Zoolan's 210 with Custom Stand Build (1 Viewer)

[zoolan70]

Tank plumbing was the next task. I intend to make it as simple as possible. while still being flexible for changes if needed. Each bulkhead is MPT and connects to union for any future plumbing changes.

The drain lines and feed lines meet at wye fittings in the center of the tank. I wish I could make it look less messy, but I was limited by the bend radii of the TigerFlex pipe.

The lines then run through a hole in the wall into the bathroom. I always cut my holes square and install low voltage mud rings so that if I ever tear out the pipes, I can just throw on a blank face plate and I'm done.

Next is the bathroom vanity. This is the majority of the downward slope for the return line.

Finally, behind the toilet and through the facia of the bathtub. I was surprised how hard it was to cut through the fiberglass.

Like magic, the pipes appear in the furnace room and run over to the sump.

I LOVE FLEX PVC! This would have been a lot harder with rigid tubing.

 

[zoolan70]

Looking really nice. Isnt it great to plumb right into a floor drain, no more buckets. What size is the sump? I have the 75 gal size as mine.

Ken

It is a 150. I was leaning toward the 100, but decided the odds were better that I would want more space down the road than wanting a smaller sump.

 

[kjdeut]

Yeah had to go the other way, I wanted the 100 gal but space was getting really tight in the laundry room so ended up with the 75.

 

[Jboulerice]

Thanks to Justin and some other folks, the tank is set on the stand and in its final location.

You can see how the glass sits right up against ledge.

The canopy swung open. I will need to come up with some sort of support system for it. I'm thinking of using gas struts.

And a final parting shot. I hope to have the canopy stained and poly'd this weekend.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE! Lookin great already!

 

[Flounder]

I'm impressed your sump/fishroom is so far away. What kind of return pump are you planning on using? I have dreams of my own display further away and am not sure on a return pump.

 

[zoolan70]

I'm impressed your sump/fishroom is so far away. What kind of return pump are you planning on using? I have dreams of my own display further away and am not sure on a return pump.

I bought a used Reeflo Dart. Even that is really overkill for that distance, but the Reeflo pumps can be throttled back, which was a prime consideration in my decision. Remember, you can only dump water in as fast as the overflows can get water back out, which puts me at about 600 gph per overflow, or 1200 total. The horizontal distance isn't much in terms of head loss due to there being no fittings between the fish / furnace room and the tank itself. When I did the calculations, it came to between 8-10 total head loss, so I'll have pump capacity to spare.

 

[zoolan70]

The doors are here! I threw a coat of stain on them tonight, and hopefully will have 3 coats of poly on them by Saturday.

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[zoolan70]

Water Tests are complete

With the exception of a few unions that weren't tight enough, the freshwater test was flawless. I ran the whole system with freshwater for 3 days ensure no leaks, then drained it down. Now I'm making up saltwater, 35 gallons at a time.

Here are some cell phone pictures of the tank with fresh water in it, and doors on. I'll post a new batch of good pictures in the next few days, hopefully. I picked up a skimmer and have done some more work in the fish room.

 

[Kepler]

Is that a little helicopter in front of the tank or are my eyes deceiving me?

 

[zoolan70]

Good eyes! The boys were flying them around and one happened to be in front of the tank.

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[zoolan70]

Water and Rocks!

The fine folks at BRS dropped off two giant boxes of rock on Tuesday, so I acid washed it, plus all the other pieces I had lying around. I bought around 100 pounds of Pukani Eco Rock, which is awesome. It comes in VERY large pieces - basketball and larger - so if you use it in anything but the largest tanks, be prepared to split it up with a chisel. I cut one piece up, and it was really easy due to the open structure and porous material.

So once it was rinsed and dried, into the tank it goes! We tried using Paleo-Bond to connect the rocks together. It worked...sort of. You have to SLATHER the stuff onto joints to get them to hold, so buy double what you think you will need. Many of my joints didn't hold, but the ones I over-engineered with the stuff worked OK. I ended up tearing out the entire left side and redoing it with rods, which worked much better. I'm going to buy more PB and reinforce the joints at some point.

Some pictures of the layout so far. I need to add some rock from my existing tank to see this stuff once it cycles, so there will be some more rock added.

There are more pictures on my photobucket page:

http://s779.photobucket.com/albums/yy73/zoolan70/

 

[zoolan70]

I put a small halide on the tank so I could try and get some better pictures.

I have the skimmer up and running in a Rubbermaid Tote in the sump.

The skimmer runs almost all of the water through it, and there are two bulkheads to drain the extra. All three outlets will go through a filter sock in the final configuration.

This is the valve to drain the system. To do a water change, I just open that valve and let it drain as much as I want to replace. I plan to mark the inside of the sump so that I know when I've drained a set amount, such as 30 gallons.

The skimmer is already pulling some gunk out.

 

[Fragtastic Reef]

Tim,

Everything looks awesome! WOW what a build. The stand and everything looks great. :beerchug:

 

[Kepler]

Very nice build .

I like the ice cream buckets on the feet of the table.

 

[Fragtastic Reef]

Very nice build .

I like the ice cream buckets on the feet of the table.

I have a feeling someone really likes that table... Good idea!

 

[Kepler]

ya, must be the peanut gallery :gay1:

 

[zoolan70]

ya, must be the peanut gallery :gay1:

Correct! She likes it enough that I can't wreck it, but not enough to actually use it in the house. It's previous life was taking us space under the stairs.

 

[zoolan70]

Unplanned progress today. The boys and I were sitting around, and decided we would run to Home Depot and price out the parts to build the 'fuge and other reactors' stand for over the sump. I decided to dig through the stuff in the 'left over parts from other projects' bin in the garage, and discovered the remains of a bed frame I used to have. A few cuts here and there, a few added 2x4s, and the stand is done. I will be putting a 55 gallon tank on the left end, and the rest will be used for my calcium reactor and other things.

The brace is only there until the glue dries against the wall.

 

[Kepler]

Very nice and it's stained too

Still haven't cleaned up that table :gay1:.

 

[zoolan70]

Very nice and it's stained too

Still haven't cleaned up that table :gay1:.

Sure I did. I've cleaned it off a few times this weekend. It just magically gets all full of stuff again...