New Swiss 1900 liter (500G) Build

[Mortie31]

I like flow... so do SPS ;Happy.

I hesitated on the Gyres as well... mainly for noise but also the maintenance issue. But the new 300 series are supposed to be much quieter and I wanted a flow pump that I could put as close to the surface as possible.

The maintenance on the new 300 series is supposed to be much easier as well.

If the noise and the maintenance issues are still a problem then I'll rethink using them!

I’ve got 2. 250 gyres and tbh I don’t find the maintenance any worse than anything else, as long as you are methodical and careful it’s easy. 10 mins tops to do both. I’d order some spare rotor bushes though they tend to go through them every 3 months or so, saying that the new ones are better still.

 

[Keenan]

Looks great, Laith! Personally I'd still glue the rocks for peace of mind but then again I'm not there to see/feel them in person. The aquascape looks awesome.

 

[Laith]

Finished work on the two holding tanks.

This is in the fresh saltwater tank. I will slide the 1/4" tube down this PVC tube so that the end of the tube is held near the bottom of the tank. This will be the tube connected to the Litermeter that will add fresh saltwater to the system.

Holes in the top to get the sensor and mixing pump cables out of the tank:

 

[Laith]

A larger picture of the inside of the tank...

And the saltwater mixing pump. It's an Eheim 3000l/h that I had laying around. I may need to add a second one to make sure the salt mixes quickly and thoroughly.

 

[Laith]

Finalized the second return pipe. Nothing is yet glued, I'll start on that this weekend hopefully.

I was originally going to drill holes in the eurobracing for the return to go through but I think I'll try it like this first and see (an additional pipe and elbow will go on the end to take the return under water).

 

[Laith]

Solenoids for the RO/DI water arriving in the system installed...

The return pump controllers installed (and the two ball valves on the return lines):

The skimmer pump controller as well as the 0-10v controllers for the return and skimmer pumps to connect to the Profilux. I may build a small shelf above these to avoid any possibility of water falling on them (they are almost under the overflow box...).

 

[Laith]

And we have juice!

;Joyful ;Happy

 

[Laith]

Light rails are finished... Here you see how they extend to the right of the tank so that several of the lights can be moved away from above the tank if necessary.

And the frame for the top cabinetry is in place as well as the PVC panel on the wall above the tank.

Wood for cabinetry arrives tomorrow.

 

[Laith]

I glued all the drain piping as well as the right return piping this weekend. This tool came in handy to champfer (I think that's the word!) the pipes:

Does this to the end of the pipe:

 

[Laith]

So, since all the piping from the overflow box to the sump and one of the return lines was glued, I decided to test those pipes. The idea was to fill the overflow and therefore the sump and have one return pump return water back to the overflow.

I got the garden hose and started adding water to the overflow box.

Oops... the bulkheads leaked! ;Rage ;Wideyed

Luckily I had only put about a liter of water in! So I stopped, dried everything and took a look.

What I realized is that I had never installed the bulkheads correctly: I'd only put them in quickly so that I could dry fit the rest of the piping. I had forgotten that little fact! ;Joyful

So, after inspection, I saw that the holes for the bulkheads were ever so too small for the base of the bulkhead to sit flush against the glass on the wet side.

Now that has been fixed: the builder ground out the holes a bit and now they fit perfectly. It was just a mm or so but...

I haven't yet had the time to re-install them and restart the test. Hopefully I can do that next week as I'll be away this weekend.

 

[Laith]

The sump is a pain to remove from under the tank as it needs to be pulled out the end of the stand. But it still needed to be tested to see if it held water when full (return pumps off ect). This hadn't been done previously because the front panel was actually glued on where it sits.

So, we managed to manhandle the thing outside and...

No leaks at all! The clamps were just in case the sump bowed when it was full... it did not so no issue.

 

[Laith]

What a difference a bit of cabinetry makes! ;Happy

On the right is normally a floor to ceiling door on hinges. It arrived with a deep scratch in it so the builder is replacing it.

All the panels are magnetically attached.

;Happy

 

[najer]

Looking very nice.

 

[SPR1968]

The sump is a pain to remove from under the tank as it needs to be pulled out the end of the stand. But it still needed to be tested to see if it held water when full (return pumps off ect). This hadn't been done previously because the front panel was actually glued on where it sits.

So, we managed to manhandle the thing outside and...

No leaks at all! The clamps were just in case the sump bowed when it was full... it did not so no issue.

Sorry if I missed it but what’s the sump built from. Is it some form of plastic/acrylic rather than glass ?

And it looks very nice with the cabinet installed

 

[Laith]

Sorry if I missed it but what’s the sump built from. Is it some form of plastic/acrylic rather than glass ?

And it looks very nice with the cabinet installed

The sump, topup tank and fresh saltwater tank are all built with solid 19mm PVC sheets.

 

[Laith]

Still to do:

- Install the lights.
- Move my RO/DI system from the basement to under the kitchen sink and connect it up.
- Fresh water test of the whole system, then empty it.
- Aquascape and sand.
- Fill with RO/DI water (probably five to six days as I won't leave it running overnight

).
- Add salt and run the system for a day or two to let the water temp settle (I keep my tank at 26C).
- Move the Profilux from my current tank and install all the new connections, expansion box, etc etc.
- Move the live rocks, coral... and fish.

I will be away for two weeks starting the 12th of October so to be safe I may wait on the last two steps until I get back... maybe even not fill it with RO/DI until then.

 

[LadyTang2]

How will you hide the wires for the tunze in the rocks? Through the sand then up a column on the edge of the tank and out?

 

[MrWheelock]

That thing is a monster! Quality work, cannot wait to see you fill it up!

 

[Laith]

How will you hide the wires for the tunze in the rocks? Through the sand then up a column on the edge of the tank and out?

Good question. I've been thinking about that...

I think I may try to use these:

They're thin PVC rigid tubes that I'm using to hold 1/4" hoses down at the bottom of tanks/containers.

I was thinking of splitting one side of the length, inserting the wires and then gluing sand to the tube. This will hide all the wires running along the bottom of the tank (there are two Tunzes in Tunze rocks). When I need to clean the Tunzes, I can just pull that out with the tube...

At least that's the theory! ;Joyful

We'll see how I run the cables up a back corner of the tank. If I could find black tubing the same as these... but then how to attach them to the corner in such a way that the wire can be removed?

;Bookworm

 

[Laith]

That thing is a monster! Quality work, cannot wait to see you fill it up!

Thanks. I can't wait either! ;Happy

And my current fish in their temporary location have been staring at their new home for several months now. They can't wait either! ;Joyful