Fishroom Reality Check
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Ok guys- it’s time fir stands. I’ll be doing concrete blocks and 2” laminated beams (was going to do superstrut, but man, the cost of the joining plates and captive nuts really adds up!) topped with 3/4 ply so I can do 8 foot spans with no supporting legs mid span. I like open plan. I’ll have space underneath fir freezer, fridge, CaRX, ATO (30g drum) etc.
Here’s the Q! Should I paint all of the concrete blocks with masonry paint, or just the ones that contact the floor? Or not at all?
Any tips?
Cheers!
Here’s the Q! Should I paint all of the concrete blocks with masonry paint, or just the ones that contact the floor? Or not at all?
Any tips?
Cheers!
scott11106
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As you know masonry block is very pores and therefore will soak up any thing in the area. of course i dont think it will hurt anything as the block will not decay or rot of course. so i guess it is more of a option and for piece of mind. I would seal it all off since you will be building it and the paint/sealant is very inexpensive i would paint it all.
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Thanks!
That’s what is making me think about it.
If the concrete gets wet- so what? It doesn’t corrode and it won’t fail, so why go to the effort?
But then- while I like the aesthetic, but I’m finishing everything else, so why not? It’ll be $50 (two cans of drylok)... not exactly ‘expensive’ in this hobby.
But then again, again- $50 is my refugium light and my 20 foot usb male/male for my pm2 module...
So. Many. Decisions!!!
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So- I requested that this thread get moved from its original spot over in the Equipment QA's section, to here, because its turning into more of a build thread. Entirely due to the fact i wasnt finding time to create a new thread for the build, and kept adding more pics here. So, instead of rehashing everything, i requested a move. So, here it is.
Background- I kept a small 40b tank way back in the 2000's while in grad school back home (UK) , and never really had the means or the time to restart after I moved to the US for postgrad work. March 2017, my wife surprises me with a 38 bowfront (and the receipt- because she just knew it was going to grow if she let it sit in my head for a bit- i tend to upsize my projects), which soon became a 125 with 40b sump. Synergy reef shadow overflow running BA drains. Took me two months to work up to drilling it on a long edge (since it was going against the wall). I finished drilling it, installed the overflow box, then my wife got a call from work asking us to relocate. So, it sat for a bit while we found a new house in suburbs Atlanta (from Nashville), and long story short, we decided to put a tank in the wall between the living room and what would become the wifes home office. Viewable from both sides. I think you know where this is going... Except, i drilled the 125 on a long edge, so that wasnt going to work.
I talked it through with my wife, and detailed the expanded plan- use the drilled 125 as a sump, buy a 180 (might as well go a bit bigger) to put in the wall, and build out a room in the basement for the sump and support equipment. And she agreed! So, that brings us to...
The Tank- A Marineland 180 (6x2x2) in-wall, between the living room and office. Inset into the wall, so it is flush with the living room, and built in cabinets and bookcases on the office side. Pretty good deal from the local store, since it was not drilled and they were trying to move glass. Build quality is typical Marineland, black silicone, a little smudgy on the corners and the top frame was a little scuffed up, but the glass is clean.
The Stand- 2x8 top frame, doubled up 2x4 legs and in-wall supports. Topped with 2 layers of 3/4 inch plywood. Runs perpendicular to 7 joists, so no worries there. One long edge rests on the main LVL beam holding up the house over the basement.
Lights- DIY LED fixture based around 10W and 3W LEDs, controlled by a Coralux Storm controller, on a 5' MakerSled slim heatsink. More info in a later post. I have the parts in a couple boxes and just need time to put it all together. Very comfortable with electronics builds, so looking forward to the fun.
Flow- 2x Maxspect xf250 gyres. One mounted on the overflow box, the other on the opposite end.
Livestock- 2 Ocellaris clowns, a yellow tang, purple tang and a powder blue, a school of dispar anthias (7-10), pistol shrimp and goby pair. Wife wants an engineer goby or yellow dwarf eel, and a local shop has a mated pair in stock but they are waaaayyy too expensive. Have space for a few more inches of fish, but undecided. PBT is going in last, yellow and purple are being bought small and introduced together, after the clowns.
Corals are going to be mixed, but i am a sucker for rock flower anemones, ricordias, torches and hammers, so it might be more on the softy side. not a huge fan of zoas, but i might get some if i find interesting colors for not too crazy coin. Also a sucker for clams, an ultra blue maxima would be awesome, but that is a little while away yet. Will not be rushing that.
Disease control- Fully isolated TTM station in basement comprising of 2 sets of 10g tanks, air stones, square colanders etc. Prazi on transfers 2 and 4, then 4 weeks observation in a 40b with an aqueon hob filter and a bunch of pvc. Nothing goes into the DT without first going through TTM and Obs, no exceptions.
Filtration
This is taking up the bulk of the project time for now. I had some guys frame in a 12 x 8 room in a corner of my basement- which is the main topic of the start of this thread. You've seen the progress pics.
Plumbing- 15 foot vertical and 20 foot horizontal distance from DT to the sump. I expect ill be using a bunch of spa flex for this one.I did a flow test of a jabao dcp-18000 in my backyard and was getting around 1100 gph out of a 25 foot vertical PVC run (thats how high my bathroom window is from the grass next to the deck...). Thats about half its rating, but im ok with that considering the cost and lower power consumption than some of the bigger 'pressure rated' pumps. Theres a test thread around here somewhere, but i cant find it right now.
DT Overflow- goes into a 29g tank i have plumbed straight to drain, and have a 1/2 inch pvc line coming from my salt water mixing tank. 14 minute, 25 gallon (10%) water change and all i have to do is turn 2 valves and push 2 switches. This overflows via 2 x 1.5" bulkheads into the skimmer section of the 125.
Main Sump- 125g divide up into a 12g skimmer section, a central 20g return section and a 40g refugium section on the right side. Fuge is fed from a T in the return at about 200 GPH. An addition port on the T feeds the cryptic zone with minimal flow.
Cryptic zone- a blacked out 29G fed with about 40 gph from the return pump, via 1/2 inch pvc with a bunch of holes extended to the bottom of the tank. Overflows into the fuge section. Contains a bunch of eggcrate platforms that i will seed with live rock rubble covered in the cryptic started pack from a website ive forgotten the name of.
BRS dual reactors for Carbon and GAC. I bought extra fittings and converted them to two singles, and saved $12 over buying two singles. Will be fed by a manifold off a 400 gph pump in the skimmer section, and will dump into the return section. A third port on the manifold will go to drain, so i can get an extra 12 gallons water change occasionally if i need to (15% change in that case). I can also move this to the return section for an additional 20g (for a final 22% change).
Im also adding a 20g long on a floating shelf above the fuge fed from the return line which will have some live rock, a bunch of Mangroves and some sexy shrimp. overflows into the fuge section. More aesthetic than filtration to be honest. i just love the idea of having some plants in the room.
Zoomed low boy 50 g frag tank, fed from an overflow on the 29g overflow tank, and returning to the return section of the sump. Additional flow with powerheads, undecided at the moment. Plumbing it into the main system since it will primarily be a grow out system.
Thats all for now. Getting late and im all talked out. Excited to be sharing my build here- lots more to come!
Family stuff over the weekend, then stand building next week. Going for concrete blocks, 2x4 top frames and 3/4 inch plywood base for the tank stands, and a regular 2x4 and plywood work bench.
Cheers!
Background- I kept a small 40b tank way back in the 2000's while in grad school back home (UK) , and never really had the means or the time to restart after I moved to the US for postgrad work. March 2017, my wife surprises me with a 38 bowfront (and the receipt- because she just knew it was going to grow if she let it sit in my head for a bit- i tend to upsize my projects), which soon became a 125 with 40b sump. Synergy reef shadow overflow running BA drains. Took me two months to work up to drilling it on a long edge (since it was going against the wall). I finished drilling it, installed the overflow box, then my wife got a call from work asking us to relocate. So, it sat for a bit while we found a new house in suburbs Atlanta (from Nashville), and long story short, we decided to put a tank in the wall between the living room and what would become the wifes home office. Viewable from both sides. I think you know where this is going... Except, i drilled the 125 on a long edge, so that wasnt going to work.
I talked it through with my wife, and detailed the expanded plan- use the drilled 125 as a sump, buy a 180 (might as well go a bit bigger) to put in the wall, and build out a room in the basement for the sump and support equipment. And she agreed! So, that brings us to...
The Tank- A Marineland 180 (6x2x2) in-wall, between the living room and office. Inset into the wall, so it is flush with the living room, and built in cabinets and bookcases on the office side. Pretty good deal from the local store, since it was not drilled and they were trying to move glass. Build quality is typical Marineland, black silicone, a little smudgy on the corners and the top frame was a little scuffed up, but the glass is clean.
The Stand- 2x8 top frame, doubled up 2x4 legs and in-wall supports. Topped with 2 layers of 3/4 inch plywood. Runs perpendicular to 7 joists, so no worries there. One long edge rests on the main LVL beam holding up the house over the basement.
Lights- DIY LED fixture based around 10W and 3W LEDs, controlled by a Coralux Storm controller, on a 5' MakerSled slim heatsink. More info in a later post. I have the parts in a couple boxes and just need time to put it all together. Very comfortable with electronics builds, so looking forward to the fun.
Flow- 2x Maxspect xf250 gyres. One mounted on the overflow box, the other on the opposite end.
Livestock- 2 Ocellaris clowns, a yellow tang, purple tang and a powder blue, a school of dispar anthias (7-10), pistol shrimp and goby pair. Wife wants an engineer goby or yellow dwarf eel, and a local shop has a mated pair in stock but they are waaaayyy too expensive. Have space for a few more inches of fish, but undecided. PBT is going in last, yellow and purple are being bought small and introduced together, after the clowns.
Corals are going to be mixed, but i am a sucker for rock flower anemones, ricordias, torches and hammers, so it might be more on the softy side. not a huge fan of zoas, but i might get some if i find interesting colors for not too crazy coin. Also a sucker for clams, an ultra blue maxima would be awesome, but that is a little while away yet. Will not be rushing that.
Disease control- Fully isolated TTM station in basement comprising of 2 sets of 10g tanks, air stones, square colanders etc. Prazi on transfers 2 and 4, then 4 weeks observation in a 40b with an aqueon hob filter and a bunch of pvc. Nothing goes into the DT without first going through TTM and Obs, no exceptions.
Filtration
This is taking up the bulk of the project time for now. I had some guys frame in a 12 x 8 room in a corner of my basement- which is the main topic of the start of this thread. You've seen the progress pics.
Plumbing- 15 foot vertical and 20 foot horizontal distance from DT to the sump. I expect ill be using a bunch of spa flex for this one.I did a flow test of a jabao dcp-18000 in my backyard and was getting around 1100 gph out of a 25 foot vertical PVC run (thats how high my bathroom window is from the grass next to the deck...). Thats about half its rating, but im ok with that considering the cost and lower power consumption than some of the bigger 'pressure rated' pumps. Theres a test thread around here somewhere, but i cant find it right now.
DT Overflow- goes into a 29g tank i have plumbed straight to drain, and have a 1/2 inch pvc line coming from my salt water mixing tank. 14 minute, 25 gallon (10%) water change and all i have to do is turn 2 valves and push 2 switches. This overflows via 2 x 1.5" bulkheads into the skimmer section of the 125.
Main Sump- 125g divide up into a 12g skimmer section, a central 20g return section and a 40g refugium section on the right side. Fuge is fed from a T in the return at about 200 GPH. An addition port on the T feeds the cryptic zone with minimal flow.
Cryptic zone- a blacked out 29G fed with about 40 gph from the return pump, via 1/2 inch pvc with a bunch of holes extended to the bottom of the tank. Overflows into the fuge section. Contains a bunch of eggcrate platforms that i will seed with live rock rubble covered in the cryptic started pack from a website ive forgotten the name of.
BRS dual reactors for Carbon and GAC. I bought extra fittings and converted them to two singles, and saved $12 over buying two singles. Will be fed by a manifold off a 400 gph pump in the skimmer section, and will dump into the return section. A third port on the manifold will go to drain, so i can get an extra 12 gallons water change occasionally if i need to (15% change in that case). I can also move this to the return section for an additional 20g (for a final 22% change).
Im also adding a 20g long on a floating shelf above the fuge fed from the return line which will have some live rock, a bunch of Mangroves and some sexy shrimp. overflows into the fuge section. More aesthetic than filtration to be honest. i just love the idea of having some plants in the room.
Zoomed low boy 50 g frag tank, fed from an overflow on the 29g overflow tank, and returning to the return section of the sump. Additional flow with powerheads, undecided at the moment. Plumbing it into the main system since it will primarily be a grow out system.
Thats all for now. Getting late and im all talked out. Excited to be sharing my build here- lots more to come!
Family stuff over the weekend, then stand building next week. Going for concrete blocks, 2x4 top frames and 3/4 inch plywood base for the tank stands, and a regular 2x4 and plywood work bench.
Cheers!
OP
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Bit more work on the stands and testing/fragging bench. And I put the vent cover up.
Soon-to-be dosing/ CaRX station
Ventilation
Pool time with the family over the weekend, then sorting out plumbing next week.
Soon-to-be dosing/ CaRX station
Ventilation
Pool time with the family over the weekend, then sorting out plumbing next week.
OP
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Got some time to do some plumbing despite a wife at 37 weeks pregnant and a non-napping toddler-
This is my 29g overflow tank. Water from DT comes here first before overflowing into the 125 sump. The upper valve and 3/4” pipe is my frag tank feed- it’s height is just below that of the overflow to the sump, so it is always full, and emptying into the frag tank. I’ll add a gate valve later for flow control.
The large ball valve at middle is my main drain valve. I turn this and I drain the tank in 4 minutes.
The valve with hose attached is to bleed of SW for use to QT or TTM tanks via 5 gal bucket
This is the new salt water input from water mixing station, via 5/8” drinking water hose and 3/4”pvc. I got a radio remote switch and my water change pump sends water back to refill the tank
And I finished the corner where the water station will be and ran some electrical for the pump and heater. Also installed the ‘make up air’ vent in the chase bay for the in-line fan
After insulation, 2 panels of 1/2” plywood, fireproof caulk around the air return chase stud bay, 2 coats killz premium and 2 coats of bathroom paint in same colour as inside room-
Had to order some plumbing support clips and flex pvc online, so delayed a few days until they arrive.
Cheers!
This is my 29g overflow tank. Water from DT comes here first before overflowing into the 125 sump. The upper valve and 3/4” pipe is my frag tank feed- it’s height is just below that of the overflow to the sump, so it is always full, and emptying into the frag tank. I’ll add a gate valve later for flow control.
The large ball valve at middle is my main drain valve. I turn this and I drain the tank in 4 minutes.
The valve with hose attached is to bleed of SW for use to QT or TTM tanks via 5 gal bucket
This is the new salt water input from water mixing station, via 5/8” drinking water hose and 3/4”pvc. I got a radio remote switch and my water change pump sends water back to refill the tank
And I finished the corner where the water station will be and ran some electrical for the pump and heater. Also installed the ‘make up air’ vent in the chase bay for the in-line fan
After insulation, 2 panels of 1/2” plywood, fireproof caulk around the air return chase stud bay, 2 coats killz premium and 2 coats of bathroom paint in same colour as inside room-
Had to order some plumbing support clips and flex pvc online, so delayed a few days until they arrive.
Cheers!
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OP
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Appreciate it.
I’m worried that I won’t be getting it wet before girl 2 arrives. Just too many other things to do to prepare. Plus shipping delays for final plumbing parts I can’t seem to get at local stores. I might still get it done though, fingers crossed
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Water change station almost done. 2x 55 gallon, RODI top gravity feeds into lower NSW tank. Circulation pump to mix salt, and to send freshly made SW to water change tank in sump.
Was able to repurpose an old kitchen corner cabinet after I reinforced it with 3/4” plywood sides and top. Gives me storage fir hoses abs bags of salt.
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Ended up waiting over a week for some pipe hangers and 1” flex pvc. Company didn’t tell me the flex was backordered- just decided to not let me know. I called them and asked for an eta and was told as soon as it comes in, they’ll send it. It was $1/foot, so can’t complain. If I’d spent 5x as much at HD, I could have plumbed my overflow too, but whatever.
I insisted they send the pipe clamps as a separate shipment, which they did USPS priority- so they arrived yesterday. I had already picked up 1.5” spaflex at HD, so, today, this happened...
Up 6 feet from return pump, 90 turn, 14 foot horizontal, 2 feet spaflex, through the office floor, up 5 feet, 90 turn, 8”, 90 turn into DT.
33 gallon brute half filled with water, run upstairs, place 5 gal bucket under outlet, hit RF switch- it’s gurgling... here it comes!!- bucket full in 14.8 seconds.
That’s at 100% pump power. Equates to 1g/3 seconds, 20g/min, 1200g/hour.
This is actually about half the rated specs of the jebao DCP-18000, but it represents a total flow of ~6.6x DT volume (not calculating reduced water volume due to displacement because of rocks). For 100watts of power and $130, is pretty happy with that.
I can afford to Tee off the return and put ~350gph through my 40g refugium (or 8.75x volume) and 50 gph through the super-slow 29g cryptic fuge (1.7x volume). This’ll still be 800gph or ~4.4x DT volume going through the sump per hour.
I don’t like running reactors off a bean animal return, so they are being run via a manifold attached to a 400gph pump fed from the skimmer chamber. This has a third port on it that lets me send skimmer chamber volume down the drain as an addition 5% water change. And a fourth port that goes to vinyl hose running to my QT so I can fill it with old DT water.
And that’s it in terms of progress for the next few weeks- baby girl #2 comes in 33hours.
Will update once I get the overflows done!
I insisted they send the pipe clamps as a separate shipment, which they did USPS priority- so they arrived yesterday. I had already picked up 1.5” spaflex at HD, so, today, this happened...
Up 6 feet from return pump, 90 turn, 14 foot horizontal, 2 feet spaflex, through the office floor, up 5 feet, 90 turn, 8”, 90 turn into DT.
33 gallon brute half filled with water, run upstairs, place 5 gal bucket under outlet, hit RF switch- it’s gurgling... here it comes!!- bucket full in 14.8 seconds.
That’s at 100% pump power. Equates to 1g/3 seconds, 20g/min, 1200g/hour.
This is actually about half the rated specs of the jebao DCP-18000, but it represents a total flow of ~6.6x DT volume (not calculating reduced water volume due to displacement because of rocks). For 100watts of power and $130, is pretty happy with that.
I can afford to Tee off the return and put ~350gph through my 40g refugium (or 8.75x volume) and 50 gph through the super-slow 29g cryptic fuge (1.7x volume). This’ll still be 800gph or ~4.4x DT volume going through the sump per hour.
I don’t like running reactors off a bean animal return, so they are being run via a manifold attached to a 400gph pump fed from the skimmer chamber. This has a third port on it that lets me send skimmer chamber volume down the drain as an addition 5% water change. And a fourth port that goes to vinyl hose running to my QT so I can fill it with old DT water.
And that’s it in terms of progress for the next few weeks- baby girl #2 comes in 33hours.
Will update once I get the overflows done!
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Few additional pics-
Union right after I come through the floor. Bracket yet to be secured.
Return pipe run
Brackets I used. A bit pricier, but oh so easy. Just push the pipe into it, and it snaps shut. 2 positions- first one allows you to slide the pipe to align fit, then one more push locks it in. And they can be unfastened using a screwdriver to separate the ‘ratchet teeth’.
Union right after I come through the floor. Bracket yet to be secured.
Return pipe run
Brackets I used. A bit pricier, but oh so easy. Just push the pipe into it, and it snaps shut. 2 positions- first one allows you to slide the pipe to align fit, then one more push locks it in. And they can be unfastened using a screwdriver to separate the ‘ratchet teeth’.
snakejacques
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CongratulationsSo- build will be slowing down some at this point, because...
najer
Valuable Member
So- build will be slowing down some at this point, because...
Congrats, very cute, hope everyone is well.
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