Syn's 850g.t.v Deep Brain system
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Well almost done with the panel doors now. First 2 panels are complete, but I didnt carve the impression deep enough on the 3rd and 4th panel, so I am in the process of carving those a bit deeper to match the others. I post final pics as soon as its done.
In the mean time I have started on the sump build. Got the panels and flow all planned out. I built a mock up of it in cardboard first so I could get a better feel for it.
Basically the water will flow in to a splash down pocket, in the mid of the tank, and flow through some filter socks and likely an ATS. From there it flows to the right and through the cryptic zone which will be packed with rocks and tons of filter feeding critters. The water will then flow around and through a large equipment chamber. The last panel before the pump will be removable, to allow me to drain half of the sump via the pumps, and into the sink, for water changes. The whole cryptic zone though will be protected from drainage, to protect the various lifeforms in there that usually dont like being exposed to the air.
After doing this though I decided I really needed to remove the 2 corner overflows and the center brace for this oceanic 210g tank. I had been avoiding this because it would mean I would have to re-seal the entire tank, and RJ had just resealed it before I bought the tank from him. None the less, the wasted space was bugging me, and I decided now is the only chance I would have to remove them. So I spent last night with a bunch of razor blades, and rubbing alcohol, cutting, and cleaning out all the seals.
Next step is to cut some pieces of glass to seal and cover the 4 holes in the bottom from the overflows. Then I need to drill 2 holes in the side, which might be difficult since I will need to do it in a vertical position. Once its drilled I will start cutting and fitting the panels.
All clean and pretty
In the mean time I have started on the sump build. Got the panels and flow all planned out. I built a mock up of it in cardboard first so I could get a better feel for it.
Basically the water will flow in to a splash down pocket, in the mid of the tank, and flow through some filter socks and likely an ATS. From there it flows to the right and through the cryptic zone which will be packed with rocks and tons of filter feeding critters. The water will then flow around and through a large equipment chamber. The last panel before the pump will be removable, to allow me to drain half of the sump via the pumps, and into the sink, for water changes. The whole cryptic zone though will be protected from drainage, to protect the various lifeforms in there that usually dont like being exposed to the air.
After doing this though I decided I really needed to remove the 2 corner overflows and the center brace for this oceanic 210g tank. I had been avoiding this because it would mean I would have to re-seal the entire tank, and RJ had just resealed it before I bought the tank from him. None the less, the wasted space was bugging me, and I decided now is the only chance I would have to remove them. So I spent last night with a bunch of razor blades, and rubbing alcohol, cutting, and cleaning out all the seals.
Next step is to cut some pieces of glass to seal and cover the 4 holes in the bottom from the overflows. Then I need to drill 2 holes in the side, which might be difficult since I will need to do it in a vertical position. Once its drilled I will start cutting and fitting the panels.
All clean and pretty
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Thanks.
Ya, light rig will be one of my next projects once the sump and plumbing are all hooked up. I have been mulling it over for sometime and trying to figure out the best way to go about it. Currently thinking of using 3 aluminium extrusion tubes, oriented to fit up inside the rafters. Each will be attached with 2 pulleys and a cable. Each cable run back along the ceiling to another pulley that will join the cables and be attached to a crank of some sort. Hopefully that will enable me to easily raise and lower the lights as one big unit, but will need to experiment a bit to be sure I come up with a workable solution.
Ya, light rig will be one of my next projects once the sump and plumbing are all hooked up. I have been mulling it over for sometime and trying to figure out the best way to go about it. Currently thinking of using 3 aluminium extrusion tubes, oriented to fit up inside the rafters. Each will be attached with 2 pulleys and a cable. Each cable run back along the ceiling to another pulley that will join the cables and be attached to a crank of some sort. Hopefully that will enable me to easily raise and lower the lights as one big unit, but will need to experiment a bit to be sure I come up with a workable solution.
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Small update.
I didnt like the way it was sitting on the floor so I built a platform for the sump to sit on. The piece on the back is the start of the supports for what will be a countertop and a hood for the sump. More on that later.
Ill move the sump up on the platform tonight and do a leak test on the tank before I start cutting and installing the glass baffles.
Once the glass baffles are installed I am going to start work on the heat exchange unit I am going to build for it. For this I will use my hot water heater and the tap to provide all the cooling/heating without all the electricity for the tube heaters. It will basically consist of a 2 spirals of pex tubing in the sump. one spiral will be for heating the other for cooling. The heat unit will be hooked to a recirculating pump on the hot water heater and plumbed as a closed loop. It will be controlled by a solenoid and ranco.
For the cold water it will be attached to the tap, and also controlled by a solenoid and ranco controller. The outlet for this will be attached to my drip system for my outside yard plants, both front and back. Here's a post on RC with the basic idea of how this will be setup and work http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2232513
I didnt like the way it was sitting on the floor so I built a platform for the sump to sit on. The piece on the back is the start of the supports for what will be a countertop and a hood for the sump. More on that later.
Ill move the sump up on the platform tonight and do a leak test on the tank before I start cutting and installing the glass baffles.
Once the glass baffles are installed I am going to start work on the heat exchange unit I am going to build for it. For this I will use my hot water heater and the tap to provide all the cooling/heating without all the electricity for the tube heaters. It will basically consist of a 2 spirals of pex tubing in the sump. one spiral will be for heating the other for cooling. The heat unit will be hooked to a recirculating pump on the hot water heater and plumbed as a closed loop. It will be controlled by a solenoid and ranco.
For the cold water it will be attached to the tap, and also controlled by a solenoid and ranco controller. The outlet for this will be attached to my drip system for my outside yard plants, both front and back. Here's a post on RC with the basic idea of how this will be setup and work http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2232513
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Got the sump drilled and glass panels cut/installed. Ill let it cure a few days and then leak test some of the chambers 
Need to have an acrylic piece made to hold 4 filter socks in the splashdown box. I also finally finished carving the 'Tree of Life' panels for the display refugium stand.
Next, I will be working on the
- heat exchange unit
- platforms for the rock in the sump
Items left to do before we get wet:
- Install electric sub panel and 3 outlets near the sump
- build electircal outlet stations
- Light rack with pulley possibly light skirts too
- finalize plumbing
- build water change station with plumbing
- build hood/counter top to go over the sump
- get qt tanks up an running
Need to have an acrylic piece made to hold 4 filter socks in the splashdown box. I also finally finished carving the 'Tree of Life' panels for the display refugium stand.Next, I will be working on the
- heat exchange unit
- platforms for the rock in the sump
Items left to do before we get wet:
- Install electric sub panel and 3 outlets near the sump
- build electircal outlet stations
- Light rack with pulley possibly light skirts too
- finalize plumbing
- build water change station with plumbing
- build hood/counter top to go over the sump
- get qt tanks up an running
I can probably give you a hand with the acrylic sock holder if you'd like. I don't know what your work schedule is like but I'm free most Fridays and evenings after 5:00 if you feel like coming out to Golden. We should be able to make it while you're here if it's just a single flat piece with the holes for filter socks. Plus, you can get exactly what you want if you're here catching the acrylic snow with me.
My wife has mandatory fun planned for this weekend (wedding for people I've never met, yeah!?....)
My wife has mandatory fun planned for this weekend (wedding for people I've never met, yeah!?....)
SynDen
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That would be awesome, and your schedule is much like mine, so I'm sure we can come up with a time. Would love to see your shop and setup too I need to go make a run up to Plasticare real soon anyway, as I have a list of few odds and ends I need to build. After I make a run there and get some sheets, Ill let you know. Thank you
I need to go make a run up to Plasticare real soon anyway, as I have a list of few odds and ends I need to build. After I make a run there and get some sheets, Ill let you know. Thank you
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Quick update from the last week or so.
Picked up a free 40g breeder that had a broken side and repaired the side. Luckily I have plenty of 1/4" glass around, and had a tile saw to cut it, so the hardest part really was just getting the original panel off.
This tank will be the main QT tank and will go under the planted tank eventually
Fixed tank with new black silicon
I also continued the work on the sump area and trying to work/fit in under the stairs is quite the challenge. I re-used an old cabinet from our previous kitchen, and built all the rest to fit and conform to the space. Hopefully the peg board will provide me the means to easily organize and hide cords and plumbing.
Up next is to build a counter + canopy thing for the top of the sump. The spot that has a plywood board in the pics, will be where the counter top is and next to it will be a canopy that will enclose the splashdown, and equipment chambers of the sump. in the back of the canopy will be where the plumbing comes in, but will also house the connection for a 6" and 4" vent pipes. The 6" pipe will have some inline fans and air filters and be pushing in fresh air directly from outside. The 4" will be the exhaust to the outside as well, and one top will be a mounted fan to circulate all the air, to ensure maximum gas exchange.
Picked up a free 40g breeder that had a broken side and repaired the side. Luckily I have plenty of 1/4" glass around, and had a tile saw to cut it, so the hardest part really was just getting the original panel off.
This tank will be the main QT tank and will go under the planted tank eventually
Fixed tank with new black silicon
I also continued the work on the sump area and trying to work/fit in under the stairs is quite the challenge. I re-used an old cabinet from our previous kitchen, and built all the rest to fit and conform to the space. Hopefully the peg board will provide me the means to easily organize and hide cords and plumbing.
Up next is to build a counter + canopy thing for the top of the sump. The spot that has a plywood board in the pics, will be where the counter top is and next to it will be a canopy that will enclose the splashdown, and equipment chambers of the sump. in the back of the canopy will be where the plumbing comes in, but will also house the connection for a 6" and 4" vent pipes. The 6" pipe will have some inline fans and air filters and be pushing in fresh air directly from outside. The 4" will be the exhaust to the outside as well, and one top will be a mounted fan to circulate all the air, to ensure maximum gas exchange.
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Thanks! ya I did have to remove part of it. I wanted to remove the whole thing and then euro brace it but I didnt have anything I could get in to cut away the silicon on the inside of the frame, and didnt want to risk breaking any other sides, so i just cut off the one side with the broken glass. To re-brace it. I added a strip of glass on the outside, laid up against the side and siliconed to the main panel sides, and then one strap on the inside that is siliconed back to the main frame and glass. Its hard to see the second glass strap on the outside, in that last pic, but its there
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Been a while on the update as I have been busy on other things until recently. The biggest thing was finishing the kitchen/bath remodel as I did a fair amount of the work for it to get it done. After that we went to Japan and a few other places, but finally I can start working on the build again.
Had a bit of a set back on my current 75g reef. I added a beautiful white cheek tang to the tank sometime ago. He had been through QT and had been in the DT for several weeks before I went on vacaction to Japan. When I got back though, I had a full blown case of Ick in the tank. Lost most of my fish as a result, my clown pair and 1 of my Anthias look to have made it through and showing signs of improvement now.
Anyway the whole incident has made me rethink my qt setup I had planned a bit. I had a stack of 1/4" plate glass that I had gotten to do the sump dividers. Needless to say I had quite a bit of it, and in the end I ended up making 5 tanks with it.
I made 4 35g('ish) tanks and 1 small frag tank. The first tank I made however, decided it was going to split one of the pieces of glass after I assembled it, so it got set aside. So with the 3 tanks, 2 will be new QT tanks, and 1 will be the RO tank.
While building these I made a few mistakes with the first few, mostly sloppy with the silicon, but the frag tank, which I did last, came out flawless and I am really happy with it. The others arent as pretty as they could be, but they will work great for their intended functions. Each has passed a leak test without incident too, so next will be to drill the ro and frag tank, then build the stand setup for the new QT tanks
Once QT is setup and built I will be working on the mixing stations and final plumbing next
Current list till "wet"
- QT tanks built and setup
- Mixing station setup with final plumbing
- heat exchange system plumbed to hot and cold water - includes setup to drip line in my garden for the cold line
- Final Electrical
- Light rack
- Light skirts
- Acrylic Work (overflow, swirl clips, sump hood, CL flanges)
- Replace the seals in all 3 Barracuda pumps
Items I still need
- 3x 150w DE 6500k MH lamps
- 3x Aquarium Engineering reeflo seals
- 2x Sea swirls
- 2x QT heaters and HOB/sponge filters
Had a bit of a set back on my current 75g reef. I added a beautiful white cheek tang to the tank sometime ago. He had been through QT and had been in the DT for several weeks before I went on vacaction to Japan. When I got back though, I had a full blown case of Ick in the tank. Lost most of my fish as a result, my clown pair and 1 of my Anthias look to have made it through and showing signs of improvement now.
Anyway the whole incident has made me rethink my qt setup I had planned a bit. I had a stack of 1/4" plate glass that I had gotten to do the sump dividers. Needless to say I had quite a bit of it, and in the end I ended up making 5 tanks with it.
I made 4 35g('ish) tanks and 1 small frag tank. The first tank I made however, decided it was going to split one of the pieces of glass after I assembled it, so it got set aside. So with the 3 tanks, 2 will be new QT tanks, and 1 will be the RO tank.
While building these I made a few mistakes with the first few, mostly sloppy with the silicon, but the frag tank, which I did last, came out flawless and I am really happy with it. The others arent as pretty as they could be, but they will work great for their intended functions. Each has passed a leak test without incident too, so next will be to drill the ro and frag tank, then build the stand setup for the new QT tanks
Once QT is setup and built I will be working on the mixing stations and final plumbing next
Current list till "wet"
- QT tanks built and setup
- Mixing station setup with final plumbing
- heat exchange system plumbed to hot and cold water - includes setup to drip line in my garden for the cold line
- Final Electrical
- Light rack
- Light skirts
- Acrylic Work (overflow, swirl clips, sump hood, CL flanges)
- Replace the seals in all 3 Barracuda pumps
Items I still need
- 3x 150w DE 6500k MH lamps
- 3x Aquarium Engineering reeflo seals
- 2x Sea swirls
- 2x QT heaters and HOB/sponge filters