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A Golden Reef Tank
- Thread starter halmus
- Start date
I'm lucky that I'm so slow with this whole build it doesn't make a difference dry or live for rock. It's going to cure for a long while before coral is introduced.
I did consider those plastic pellets. I have no clue how well they would hold. My guess is that they just conform to the groves in the rock but don't actually bond. (Thinking of high school football mouth guards you heat up to conform to your "grill"). I don't know if that is a fact. That could work for some applications but not mine. I need a permanent bond to achieve the look I have in mind.
I did consider those plastic pellets. I have no clue how well they would hold. My guess is that they just conform to the groves in the rock but don't actually bond. (Thinking of high school football mouth guards you heat up to conform to your "grill"). I don't know if that is a fact. That could work for some applications but not mine. I need a permanent bond to achieve the look I have in mind.
Seems like I just need to do some experimentation. Once my bench is free of acrylic shavings for a while, I need to run some test batches to see what will work.
You mentioned "making it last longer". I've never considered concrete to be in danger of degrading in saltwater. Does it generally break down over time? I could see the fiberglass giving some strength to the mix but unless we're talking about it cracking over time due to stress, is there anything else going on that you're aware of?
Thanks for the input.
You mentioned "making it last longer". I've never considered concrete to be in danger of degrading in saltwater. Does it generally break down over time? I could see the fiberglass giving some strength to the mix but unless we're talking about it cracking over time due to stress, is there anything else going on that you're aware of?
Thanks for the input.
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Ya concrete will break down over time and eventually crumble when subject to moisture on a regular basis. Thus why we always grade the land around a house to flow away from the structure, as you never want standing water against your concrete foundation. Adding fiberglass to the mix makes it super strong, much stronger then a regular rebar frame that is used for house foundations and will ensure the bonds never break
I had no idea cement would really break down in any significant way. We used it for all kinds of things on the farm (think pig urine and poo...ponds full of it)
But then, I never looked close enough to the concrete to see how it was holding up over time. It was covered in poo, like everything else on the farm. Now I'm a city-slicker and all the farm folks think I'm stuck up with my fancy IPA's. Where's the Bud Light?
Anyway, good info on the fiberglass. I'll definitely look into it if I go the cement route.
But then, I never looked close enough to the concrete to see how it was holding up over time. It was covered in poo, like everything else on the farm. Now I'm a city-slicker and all the farm folks think I'm stuck up with my fancy IPA's. Where's the Bud Light?
Anyway, good info on the fiberglass. I'll definitely look into it if I go the cement route.
I finished the last major acrylic components for now. This is the FWTO tank. I have the big tank that will hold 150 g of RODI. This tank will be on a top shelf somewhere and will gravity feed lines to keep systems topped off. It holds about 50 g. I don't want to have too much RODI tied to the tank directly at any time. That can be a recipe for disaster if the top off mechanism (mechanical or electrical) goes haywire and dumps everything in at once. This way I limit the damage because 50 g of fresh dumped in at once isn't good but it's better than 150. On a system with this large of total volume, I don't think 50 g would be catastrophic. I have to run the numbers.
A shallow drip pan for the external skimmers. These won't hold much. I will put in a water sensor in these because they should always be dry. If water builds up at all, there's a problem (collection cup overflowing or leaky fitting). The skimmer and feed pump will be shut off.
A shallow drip pan for the external skimmers. These won't hold much. I will put in a water sensor in these because they should always be dry. If water builds up at all, there's a problem (collection cup overflowing or leaky fitting). The skimmer and feed pump will be shut off.
Today's a big day for the Golden reef tank. I get to start laying pipe! (Get your minds out of the gutter).
It's hard to get started. I know where I'm plumbing first but I don't know exactly how it will all go together. I mapped it out on paper and did some work with 3D software but that doesn't guarantee everything will fit together as planned.
It's hard to get started. I know where I'm plumbing first but I don't know exactly how it will all go together. I mapped it out on paper and did some work with 3D software but that doesn't guarantee everything will fit together as planned.
I might have to order more just to fix work as I go.
I installed all of the three overflow pipes from the main tank to the sump this weekend. One of them didn't turn out like I had hoped. It holds water but I should have routed it differently. It should have been run underneath the counter and I mounted along the front of the legs. It's bugging me.
That's where I pick up on Friday. It took me a while to set up equipment and get all of the plumbing supplies gathered up last weekend. Hopefully next weekend goes better.
I installed all of the three overflow pipes from the main tank to the sump this weekend. One of them didn't turn out like I had hoped. It holds water but I should have routed it differently. It should have been run underneath the counter and I mounted along the front of the legs. It's bugging me.
That's where I pick up on Friday. It took me a while to set up equipment and get all of the plumbing supplies gathered up last weekend. Hopefully next weekend goes better.
Two weekends of plumbing, and this is all I have to show for it. Many of the support brackets are only temporary as I build out everything. I'll go back and remove unneeded support later or make more permanent solutions that look good.
I little disclaimer, I would have layed out everything much differently if the sink was on the far wall where I originally wanted it. Since things ended up where they are, I have some plumbing lines that are going to be running across the floor where I need to walk to access reactors, the back side of tanks, and the skimmer. I'm going to be building an elevated platform over all of that. (The grating is sitting in the garage already). That grating will be removable so I can service the lines.
The room looks like a hurricane hit it right now. Plumbing parts and tools everywhere.
I'm running two Dolphin Amp Master pumps for return. I've always had dual matching return pumps on my tanks for redundancy. I'm doing the same here. One pump will be return and refugium feed. The other will be return and feed water to the frag tanks while they're online.
I can turn either off at any point and keep water flowing to the tank. The lines running to the inputs of the pumps are 2" dia. I know they're a little further away from the sump than preferable, but I wanted them out of the way under that counter. So, the 90 deg turn was necessary. Hopefully, with the large diameter pipe, the turn won't be a big deal.
I little disclaimer, I would have layed out everything much differently if the sink was on the far wall where I originally wanted it. Since things ended up where they are, I have some plumbing lines that are going to be running across the floor where I need to walk to access reactors, the back side of tanks, and the skimmer. I'm going to be building an elevated platform over all of that. (The grating is sitting in the garage already). That grating will be removable so I can service the lines.
The room looks like a hurricane hit it right now. Plumbing parts and tools everywhere.
I'm running two Dolphin Amp Master pumps for return. I've always had dual matching return pumps on my tanks for redundancy. I'm doing the same here. One pump will be return and refugium feed. The other will be return and feed water to the frag tanks while they're online.
I can turn either off at any point and keep water flowing to the tank. The lines running to the inputs of the pumps are 2" dia. I know they're a little further away from the sump than preferable, but I wanted them out of the way under that counter. So, the 90 deg turn was necessary. Hopefully, with the large diameter pipe, the turn won't be a big deal.
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I am anxious to see how those amp masters run.
Yes, I do have a huge number of the true unions. It makes plumbing initially easier and hopefully servicing will be easier.
I've always used sch40 pipe in the past with few unions. I didn't really worry about potential leaks because everything was rigid, fixed, permanent. It was also a PITA to service and equally painful to plumb. You have to get the alignment right the first time in every fitting.
Trade-offs I guess. Hopefully, the seals on everything will hold well long term.
Next weekend, I'm putting in a big fan by where I'm plumbing to get the vapors away from my face. I think I made myself sick last weekend. The room vent fan wasn't enough.
Yes, I do have a huge number of the true unions. It makes plumbing initially easier and hopefully servicing will be easier.
I've always used sch40 pipe in the past with few unions. I didn't really worry about potential leaks because everything was rigid, fixed, permanent. It was also a PITA to service and equally painful to plumb. You have to get the alignment right the first time in every fitting.
Trade-offs I guess. Hopefully, the seals on everything will hold well long term.
Next weekend, I'm putting in a big fan by where I'm plumbing to get the vapors away from my face. I think I made myself sick last weekend. The room vent fan wasn't enough.