Coral Hind December 11, 2012 Share December 11, 2012 How is the progress coming, any updates? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoozilla December 14, 2012 Share December 14, 2012 Bump for an update. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave w December 19, 2012 Author Share December 19, 2012 Hey Coral Hind and Zoozilla, Thanks for asking. I have been steadily keeping up the work on the tank through the past few months and hope to get water in it within a month. But keep in mind that I have already missed a dozen deadlines on the tank and may miss this one also. Since the stairs got welded up I've been pulling 18 and 20 gauge thermostat wires for the solenoids and I've been plumbing lines for the algae cultures. Today I put "Bondo" (car body putty) on some of the tank joints. Some of the joints are too sharp to bend fiberglass cloth around so I have been rounding out the angles enough for 5 oz cloth to curve. The last thing I want to do is fill the tank with fresh water and find a bunch of tiny leaks where the fiberglass cloth missed something, but I have a nagging feeling that this may happen anyway. Today was one of those sunny days where I opened the windows between the greenhouse and the house and warmed up the home. But I went out for a while and forgot how badly the Bondo would stink up the house. That stuff smells pretty strong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incredible Corals December 19, 2012 Share December 19, 2012 PICTURES PICTURES!!! Can't wait to see the progress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flooddc December 19, 2012 Share December 19, 2012 PICTURES PICTURES!!! Can't wait to see the progress. +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surf&turf December 19, 2012 Share December 19, 2012 +2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveoutlaw December 19, 2012 Share December 19, 2012 +10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave w December 21, 2012 Author Share December 21, 2012 There's not much to post in the way of pictures, I am doing a lot of small fiberglass reinforcements all over the place and pulling more wire and pipe lines for automation. I am ordering a fancified Reef Angel with 128 relays and a bunch of other bells and whistles. Maybe people will want to see a pic when that comes in. Otherwise the fiberglass and bondo pics will just put everyone to sleep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind December 21, 2012 Share December 21, 2012 Wow, a controller with 128 relays is some serious stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GraffitiSpotCorals December 21, 2012 Share December 21, 2012 I hope you have a good experience with the reef angel. You do know you need a laptop to plug into it to control it, you can't use the display for controlling it. I got one and multiple ports stuck on me and they all did it randomly. I returned it, the guy was helpful but couldn't figure out my problem after months of emails back and fourth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad December 21, 2012 Share December 21, 2012 Wow, a controller with 128 relays is some serious stuff. No joke!! I think we'd love to see some pictures anyway They remind us it's a real thing we are talking about here (though I've seen it, so I know it's real!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosco's Reefs December 22, 2012 Share December 22, 2012 I, also, am a fan of Reef Angel. I think I saw your post on the forum talking about a very big install. I'd like to come see what you are doing as you get farther along. Thx Ross Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave w December 22, 2012 Author Share December 22, 2012 I hope you have a good experience with the reef angel. You do know you need a laptop to plug into it to control it, you can't use the display for controlling it. I got one and multiple ports stuck on me and they all did it randomly. I returned it, the guy was helpful but couldn't figure out my problem after months of emails back and fourth. Piper27, sorry to hear that. I've not heard of many others that had problems with Reef Angel which is one reason I picked them. Roberto there also has a good reputation for doing custom work to help out purchasers. I hope my experience with them is different than yours was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave w December 22, 2012 Author Share December 22, 2012 No joke!! I think we'd love to see some pictures anyway They remind us it's a real thing we are talking about here (though I've seen it, so I know it's real!) Chad, I will post some pics of piping, wiring and fiberglassed transitions to give you an update. Although my tank is real, I recall a story about some guy on Reef Central who ran a build thread of an amazing tank for some time before people figured out that he was making the whole thing up. I'm not that bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave w December 22, 2012 Author Share December 22, 2012 I, also, am a fan of Reef Angel. I think I saw your post on the forum talking about a very big install. I'd like to come see what you are doing as you get farther along. Thx Ross Ross, you're welcome to come out and see it anytime, although maybe it will be better in a month it should have (fresh) water and the fancy RA will be in. And actually I may ask for some group help putting in the glass. Most of the panes are only 3'x4' in 5/8" glass so will be easy to handle, but the big viewing pane is 3' x 9' and will probably be 3/4" thick. So we're talking a lot of suction cups and helping hands for that heavy piece of glass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave w January 4, 2013 Author Share January 4, 2013 Updated pics to come soon. I think I am just a couple weeks away from being ready for glass and will need some helpers. Has anyone in WAMAS built a geyser pump? I see some on youtube but they typically are small things with 5 gallon buckets. I'd like to find a way to lift water about 5 feet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind January 4, 2013 Share January 4, 2013 Let me know when the time comes for the glass install. Five feet shouldn't be hard to do but it depends on the volume you need to move. I have seen wells on Amish farms that had geyser pumps down 100ft. The windmill had an air compressure attached that pumped air down to power the geyser pump. One thing with geyser pumps is that you need a good bit of the pipe under water to create the large air bubble needed, if it is shallow the bubble doesn't form properly and slides up the side of the pipe. So for a five foot lift the pipe might need to be under water at least three feet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctenophore January 4, 2013 Share January 4, 2013 My friend in FL uses geyser pumps effectively in his freshwater aquaponics system which is about 5ft deep. I will ask him for some pics of the ones he built. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosco's Reefs January 4, 2013 Share January 4, 2013 Let us know about the glass move. We'll help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave w January 10, 2013 Author Share January 10, 2013 Let me know when the time comes for the glass install. Five feet shouldn't be hard to do but it depends on the volume you need to move. I have seen wells on Amish farms that had geyser pumps down 100ft. The windmill had an air compressure attached that pumped air down to power the geyser pump. One thing with geyser pumps is that you need a good bit of the pipe under water to create the large air bubble needed, if it is shallow the bubble doesn't form properly and slides up the side of the pipe. So for a five foot lift the pipe might need to be under water at least three feet. Coral Hind, my tank is only 37" deep when full, so leaving a couple inches below the rim and figuring that a geyser pump may need 6" of working space I will have to wait and see how high it lifts water. I guess I could run some experiments but I'm too busy trying to get ready for the glass. I will let you know when glass time comes. I am also digging out some space to put in a couple 275 gallon IBC totes, so I keep adding things to the setup and delaying the project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave w January 10, 2013 Author Share January 10, 2013 My friend in FL uses geyser pumps effectively in his freshwater aquaponics system which is about 5ft deep. I will ask him for some pics of the ones he built. Justin, thank you very much for your generosity. I've seen some geyser pumps on youtube but they were the typical 'cola bottle in a 5 gallon bucket' kinds of things. I have no idea how to appropriately size a geyser pump that will be about 30" deep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave w January 10, 2013 Author Share January 10, 2013 Let us know about the glass move. We'll help. Ross, thanks for the offer. I will put in the small (3' by 4') panes in first, but may need help on the big pane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave w January 15, 2013 Author Share January 15, 2013 Does anyone know where I can get flared fittings? One end of the fitting is round, the other end which shoots out the water has an opening that is very wide but very thin. It looks like a "V", but not just the outer lines of the "V", the whole thing is filled in a solid piece. I need this to use water to 'sweep' the bottom of the tank over a wide area, rather than the smaller amount of water that would sweep the bottom coming out of a round pipe. I hope people get my description, I really don't know what to call this type of fitting. If I cannot find them commercially I may use a pair of pliers and heat gun to melt one end of a PVC pipe into this configuration, but a commercial fitting would look neater. Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind January 15, 2013 Share January 15, 2013 Are you looking for a "flare nozzle" for loc-line or for regular PVC? What size? The loc-line types can be ordered easily online. I don't think I have ever seen a regular PVC type. If you are going to make one, depending on size, use CPVC as it is easier to mold. I heated the part in an oven then stuck needle nose pliers inside it to stretch it out while making it flat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Der ABT January 15, 2013 Share January 15, 2013 i think you are talking about these http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/loc-line-flare-nozzle.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now