Jimroth's Big Ol' Tank

[jimroth]

Return pump is fitted in and glued. Man, I thought an 8' long bench would be huge, but with the 50G sump, I still had to angle the intake out of the sump so the pump was perpendicular to the tank. And those 2" elbows are not tight turns.
Luckily the pumps lined up pretty well with the bulkheads. I wonder if I'm going to regret not using flexible PVC in there for vibration reduction.
The drains to the sump come out of the wall way up from then end of the tank where I want them to go (where the skimmer pump draws from) so I will have to zig and zag them. I sure hope that, when I turn the water on, this thing doesn't leak like something from a Three Stooges flick.
I still need to add baffles and such to the sump. I found an interesting plastic window channel material at my local hardware store (not at HD!) which I'm going to try. It should allow me some flexibility to add and remove baffles.

 

[jimroth]

Oh @#$%, a setback!

Well, I was finishing the drain plumbing to the sump, and I slid that big 50Gallon right into the wall, bulkhead first! It's busted. Then I slid it back and cracked the other end. After all my @^#^%#* work. Arrrgh!. I feel like tossing my cookies.
Time to call RichT, the SumpMeister.

Water Test

Impact Test

Results of Impact Test

Well, back to the drawing board...

 

[Phyl]

Ouch. After such great progress and building momentum. Sorry to hear about the setback. Pick up your pieces and get moving forward again.

 

[Brian]

Oh that stinks...sorry to hear about that! Hopefully this doesn't take the wind out of your sails.

 

[jimroth]

Oh, my sails still have wind in them. Sadly, they're not attached to a boat anymore. I woke up this morning and I was hoping it was all a bad dream.

I'm going to redirect for a little while I wait for a new sump. I need to mount up my new RO unit and build a lighting rack out of aluminum rails, ala Melev, to hold my big reflectors, those looneymarc things. I'm going to put the RO unit in an old kitchen cabinet in the downstairs bathroom, because honestly, the only people who like to look at those things are reefers.

BTW, I think RichT has quit the sump business.

 

[RichT]

BTW, I think RichT has quit the sump business.

Just an extended sabbatical (hopefully)

 

[jimroth]

Well, I didn't feel like dropping $300 on an acrylic sump anyway, so my friendly LFS owner talked me into buying a 40 breeder, which is a very good size for a sump. ($90) It's lower and wider than the 50 I was using, and no brace.

So I started to drill it with my 85mm glass bit. I got about half way through, and just STOPPED MAKING PROGRESS. I drilled for 40 minutes and I wasn't getting any further through the glass. I cleaned up the site, and you know what? You can tell your drill bit is really worn out when it STOPS PRODUCING ANY GLASS DUST. Nothing. No stock removal. I actually had to order another bit JUST TO FINISH ONE HOLE. Amazing. The 50G was the only other tank I drilled with that bit. Maybe using liquid prevents this from happening.

When I get the new bit, since it will be all funky fresh, I am going to drill through from the other side to reduce chipping and to prove what a big swinging banana I am my skillz.

 

[jimroth]

Man, it took a long time to finish that 85MM hole...I think big holes take longer, you're actually making a much longer cut if you see at as linear instead of a circle. In the meantime I bought a fresh 45MM holesaw for the skimmer bulkhead, that one won't take very long to cut.
While I was waiting I disassembled the broken 55G into sheets of glass. It was surprisingly easy once I removed the broken panels and the plastic frames. I cut into the silicone with a Stanley knife and just pulled it apart. It kind of made me think I really could have just siliconed replacement glass in there, after cutting new holes...STOP! STOP! BAD THINKING! MUST...CEASE...introspection....

 

[jimroth]

The sump is drilled for both pumps, bulkheads installed. I WILL be more careful. I am going to do the wet test and then add the baffles. Obviously I need to see how much drains out of the system when the power shuts down.
I had a strange thought, buying a small tank (10 G and partly disassembling it and using it for a sump chamber, like to catch the raw water when it comes in. Maybe a smaller tank for a 'fuge or something. The 40 breeder is big enuff, it would work.
I need to make a probe holder too. And a strainer for that big 2" bulkhead.
It occurred to me that with the low temps in the garage I will probably need an acrylic cover for the sump, just to keep the steam in a little.
Some trouble getting the return pump outlet to hook up with the return plumbing, which is flat against the wall. Need some combo of spa flex and PVC and unions, I'm faking it hoping to come up with the right combination. I am going to take the return right out of the top of the table to anchor the whole deal. The 1-1/2" true union is a monster, it's so heavy I'm afraid to sit it on top of the pump witout additional support.
Random Plumbing Thoughts:
Why don't they make premade slip nipples (slipples?) to join slip fittings closely?
Why don't they make a gadget that's a slip insert piece with a threaded adaptor so you can put a male or female threaded connection right onto a union, bulkhead, or what have you.
Glass Drilling Agonistes:
Having just drilled a smallish (45mm) and largish (85mm) holes, I have come to the following observations. Either
A)Big holes take a lot longer because you are cutting a longer line through the glass, it's a simple matter of how much stock you have to remove
or
B)The Chinese factories where they make the glass drills really cheap out with the diamonds on the big drills!
Man that took forever. The small hole was only 10 minutes.
And finally, since a glass drill is not actually a drill or saw in the normal sense, you can change directions for additional cutting if the drill starts to wear out.

 

[BobCReef]

Why don't they make premade slip nipples (slipples?) to join slip fittings closely

They make elbows this way. They are called street elbow

 

[harlequinreef]

whats your opinion of glass cages. I thinking of an upgrade and they are a candidate. Any close of pics of silicone, edges, overflows?
Thanks

 

[jimroth]

I like Glasscages. Their work is sturdy if not as beautiful as some of the high-end shops. I know of Glasscages tanks in use for 8+ years with no leaks. Most of the people who make snide comments about them have no firsthand knowledge of their tanks.
They used to be more sloppy with the silicone than they are now. Nowadays there's an occasional drip on the glass. In the old days they put it on with a trowel. And the tanks held together. My tank was 1/3 the price it would have been at Aquariums 4 U and the like. Glasscages spent some time on the phone with me working out optimal size for the tank (there are some dimensions governed by glass sheet sizes.).
Glasscages owner is a character. He has kind of a short fuse, and has told people to go elsewhere for their tanks if the change their order too much. He's like the soup guy on Seinfeld. Still...as he likes to remind people, Glasscages is the largest seller of LARGE (over 180) aquariums in the US. They really turn them out.
Once I get over this cold, I will post some closeups of my special (sideways) overflow and some of the silicone work, and you can decide for yourself.
I wish their stands were a little nicer looking, but I guess you can always hire someone to make one.

 

[jimroth]

I made provision for the baffles in my sump by siliconing in pieces of "sliding door track" from the HW store. The package looked really old, I bet the company has gone out of business! Don't ya love local hardware stores? It's basically a double-U-shaped styrene track. I will be able to vary my raw water section, bublle trap etc by sliding in various glass sheets. Gonna cut what's left of the old 50G into various glass sheets.

I bought an ass-kicking new (used) skimmer, it's an ETSS1000. Thing's five feet tall. I am now loaded for bear, it's rated for like a 600 gallon tank. Of course, I already had a MRC2 beckett skimmer and pump, but those really need a lot of adjustment to work right, I think the ATSS will easier, and I got a very good deal on it!

 

[Brian]

Of course, I already had a MRC2 beckett skimmer and pump, but those really need a lot of adjustment to work right

What makes you say that? I have that exact skimmer and find it to be pretty easy to dial in...You just need to be patient, but I think that is the case with most skimmers.

 

[jimroth]

Well, when I had it in use the last time conditions were maybe not optimal. It was in the sump in the stand under my 90G, there was I guess a lot of dust and salt in the air, because the air filter-silencer thingy kept getting clogged. Even so, they really crank out the stinky skimmate!
Setups like yours (and my new one) are optimal for serious skimmers, because adjusting a skimmer in the sump inside the stand is very annoying. I am lookin forward to being able to do it standing up like a human being.
Besides, as you can see, I am trying to rationalize yet another expensive purchase, this time replacing something that didn't even need to be replaced. I haven't even used the PCX-55 pump I bought for the MR2! I can't resist a bargain.

 

[Brian]

I agree with you about air injectors getting clogged, I have a turkey baster that I use to squirt some water in them every few days...takes a minute and makes a big difference.

 

[jimroth]

Cutting Tempered Glass

Jeezus....don't cut tempered glass. I have been cutting apart my busted 50G to make sump baffles. The bottom was apparently tempered glass. I KNEW it was probably tempered. It was a convenient size so I said, "what the hell, maybe it will work." Someone had said tempered glass will EXPLODE if you try to cut it, and I thought that was an exaggeration. So I cut it. It is stronger than regular glass, it flexes more when you try to break it. It sounds different from regular glass when you hit it. You know how you put a wet paint sign on something but people still have to check for themselves?
Well, I was wearing gloves and eye protection, which is good. It's like every inch of it is under tension. When it breaks, it ALL BREAKS AT ONCE. Some sizeable pieces shot 2-6 feet away from the sheet. After it breaks, it sits there talking like Rice Krispies or Pop Rocks for a couple minutes, impressive. The pieces are all those little squares you see on the ground after a car wreck, it's a mess to clean up. I took a pic, maybe I'll post it.
In closing, Don't Try to Cut Tempered Glass. :

 

[Jcurry@wesketch]

Some things you just have to try for yourself I guess. By the way that skimmer is my old one. LOL It's a pretty good skimmer. Remember to put a cheap valve on the air intake so you can adjust the bubble size.

 

[nyfireman3097]

Cant wait to see some progress here Jim.

 

[jimroth]

Oh no, I have slipped to page 2. That won't do.
Yesterday I had a dedicated circuit set up for my reef and for my smaller cichlid tank. I feel pretty clever, here's what I did: My house has electric baseboard heat. Along with the thermostatically controlled baseboards, there were a few baseboards with individual thermostats, in strange places like the laundry room and the water heater closet. We have never used them in 20 years (and in fact one of them was covered with a fantastic amount of dog hair. Man if we had ever turned that on...). One of the baseboards was on the other side of the wall from my sump-and-backend area in the garage, another was behind the cichlid tank in the entryway. I verified that they were all on the same breaker, and then had them removed and turned into outlets. Now most of the reef stuff (not the lighting) will be on its own circuit, and I can stop pulling extension cords all over the garage and house. Cost: $450 plus a bit more to add a shut off to the water heater and other stuff.