Jeff's 100g tank upgrade

[oredith]

a bit more plumbing. plugged up the 2nd drain in the sump (bought the sump used, already had 2 holes), and connected up the sump to the external pump

tested the pump, SUCCESS!

no leaks, pump runs really strong and quiet.

goal for the rest of the day:

• weld up a stand for the ATO
• cut bulkhead for ATO
• cut and reweld ATO for horizontal layout

 

[SchnitzelReef]

Ur losing a lot of potential flow by the way u setup ur plumbing.


Hot Dogs are GOOD!

 

[oredith]

The tee and the cross from the return? I couldn't figure out an easier way with 4 returns.

 

[SchnitzelReef]

The tee and the cross from the return? I couldn't figure out an easier way with 4 returns.

That combined with the small hose ur using right off the pump. I would have fun 1" PVC or 1.25".

I would use Ys instead of Ts. Prolly have to order them online


Hot Dogs are GOOD!

 

[oredith]

the outlet from the pump is 3/4", so i didn't really see a reason to increase the diameter to 1".

 

[oredith]

ugh

 

[oredith]

first 7 wired up

and.. don't touch hot soldering iron.

 

[Tangwich]

ouch..looks painful.

coming along nicely. now hurry up so we can have that vodka kegger at your place. lol

 

[oredith]

funny you mention that.

pen it in for Dec. 14th (hopefully you can make it)

 

[oredith]

welded up the stand for the ATO today:

then modified the ATO for horizontal orientation, here's trial fitting. the stand will have a 1.5" bulkhead on the side, with a pipe feeding the ATO, so i'll be able to just plug in a funnel to top off the ATO.

 

[oredith]

ATO water test, success

not fully plumbed yet, but all the parts under the tank are in place to make sure i have room

and the drain plumbed

 

[oredith]

after some talk with Bogdan last night at the SCRK potluck, I decided to make my own "cup" for the effluent pH probe instead of drilling into my Korallin reactor lid.

I was leaning toward a manifold setup, but was pretty annoyed at the lack of hardware at my home depot.

turns out, it was super easy to make the cup with spare plexi i already had. total additional cost, $1.25

i actually embedded in 6 neodymium magnets into the back (fully sealed with the acrylic weld), but turns out, 1/4" dia magnets were not strong enough to hold it through 1/4" plexi. i'll be plexi-welding it to the sump instead.

 

[oredith]

i give you - dancing LED ice cubes in my tank, with the return pump running..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Blw9oWrs15w

 

[lowbudget]

how are you going to refill the ato? also i would recommend to use the black flex holes for plumbing instead of the clear stuff. algae

 

[Reefomeez]

I was going to mention this last night but forgot. You should tie some of those cubes with a thin string to something that will weight it down a few inches off the bottom. Then you'll know what the flow looks like at the bottom. Since your return outlets are at the top and the cubes float you're not getting a complete picture of your flow. A few weighted down will give you a good idea of the flow overall.

 

[oredith]

how are you going to refill the ato? also i would recommend to use the black flex holes for plumbing instead of the clear stuff. algae

hose is pretty much in, i don't think i'm gonna be changing it much..

as for the ATO, on the tank enclosure, i'm going to be drilling a hole and inserting a 1.5" slip/slip bulkhead, which will dump into the top of the ATO. from the outside, i'm just going to make a 90-degree elbow with a flare, and basically make a funnel that i can top it off from the outside.

 

[oredith]

I was going to mention this last night but forgot. You should tie some of those cubes with a thin string to something that will weight it down a few inches off the bottom. Then you'll know what the flow looks like at the bottom. Since your return outlets are at the top and the cubes float you're not getting a complete picture of your flow. A few weighted down will give you a good idea of the flow overall.

sounds like a project for ashley..

 

[oredith]

progress shot:

took the skimmer off-line yesterday, threw in half of a silver side and a few krills, along with a bottle of Dr. Tim's bacteria in a bottle. also threw in a bengai + 1 firefish to see how they react.

tank seems to have a lot of circulation on just the jets alone. hopefully the Jaebo GP will get here soon, so i can get the WP40 in there again..

 

[oredith]

well, last night was un-fun. something had been nagging at me with my sump for a few days. the caulking was turning white inside the water, and I didn't think silicon was suppose to do that. after getting Ashley to take a picture so that I can look up the calking in more detail, it was an acrylic / silicon mix.

not as strong (which didn't concern me), but commonly laced with fungicide.. X_X

while it didn't specifically say that, I still didn't trust it. I figured it'd be easier to change it up now, rather than later when there's more stuff in the tank. so i busted out the sump last night, striped off all the caulking, and replaced it with 100% silicon.

was an unfun night of activities, which also meant i made no progress with the LED fixture..

 

[Tangwich]

Something i learned a long time ago with this hobby that might help. it's a marathon, not a sprint. enjoy the ride/process and it will remain fun and interesting...try and get everything done quick and you'll be looking to upgrade sooner than expected. tank is coming along nicely btw.