A New Dawn

OP
OP
madweazl

madweazl

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 19, 2016
Messages
4,110
Reaction score
5,091
Location
Virginia
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Got a lot done today
:)
Bends in the PVC to the pumps didn't come out as clean as I wanted but it's functional.

48741008897_4b31369c37_h.jpg


Left to do:

1) Order 1" flexible PVC to run from the main lines coming into the basement all the way to the sump.
2) Connect primary and emergency drains to the sump.
3) Build manifold for the reactors and plumb the return line.
4) Order fittings and bulkheads to connect 1/4" ATO line to the sump and RO/DI to mixing station.
5) Finish plumbing the stand's drain to the home's sewer.

Concerns:

1) The Reeflow is connected to 1" input lines when they recommend no smaller than 1.5". I'm only shooting for approx. 600gph flow rates so I'm hopeful it will work out just fine. If not, I'll be ordering in Iwaki.
2) I'm using the return pump's input line (from the sump) to push water from the mixing station back into the sump. I haven't calculated the water level in the sump for a 15g and 30g water change but I'm hoping the PanWorld 100PX has enough muscle to combat the head pressure in the return chamber.
 
OP
OP
madweazl

madweazl

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 19, 2016
Messages
4,110
Reaction score
5,091
Location
Virginia
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
A closer look at the business end of things.
48747155787_3812bfe66a_h.jpg


And the chaos that has taken over the basement.
48746640588_3781ce0056_h.jpg


Another busy day today but you wouldnt know it by looking at the sump. I connected the 1 1/2" drain to the main sewer, installed float valves in the sump and fresh water mixing station and uh, hmm, I was down there at least 12 hours, what else did I do? Oh, I drilled a hole in the saltwater mixing tank, installed a 3/4" uniseal, a Jager 125w heater, and took it outside for a leak test. It leaks, a lot. So, if anyone wants to try this in the future, do not drill 1 1/4" hole for the uniseal like recommended, it wont seal with a Jager heater. I'm going to try again with a 1 1/8" hole to see if that will work (gonna try it in a bucket so I dont stick another hole in my water tanks).

Tomorrow evening I'll move the RO/DI unit from the laundry room to the basement next to the mixing station and might even fill a container or two.
 
OP
OP
madweazl

madweazl

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 19, 2016
Messages
4,110
Reaction score
5,091
Location
Virginia
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Starting to take shape now! Got the manifold started for the reactors and return pump but still need to wire the supports to the ceiling (should be able to knock that out tomorrow). The fresh water portion of the mixing station is up and running (little over half full in this picture) and I built a few cheap shelves (they're $30 at Lidl right now) to hold odds and ends (need to seal the particle board so they hold up).

48751792738_b874a89ffb_h.jpg


The flexible PVC is supposed to arrive tomorrow so I should be able to tie the display into the sump tomorrow evening.

Edit: the drain is working great! Hopefully the float valve in the fresh water tank is at the appropriate level and I dont push water down the drain all night LOL.
 
OP
OP
madweazl

madweazl

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 19, 2016
Messages
4,110
Reaction score
5,091
Location
Virginia
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Float valve did its job and I woke up to a full freshwater tank. It was measuring 1 TDS (I didn't rinse the containers) so I transferred that over to the saltwater tank and then drained it. All the plumbing from both tanks to the drain were leak free
:)
The freshwater is refilling now and is measuring 0 TDS; once full, I'll actually mix up some saltwater in preparation to fill the sump. If the flexible PVC gets here early enough, I may have this running late tonight!
 
OP
OP
madweazl

madweazl

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 19, 2016
Messages
4,110
Reaction score
5,091
Location
Virginia
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Everything is plumbed (that I can think of anyways) and I'm mixing up a batch of saltwater. I'll be throwing the switch in the next half hour; sure hope I got everything right...

48757063391_76fa2ac628_h.jpg


If all goes well, I'll tidy up the 1/4" lines tomorrow and hopefully relax and have a few drinks admiring my work. If not, there will be some curse words and I'll be hard at work again...

Left to do:

1) Order another controller (planning on trying a GHL even though I've been extremely happy with the Reef Angel on the 75g).
2) Order more T5s; I pillaged four of the six bulbs that were for this tank and tossed them on the 75g because they were 16 or 17 months old.
3) I've undoubtedly forgot a myriad of things...
 

Daniel@R2R

Living the Reef Life
View Badges
Joined
Nov 18, 2012
Messages
37,364
Reaction score
63,251
Location
Fontana, California
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
Everything is plumbed (that I can think of anyways) and I'm mixing up a batch of saltwater. I'll be throwing the switch in the next half hour; sure hope I got everything right...

48757063391_76fa2ac628_h.jpg


If all goes well, I'll tidy up the 1/4" lines tomorrow and hopefully relax and have a few drinks admiring my work. If not, there will be some curse words and I'll be hard at work again...

Left to do:

1) Order another controller (planning on trying a GHL even though I've been extremely happy with the Reef Angel on the 75g).
2) Order more T5s; I pillaged four of the six bulbs that were for this tank and tossed them on the 75g because they were 16 or 17 months old.
3) I've undoubtedly forgot a myriad of things...
That setup looks great!
 
OP
OP
madweazl

madweazl

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 19, 2016
Messages
4,110
Reaction score
5,091
Location
Virginia
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
OK, quite a bit of re-work to do. The threaded bulkheads didn't hold up; five of the seven had cracks. These were all hand tight and I used thread sealant instead of tape. To say I'm not impressed is an understatement. I have six slip x slip on hand that I'll replace those with (and ordered three more). I already swapped the ones in the tank's overflow but the other four are on the sump and that will require some more extensive work. Should have it back online this evening for another test run. Other than the bulkheads, the rest of the plumbing was event free.
 
OP
OP
madweazl

madweazl

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 19, 2016
Messages
4,110
Reaction score
5,091
Location
Virginia
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Just got done with the repairs to the sump's plumbing. Not as attractive as it was but I can still remove the manifold and the additional unions should relieve any torsional stress that would have been transferred to the bulkheads if the tees weren't parallel to one another. Each segment can be maintained/repaired individually if need be (knock on wood).

48761250648_1096da7ea0_h.jpg
 
Last edited:
OP
OP
madweazl

madweazl

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 19, 2016
Messages
4,110
Reaction score
5,091
Location
Virginia
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Murphy's Law; the lone remaining threaded bulkhead (furthest pictured above) started leaking LOL. I'll fix that tomorrow evening when the replacements show up.

48762063273_342893880c_h.jpg
 
Last edited:
OP
OP
madweazl

madweazl

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 19, 2016
Messages
4,110
Reaction score
5,091
Location
Virginia
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Heaters, GFO, carbon, and skimmer online. Ordered a powered switch panel so I can tidy up the wiring and I still have to order the controller.

48770922807_1512ceb6a1_h.jpg
 
OP
OP
madweazl

madweazl

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 19, 2016
Messages
4,110
Reaction score
5,091
Location
Virginia
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Phosphates went from 200+ to 5 (.015)! Be interesting to see how quickly they come back (or if they do).
 
Last edited:
OP
OP
madweazl

madweazl

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 19, 2016
Messages
4,110
Reaction score
5,091
Location
Virginia
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Two down, one to go...
48796459161_e69bc5efac_h.jpg


Color of the wires still shows through because I didn't pull the PETG loom tight enough I guess :(
48796104393_dd28368dd0_h.jpg


I'll pick up some white zip-ties tomorrow and clean it all up.
48796458201_ee938636a7_h.jpg


Testing one...
48796602497_3c6617950f_h.jpg


Testing two...
48796111038_0cdb9cc7d4_h.jpg


Testing three...
48796602102_e777263db7_h.jpg


All systems go!
48796457986_917d925e08_h.jpg


I used old T5s for the testing; one of those Blue+ will be another AquaBlue Special but close enough :)
 
OP
OP
madweazl

madweazl

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 19, 2016
Messages
4,110
Reaction score
5,091
Location
Virginia
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Our blue gudgeon jumped into the overflow and made its way down to the sump (good reminder to put the lid to the overflow on). On the plus side, the purple fire fish we haven't seen since the fish went in the tank popped right out. Guess he was getting bullied so the gudgeon will remain in the sump (pretty fish but reclusive).

Forgot to add that coralline algae has started taking off like crazy in the tank! It has littered all of the rock work now and I imagine will fully cover everything in the next month; considerably quicker than I imagined it would (especially so since Kessils cant grow coralline...).
 
OP
OP
madweazl

madweazl

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 19, 2016
Messages
4,110
Reaction score
5,091
Location
Virginia
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
After some procrastination, I mounted the T5s today and installed the screen at the rear of the tank. The lights came out pretty clean and I couldnt be much happier (I'll measure PAR in the next couple days). The color combination is perfect for my preference (4 x Blue+, 2 x Aquablue Special, and 1 x Purple+). The shimmer from the Kessils is seriously muted but looks fantastic (they're only at 40% intensity right now so I can get more pronounced). It's a good thing I mounted the fans in the canopy, those suckers produce some heat!

48849335891_acf5653a1b_h.jpg

48849335526_06aa19405a_h.jpg

The controller is on but not doing anything at the moment, well, it's reading the temperature but I haven't calibrated the rest of the probes. I might get to that tomorrow but I'm hoping to go race my new radio controlled car (MBX8 Eco for any other RC nerds out there).

We also added four female lyretail anthias to the tank today but our blue gudgeon that made its way down to the sump, somehow made it's way into the return pump (it didn't skip a beat but the fish had a bad day...).
 
OP
OP
madweazl

madweazl

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 19, 2016
Messages
4,110
Reaction score
5,091
Location
Virginia
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Lost one of the anthias to what looks like a bacterial infection (one was more reclusive at the LFS but I didn't inspect it well); the other option would be uronema but it didn't look like it to me. Hopefully the other three remain in good health. Two of them have really paired up and never leave each other while the other is slightly nomadic spending half the time in the group and the other half wandering about. I'd like to snag two more sooner than later.

I'm still amazed by how fast the coralline is growing in this tank and because of this, I'll probably frag a number of the acropora in the 75g and bring them over this week.
 

A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

  • I currently have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 74 37.4%
  • Not currently, but I have had feather dusters in my tank in the past.

    Votes: 68 34.3%
  • I have not had feather dusters, but I hope to in the future.

    Votes: 25 12.6%
  • I have no plans to have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 29 14.6%
  • Other.

    Votes: 2 1.0%
Back
Top