment. The measurements were spot on, but in retrospect it may have been wiser to go with equipment that wasn't so large, as it will be tight when working in the sump. There's about 1/2" of clearance to get the skimmer collection cup off, and there's no way I'll be able to remove the entire skimmer unless I first take the calcium reactor out. While I'm discussing the skimmer, that brings up Lucky move #3: Look how close the 4-way plumbing comes to the skimmer's collection cup. The photo makes it look like they're right on top of one another, but there's actually a couple of inches to play with (which isn't a lot). On the bright side, I have very reliable equipment so those sorts of maintenance items shouldn't come up very often. Anyway, look how crowded it looks now! This just goes to show you, it's better to be lucky than good .

Here it is from the side, and you can see the FR509 that I'll use for carbon. The kalk reactor isn't in there yet (it's a Deltec KM500).

Here's how the entire system is as of last night.

The chiller, a 1/3hp Arctica, is sitting to the side, and I'll plumb it in tomorrow. This will serve as the temporary sole return from the sump, as my primary sump return pump hasn't arrived yet. Hope you enjoy!

[Headless_donkey]

Dude, that is freakin' sweet! 'Nuff said.

[mojo]

Thanks a lot for your continued praise.

[JamesL]

Man, I am impressed x 2.

First, well, obviously because this will be (and already is) an awesome tank!

Second, that you are having the patience to take photographs along each of the steps.

Great work!