Edwardw771
NJRC Member
Great to see you back in the Game Merv. How long will it be till the upgrade. I vote 6 months. Anyone want to take the bet?
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Merv's new 40 gallon build
- Thread starter concept3
- Start date
I felt very productive today!!!
-Installed the light hangers
-Built the door and installed it
-Trimmed the light reflector
-Completed 99.8% of the plumbing
-Mounted the external pump
all in about 6 hours (off today and it was raining outside so I was stuck inside)
Here are the light hanger bars being installed. This is the base of the tank in the rear. I installed a piece of wood for it to sit on and then added another piece of wood to go in between to chock them together.
Drilling the conduit for a pilot hole
Now the screw-
The installed bar-
-Installed the light hangers
-Built the door and installed it
-Trimmed the light reflector
-Completed 99.8% of the plumbing
-Mounted the external pump
all in about 6 hours (off today and it was raining outside so I was stuck inside)
Here are the light hanger bars being installed. This is the base of the tank in the rear. I installed a piece of wood for it to sit on and then added another piece of wood to go in between to chock them together.
Drilling the conduit for a pilot hole
Now the screw-
The installed bar-
Plumbing-
Finished off the 'dirty water' return:
and completed the plumbing underneath the tank. I had to make a few changes around the original design by adding an extra valve and re-routed the location of some PVC pipes so the stand wasn't too cluttered looking.
and some minor plumbing for the chiller feed and return-
The parts I needed to frankenstein together for the chiller feed:
Here's that same one being installed after cementing the other side:
Finished off the 'dirty water' return:
and completed the plumbing underneath the tank. I had to make a few changes around the original design by adding an extra valve and re-routed the location of some PVC pipes so the stand wasn't too cluttered looking.
and some minor plumbing for the chiller feed and return-
The parts I needed to frankenstein together for the chiller feed:
Here's that same one being installed after cementing the other side:
The semi-completed plumbing schematic
Here's the messload of PVC hopefully creating a leak free (knocks on wood) system
and a shot from the rear after completing the main return
Here's my "custom" pump vibration dampener system (rubber stoppers)
mounted to a small piece of plywood-
and then installed in the tank as one piece-
Here's the messload of PVC hopefully creating a leak free (knocks on wood) system
and a shot from the rear after completing the main return
Here's my "custom" pump vibration dampener system (rubber stoppers)
mounted to a small piece of plywood-
and then installed in the tank as one piece-
and then I shortened the length of the light bracket for the reflector since I want to create a housing for the whole thing. It was throwing me off dimensions wise, so I cut it. I'm only using 250 watters anyways, and the bulbs are relatively short-
here's the whole fixture with the shortened butt-
and with that, the door was put on and a full tank shot was taken!
I'm beat, gotta work tomorrow at 8am- off to bed after watching BBCA Topgear!
here's the whole fixture with the shortened butt-
and with that, the door was put on and a full tank shot was taken!
I'm beat, gotta work tomorrow at 8am- off to bed after watching BBCA Topgear!
Looking good,
That plumbing looks really clean.
That plumbing looks really clean.
saltwater4life said:
Thanks nick- OCD
evoIX said:
I'm in a town called Manayunk near Center city Philadelphia- Nah, I don't mind, if you don't mind the mess the other room mates may have lying around. You shoulda stopped by my other place near AC when you coulda. When it's time to trim that tank again, you should make a trip for that one too.
Well, with the weather being nice today, I dragged the stand outside, screwed on the top and added a 2nd and 3rd lyer of gloss black paint. I also painted the arms to prevent future rust. I needed to do some minor sanding and then threw on the paint-
Three shots, during painting when the sun was in my eyes around 5:30PM, and one shot around 6:30 when the sun was ready to go down. It's a good thing the paint was semi tacky by then, cuz it got COLD real quick!
as the sun set, it got cold!
Last and final coat!!!!
NEWSALT said:
Hey Mike, I know the thread's starting to get a bit lengthy with tons of pics but the light hangers were "made" on page 7 here: http://www.njreefers.org/joomla/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=26&topic=22867.90
Built the housing today for the lumenarc mini. Pieces of ply left over from the build were used to make the fixture which measured 17 X 17 X 8h. The reflector fit right in, but I had to make a little notch to allow the rear of the Mogul socket through.
Next day off is going to be spent venting the hood (I might install a computer fan or two since I have them lying around), painting the hood and finally wiring it in.
Next day off is going to be spent venting the hood (I might install a computer fan or two since I have them lying around), painting the hood and finally wiring it in.
I cleaned up my sump and wet tested it all day. I then went ahead and drilled the sump to finally get the pump all plumbed in. After everything settles, I'm gonna build me an updated sump, the one with the fuge, but for now this'll do. Pump/plumbing/Water testing next week.....
here's the sump being drilled:
Pilot hole first-
Then the hole saw
all done
For ease of breakdown and to get a little flex between the sump, pump, pipes and bulkhead, I opted to use a small piece of flex hose and two pvc sections. (Gearheads in the house think Turbo pipes and silicone tube couplers)- I have to run and get 2 sections of hose clamps.
The flex hose holds 2 pieces of PVC together. If I ever need to replace the sump (which I eventually will), then it's simply a matter of switching out the sump, and I can reuse the bulkhead. They aren't cheap!
here's the sump being drilled:
Pilot hole first-
Then the hole saw
all done
For ease of breakdown and to get a little flex between the sump, pump, pipes and bulkhead, I opted to use a small piece of flex hose and two pvc sections. (Gearheads in the house think Turbo pipes and silicone tube couplers)- I have to run and get 2 sections of hose clamps.
The flex hose holds 2 pieces of PVC together. If I ever need to replace the sump (which I eventually will), then it's simply a matter of switching out the sump, and I can reuse the bulkhead. They aren't cheap!
reefsandrotts
NJRC Member
Merv
You finally covered your bottom....
You finally covered your bottom....
Merv, fantastic Tale of the Tank. Love all these pictures…shows some real quality work being done. Great job.
I’m going external with the pump and I have a question about your pump setup. Oh, I will be using rubber stoppers for vibrations…great idea. What is that first piece you have after the bulkhead?
Is that some sort of vibration-reducing connector? Also, inside the sump, it appears as if the elbow and pipe goes very close to the bottom of the tank. Won’t that vacuum sand/detritus into the pump, shorting the life of the pump? Wouldn’t you be better off either going straight out of even slightly up?
Keep those pictures coming!
I’m going external with the pump and I have a question about your pump setup. Oh, I will be using rubber stoppers for vibrations…great idea. What is that first piece you have after the bulkhead?
Is that some sort of vibration-reducing connector? Also, inside the sump, it appears as if the elbow and pipe goes very close to the bottom of the tank. Won’t that vacuum sand/detritus into the pump, shorting the life of the pump? Wouldn’t you be better off either going straight out of even slightly up?
Keep those pictures coming!
Yes, jim, I finally covered my bottom. It's starting to schafe already
thanks Paul, as long as what I post is being used as a help tool/resource, I will continue. Sometimes though, I feel like I'm posting pics to log it for myself....no one ever posts here anymore?!?
So, the little section you circled would be the "coupler" which is used to join the bulkhead to the main plumbing. It allows ease of sump removal or exchange as well as a flex reducer (if longer) in case the pump does not align properly with the sump.
here it is pulled out a little bit
and pulled out and detached from both the pump and bulkhead
another angle
I hope that clarifies it a bit.
The sections will be kept watertight with a pair of hose clamps from the hardware store.
thanks Paul, as long as what I post is being used as a help tool/resource, I will continue. Sometimes though, I feel like I'm posting pics to log it for myself....no one ever posts here anymore?!?
So, the little section you circled would be the "coupler" which is used to join the bulkhead to the main plumbing. It allows ease of sump removal or exchange as well as a flex reducer (if longer) in case the pump does not align properly with the sump.
here it is pulled out a little bit
and pulled out and detached from both the pump and bulkhead
another angle
I hope that clarifies it a bit.
The sections will be kept watertight with a pair of hose clamps from the hardware store.
Tighten em up good. I would personally use a barbed bulkhead and a 90 degree threaded to slip fitting on the pump side. Install a barb on the thread end of the 90. You can always cut the barbs a bit shorter. I just don't trust standard pipe with hose over it. Excellent build tho, very neat
When the pump is shut off the sump will fill with water. What keeps the water from running out of the bulkhead when you disconnect the pipe to the pump?
You might need to add another valve or have a stopper to insert in the pipe handy.
You might need to add another valve or have a stopper to insert in the pipe handy.