TD375 - New Build

[David29price]

Realized I haven't posted a picture of the finished game room. This is just one angle, it doesn't include the filter room as I'm still working on that. Will post a picture of that within a week showing most things connected. That is in process now.

 

[David29price]

Connecting the sump to the bean animal overflow.

 

[reefez]

Hey I hope everything is going ok and your well it’s been a while since you last posted.
I was just wondering if you have any updates ?

 

[David29price]

Hey I hope everything is going ok and your well it’s been a while since you last posted.
I was just wondering if you have any updates ?

Hoping to have more done this week and some more posts. I made a costly mistake on the UV and had to order a replacement body...... as soon as I get that this week I’ll be able to move ahead and I’ll have more pictures.

 

[David29price]

Made some good progress today on the sump. Connected three pumps and the UV. I ran out of valves which is why the last pump is not connected on the return feed. And I need to put a valve and cap on the 2nd drain on the sump for potential future use. But pleased with the progress.

 

[David29price]

Working on the tank so took a few fun pictures for scale.

 

[Fudsey]

Love it ! ! !

 

[reefez]

Lol very cool merman shot

 

[David29price]

I've been a bit lax here lately as far as posts go but have been quite busy. The current update is as follows, and I promise I will post some pictures within a week. I really have been working my butt off on this!

I've installed the whole house commercial grade network and 3 wireless access points. So now the entire house is blanketed by a 300 Mb connection and no more drops! I was really struggling with the number of Internet of Things devices being added to the residential grade system. I kept losing connections, poor signal, etc.... Now I have a 24 port POE switch, security gateway/firewall/router and 3 access points. If you are interested in what I got, it is Unify by Ubiquiti. Awesome system!!!

The electrical work is done in the office and ceiling fan installed. Next up in that room is retexturing the ceiling and painting the whole room so I can then start building the cabinetry and desk.

The entire RO/DI system is now hooked up to 2 sumps and a 75 gallon storage container. I also added a auto-flush valve and auto-shut-off valve so no more manual flushing or unplugging the thing when not in use. I decided to move the fragging tank out of the filter room and into the game room next to my carnival digger game I got. Its a restored game from the 50's and all mechanical, not like the modern diggers that are computerized and rigged! I made this decision to move it out so that I could literally free up 8 square feet of space in that room for the protein skimmer, dosing system and chiller. So I am having a custom stand built for the fragging tank from the company that I got the tank from last year. It will be done first week of October and then I can get that system fully going.

A discharge line has been added to the pump on the sump and connected to the sink so that I can easily do water changes.

The salt water mixing station is almost complete. I'll have it done this week.

At current rate of progress, I plan to do a full system test, filling everything and checking for leaks in one week!

Stay tuned....

 

[Dennis Cartier]

Any feedback on the RK2 XFLO skimmer? I am looking to get a XFLO 6-3.5 for my build but have had trouble finding info from people actually using them.

Dennis

 

[David29price]

Any feedback on the RK2 XFLO skimmer? I am looking to get a XFLO 6-3.5 for my build but have had trouble finding info from people actually using them.

Dennis

Not yet, I am actually going to be plumbing it this week. I have a few questions about its installation and need to call the manufacturer to get some clarity. I'll definitely post my review on it once everything is going. This Thursday night I am doing the first big test of all the plumbing to check for leaks and se how everything runs. Will post pictures and progress report then. So check back later this week.

 

[mattgsa]

Looks like your build is coming along great. Nice work.

 

[David29price]

I promise more pictures soon! Got the leak test complete last night. No leaks out of over 100 connection points! Had to downsize the impeller on the main sump pump as it was a little too strong, to much flow. Working on setting up the frag tank. Got the suspension kit installed on the light I bought. There was actually no suspension kit made for the light I used, so I had to create my own! Here it is installed.

Also here is a picture of the T bar rack I'm planning to build to mount the Orphek lights to. This will be suspended by pulleys with a worm drive winch at the end so that I can raise/lower the lights all at once for maintenance purposes. The Red blocks indicate pulley location. Going to use a surface mount pulley so I can get it dead center and reduce the amount of space I'd lose by connecting on opposite side and having a cable or chain connecting to a suspended pulley as the amount of space between tank and ceiling is limited. I never every inch I can get. This will enable me to pull the lights up at least a foot giving me the space I need to get in this beast.

 

[Dennis Cartier]

Any update on your experiences with the RK2 skimmer? Specifically if it stays tuned as the manufacturer claims. I have had reports from someone using a different RK2, a much larger model, that they struggle to keep them tuned and producing foam. It is a much older piece of RK2 equipment though, so hopefully that does not apply to the XFLO. Your feedback would be very helpful as a user of the actual one I am planning on getting.

Dennis

 

[David29price]

Any update on your experiences with the RK2 skimmer? Specifically if it stays tuned as the manufacturer claims. I have had reports form someone using a different RK2, a much larger model, that they struggle to keep them tuned and producing foam. It is a much older piece of RK2 equipment though, so hopefully that does not apply to the XFL. Your feedback would be very helpful as a user of the actual one I am planning on getting.

Dennis

Hi Dennis, my apologies but I don't yet. I got about a month behind and have not fully started the system yet. Just yesterday I spent 6 hours getting the Bean Animal system fully dialed in. The 65 feet of drain lines has created a challenge. I think I finally got it right and will do another lengthy test today. Hoping (Fingers Crossed) to have the system fully running with starter fish in it the last week of this month, so please stay tuned.

 

[Dennis Cartier]

Lol, no worries. I know the feeling. Large builds take an exponential greater amount of time compared to average sized ones.

Dennis

 

[David29price]

Lol, no worries. I know the feeling. Large builds take an exponential greater amount of time compared to average sized ones.

Dennis

Yeah, the distance on this and the tight space in the filter room has greatly complicated this. Hoping in the end it is all worth it. Still so much to do, but feel much better today seeing the Bean working properly and silent! Took a lot of work to get it to that point. It didn't help taking a month off from the project, but I was burnt out. This is a 5 room remodel including the aquarium and I've done all the work myself. Sometimes it seems never ending....

 

[David29price]

Aquascape finally done! Lights need to be mounted next. Working on the frame to mount it to and then will raise it with a pulley and winch system I designed.

 

[contains moose]

Patience is a virtue, take you're time and do it right, great build.

 

[David29price]

Got the mounting frame back from the welder to mount the lights today. Gonna be on a pulley system to raise and lower. This weekend I’ll get all the holes drilled for mounting the lights and then off to be powder coated next week.