My 40 breeder/project log

[davejnz]

Got all the frame work built today for the stand.Gonna do all the finishing and trim work tommorow.Tank came in and looks great,had it drilled on the bottom and fitted with a 1" bulkead and 4"x5" rear corner overflow.I also had 2- .75" returns drilled in the back for returns.Decided not to go with the closed loop.gonna use 2-SEIOS 820's for internal circulation and a MAG12 coming from the sump.For a skimmer,I decided on a Euroreef.All my equiptment should be here by Thur. and stand should be finshed by Wed.Hope to start plumbing everything Thur as well.I'll post some pics as things get finished.

[davejnz]

Here's a pic of the frame for the stand.Going to HD to get some wood tonight,hopefully i'll get it finished.

[davejnz]

WooHooo,all my equiptment arrived today.After using little underpowered venturi skimmers all this time,I'm not used to the size of this one.Its at least double the size of my old one.The Mag12 is alot smaller than i expected it to be,which is good.

[dakar]

Stand frame is looking great, what are you going to skin it with?

Keep us posted!

[davejnz]

I've been so busy working,I havn't had much time to finish the stand.Got some stuff done but still alot to do.Hope to have it done by Sat.

[davejnz]

.25" pine reinforced with 1x2 near the hinges and center in between doors

[jerryc]

Dave just a suggestion a Friend built his stand wear he can remove the end cover
for putting in and out larger items such as the sump.

[davejnz]

Good suggestion,I was planning on putting a false door on the side for just that.No way to put a 36" tank thru the front.

[dakar]

Dave, what have you got planned for the doors? Flat panel's or going to make raised panel doors?

[davejnz]

Once i get the molding installed,I'm gonna do the doors.I was thinking of just using .5" MDF and the same style molding as the stand to give it a raised look.Of course,i might get lazy at the end and just keep it flat.Seems i always end up changing things right before i'm finished.

[Whoyah]

Looking good. Are you going to paint the stand or go with stain?


The Mag12 is alot smaller than i expected it to be,which is good.

Man that is big pump. Is that for the skimmer?

[davejnz]

I'm gonna paint it,my tank is all black so the stand and canopy i'm doing in a glossy black enamel.The Mag12 is gonna be the return from the sump,the Euro-reef skimmer came with a Sedra3500.

[davejnz]

Finished the wood-work today,still gotta do some final prep before painting and install the side door.

[dakar]

I like your door idea... I need to either find the raised panel bits to match the doors on our stand or replace all four doors... some dummy forgot to put an extra strap over the stand doors bringing it and the tank home, somewhere along the say I lost a door :(

Is that just corner molding wrapped over MDF?

[davejnz]

yes,thats all it is.Took me a couple tries with the miter saw to get the corners nice and tight and a little wood filler for the gaps but it came out pretty smooth.I placed the tank on it and snapped some pics before i paint it so i thought i'd share.

[jerryc]

I like it Dave good Job

[Reptoreef]

Impressive work... wish I could remember to keep a log for all of my DIY projects.

[davejnz]

Thanks for the compliments guys,Its nice that i can take my time with this new project and try to do things right instead of rigging things like i had to do with my current tanks.Thats one of the great things i like about his site,more forums and blogs to log all of our projects we so often find ourselves doing.

[davejnz]

I finished painting the stand yesterday so i had to take a pic with the tank on it.Its definately taller than i had figured but the top of the tank comes to my armpit so i can still reach the bottom without any problems.Plumbing is next,I'll start that this wk.

[dakar]

Very nicely done! Looks like she's almost ready to get wet :)

[Whoyah]

Nice. Very snazzy. Just need filled up with stuff.

[davejnz]

Got all the plumbing done tonight,used 1" ID reduced to .75" at the returns and the pump.Was so excited to get it wet,took it outside and filled it up without checking the bulkhead.It leaked,seems when they were drilling it,the inside of the glass gotta little chipped and the washer didn't seal it.Fortunately,its not cracked so a little silicon should fix it up.Should be ready for saltwater tommorow if there isn't anymore unforseen problems.more pics to come soon.

[davejnz]

Well,It looks like i gotta re-design the overflow,the MAG 12 really cranks and it just wont keep up.I even throttled it back 1/2 way with the ball valve and it still cant keep up.The bulkhead is keeping up fine,the overflow is just to small.

[Reptoreef]

Throw an exact replica of the overflow on the other corner.

[davejnz]

I was thining that,but my return is already there,of course i could seal it off and drill another return next to it.Either that,or i can modify this one by lowering it or just make a 6"X6" overflow instead of the 4"x5" one i have now.I should have listened when they told me that the dimensions for that overflow were probably too small.I still think it could work though if the slots were lowered and made bigger.

BTW,does anyone know how many linear inches it takes an overflows top dimensions to do 1000GPH?

[dakar]

That's what I'm trying to achieve with a wier box, last attempt was 6" wide with the overflow channel at about 1/2" with 2 3/4" standpipes, looks it can bareley keep up with a Mag7, building another tommorrow going 10" wide and that should do it so I can fire up the 9.5 return pump as well. No clue on the real math but I'm guessing somewhere around 8 square inches is needed at the overflow to keep up with the siphon+gravity pulling through it. Doesn't seem right, but maybe I'm doing something wrong.

Got yours on the table saw now as well, need to do the bends and weldon the sides and she'll be ready to go as well. Gotta have something to do while waiting for the game to start, also want to take some constrcution pics as well. Still waiting on the 1" bulkheads, last time I ordered them they ended up backordered, they sent me a few 3/4" (at no charge) when I fussed that they were reported in-stock when I ordered. Gonna try another place Monday.

[davejnz]

well,I ended up ripping the old overflow out.After meausring it,it was only 4.75"x3.5" and it was a .5" too tall so they chopped down the groove on the top side to make it fit under the frame.Of course this also raised the overflow above the frame so it clearly wasn't going to work.It also only had a total of 9 slots that were 1.5" x.25".Ended up waisting $40 on an overflow that doesn't even fit my tank.Fortunately,a friend of mine works in a factory where they have acrylic and a CNC router so i gave him the new dimensions and he cut me 2 pieces.He was able to squeeze 15 slots on the top that are 1.5" deep X 3/8" wide.Tested it today after adding another union to the plumbing and it works great,ball valve wide open.I was still able to keep the 4x5" dimensions like i wanted too.

[Reef_Angel]

I think the overflows in the corners look so nice. The back corners of a tank are kind of the most useless area of the tank. The way you've done it there Dave, it just blends in so nicely. I wish ours was like that instead of the middle. Very sharp work Dave! Trading time is coming... I hope everyone is getting their frags ready! :)

[Reptoreef]

So far so good... test yet?

[davejnz]

yeah,its a go for adding saltwater.The overflow is working fine with the MAG12 wide open,the dual returns really provide alot of current so i might be able to get away with just 1 SEIOS800 for internal circulation.

[davejnz]

need some suggestion here,the overflow is really loud.Right now,there's no standpipe so i'm getting the waterfall effect.When i put a 1" PVC standpipe in it quiets it down until i get this awful sucking noise.I placed all the LR in the tank thats been cooking/curing so it should be ready for corals soon.Dont expect much of a bacterial cycle just the typical algae cycle.Still trying to locate a bottom material for the BB.

[Whoyah]

Have you checked out this site.

http://www.dursostandpipes.com/

I have never dealt with a built in overflow so I don't have any first hand knowledge to share.

Hopefully the site will give you some ideas.

[dakar]

I DIY mine using off the shelf PVC fittings. Helps quiet things down a lot. Gotta remember to drill the top cap to prevent and air lock. They work well. Lots of variations out there now.

[davejnz]

thanks,that was the link i was looking for.Gotta go to the hardware store now to get some PVC fittings.

[davejnz]

Standpipe is working great now,in that link,they suggested using 1.25" thinwall PVC instead of 1" schedule40 for a 1" bulkhead.Unfortunately,the overflow is too small for me to join the elbow to the T fitting but even without it,its much quieter.Now,just gotta build a canopy for it.

[Whoyah]

I am glad that link help you. Sounds like you got it whooped.

[dakar]

Did you grab a pic of how you constructed your standpipe? I'd like to see some more ideas, since I'm redesigning all my stuff again...

[davejnz]

its pretty simple,i used a 1.25" to 1" flush bushing.a 1.25" coupling slips over that and the other side gets a small section of 1 " PVC that slips into the bukhead.From the coupling its just 1.25" PVC to a T then capped off with a small hole drilled.I was thinking about modifying it to fit my small overflow by cutting a 45degre section off of the T and glueing a 45 degree piece of PVC to create an elbow.

[davejnz]

Finally found a local source for starboard/cutting board.Called the local marina surplus store and they are gonna hook me up a with a piece cut to size for $35.alot better than the $60 plus shipping i got quoted from an online source.Gonna be picking it up Mon.

[Whoyah]

found a local source for starboard/cutting board

What is this and what do you use it for?

[davejnz]

it basically just like the white plastic cutting boards you can get at wal-mart.Starboard/marinaboard is a UV resistant/food safe plastic.I'm getting a 37x17"
piece thats .5" thick,just have to cut out a 4x5 piece out of the corner so it'll slide right down.Instead of sand,it will go on the bottom of tank.Its function is mostly aesthetic but if you ever have a rock avalanche it will protect the bottom glass.Being white,it will also help reflect alot of light upwards to the bottoms of the corals.I'm gonna glue SPS frags all over the bottom so eventually it'll look more natural.

[Whoyah]

I see. That makes good sense. Any worries about stuff getting underneath it?

[davejnz]

maybe a little bit of detritus could get under it,i could silicon it down but i'm not too worried about it.

[BUGZME]

Did you forget to put the street ell on the Durastand pipe on purpose? It will really quiet down when you install it.

[davejnz]

cant fit it on there due to space limitations,gonna do some creative work with a miter saw and 45 the end of the T to a small 45 piece of PVC to create the elbow.

[BUGZME]

Won't that drop your water level by about 4"?

[davejnz]

In the overflow chamber?Well,it might,but i havn't glued any of the plumbing on the standpipe so it would be easy to correct with a longer pipe.

[davejnz]

Finally got the starboard installed and the frags moved into their new home.Still gotta mount all the frags and do a little more aquascaping but its coming together.I ended up rigging my old canopy over it until the new one gets finished.Here's a couple shots with just the actinics on.

[Reptoreef]

Great work!!!

[davejnz]

thanks Repto,I got all the baffles siliconed in place for my new sump(30 gallon tank) yesterday,took it to the LFS today to have it drilled for a float-valve for auto-top-off.Cant wait to get it installed as my temporary sump is driving me crazy shooting out microbubbles.I actually have to turn the pumps off now,just to take a pic.I'll post some pics of the sump when it get s back from being drilled.Here's another pic with the 250 saki on.I'm thinking of getting a M80 ballast because i have a brand new mogul based 250wXM10k thats laying around and needs to be used.Also,if i upgrade to DE.Any one know if they fire on the HQI(M80) ballast?

[Reptoreef]

I believe so... it's gotta be electronic or HQI. You coral's responses look positive.

[dakar]

Looking fantastic Dave... what no saki's for your SPS ?

[davejnz]

oh,i'm still keeping them,gonna add another 250 and stagger them on a timer to fire right side 3 hrs both bulbs 2 hrs then left side 3 hrs,trying to get that left to right sunrise/set thing going since my light mover project is currently scrapped.

[dakar]

Are you going to stagger the blues as well?

Been thinking about doing something similar to that with ours, wondering if staggering the lighting across the three sections will serve any benefit (besides a few bucks on the 'lectric bill).

If I do though going to use some X10 controllers to do it all for me automagically.

[davejnz]

I think that the current trend of 8-10rs MH is really too much for multi halide systems,having them go from L to R your getting variable intensities over the course of the lighting cycle which is what they get in nature..I know of a couple old salts that only run there halides for 5hrs a day and get fantastic growth.

[davejnz]

No more bubbles,woooo-hoooo.I can finally enjoy my tank now.Finally got the new sump installed.It added another 14 gallons to the total system which should help alot.I also dedicated a chamber with a stable water level which should improve the skimmers performance.Did the gravity-fed auto top-off with the float valve.Simple,yet reliable.

[dakar]

Good idea with the water level for the skimmer, I hadn't thought about setting up it's own chamber like that. Gonna do the same thing to top off here as well, the drip method is getting to be a pain.

Think we may just order the X10 controllers for the halides and give the passing sun effect a try and see how it works out. I've been adjusting the photo period to later in the day so I can at least see it for a little while after work, but we are getting tired of fighting the algae blooms, time to try some things to regain control.

[davejnz]

Yeah,skimmer performance is comprimised when water level fluctuates daily.There's a sticky thread with a bunch of good tips in getting the best out of your skimmer in Anthony Calfo's forum on RC.

Make sure you drill the float-valve just an 1" or so above the water level.Although,they are adjustable,i've found if the kalk-water has to drip down the float alot it tends to solidify on it.With it being close to parralell to the water surface,the kalk-water drips down into the sump instead of down the float.