Rayk's 180 upgrade Stupidity

[lazylivin]

That is similar to what I was considering for my build. However with slits up and down so water can come through and not snails or fish. They only thing stopping me is you cant put a background or paint the rear where the overflow box attaches and all the ones I have seen it does not look that nice seeing the silicone through the glass.

This is what I am reffering to. i think you would have the same issue with the cut out unless you have figured away around that. Perhaps if you are going black you could do black silicone.

[rayk]

Skimmer update, this thing is a monster:  40 hrs after install, it is kicking arse and smelling.  Need some baking soda box or something, carbon maybe.  Baking soda cheaper.  Also, kind of puts the AquaC to shame a bit.  The new MDX250A is sitting in a tub fed by 1 overflow.  The other just goes to the sand bucket and into the general sump.  The AquaC is fed from the general sump, so in theory is getting half skimmed water and half un-skimmed.  


MDX250A after 40 hrs


AquaC 180 after 40 hrs of new skimmer.... it was cleaned just before new skimmer was installed.


Sump together...

[HUNGER]

that over flow desing looks cool

[rayk]

Lazy, that is a concern of mine as well.  There are some visual issues with this design.  I was actually thinking of putting a thin sheet of black acrylic on the back, or at least where the external overflow is at.   If I paint or vinyl the rest of it, it might be 'noticeable' but not distracting. 

I'm also thinking of going with the narrow weir even though I'll have eurobracing.  I'm thinking fish would get through my holes anyways and make it into the overflow box for capture and I can rig up a device to get in there and clean a bit (plus I'll cover it up with black acrylic on the outside.)

Here is the design thought:



My other concern is just the 'flow' of water.  The coast-to-coast has done a great job of skimming more surface area, but then the water has to go through 4 submerged holes, then down the drainpipes.  Basically, if proteins jump to the surface really fast, they'll never make it through the 4 holes or the drainpipes.  My corner overflows now have somewhat of the same issue, but at least as soon as the water skims over the overflow, it has a 'chance' to go right into the drainpipe.  I'm not sure I'm real concerned about this, and with the new skimmer, this just theory and I'm really just trying to get the best looking, most functional, cheapest tank I can get at this point.

[HUNGER]

if proteins jump to the surface really fast, they'll never make it through the 4 holes or the drainpipes.  My corner overflows now have somewhat of the same issue, but at least as soon as the water skims over the overflow, it has a 'chance' to go right into the drainpipe


i would worry about that if there was some proten to stay at the top it wouldnt be for long and not much of it and if you are worried about fish getting in there  mite just get a little biger fish

[rayk]

Skimmate from the skimmer is good to drink!!

[rayk]

Okay, so here is my in-wall design idea. 



Dark Blue is the tank
Light Blue is drywall
Dark Brown on top of tank is a beam I have to contend with
Tan is a removable section.  I am thinking 2x2 frame with canvas material and sound-proof foam on the inside... but need to consider it will be somewhat near the MH, so design here may change materials, but concept is same.
Brown box around tank is a nice wood frame, also removable. 

[rayk]

Glass-holes day!  With some free time and good weather, finally able to get to drilling some holes.  

So, here is the plan.  


External overflow base:


One hole down in the external overflow base:


External overflow done:


Nice glass holes:


All done, now if my son doesn't drop it moving back to the garage:

[harleyrider]

Looking good! 

[lazylivin]

Very nicely done. How did you keep the backside of the hole from chipping the glass when you cut through. Did you put a piece of wood behind it and what is the duct tape for?

[rayk]

I read that duct tape would a) prevent backside chipping and b) hold the water in when you punch through unevenly.  Seemed to work just fine.  I have some small chips on the 3/8" glass for the bottom of the external overflow, but I think I got a little impatient on the last two holes.  They took alot longer.  First two went fast, next 3 a little slower, last 2 extremely long time.  Doubtful that my glass-holes.com $16 diamond bit has another hole in it.  Luckily I'm done with the holes.  Next step is to silicone on the external box, just got back from Home Depot with some acetone for cleaning up the glass.  May also get the coast-to-coast weir installed tomorrow.   But, I haven't even ordered the 3/8" top glass for the eurobracing.  On the front, I'm going with 3/8" internal and also a 3/8" cap (3" wide).  On the back, I'm just going with the 3/8" cap peice (3" wide).  Technically speaking, the thickness of the glass 'should' be good for a non-eurobraced tank with a safety factor of 3.5, but I'm guessing the plastic bracing also holds the corners together (safety factor details on the silicone are harder to calculate).    

- rayk

[rayk]

Alrighty, little silicone action this morning after wiping down with acetone all sides and surfaces.  Not the prettiest job in the world, but won't be visible, so I was going for not having to redo it.  Yes, the back piece of the overflow is 1/2" too big, the glass shop got the measurements wrong, and instead of them trying to cut off 1/2" or re-ordering, I knew it wouldn't make a difference.  Hopefully it won't.  Also, it is off-center by 3 inches on purpose...... except it was the wrong 3 inches.  I forgot I was upside down when I did the measurements.  Oh well, was just trying to get it closer to the sump side, pipes will just be 6 inches longer instead of the planned 3 inches shorter.  





- rayk

[lazylivin]

All little things that only you will notice. Definitely digging this thread.

[Kenn]

Maybe we could cross link this with a instructional thread or something.

This is some good stuff.

[rayk]

Well let's wait for some results first before calling this 'instructional'.  Could very well end up 'destructional'.  I've basically counting on having to redo this silicone once, so if it works the first time, I'm ahead of schedule. 

I'm pretty happy with the silicone as it is drying.  The seams look good.  I am a little concerned that I pushed too much silicone out of the seams between the little 7x7 side panels and the tank, and then I may have not pushed enough between the 7x7 panels and the bottom piece.  We'll have to see if it holds water tomorrow.  My biggest fear is that it is fine initially but develops issues after I get it downstairs and running.   The water in this section will only be 5 inches deep, so not a lot of force to contend with. 

Also, I was able to get the top of the glass a little cleaner with a razor blade and some of the acetone and a metal brush.  But, didn't feel like getting the edge close to the floor, so I'll wait until we stand it back up tomorrow.

- rayk

[UDJustin]

So are you only leaving drilled holes in the back glass and not notching it the whole way of the external overflow box? If that is the case I would ask why even build the external overflow at all and not just plumb the holes with out the external overflow?

[rayk]

I didn't feel comfortable notching the back of 1/2" glass with a dremel, so I'm still installing a coast-to-coast overflow.  It will be only an inch deep, then flow out the holes and into the external for export via the overflows. 

- rayk

[HUNGER]

wow great job loooken good

[UDJustin]

ok got ya

[rayk]

As I expected, I have a small leak in my external overflow.  Not to mention while trying to get it all positioned, I knocked it out of level.  Not so worried about the level, but not sure I can fix the pin hole sized leak either.   May end up re-doing the entire thing, strip off silicone and start over.   I figured I might end up doing this anyways.  My DIY skills are less than adequate, so I basically plan to screw up.   If it was just the small leak, I might be able to repair it.  But is exactly where I thought it might be, as I was trying to square all the pieces before the silicone dried, I managed to not press the side plates into the bottom plate.  Exactly where the crappy looking seam is, and exactly where the leak is.   This is also the end that got pushed around a bit, so I really need to push the bottom plate back in to line and I would have been okay.  (The $1875 quote I got for acrylic 380 gallon is looking better and better....  heck, one contract programming job with about the same hours as I've put in so far on this project.... ugh.)

Photobucket is having issues at the moment... not sure when these pics will actually be visible....


and the leak:

[slandis3]

You need to give the silicone 24 hours min to dry. I would wait a week to water test if it was me. You will be putting allot of psi on that glass so you want to make sure its 100% cured.

[rayk]

Okay, after a little food and regrouping, I figured I may as well try to patch the leak prior to dismantling and starting over.  I can always start over tomorrow.    So I stripped out a section on both inside and out, scraped it clean with razor blade, used acetone to get down to bear glass, scraped again just to make sure, let it dry while trying to deal with photobucket.  Then I laid a thick bead of silicone on both inside and outside.    Worst case scenario, it still leaks and I'm still stripping it to redo the entire thing.  Best case, the leak is patched and I have a slightly unlevel overflow that noone will see.     

This external overflow box really won't hold much water, typically only about 3 inches, maybe up to 6 inches during  pump restarts.   The weight of the glass will also be supported by braces on the stand once it is in place. 

Slandis, I did give the silicone about 30 hours to dry.  I think I had the leak regardless, but I probably won't leak test again until Wednesday nite after work. 

- rayk

[rayk]

Lighting Plan:  Currently, I have one 400 watt MH over just half my 120, and 2 4ft VHOs off an IceCap 660 ballast.  I also have a spare 660 ballast.  Trying to be as effecient as possible with cash, I was planning on: 
1.  Orange - 400 W MH over middle of tank
2.  Blue - 4 T5 actinics, 3 ft each, of one icecap 660
3.  Green - 4 T5 50/50 or suns, 2 ft each, of one icecap 660

This was my plan until I run in to some more cash (i.e. bonus restored at work, college kid gets a real job, etc etc).  I figure i need the actinics anyways, so the only additional cost here is 4 2ft T5s, end caps, reflectors, wiring.  That's cheaper than 2 250 Watt MHs.



With no center braces on the 180, I should be able to hang the 400 MH a little higher than I have now to get a bit more coverage and not fry the corals at the top.  Just hoping this doesn't have a spotlight effect. 

[HUNGER]

ya that would work dont blam you for trying to save cash i love my vhos they do great

[rayk]

Didn't get to the meeting today, between working on this beast and grad parties and my son's 17th birthday party....

But, here is the initial framework up.  I am going to work on the canvas sections above and below the tank prior to drywalling, just to make sure it all looks good and I don't have to drywall the entire thing.



And some updated Coral pics, just a few.  Pink birds nest:


Orange Month:


Pic thick birds nest:


-rayk