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Noel's 58 Gallon Build (1 Viewer)

Ok--So the freshwater Reservoir is ALMOST complete. I have to find some 1/4" quick connect bulkheads which is an IMPOSSIBILITY to find here in the cities without having to go on the Internet to find them. Anyway, I had just got back from The Container Store in Edina and in the kitchen section they have "Keep Safe" food storage container that holds 16.9 quarts which is perfect my situation being in a small apartment--yet big enough to accomodate the evaporation levels of a 58 gallon. I can't imagine that it'll more than 3 gallon a day! Also, it is BPA-free so it wont leach chemicals in "food" or water.

Here it is after I drilled the 1/2" hole.

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Then of course there is nothing like testing the craftmanship of the non DIY'er within myself, so i tested for leaks:

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No leaks.

This is with the airtight cover that has a rubber flange around it on top:

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One thing I was worried about it was the fact that it was going to bow out with water filled--but after giving it a test run with plain 'ol tap water, It appears to be working quite well and it's very sturdy too.
 
Ok, so an update on my ATO water reservoir. Today I had purchased and picked up 5 1/4" OD bulkheads. Came to find out that they were 5/8" thick--so a trip to Ace Hardware once again to pick up a 5/8" holesaw that can be used for plastic and a pilot driver.

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The top bulkhead that is right next to the float switch is what's going to be connected to a solenoid. So once when the AC3 senses the float switch is open, the Solenoid will turn on and fill up the reservoir. Believe it or not--since I had hooked up the 3.2 gallon pressure tank beneath the sink--A nice gentle stream comes out. I have the tube hanging out of it so water isn't spraying inside the container.

The bottom two bulkheads are going to be where two aqualift pumps will be connected to. 1 is going to be hooked up to a pump that controls the kalkwasser reactor (whenever I get that) and the other will be connected to a second aqualift pump which will supply fresh H20 directly into the sump. This of course will be controlled by the AC3, depending on 1) water level and 2) pH if that is low.

Here is a picture of my sump which I had also retrofitted an additional 2 bulkheads on the top rim of the acrylic--of course this really isn't necessary, but I want things to look neat instead of a heaping mound of equipment--ok so I admit, I'm a bit anal retentive.

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and another shot of the sump:

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noeldokken said:
Ok, so an update on my ATO water reservoir. Today I had purchased and picked up 5 1/4" OD bulkheads. Came to find out that they were 5/8" thick--so a trip to Ace Hardware once again to pick up a 5/8" holesaw that can be used for plastic and a pilot driver.


The top bulkhead that is right next to the float switch is what's going to be connected to a solenoid. So once when the AC3 senses the float switch is open, the Solenoid will turn on and fill up the reservoir. Believe it or not--since I had hooked up the 3.2 gallon pressure tank beneath the sink--A nice gentle stream comes out. I have the tube hanging out of it so water isn't spraying inside the container.

The bottom two bulkheads are going to be where two aqualift pumps will be connected to. 1 is going to be hooked up to a pump that controls the kalkwasser reactor (whenever I get that) and the other will be connected to a second aqualift pump which will supply fresh H20 directly into the sump. This of course will be controlled by the AC3, depending on 1) water level and 2) pH if that is low.

Here is a picture of my sump which I had also retrofitted an additional 2 bulkheads on the top rim of the acrylic--of course this really isn't necessary, but I want things to look neat instead of a heaping mound of equipment--ok so I admit, I'm a bit anal retentive.



and another shot of the sump:
Click to expand...

At the risk of appearing to be a downer... you are just one float switch failure away from having a limitless supply of freshwater being pumped into your aquarium. If the switch in your sump fails, the controller will direct the pumps to start filling up the sump. And since you have your RODI hooked right up to your top-off container, it will keep pumping in water until it floods, and potentially drop your salinity enough to kill your livestock.

You should at least set a limit on how long the top-off pumps are allowed to operate in a given day to reduce potential damage.
 
Thanks for the tidbit but adding a failsafe has crossed my mind--either the addition of another float switch hooked up in a series in the sump or by chaging the logic of the program on the AC3 such as timing the pumps. Since I don't have a single drop of water near the aquarium yet--I have oodles of time to figure out the failsafe. Now if I wire a second float switch in the sump in a series--should that switch be set to "high level" or "low level" application? Or I can buy the px1000 expansion to bypass the 2 digital input limitation and just install a high level. ANyway, now i'm rambling.
 
I bought two more float switches--these will act as "high water" switches to act as a failsafe in case the low level fails--both in the ATO reservoir and in the sump.
 
Ok--so I just got back from Target and had purchased the $80 ottoman as I had said earlier in my posts. This will just add a touch of modernity while also providing a handy storage for the ATO reservoir and also saltwater reservoir as well. Again--small apartment does not equal large storage tanks. I will also be find a way to have at least ten gallons of fresh water on hand at all times just in case there is an emergency.

Other things I had purchased on ebay included a Mac Serial cable which will plug into the I/O port--this will hardwire the floatswitches. The other float switches I purchased were to add failsafes for the existing ones I had installed in the sump and the ATO reservoir. Also bought an AC Solenoid because the ones I had purchased earlier were 24V DC solenoids--and it's a pain in the butt to get my hands on a 24V AC/DC adapter.

Now with the saltwater semi-automatic water changer that I had been thinking on implementing--I was going to consider buying a Litermeter III--but I dont like the fact that it has it's own controller. I want everything done by my AC3. So I began looking on the internet for Peristaltic pumps and came across a company called Welco. I did a search on eBay and the internet and found that they are relatively cheap and had put in a request to the company to try and purchase two of them. These pumps are stylish and small--it will also pump 230 ml/minute and will be used to dump old saltwater from the sump to a drain and then another one to pump from the saltwater reservoir back into the sump and will run for 22 minutes 3 times a week--comes to about 4 gallons of water.

Things are getting exciting and I'll post pics of the Ottoman later tonight.
 
Auto Top Off build continued....

Ok so as my post had said yesterday, I had went ahead and purchased a cheapt $80 storage ottoman to hide some of the aquarium stuff from the open. Less this stuff takes up means more space in a small apartment.

Here is the Ottoman next to the aquarium sitting on the left side of it.

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Here is the small 1" hole I drilled from the underside so the RO line cannot be seen.

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I was impressed with how well the ATO reservoir had fit inside--a perfect fit.

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Yep--and I need to get some silicone. I kind of :mad_3: screwed up the top. It's totally undrillable. Oh well.
 
Thank you for the compliments. More of this build in a few weeks--and If I get my plumbing done I may be able to check for leaks!
 
Delayed

My project for the 58 Gallon Reef Build has been delayed due to the Holidays and the fact I had buy a whole new wardrobe for work. I have to invest another $1500 into the aquarium to at least get it running witht he biggest expense being the lighting. I'm estimating by March at the very latest I will get some water running into it.
 
Good work so far and completely understand, at least now you'll have time to research and maybe score with some deals after Christmas!

It'll all come together soon enough!!!
 
What pump do you have on your skimmer? It looks way too small for a beckett. BTW, I originally had the Reef Devil Deluxe on my 120 (SPS dominant) and it worked really well ( no beckett mod).
 
well well well--many months later I am finally back into the scheme of things...though slowly. I had to save up some money to be able to make any more purchases--wow this hobby is expensive!!

Today I had put in an order for 50 lbs of dry base rock. The thing that killed me in the hobby before was live rock going back with nuisances almost as if my tank was an aiptasia anemone brothel.

I had also finally ordered my light system. After much back and forth and deciding whether or not I should do both T5 and metal halide or just T5--I decided to go all T5--besides, this apartment I am in get's really hot in the summer so MH's just doesn't cut it.

So what did I get?

I got the 6x36 Watt Sunlight Supply Tek Light Elite with the fan---

Still not sure about bulbs.

Anywho -- here's what I have left to get:

Plumbing! I have no IDEA how i am going to do this. I need some more substrate, test kits, and of course salt. Oh and pumps. Yes I want to get a vortech Mp20, woudl like the MP40 but I think that is overkill on a 50 gallon !
 
Some updates

I just got in the delivery today for the 50lbs of MarcoRocks I had purchased. Here is a picture of it. Yes, my aquarium has been sitting between the living and dining room for a few months empty, so I placed all the rocks inside. At least now I have something nice to look at for the moment.

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BIG changes!!! you're almost there. how much longer? 2012? lol
 
i missed this thread the first time around. you are a genius with that ottoman. i'm not going to lye, i will most likely steal this idea.
 
kcooley--2012 seems like a stretch...but I think I can manage.

I swear I also had a case of ADD, work and school, christmas, and then taxes. Oh well--little by little again.

Very excited for the tek light 6 bulb elite that I bought--should be getting that in about 2-3 weeks.

Rihanssu--

Thanks. We'll see how the food container from the container store holds up. If anything, I'll just spend the money to get the custom designed acrylic RO/DI reservoir tank made to fit inside of it. Keep in mind the cheap particle board smells like vomit when drilling....no joke.
 
well the plumbing work is underway. Will be posting pictures soon. Recap, I have the 1 1/2" drains entirely out of PVC. As they leave the overflow I have 2 unions so I can take apart in case of maintenance. DO you know how hard it was to find these Unions here in the cities? GOD! About had a meltdown but I found 'em at the home depot in the Quarry. Also purchased a bulk reef reactor for Carbon and GFO...purchased a px1000 to extend my Aquacontroller...purchased the bulk reef dosing pump...needed a new temp probe for the controller as the other one, during testing, was reading a temp of 20 degrees.

I'm getting there...very close....!:greenguy::greenguy::greenguy:
 
hit a snag in plumbing, as I had mentioned in a previous post. was gluing together the drain 90 degree street elbow Slip x MPT to a union, and well, forgot to attach the other piece for the union before I glued it. The thing that ticked me off was I had right next to me! So...should I do a ghetto rig, or just order the silly part and wait?
 
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