A Golden Reef Tank

[halmus]

A Golden Reef Tank

Thanks for the offer to help, Shark.

The tank should be here in about six-eight weeks. I'm not in a huge hurry. I don't know if the contractor will be done with the rough work in the basement, so I might have to store everything in the garage. They say they'll be done, but I'm not impressed with their work or their progress. Aquatic Art is helping to move the tank and stand down. I might ask for a few extra hands getting that equipment down but it sounds like that will fall on a Monday because of the delivery schedule.

Yesterday, I rebuilt one of the arches the contractor had put in because it was sub-par work. I also widened it because the aquarium and stand wouldn't fit down through the opening. I'm trying to anticipate problems before they come up.

After the tank is moved in, there won't be much going on with the project other than stockpiling equipment. My wife and I are doing the floors, painting, trim, and doors in the basement. So, that work will need to be done first.

 

[Walter White]

I don't work Mondays or Tuesdays so don't hesitate to hit me up if you need an extra set of hands.

 

[halmus]

I don't work Mondays or Tuesdays so don't hesitate to hit me up if you need an extra set of hands.

Thanks Mr White.

 

[quackenbush]

Same. Flexible schedule. Let me know and I will do my best tone there.

 

[Balz3352]

Same here... Btw thanks for mentioning sketchup... Using it right now for my build

 

[halmus]

Same. Flexible schedule. Let me know and I will do my best tone there.

Thanks Mr Bush. I'll let everyone know when the time comes.

Same here... Btw thanks for mentioning sketchup... Using it right now for my build

Thanks Mr Balz.

I really like SketchUp for planning larger projects. It has helped me avoid a lot of problems I wouldn't have caught in sketching a 2D image.



I think I forgot to mention that before I placed the order with AA, my wife saw the hole framed up in the wall and said, "Do you think the tank is going to be big enough? Is it too late to go bigger?" What reefer doesn't want to hear that from their significant other? I exercised self control and told her the order was going through as planned. This is big enough.

 

[zombie]

That is gonna look sweet when it's all said and done. If you ever get stumped on the automation side, I'm always happy to help.

What are your plans for that side of things?

 

[halmus]

I'm going to be going with Apex. That's what I used on my last system. I might put my old Apex on the QT and mixing station and use a separate one for the display.

I made use of a lot of the digital I/O on the apex with my previous tank. I really wish Neptune would come out with a module that would accommodate analog input. I'd like to interface some of my DIY solutions to the Apex.

For instance, I built a humidity sensor I'll be using to display room humidity on an LCD that has an adjustable threshold for turning on/off a vent fan. Wouldn't it be nice for the Apex to take in an analog signal from my device, map it to a humidity, and chart those values as it already does for tank temp or Ph?

That's a little more advanced programming in the Apex, but for those of us that can adapt and modify a linear formula in code, it's relatively trivial. They're already hiding a lot of code complexity with their Apex API. They could easily hide this from the end user as well to program in a linear formula accommodate analog inputs. (Given input ranges of 0-5VDC, tell the apex what you want that range to map to: 0-100 of some value and give it a name like "x% humidity")

Here's another example:

On my last tank, I used a series of 10 typical float switches stacked vertically as a way of approximating the water level in my fresh water top off tank. Imagine 10 of those in a vertical array, each of them tied to a digital input on the Apex. So, I could name each of those floats as they corresponded to a depth of water in the tank which corresponds to the gallons of water. So, I could place them in 5 gallon increments and would see digital inputs 5, 10, 15, 20... turned on telling me there was 20 gallons of water left. With the liquid level sensor above, I could measure an analog value corresponding to water depth, which corresponds my closely with the water volume. Assuming a uniform shaped container, the water volume increases linearly with water depth. So, the Apex module I wish existed, could provide easy water depth readings "x gallons" using a single input rather than 10 digital I/O.

Here's a third example: I tried using my old water temp probe for measuring room temperature. I don't remember getting good results because the probe isn't really designed for such a dynamic range of temperatures. (I was actually trying to measure attic temperature during the winter because my water top-off was in the attic). I have built and implemented numerous simple embedded systems that used a resistive temperature device to track temperatures and provide alarming at remote public safety radio sites. Those interface with a commercial monitoring system (via 0-5VDC analog inputs) to give real-time readings of temperatures 0-100 degrees F on the remote display back at a central shop. I want to measure my filtration room temps and record with the Apex.



Zombie - I understand you're the Apex guru. I haven't looked at Neptune modules much since I took down my tank. Maybe they do have something like this now. Do you have any inside sources with the engineers there? Maybe you could pass along the idea to them. Or, maybe it's a crazy idea.

 

[zombie]

They recently released the ASM, which can accommodate a variety of analog inputs, although they haven't opened it up to any devices except for their par meter yet. Should be coming soon.

 

[halmus]

That sounds promising. Thanks for the heads up.

I knew they had a PAR meter coming out but didn't look further at what the meter interfaces with.

 

[halmus]

A Golden Reef Tank

Here's some progress on the framing

 

[halmus]

Never mind. My phone is freeking out a little or maybe it's Tapatalk. I'll have to post pictures later.

 

[Balz3352]

Use camera button in tapatalk not img button

 

[halmus]

This is the view coming down the stairs. We opened up the wall on the left and put in the arches. The 48" x 85" opening to the left is where the aquarium will fit through the wall into that back filtration room.

This is the inside back wall of the filtration room.

The sink and washer machine will go against the far wall from here. You can see that small closet I referenced in the SketchUp model for the house filtration. The back of the aquarium will go through the opening on the left. They dug in the trench for the floor drain today. I don't remember if I mentioned before, but I am having the wall separating the filtration room and the living space framed 2x6 with insulation to try to keep down any possible noise.

 

[zombie]

Insulation won't do much for soundproofing (unless you get dense board insulation). You can get much more soundproofing for the same cost by filling the cavity with a dense material (many of my friends that have recording studios place sand bags or mass loaded vinyl in the wall) or by adding layers of dense material separated by acoustical caulk (two layers of drywall can serve this purpose if separated by acoustical caulk). Another nice trick is to add acoustical caulk or other dampening material to connection points (ie paint 2x4 edges with silicone based paint, and coat screws in silicone based paint or caulk before hanging drywall). Another trick is to use solid core doors instead of hollow ones.

 

[halmus]

Thanks Zombie. I appreciate the input. I guess I'm going to have to settle with less soundproofing. I won't go into details about the contractor in an effort to keep this thread positive. I'm sure things will work out in the long run.

 

[tomtom2245]

That is going to be one nice big filtration room. You can visualize all you want in Sketch Up but you really get the feel for it when you see actual pics of it coming together. What are you going to do for ventilation in there?

 

[halmus]

They are installing a ceiling vent fan like we all have in bathrooms. Code required it after I told them I wanted a washing machine hookup. I don't know what the CFM rating is on the unit they installed. Once the system is up and running, I'll be able to see what the humidity looks like. I might look for a unit that I can swap out with a higher CFM, look at additional vent options through the windows in the room, or look further into air-exchangers. Some members here have mentioned them before, so it's definitely a consideration.

It is a very big filtration room. That wasn't necessarily a requirement when I designed the space. The dimensions were really just a result of what space was left over after deciding where we wanted the aquarium. There wasn't a need for more general purpose storage. So, it all became the future fish room. It will be nice to have plenty of room to move around.

 

[halmus]

Not a lot new to report. But, the plumbing is roughed in. The washing machine and sink hookups are in place. Electrical has been run. There is one circuit for the washing machine and x4 dedicated circuits for reef only equipment. The floor drain is ready. They just need to touch up the concrete.

 

[halmus]

I am having T5-HO lights put in for room lighting. I have them in my shop and love them. 2 x bulb fixtures 4' each. 3 fixtures. Maybe I'll even stick in an actinic for the fun of it.