danskim April 3, 2008 Share April 3, 2008 Nice progress so far, Terry. That stand is beautiful for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbittner April 3, 2008 Author Share April 3, 2008 Thanks Dan. We really like it and we want to build another one just like it for the predator tank to sit on. I pumped 43g of water into the tank and it holds water! WOO HOO!!! This is the first time that I saw water in the tank so I was nervous. But as I figured, it's not enough to run the CL. After about 2 seconds it starts to suck air. Later I'll pump another 43g into the tank and I'll make a video of the flow. Without the tank being full of water you can really see the amount of flow. It looked pretty good from the little bit that I saw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wreck April 3, 2008 Share April 3, 2008 awesome tank, I love to see big tanks so let us know when you have the tank tour party. You said the Solaris light is 72" long but your tank is 120" long, are you going to have more lights or just center the Solaris? Good luck with everything. Wreck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbittner April 3, 2008 Author Share April 3, 2008 Hi Wreck, I'm going to use my existing Outer Orbit to light the other 48" for now. I put new MH bulds in it less than a month ago so it will be fine for now. I won't put any corals under that 48" for now. I know what Santa is bringing me for Christmas though. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbittner April 4, 2008 Author Share April 4, 2008 OK! Here are some pics of the CL in action. Plumbing for the CL pump: Plumbing in the back. These pipes come out of a 2" baffle: Front view of the CL running: Side view: I had to pull the CL pump out, take the housing apart and fix the gasket. It wasn't seated correctly so it was leaking between the housing pieces. We also found one 3/4" pipe in the back that was missing purple. I glued that piece in and it's all good now. Of course, the pressure will be higher when the head pressure is removed for the pump. In other words, when the tank is full, there won't be any head pressure and the pump will just be moving the water so the volume will be higher than this. I also haven't installed the locline nozzles yet because I wanted to get an idea of the flow. I'm thinking that a single nozzle on each hole should be enough. I also figure that if I find that it's not enough flow, I'll get another hammerhead and plumb it inline with the existing hammerhead and double the flow but I really don't think I'll need it. I'm not planning on SPS. Right now, the tank only has around 80g in it. I figure over the weekend I should be able to add another 160-200. I think I might go ahead and move the cycling rock from the 55g tank into the 450 before I add anymore water. I'll use those rocks to sit on the bottom and the structure will be built on top of those. These rocks are really big pieces so they'll work perfect for that. Then I can go ahead and dump the sand in too. Ok, so I won't get to relax TOO much this weekend... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ziggy953 April 5, 2008 Share April 5, 2008 AWESOME!!!! That really is a beautiful stand. I'm glad that nothing is leaking on you, been there and done that more then once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbittner April 5, 2008 Author Share April 5, 2008 Yeah, I've been there, done that too. I thought I had a bulkhead leaking in my fuge tub so I bought a new tub, got everything out of the old one, pulled it out and replaced it, then put everything back. While I was at it, I wanted to replumb my sump/fuge setup so I was ready to plug the 450 into it. Turns out, it wasn't a bulkhead, it was a poorly seated elbow on one of the pipes coming down from the 120g reef. Oh well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ziggy953 April 5, 2008 Share April 5, 2008 You just needed an excuse to redo everything and the leak provided that...LOL Where is Round Hill?? One of these days I have got to see that monster tank!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbittner April 5, 2008 Author Share April 5, 2008 I'm about 25 miles west of Dulles Airport, right off of Route 7. And yeah, the replumbing needed to be redone so I could easily plug in the 450. The 120 will go away after the 450 is up. Move weekend is going to be long enough without needing to redo a bunch of plumbing. I'm sure I'll be fishing all weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ziggy953 April 5, 2008 Share April 5, 2008 Yes I can imagine! If you would like some help I'd be happy to!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbittner April 5, 2008 Author Share April 5, 2008 (edited) Absolutely! I'm planning on the move, assuming that all the plumbing works and the water parameters are good, for Saturday the 19th. (4/19) Everyone is welcome AND very much appreciated! Bring your favorite net. I have a bunch of damsels to catch and move. Edited April 5, 2008 by tbittner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbittner April 5, 2008 Author Share April 5, 2008 Believe it or not, but this is 150 lbs of LR. My wife came down and we took this rock and aquascaped one side of the tank, sorta. It's not enough for even one side. We also dumped in around 250 lbs of sand. I'll get pics of it later, after it clears. I ordered another 300 lbs of LR from Dr. Mac, and then add in the 175-200 lbs that will be moved down from the 120g reef, I think it'll look great! My RO/DI was taking almost 24 hours to produce 50g. It's a 150g unit! I ran to Lowes this morning and bought plumbing parts and added in a hot water supply to the input to the RO/DI. I made 40g in about 6 hours since then. I don't have a way to really check the temp of the water going into the RO/DI but I tried to get a mix of hot and cold so it felt like 78 degrees. In any event, I must be close because it's making lots of water, very fast now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Connor April 6, 2008 Share April 6, 2008 Looks like you need a bit more rock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbittner April 6, 2008 Author Share April 6, 2008 lol No doubt! I ordered another 300 lbs, but of course it will take 5-6 weeks before it can go in. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtfleming April 6, 2008 Share April 6, 2008 how do you have the hot water plumbed in? I know running direct hot water to the unit will mess the ro membrane up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbittner April 6, 2008 Author Share April 6, 2008 I connected a pressure fitting to each pipe (cold and hot) with a valve on each of them and used John Guest connectors to connect them to a T. From there, they run into the RO/DI. I can adjust the temp of the water going into the RO/DI unit. The water temp coming out into the collection barrel is cool, I'm guessing around 75-80 degrees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl April 6, 2008 Share April 6, 2008 Where did you get the double union ball valves? I can't find any stores in the area that carry them. -Carl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbittner April 6, 2008 Author Share April 6, 2008 Are you talking about the big ones on my closed loop pump? I got those at Lowes. One is a 1 1/2", the other is a 2", but they sell them in all sizes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl April 6, 2008 Share April 6, 2008 Are you talking about the big ones on my closed loop pump? I got those at Lowes. One is a 1 1/2", the other is a 2", but they sell them in all sizes. Thanks...I'll look at Lowe's again...I didn't see the double union ones last time. Fantastic progress btw...I like seeing the daily / weekly progress...it's taken me 3 years what you've done in less that 3 weeks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbittner April 6, 2008 Author Share April 6, 2008 Not really in three weeks. The sump and all the supporting equipment has been built and added to the 120g reef over the last year. So I had everything I needed to support a big tank, except for the tank. So I've been working on this for a year now. I bought this tank about 6 weeks ago off of craigslist. I know that I'm TIRED! At Lowes, those ball valves are in the PVC section, but they're not with the elbows, and T's, and those type of fittings. There usually within spitting distance though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbittner April 6, 2008 Author Share April 6, 2008 Well, I've heard that this tank leaks around the bottom/front/middle so instead of taking a chance, I'm going to drain it, clean out the bottom bead of silicon, and re-silicon it. So getting it filled up has been delayed for two weeks. I know that I'll sleep better at night though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MLazar April 8, 2008 Share April 8, 2008 I think your stand and tank are beautiful. I'm checking for updates and pictures daily! Best of luck, hope to see it in person some time. (This is my new dream tank/stand). M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boret April 9, 2008 Share April 9, 2008 Beautiful tank and stand!! I also would love to come over and see it in person. I live about 40 mins away from you so if you ever need help in the evenings let me know. I would love to see the actual building process as I am planning my upgrade right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbittner April 9, 2008 Author Share April 9, 2008 Seriously, if anyone would like to stop out and see this setup in person, let me know. Everyone is welcome at any time. But you have to promise to look past the mess we currently live in while the building/renovations are going on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl April 9, 2008 Share April 9, 2008 Seriously, if anyone would like to stop out and see this setup in person, let me know. Everyone is welcome at any time. But you have to promise to look past the mess we currently live in while the building/renovations are going on. I did a mapquest search on round hill, VA...and it came back with THREE Round Hills... I'm curious how far you live from Alexandria, or how close you are to BRK...in case you have that impromptu tank tour. -Carl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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