Ren's 40gal Build

Now you have a great idea!

After some discussion on RC about my layout of my plumbing, I thought it would be best to redraw it so I have an idea when it comes time to plumb this bad boy! I will have the sump moved over to one side entirely under the tank to ensure that I am able to drop my drains into the skimmer compartment. I have also decided that it would be best to T off from the return and allow some flow to get over to the fuge as well. My dimensions on the sump were off a tad bit on the height, but that's alright cause you all get the gist of what I'm doing! I am sure the actual layout may change some when it comes to actually plumbing it based on how I position my sump. For my return, I plan to use PVC piping up to about the tank and then I will use some flex tubing and Y it off for the returns.

 

Running two overflows, you could still do the BA method and have a backup fail safe. Is that a possible option? How many holes do you have in your overflow area, 3 or 4? Have you looked into the BA method?

 

Here's an option that you could do, but it's totally up to you. One of the overflows run your two drains down. Then in the other overflow you could have your emergency pipe and your return coming out of it. Just a thought. Something you could/should look into. The BA method is super duper quiet!

 

I have been slowly adding a few more things to the build to ensure that I have everything I will need. As you can imagine, it will continue to be this way for awhile. I knew that I wanted to run some carbon, so I went out on a hunt so to speak to see which way I wanted to go with it. Previously I had the dual reactor from BRS for carbon and gfo. I figured for my little 40 gal breeder that this was overkill, so I was trying to figure out which way to go that is not going to be super overkill. BRS now has a Mini-Reactor 5 that is a single canister which would be good for my size system. If my system was roughly > 75 gals then hands down I would have gone with the dual reactor. It sucks that they do not make the mini's as a dual a well. It would be nice to have! So, I found myself spending some more money!

I placed an order for :

• Mini-Reactor 5
• ROX 0.8 Carbon
• Maxi-Jet 400

I decided to power the mini with the 400. I didn't want something that would be too powering. I may hook up some manifolds in the plumbing for the reactors, but I have never done that. So, I would have to do some research on how to set that up. I will be purchasing some gfo later on that is high-capacity, but didn't think I would need it right away. It is something that I can hold off on when it comes to using as I still need to cycle the tank. When I do need to use the gfo, I have thought about doing a 2:1 ratio mix to use a single canister; however, I may end up getting a second one. I just have not made up my mind and only time will tell.

I believe that I have made a decision on the light that I am going to go with. I will be doing the LED system for lighting. I have continued with my research for the lighting. I believe that I will be going through Reef Breeders. I reached out to them and they recommended for my size tank to go with either the Photon 24 if I were going to keep softies on the outside of the tank with the SPS in the center or to cover all of my bases to go with the Photon 32.

There has been some progress made on the stand. It's getting closer to being done and ready for me to pick up, but a few things still need to be done for it. The plan is to prime the stand. This way it will allow for me to use whatever wood type medium that I wish to use. I will be adding shelves to one side of the stand inside, but not sure what side that the shelves will be put on just yet. It is all going to depend on the plumbing and how I end up positioning the sump.

Here is where we are at currently:

Front/Angle Views:




Side View :


On a side note this is the discussion that I had with my wife tonight about my tank:

Wife : "Hey, come here, I want to show you something."
Me : "Yes, what is it you want to show me?"
Wife (on iPad - browsing the DFW group on FB) : "Where'd it go, let me find it." A few seconds later. "These, I do not want you to get these "stick things". They're ugly and they do not do anything. They hurt the fish too. They can run into them."
Me : "You do realize that fish don't have legs, therefore they cannot "run" into them. Secondly, I will make sure that you have some nice little zoa's and some LPS in there."
Wife : "No stick things."
Me : "They're called SPS and I love them, so there will be some."
Wife : "You have to get an anemone for the clown fish. OH, did I say no stick things?"
Me : "Fine, if you want one of those moving things, I'll get an anemone; however, the clown can host in frogspawn and hammers."

End of discussion. The silly things wife's can say, eh?

 

I have never done the manifold way to plumb the canisters. How would I go about doing that? I'm a visual person, so trying to get a good image in my head here on how to do this. Would I plumb this into the "return" line?

 

Got word from the stand builder that it will be ready today or tomorrow. I will head down next weekend to get it. As a result, I have some work to get done this week to start preparing for the tank and getting the cycle started.

Game plan for the week:

• Head to Lowes and get some glass cut for the baffles and silicon them into the sump.
• Build a skimmer stand out of PVC pipe.
• Grab all the plumbing needed. 98 % DONE
• Grab the stuff needed for the stand to get it painted and primed. DONE
• Get some spray paint to paint the back of the tank black. DONE
• Order the overflow this week. DONE
• Pick up the salt from WUW on Monday or Tuesday.
• Mix salt and let it turn for a few days to make sure there is a good mix.
• Shelve brackets from Lowes.

If there is one thing that I have, it is plumbing for sure! When I was at Lowe's I grabbed 1 1/4" x 1" bushings instead of the 1 1/2" x 1" bushings. As a result, I will be heading back and swapping them out. I forgot a few items ( ), 1/4" John Guest tubing, 1/14" Tube x 3/7" NPT John Guest fitting, or the 1.5" True Union Ball Valve for the main drain. When I go back up to exchange out the bushings, I will get the remaining few items that I need. I will only get one of the 1.5" True Union Ball Valve's, as I will have 1.5" unions on the other two drains if I ever need access to them. I will also have a 1" union on the return line, for that just in case moment if ever needed.



I also grabbed some cabinet handles that I thought would look nice on the stand. And no, the PVC elbow is not part of the aesthetics!



Here's the hardware for the hinges on the doors :



The stand itself is in its finished stage from him :



I will have some things to do on the stand once I pick it up. I will be filling in all the nail holes with puddy and filling in any gaps (like on the top rop right side by the door) for example. Small gap, not much but it will be filled in with some woody puddy and sanded smooth prior to panting. My idea was to paint the overall stand a dark color and then the trim a little bit of a lighter color for some contrast vs. having it all one color. The dark color is suppose to be called "Cracked Pepper" and the sample looked black, but apparently it seems to be a super dark blue color. I got the gray color to use for the trims and the darker for the rest of the stand. Granted this photo was taken with the paint still a little wet (cause it is cold as hell outside) it's taking longer than usual to dry. I will update once I have a photo with it completely dry. I threw some paint onto a piece of scrap wood I had here at the house and this is what it is looking like.



While I was at Lowe's, I aimed to get some glass cut for the baffles in the sump; however, the dude either didn't know what the hell he was doing or their cutting tool was jacked from the floor up! Every piece of glass he attempted to cut either broke and cracked all the way across the panel or it was really crooked. Well, I can't have no crooked glass going on! Gotta be streamline! As a result, I think I am going to have some acrylic baffles made for the sump. I am also thinking of using a filter sock for this setup and if I do that it will be used on the main drain. Would one do it?

 

I'm still checking. There is a glass company up in Fort Smith that I may call and inquire with them how much they would charge.

The paint dried and it was brought into the house to get a good idea of how it would look indoors vs. outside. I am thinking that the lighter color is a bit too much and may go with more of a charcoal gray color.



Whatcha ya'll think?

 

It has been a very long 24 hours to say the least. I haven't gotten much sleep, but that's alright! I can get sleep later. I was advised that the stand was ready to go! I made the arrangements and drove down to the DFW metroplex to get my wonderful stand. I knew that it would be sturdy, but my GOD that thing is heavy! Let's just say I a few curse words could have came out as we were lifting this thing up and out. After we got it into the house and the kid to bed, it was time to get some stuff done. I threw up some wood filler in all the spots that needed then made sure it was nice and smooth. I then put silicone in all areas of the stand where the frame met the base and etc. This includes the top of the stand where the tank is going to sit and underneath. I wanted to make sure that I have taken every possible measure to ensure that we do not have spillage onto the floor! Up went the tape on where I was going to paint the trim a different color than the base of the stand. Gotta make it nice and pretty, don'tcha know? Got some painting done, not all of it. Still have to finish up the trim and etc. I also did one coat of the kilz 2; however, I'll be doing probably two more coats by the time it is said and over with.

Please keep in mind that the stand is not finished in the photos, but a good start on it! I put on the gray trim to get an idea of what it would look like and I'm not liking it. I think I am going to go white for the trim! Throw on a nice coat of it and off to the races we go!





The overflow is being ordered this morning, I need to grab some glass from one of the local stores here in Ft. Smith either today or tomorrow to start working on making my baffles. I am hoping to get the overflow in relatively quickly, this way I can get some stuff done on my days off next week! Such as - drilling the tank! I also finally made the decision on the lights that I am going to go with. I ordered the Maxspect Razor R420r LED. I decided to go with this as it comes with both a hanging kit and mounting kit. I do plan to get a canopy at some point, but not quite sure when. So, this is a good option. I also choose it as it means I only need one LED fixture over my tank vs. the possibility of two. I went with the 27" 16000k fixture.

Game plan for the week:

• Head to Lowes and get some glass cut for the baffles and silicon them into the sump. Lowes sucks, so I called a place in Ft. Smith to cut me some glass panels that are 1/8" thick for the baffles. Just need to pick them up.
• Build a skimmer stand out of PVC pipe. Debating as to if I should build one?
• Grab all the plumbing needed. 98 % DONE
• Grab the stuff needed for the stand to get it painted and primed. DONE
• Get some spray paint to paint the back of the tank black. DONE
• Order the overflow this week. DONE
• Pick up the salt from WUW on Monday or Tuesday. Wrong salt was delivered, figuring out what I will do here.
• Mix salt and let it turn for a few days to make sure there is a good mix. Looking like this won't be until next week.
• Shelve brackets from Lowes.

To Do List:

• Paint the stand. DONE
• Paint the trim.
• Paint the interior of the stand with Kilz x 2 or 3 coats. 1/2 DONE
• Drill holes for the plumbing and electrical outlets.
• Switch out the outlet to be GFCI.
• Mount DJ Panel.
• Mount shelves.
• Get the sump baffles put in.
• Get the tank drilled once the overflow is in.
• Paint the back of the stand.
• Dry fit all the plumbing.
• Perm fit all the plumbing.
• Add water and rocks.
• Start the cycling!

 

To Do List:
Alright, so I have been busy today. The wife didn't want to do white trim on the stand. She's crazy, but you know what they say. Happy wife equals happy life. I had to do something to pacify her in order to get her to quit complaining about how big the stand was. As a result, I decide to paint the entire stand the cracked pepper color. It's a super dark dark blue color and if you are color blind or didn't know better you would think it is black. Unless you catch it with the sun or the light just right.

Sorry for the crap photos, I didn't pull out the good camera, just the iPhone. When I get things really going, I'll grab the DSLR and grab some good shots to really show it off.

Front View :



Hardware :



Under belly :



Side View :



I also figured that since I had today off that I would change out the GFCI outlet. Yea, let's just say I think that the outlet that I have is a dud. It doesn't matter how it is that I have this damn thing wired, it does not want to work for nothing. The indicator light comes on, but that is it. I have switched the bottom wires to the top to make sure that they were not mixed up. I'll be getting another outlet today or tomorrow and trying again. I'll get a line tester tool to confirm everything is set up properly. I really do not wish to spend $75 to have an electrician come out and wire it for me.

GFCI Outlet :



I still have yet to go grab the glass panels from the glass company in Fort Smith for the baffles. I will get to it sometime this week. I did go ahead and throw the rock into some RODI water and have it my Jabeo and MJ 400 in a tub for circulation. I know that the Jabeo would be enough, but wanted to make sure. Wanting to make sure that the rock is getting out as much of the phosphates as possible prior to cycling, considering it was deader than dead! This is also going to be the same container that I use to mix salt water in for water changes. I did get the RODI unit moved into the laundry room. We decided not to mount it on the wall at all because it is heavy as hell. Instead, it is sitting on the floor between the wall and the washer. Nice and hidden. I just need to get a split off of the adapter for connecting it to the washer connection.



Update on my list of things to do.

• Paint the stand. DONE
• Paint the trim. DONE
• Paint the interior of the stand with Kilz x 2 or 3 coats. DONE
• Drill holes for the plumbing and electrical outlets.
• Switch out the outlet to be GFCI. Pain in the rear - see above why I hate this stupid thing.
• Mount DJ Panel.
• Mount shelves.
• Get the sump baffles put in.
• Get the tank drilled once the overflow is in.
• Paint the back of the stand. DONE
• Dry fit all the plumbing.
• Perm fit all the plumbing.
• Add water and rocks.
• Start the cycling!

 

Thanks for the kind words! It is coming along nicely. The lights should be delivered tomorrow and I just received an e-mail from the overflow guy informing that it has been shipped. Now, I can simply stalk the UPS site until it arrives!

 

Stupid GFI Outlet

Well, a little update so to speak. When I was out tonight I grabbed another GFI outlet and a little tester. I have confirmed that the tester works without any problems. I know that the standard outlet is working at this one particular place in the wall. I think it has something to do with the way the wiring is in the house. Although, it shouldn't be any different from the other outlets, just something seems off. Like I said previously, it doesn't matter how it is that I have the wires. It just doesn't want to work. In fact when I put the tester in, I get no lights at all on the GFI; however, for the standard outlet it lights up like noones business.

Standard Outlet w/ Tester :



What the tester looks like when I had the GFI outlet connected.



Now, one thing to keep in mind is that I literally unhooked one wire at a time when connecting it back to the standard outlet to ensure I didn't get the wires confused and it works fine. So, I don't know what the deal is as to why the GFI won't work.

 

Boy oh boy! God said that let there be lights, and low and behold I got a nice little delivery from the UPS man today. My light fixture made it in that I ordered from BRS. And now ... for the big reveal!

I think they have enough air bubbles to last a good long while in the box.



And if you're not quite sure how much air bubbles they packed the box with - this will give you a good idea :



How it's packaged :







The light itself :

Bottom



Top



Nothing like a ballast to show off, figured if I was showing off the light then the ballast deserved some love.



And now ... for the final light photo. It's on the tank! I was testing to make sure it was in fact in good working order! This is with the preset settings that they have. Excuse all the junk in the tank. It's the holding pen for everything until it's ready for water!



I also managed to get some more work done in the stand a little bit today. I drilled a hole big enough for the power cords to feed through and mounted the reactor that I have to the back of the stand.



I did get shipment confirmation yesterday that the overflow has been shipped and should be here Thursday. Which is great news, I think that I may have mentioned this before. I worked a little bit on the plumbing on getting some of the PVC cut to size (as long as possible) to ensure that everything is good to go. When messing with it, I realized that I grabbed some wrong plumbing, such as the T's that I have are slip to threaded and I need slip's for all 3 inputs. So, I have to switch those out. As for the returns, I think I am going to bring them up and barely over the tank vs. drilling two extra holes into the back of the tank.

 

Overflowing with news ...

I had been thinking about where I was going to mount my ballast for the lighting fixture. I knew that I didn't want it attached to the outside of the stand, as I want to keep the stand as "clean" as possible. I knew that I would also be adding additional hardware such as an Apex and etc., in the future. So, with keeping all of this in mind - I laid out an idea for a control panel for under the tank that is totally removable when needed.

Materials :

1 -24" tall x 12" wide for the panel
2 - 3x3 cubes

I attached the 3x3 cubes on each side of the panel on the back side to allow for electrical wires to be stored there nice and tucked away from everything else. I screwed the ballast in for the lighting system and added some velcro for the wave maker (seeing as how this is the only thing that I have aside from the ballast that will go on there). I will be drilling small holes into the panel for the electrical cords to be routed through them to be tucked away nice and neat. As you can also see, I have started slowly but surely of putting in the shelves that will allow me to store things neatly in the stand. I have two more shelves that I will be attaching, I just haven't gotten it done. The shelves are held into place by simple L brackets.



The next thing I had to tackle was figuring out how I was going to do the DJ Power Supply. So, I came up with an idea to use 2 L brackets and some velcro to assist in keeping it in place! I may at some point get a nice piece of wood to make a little cubby area for it, but for now this will work. I turned the unit upside down to get the power cord as close as possible to the back panel to ensure that it would reach its way to the outlet.



I finally got the overflow in! Boy oh boy, does it look sexy. Looking back, I should have had him just simply put 1" bulkheads in for mounting the overflow to the tank, but hindsight is always 20/20. The bulkheads that are used to attach the inner and outer boxes is 2"'s. At any rate, enjoy the photos! The bulkheads that will be used for the drains are 1.5" bulkheads.

Front view:


Side view:


Back view:


Bottom view from external box:


After getting the overflow in, I got the tank off the stand and figured out where it is that I was going to place this beautifully crafted overflow. I outlined the location of where it is that I want the holes to go. It may not be permanent though, as I may take a razor blade and cut a small notch into the plastic rim of the tank to allow for the overflow to go up a little higher. If I were to do this, would it affect the integrity of the rim as it is not being taken off, just notched?? Once I had the outline made for the overflow, I tackled painting the back and bottom of the tank black.



I have placed an order for the Jebao Programmable Auto Dosing Pump DP-4 from Amazon. I will be using this for dosing Ca, Mag, Alk, and top off! My next big purchase aside from getting livestock in the tank is hands the Apex controller.

 

Boy, oh boy! I have been busy!! On Saturday, I had learned that they had gotten the drill bit required for 2" bulkheads in on Friday (earlier than anticipated) at Seafari. So, I quickly made my way up there to get the tank drilled. Again, seriously Stu and James @ Seafari - YOU GUYS ROCK! Thanks for staying late to assist me in the drilling! I didn't get out of there until 10pm. Thanks to Brandon over at Worlds Under Water as well, for staying 15 mins later than needed in order for me to pick up my salt. Just an FYI for you all -- Aqua Vitro Salt is heavy as helllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll.

We had our first attempt at drilling the tank, but with it being a new bit and had never touched glass before - it proved to not like us. The bit bounced around a bit before finally really wanting to work with us. The drill was going great .... until. Well, James punched through the last bit of that hole and as soon as he made it through (or shortly after) it spidered up and to the left :'( . It was very sad needless to say. Then there was some debate as to if it was tempered or not. I had called Marineland prior to even venturing into getting one of their tanks and was assured that they were in fact glass on all panels. James made a quick call to Stu to get some more info. Stu did some homework and learned that Marineland wasn't lying after all! So, off to the store James and I went (since I don't know the area at all) and bought another 40 gal breeder to drill again. Of course it was cold as hell out, so the tank had to cool down before drilling then it was off to the races!

Drilling this particular tank had us take a different approach, after the first one had spidered. We took turns on the holes allowing them to "relax" after being stressed from being cut about half way through. When not working on one hole - the other was being worked. Let's just say we had success and the reef gods were in fact on my side! ;D ;D



When I got home, I pulled the tank out of the car and tested to make sure there were not any water leaks. Success again! ;D ;D



Of course, the fun really starts to begin then! I had mocked up my plumbingto get an idea of how I wanted things to set. Here goes!



Top of the plumbing that is spray painted and permanently attached to the bulkheads. Below you will see the mocked "underbelly" of the plumbing. You'll see why in a bit .



Yesterday, I had gotten a call from the glass shop to let me know that my baffles were ready to pick up. So, of course - off to town I went. I made a pit stop by Lowe's too to exchange out all the excess plumbing that I got and grabbed a few more things that I need. I.E. the light for the sump and all that jazz! Today, after working on the plumbing for a good bit, I put together the baffles in the sump. Can we just say that aquarium silicone STINKS! Talk about fumes burning your eyes that you end up wanting to :'( .

Finished Sump :



Once I let the baffles sit in position for a good bit to ensure that the bond was taking place, it was safe for me to move. I placed it back into the stand so, I could finish mocking up my plumbing to get everything ready for gluing. The only one not mocked up is the return, because, I'm waiting on some loc-line connectors to come in. I will hold off until Thursday/Friday before putting any water in the sump to ensure that everything is sealed nice and good. Don't want there to be any leaks if possible!



Of course, knowing that I wouldn't need the sump super right away - it was time for me to get something in that display tank! Off with the sand I go! I grabbed my 60 lbs of sand (yes, that much in my 40 gal B - I like DSB's). Sliced them open, got the sand how I wanted it and then started on the rock work. I was able to get something set up the way I think I like it, but we'll see once the "cloudiness" clears up a bit in the tank to be able to get a good idea of how things are looking and if I need to move anything.

Half way full!



My son realizing that there is something in the tank now and not just a bunch of stuff! I stopped the water there, as my salinity was reading 1.035 and I wanted to make up some RODI water to bring it down to within acceptable range. I will be using the RODI water to fill up the sump with and to work on getting the water cycle just where I want it once I have the return hooked up. As you can see, pretty cloud and the water went in slowly too (as I poured it in 1 gallon at a time).



Water is starting to clear up!



And for good measure - take a look at what found its way into the tank to kick start things while the sump is getting ready?



I also got my Jebao dosing pump in today. It looks good and is powering on.



I should have the connectors tomorrow for the loc-line. Game plan is to have the water in the sump soon and running skimmerless through the cycle. I did take some tests today to get a baseline of where my levels were off. I, of course, did not test for ammonia, nitrites, or nitrates yet.

1/20/2015

Ph - 7.8
Ca - 600 ppm
Mg - 1600 ppm
Alk - 14.0