Loveing this tank build. thanks for the great idea for front access cover panels
Loveing this tank build. thanks for the great idea for front access cover panels
Been doing lots of dry fitting and playing with plumbing on the tank this week. Have not worked on it a ton, built an oak bookcase for the living room and wrapping up things getting ready for winter outside (getting turtles ready to hibernate, raking leaves, final fertilizer etc).
I have some black acrylic pieces I will be using as part of the background in the tank (removable), will be painted around the closed loop holes.
I have most of the my catwalk build and painted, I just have to add the Corian to it tomorrow and install it.
Baffles will be getting isntalled in the sumps tomorrow as well (at least started - do not think I can silicone them all in at the same time, have to let some setup before moving forward on the next ones).
A2 Club Coordinator
A catwalk over top of the tank?!?!? Nice!!
Maybe I should not call it a catwalk. It is behind the tank, runs the full length of the tank and sits at the bottom edge of the tank. Makes getting in there a ton easier. This platform is a foot wide.
A2 Club Coordinator
Ah- I see. Still a very good idea! I can see it in the pics, looking back now.
CR Member
Getting excited for you, keep us updated and hopefully with lots of pics!
"We shouldn't think of an environment where livestock can survive, we should ensure an environment where livestock can thrive."-Rabidgoose
"If it's gonna be that kinda party, Ima stick my ........ in the mashed potatoes!"-Beastie Boys
Well it is update time finallyI have gotten a fair amount done, though looking at the pics it may not look like it.
All the intank plumbing is done, painted and installed for the two dart closed loops. Each of these closed loops with have an ocean motions 4 way so there are a total of 2 intakes and 8 outputs. Each 2" intake was split into four 1.5" intakes with a manifold. This was all the 3000 gallons is not being drawn from one spot but spread out.
Paul for Oceans Motions gets credit for the overall water flow, he is a genius with water movement. The closed loop flow is going to be a rough "gyre" or dynamic flow which means the flow is all going in the same circular form and not being counter-productive. The flow will come down the back of the tank across the bottom to the front, up the front and across the top to the back. This is why there are four outputs along the back bottom (holes and plumbing redirected to accomodate this without drilling more holes) and four along the front top.
Back side view of the right side (as looking from the front of the tank) plumbing:
Back side view of the left side (right side from front) plumbing:
Plumbing was also done and routed to try and conceal as much as possible by the rockwork. The back of the tank will be black and the plumbing was all painted with black fusion paint (PVC sanded first to increase adhesion). I am very happy with the way this came out as the end product.
The background of the tank is going to bea mix of black acrylic and black paint. I wanted something to conceal the external overflow. So I added a piece of 1/8" black acrylic to the inside of the tank to hide this. There are then two large black panels on the outside of the tank in the lower corners. These are removable incase I need to inspect things back here (ie. sick fish, coral fell down etc). The rest (now clear in the below pic) will be painted black - basically around the holes in the back.
Covers in place:
Covers removed:
In those pics you can also see the corian covered platform I have behind the tank. This came out very well. The darts will sit on here and be a platform to stand on to work on the tank. The holes in the platform are for the two drains to go down and through.
Also the baffles are all added to the sumps. I have not cleaned up the messy silicone yet in areas I made a mess but you will get the point. It is two 90 extra wides (36" x 30" x 18" - L x W x H) that will be plumbed end to end with four 2" bulkheads.
Sump that will hold the dual skimmers:
Second Sump - future plans unknown but it was needed for overflow of water in a power outage is the #1 purpose. It could house frags or something but no plans of this at this time:
Current front tank shot - most of the plumbing concealed, back panels on, the clear areas wil be painted black. The sea swirls on the top rear corners will be the returns from the sump:
CR Member
Looks Awesome man! Great job so far!
okay question.. are the CL intakes those 4 upward-facing PVC T's? If so, are they arranged like this to divide the suction so less sticks to them? Did you cover them with anything?
Yes the closed loop intakes are the manifolds with the four 1.5" (the actual top of the intake is a 2" to 1.5" reducer) inlets. I have not covered them yet but will be utilizing black egg crate sort of sitting down in the intake piece - part of why the 2" to 1.5" reducer was picked. A manifold was used to divide up the suction and spread it out a little more along the back of the tank. This was an idea from Paul at Oceans Motions and I am very curious to see how I like it.
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