Jimbo662 Posted September 3, 2012 Author Share Posted September 3, 2012 Can't wait to see what you have planned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
August Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 I have used the Dr Tims product for cycling my tank and loved the results it really does work as long as you follow the directions!!!! very nice build looks amazing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo662 Posted September 5, 2012 Author Share Posted September 5, 2012 Woohoo!!! Water test successful!!! After about 20 min of tweaking I got the return and drains to sync up and maintain water level! As I was watching I started wondering...I've got two down facing drain and one up facing overflow. When I plumbed them I connected the overflow with one of the regular drains and put the second overflow on it's own. Is this correct or should i connect the two drains together and put the overflow on it's own? I ordered the rest of my sand from the Drs and it shipped today. I may have it ready to start cycling this weekend!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo662 Posted September 5, 2012 Author Share Posted September 5, 2012 KP, if you're following this thread PM me!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 I think the redundancy of two drains is a huge benefit in terms of safety. For example, one of your drains gets clogged with something. You still have one functioning drain that you would not have if your drains were manifolded together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo662 Posted September 8, 2012 Author Share Posted September 8, 2012 Need some advice. I've got Agra Alive sand. Is it better to fill the tank and mix the salt in before adding the sand? Or, is it ok to put the sand and rock in then fill with RO/DI water then mix in the salt? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Cob Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 everything looks great... I would probably add sand first then water, just seems easier that way. But honestly it doesn't matter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishcraze_1 Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 Wow, nice build. Looking forward to seeing it come alive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo662 Posted September 9, 2012 Author Share Posted September 9, 2012 I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel! I ended up with a couple of tiny leaks in the plumbing so spent the last two day getting those fixed. Started filling the tank at 7pm last night with RO water...OMG this is going to take for ever...as of now there's about 3" of water in the tank. I figured this would be better than 4 trips to RCA and hauling water to the house...gas and tolls would have been a whole lot more expensive. I picked up a couple of pieces of birch plywood for mounting equipment and my sand was delivered Friday! Got 12 bags to go along with the 6 I picked up last week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SChrisEV Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 Your setup looks great! I need to start a thread on my "build" Not as elaborate as you have going, but it's great seeing others progress, and getting ideas etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo662 Posted September 18, 2012 Author Share Posted September 18, 2012 Thanks SCEV. Ok everybody...I need some advise. This past weekend I got it all loaded up with sand and rock and got it running. I did a test to see what happens if the power went out. When I turned the pump back on I'm not able to bet a full siphon going. I've got the two main drains facing down and the one emergency overflow sticking straight up. What am I missing here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(Bio)³ Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 do you have a tiny hole to prevent airlock? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robb in Austin Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 Are you using a Bean Animal overflow? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo662 Posted September 18, 2012 Author Share Posted September 18, 2012 No tiny hole "yet". I'd been wondering if I needed to do that but didn't know if it would pull in too much air. Yes, using the bean animal overflow. Do you think it would work if i removed the elbows, added a T with a cap on top and put the downward elbow back? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robb in Austin Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 I use the bean animal setup too, and when I first set it up I had the same issue. After running a few hours it settled in. Then, after a few weeks, it slimed up and I have no issues now. I'd leave the design alone. For my siphon break, I just let my return line serve as it. I have it positioned such that it's about 1" under the surface. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo662 Posted September 18, 2012 Author Share Posted September 18, 2012 Robb, can you post some pics of your? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robb in Austin Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 Anything in particular you want to see? There may be a shot of everything in my build thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo662 Posted September 18, 2012 Author Share Posted September 18, 2012 Just to see what the top of the drains look like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo662 Posted September 19, 2012 Author Share Posted September 19, 2012 Almost to the end except for adding the lights which were ordered tonight. Still need to work on the rocks and do some touch up painting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo662 Posted September 19, 2012 Author Share Posted September 19, 2012 Almost to the end except for adding the lights which were ordered tonight. Still need to work on the rocks and do some touch up painting. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robb in Austin Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 One pic coming up! Didn't have any in my buiild thread(which is WAY overdue for an update). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robb in Austin Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 Top to bottom: return in the background emergency drain secondary siphon primary siphon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo662 Posted September 19, 2012 Author Share Posted September 19, 2012 and you said you have a hole drilled in one of the drains? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robb in Austin Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 Just the hole in one of the caps per the design. I believe what Bio was alluding to was a siphon break. Although he could have meant a Durso like hole to let some air into the siphon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(Bio)³ Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 I was talking about breaking potential airlock by putting breather tube into down pipe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.