Dream 180!

[kchristensen8064]

The floors really do look great! The stand looks better than it did new. How are you going to skin it? By the way. The stand is like 1/2” shy of fitting a 180. I had 3/4 ply on the back.


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Thank you. It was a lot more work than I thought it would be to tear the old flooring out and get the wood floors in. I'm still working on deciding how I want to skin it. Most likely be magnetic so the skins can be removed for full access. I was going to attach a new sheet of 3/4 to the back so that I have a place to attach stuff as well as protect the wall behind the stand.

 

[scmountain]

are you covering the stand or leaving it exposed?

 

[kchristensen8064]

are you covering the stand or leaving it exposed?

I will be covering it with a skin of some sort. It will stay on with magnets so it can be completely removed for access.

 

[scmountain]

set the stand on a brown tarp that you then cut to fit up to the top of the stand. Side/front magnet pieces will hold the tarp sides and the excess tarp out of sight. then when you take the pieces off you have 360 tarp coverage! (I did a variation of this when renting and it worked shockingly well)

or they sell camo tarps... no one would ever see it!!! haha

 

[Balz3352]

Just be aware some wood floors need to breathe. If you put a tarp or shower liner etc. It could discolor and/or cause less/more expansion contraction. Looks great. Magnets are the way to go. Just router in a slot get macgnets that have a sleve over them with screw holes.
Pics of my stand for reference.

 

[kchristensen8064]

set the stand on a brown tarp that you then cut to fit up to the top of the stand. Side/front magnet pieces will hold the tarp sides and the excess tarp out of sight. then when you take the pieces off you have 360 tarp coverage! (I did a variation of this when renting and it worked shockingly well)

or they sell camo tarps... no one would ever see it!!! haha

I've thought of a few ways that I could try to protect the floor. Most of them would work great for a small overflow but as far as big I just have to cross my fingers and hope that never happens. One way method I have thought of is to build a sort of tray a few inches high on the inside of the stand that the sump will fit in. That would work for smaller overflows. I also thought about possibly adding in a drain type thing to that tray that I could run through the floor along my joists and out into the backyard, in hopes of managing a bigger overflow to go outside. I would rather have a 1" hole in my floor than a entire room ruined. Any thoughts on something like that?

 

[kchristensen8064]

Just be aware some wood floors need to breathe. If you put a tarp or shower liner etc. It could discolor and/or cause less/more expansion contraction. Looks great. Magnets are the way to go. Just router in a slot get macgnets that have a sleve over them with screw holes.
Pics of my stand for reference.

I'm thinking of doing something like these. View attachment 17743

 

[MuralReef]

I'm thinking of doing something like these. View attachment 17743

I’ve used something very similar from a site that only sells magnets. They work great and it’s easier than routing a slot.


Sent from my iPhone using MASC - Marine Aquarium Society of Colorado

 

[halmus]

I like the idea of a tray in the bottom. You could possibly route it horizontally out the back into the drywall and then down through the bottom plate of the wall into the crawl space and wherever it goes from there. It’s easier to repair drywall in the future rather than dealing with a hole in your beautiful new floors.

If you went that direction, you could possibly use that same drain line during water changes. I’m all for making water changes easier.

Plus, the drip tray in the bottom would allow you to put a water sensor there to alert you of the issue.

 

[kchristensen8064]

I like the idea of a tray in the bottom. You could possibly route it horizontally out the back into the drywall and then down through the bottom plate of the wall into the crawl space and wherever it goes from there. It’s easier to repair drywall in the future rather than dealing with a hole in your beautiful new floors.

If you went that direction, you could possibly use that same drain line during water changes. I’m all for making water changes easier.

Plus, the drip tray in the bottom would allow you to put a water sensor there to alert you of the issue.

The more I think about it, I think that's exactly what I'm going to do. It would be pretty easy to do, and I can run it straight to the backyard. Even if it never gets used, the piece of mind knowing that I can have some sort of leak/overflow protection is worth it.

 

[kchristensen8064]

I like the idea of a tray in the bottom. You could possibly route it horizontally out the back into the drywall and then down through the bottom plate of the wall into the crawl space and wherever it goes from there. It’s easier to repair drywall in the future rather than dealing with a hole in your beautiful new floors.

If you went that direction, you could possibly use that same drain line during water changes. I’m all for making water changes easier.

Plus, the drip tray in the bottom would allow you to put a water sensor there to alert you of the issue.

So let me ask you and anyone else that is open to responding, what size drain line would you think would be adequate? I was thinking a 1" line. Do you think I would need more or less than that?

 

[SynDen]

Well what size line is the return?
I generally like to make the drain at least .5"+ size of whatever the return line. If return is 1" then I would make the drain 1.5", or you could do with 2 x 1" drains if you went with dual drains.

 

[TheRealChrisBrown]

what size drain line would you think would be adequate? I was thinking a 1" line. Do you think I would need more or less than that?

My 150 drains are 1.5" with 1" returns.

 

[scmountain]

I went with a single 2" drain which is 3300 gph Vs. 1.5" 2100 gph Vs. 1" 960 gph
@gravity flow velocity of 6f/s and assuming minimal pressure loss & noise

When it comes to drains why not go overkill? also the chance of a drain blockage in a 1" is exponentially higher than 2"
Also note that two 1" drains does not equal a single 2"

 

[kchristensen8064]

Well what size line is the return?
I generally like to make the drain at least .5"+ size of whatever the return line. If return is 1" then I would make the drain 1.5", or you could do with 2 x 1" drains if you went with dual drains.

My 150 drains are 1.5" with 1" returns.

I went with a single 2" drain which is 3300 gph Vs. 1.5" 2100 gph Vs. 1" 960 gph
@gravity flow velocity of 6f/s and assuming minimal pressure loss & noise

When it comes to drains why not go overkill? also the chance of a drain blockage in a 1" is exponentially higher than 2"
Also note that two 1" drains does not equal a single 2"

This would be the emergency drain line for the stand, in case of an overflow. The tank is already drilled and set for its return and drain.

 

[halmus]

Since this is just an emergency drain line in case of an minor overflow of the sump, I personally wouldn’t go to crazy on the size.

The diameter needed would be dependent on the flow rate you’re trying to handle, the slope and length of the line through the crawl space, whether it could achieve full siphon, etc. Too many variables.

If I were doing it, I’d probably only use a single 3/4” or 1”. It’s not intended to handle all the flow of the aquarium. If something that catastrophic happens, you’ve got bigger problems.

I’d probably incorporate a vertical standpipe at the point the water drops down into the crawl space to relieve any back pressure from air trapped in the pipe. I believe conventional plumbing in homes works that way with a vent pipe so sinks and showers don’t have to create a full siphon before draining efficiently.

Just my input...

 

[kchristensen8064]

Since this is just an emergency drain line in case of an minor overflow of the sump, I personally wouldn’t go to crazy on the size.

The diameter needed would be dependent on the flow rate you’re trying to handle, the slope and length of the line through the crawl space, whether it could achieve full siphon, etc. Too many variables.

If I were doing it, I’d probably only use a single 3/4” or 1”. It’s not intended to handle all the flow of the aquarium. If something that catastrophic happens, you’ve got bigger problems.

I’d probably incorporate a vertical standpipe at the point the water drops down into the crawl space to relieve any back pressure from air trapped in the pipe. I believe conventional plumbing in homes works that way with a vent pipe so sinks and showers don’t have to create a full siphon before draining efficiently.

Just my input...

That's great advice. I wouldn't have thought about the stand pipe, but it makes sense.

 

[kchristensen8064]

So I was able to get some work done on this over the weekend. I started building the tray that I'm going to have in the bottom of the stand, I siliconed the seams and tomorrow I will spray flex seal in the tray area. I will then give it a couple coats of paint in the same color as the stand. This also brought a few problems to light that I had to try to resolve. First problem was that the 125gal that I want to use as my sump is 3/8" wider than the stand. I tryed to think up a way that I could build the facade in a way that it wouldn't be a problem, but in that thought process the second issue arose. The 125gal is 23" tall, the inside of the stand is 29" so yeah.... Big problem here. I would have a hell of a time doing maintenance in the sump. I also would have zero access to the skimmer. There would be no way to get the cup out, or the body for maintenance and cleaning. After a lot of thought and some brain storming, I have decided to put the sump in the closet that's under the stairs directly behind the tank. I had to slightly modify my access door to the crawl space and it should fit in there with a lot more room for me to access and service it. It's not the world's best fish room, but it will be a lot better than having it under the tank. I will run the plumbing through the wall. I will keep the tray under the tank in the event of a tank leak. I got the hole cut in the wall and I'm going to trim it out and build a insert to clean it up. That's as far as I got and I'm actually pretty happy to be putting the sump somewhere other than under the display. View attachment 17764 View attachment 17765 View attachment 17766 View attachment 17767 View attachment 17768 View attachment 17769

 

[scmountain]

I have decided to put the sump in the closet that's under the stairs directly behind the tank.

FISH ROOM!!!
if you're not using a saw on your house, is it really a complete build?!? haha love it

 

[kchristensen8064]

FISH ROOM!!!
if you're not using a saw on your house, is it really a complete build?!? haha love it

LOL, I have some finish work left to do on the hole I cut, but accessing the sump is going to be so much easier now!