That’s temporary. The inside of that cabinet is going to be totally sealed from the tank, and the printer will be on a table top on the opposite side. It’s just sitting there while we finish the wife’s desk.
Paul’s 240 gallon upgrade!
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That’s temporary. The inside of that cabinet is going to be totally sealed from the tank, and the printer will be on a table top on the opposite side. It’s just sitting there while we finish the wife’s desk.
Yes!!
Okay, here's where we are with the rearrangement of the fish room. The 40 breeder will serve as a fuge/settling tank and the 125 sump will do sump things. Any advice before I move forward?
Nice build! What software are you using
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Dubs83
Valuable Member
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Dubs83
Valuable Member
A little more progress
1/2 of the wiring has been run for the display tank to where the Apex will sit. Still need 8 more outlets behind the sump and then I’ll move onto wiring mixing station outlets and QT. I’m hoping I’ll be home tonight through the rest of the week and it should all be done.
Once the wiring is done, I’ll move onto plumbing, which shouldn’t take long.
Electrical and float switch wiring
Paul
1/2 of the wiring has been run for the display tank to where the Apex will sit. Still need 8 more outlets behind the sump and then I’ll move onto wiring mixing station outlets and QT. I’m hoping I’ll be home tonight through the rest of the week and it should all be done.
Once the wiring is done, I’ll move onto plumbing, which shouldn’t take long.
Electrical and float switch wiring
Paul
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Dubs83
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It’s 20 gauge dog fence wire. Came in a roll of 500’ for something like $20. It’s similar in thickness to CAT5 wire but I needed 6 connections on that side with 20’ run. Now I have to extend my probes. I know believe the ORP and pH probe are shielded or maybe even the Salinity probe so I need extension cables of about 25’.
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Dubs83
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I’d like it to be close to 24”. I have a fairly heavy baserock for that section and I’m almost certain it’ll be able to hold it. It’s just a matter of securinng the overhang. The nylon threaded rods showed up today so I’ll dork around with it tomorrow!
I originally envisioned my 24” long Tonga shelf to have 3-4” resting on a nice piece of pukani, then a 20-21” overhang suspended about 12” off the bottom. I drilled through the shelf and base rock and set fiberglass rods in epoxy to lock it in. A day later, I moved it around my planning table and a chunk of the pukani broke off and sent the shelf tumbling.
I haven’t been able to reconcile that with trying it again, so I ended up sitting the shelf on the base rock and having a 6-8” overhang right midline in the tank.
Of course, the cement I used to attach small leveling rocks to the pukani to even out the shelf basically crumbled to dust and I’m looking at a big epoxy repair job tomorrow.
I hope you can realize your vision with your shelf. It’ll be amazing if you figure it out. While not my original plan, I have come to like the shape and aesthetic of what I ended up with.
I haven’t been able to reconcile that with trying it again, so I ended up sitting the shelf on the base rock and having a 6-8” overhang right midline in the tank.
Of course, the cement I used to attach small leveling rocks to the pukani to even out the shelf basically crumbled to dust and I’m looking at a big epoxy repair job tomorrow.
I hope you can realize your vision with your shelf. It’ll be amazing if you figure it out. While not my original plan, I have come to like the shape and aesthetic of what I ended up with.
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Dubs83
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You know... I’m absolutely terrible at estimating how much time something will take. Lol. I wanted to finish the electric... and I finally did it today but I’m absolutely spent.
Main lines for Essential and Non Essential EBs
Fish room from the entry
Rats nest for the control board.
Dry fitting the return pump
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Dubs83
Valuable Member
Thanks! It’s been a long few afternoons with this stuff.
So, I’ll try to explain it. The APEX is going live in the corner of the fish room. They lay out of the electrics is something I wish I had done a little differently the first time around but I digress.
The above picture shows what I describe as “mains” but it also shows outlets on either side of the braided cables. Those both have 8 outlets and are powered by different dedicated circuits. The one on the left is powered by what I call an “essential” circuit and the one on the right is powered by what I dub a “non essential” circuit. Each is 20amps but the left one (essential) is also hooked up to my generator transfer box so in the event of a power failure, I can power the left bank of outlets via generator. The reason I dub it the essential circuit is because it has essential equipment to keep the aquarium from crashing during a power outage. The “main lines” are essentially extension lines I ran from the panel housing the APEX and supporting equipment (including EB832 and EB4). The EB4 is plugged into the essential circuit and will have heater, return pump, skimmer and the two Gyres. The EB832 is plugged into the “non essential” circuit and provides the creature comfort equipment (UV, ATO, FUGE LIGHT, ETC).
I do plan on upgrading the EB4 to an 832 in the future, maybe Black Friday?
Anyhow, I hope that makes a little more sense.
Paul
You have to excuse the essential / non essential crap. I’m a pilot so I can’t but be nerdy about it.
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Dubs83
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Once again, I lost track of time and didn’t come close to working on the scape. Tomorrow I promise!
Here’s what is done. Majority of the work on the fish room. I can happily say the wiring is complete! Also, the pump plumbing is complete! I made a mistake with the valve placement but I will fix it tomorrow. Newbie mistake because I started to rush. I’m sure you guys will spot it in the photos. Anyway!
The complete mess of wiring at the meeting where the APEX will live.
The yellowtail plumbed.
Heat exchanger
Running PEX for the heat exchanger.
Paul
Here’s what is done. Majority of the work on the fish room. I can happily say the wiring is complete! Also, the pump plumbing is complete! I made a mistake with the valve placement but I will fix it tomorrow. Newbie mistake because I started to rush. I’m sure you guys will spot it in the photos. Anyway!
The complete mess of wiring at the meeting where the APEX will live.
The yellowtail plumbed.
Heat exchanger
Running PEX for the heat exchanger.
Paul
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Dubs83
Valuable Member
As promised, some rock work today. Used nylon rods with nylon nuts. The rods are flexible but once cut to size they became pretty rigid. Anyhow, we’re currently splitting duty between this and cleaning the house for thanksgiving. I really wish I took pictures of the process but most of it was checking to see if it worked and then leaving it a lone lol. I’ll provide more details later when we settle in for the night. Here’s a sneak peak.
We’ll be filling the gaps in and covering the nuts with rubble and super glue a little later today. The aquafix is currently setting before we place it in the aquarium and build the remainder of the scape! Let me know what you think!
-Paul
We’ll be filling the gaps in and covering the nuts with rubble and super glue a little later today. The aquafix is currently setting before we place it in the aquarium and build the remainder of the scape! Let me know what you think!
-Paul
Yeah, officially jealous. That looks awesome, and that heat exchanger is going to do wonders for dropping your electrical costs with not having to run heaters.
I’m currently watching a Sesame Street live show, so no sump progress. Maybe tomorrow...
I’m currently watching a Sesame Street live show, so no sump progress. Maybe tomorrow...
Crabby48
7500 Club Member
So much work in a short time. Everything is come out great! Your beam came out nice and the size of the tank fits the wall perfect.
Liking your rock work would you like to stop by and finish mine lol
Liking your rock work would you like to stop by and finish mine lol
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