monkiboy July 17, 2013 Author Share July 17, 2013 wanted to create enough room above the tank so i could get larger/taller pieces of rock into the tank, have some extra space for headroom and possible shelves or electrical so i ripped our the drywall above. with the stand being much higher than typical, and the tank being 24" i was only left with about 14" or room to the ceiling prior to my "modification". now i have about 27" which is great! still need to move the junction box, clean up the edges of the drywall, and will likely seal everything above as well but you get the idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime July 17, 2013 Share July 17, 2013 Nicely done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami July 17, 2013 Share July 17, 2013 You're going to love having that extra space, Marco. If you can, though, you should try to block some of the airflow back into the cavity behind the drywall so that it doesn't get overloaded with condensing humidity. How old is that house anyway? It looks like you've got diagonally set dimensional lumber floor above laid directly onto the floor joists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkiboy July 17, 2013 Author Share July 17, 2013 You're going to love having that extra space, Marco. If you can, though, you should try to block some of the airflow back into the cavity behind the drywall so that it doesn't get overloaded with condensing humidity. How old is that house anyway? It looks like you've got diagonally set dimensional lumber floor above laid directly onto the floor joists. it was built in '57 - thanks for the tip, sir. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkiboy July 17, 2013 Author Share July 17, 2013 Nicely done! i'm trying, haha. so much left to do! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami July 17, 2013 Share July 17, 2013 it was built in '57 - thanks for the tip, sir. Very cool. My built-in is open to the joists, too I have ballasts and such that I have mounted up in that open space and against the joists but I don't think that my tank is quite as high up as yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkiboy July 17, 2013 Author Share July 17, 2013 Very cool. My built-in is open to the joists, too I have ballasts and thsuch that I have mounted up in that open space and against the joists but I don't think that my tank is quite as high up as yours. the stand is about 40" high. i'm looking forward to the extra space. just got to figure out how best to use it after all the rock is in place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkiboy July 17, 2013 Author Share July 17, 2013 oh forgot to mention, the first hole from the back pane to the external overflow box took me 25 minutes or so, the next about 35, and the third about 47 minutes. because i felt the bit becoming tough to work with on the third hole i decided to wait and purchase a new bit for the last one. the last hole i did in under 6 minutes, haha. goes to show what a new bit can do. glad i waited and didn't rush to get the last hole done and possibly crack my tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami July 17, 2013 Share July 17, 2013 oh forgot to mention, the first hole from the back pane to the external overflow box took me 25 minutes or so, the next about 35, and the third about 47 minutes. because i felt the bit becoming tough to work with on the third hole i decided to wait and purchase a new bit for the last one. the last hole i did in under 6 minutes, haha. goes to show what a new bit can do. glad i waited and didn't rush to get the last hole done and possibly crack my tank. Wow. The original bit was a bit old, I guess? I drilled 4 holes for my overflow boxes but they all went pretty quick. The bit was new, though, and the grinding went quickly enough that I never thought to watch the clock. Kudos to you for patience, though. I probably would have stopped after the first hole to cool off, regain composure, and go get a new bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkiboy July 17, 2013 Author Share July 17, 2013 (edited) i guess it was old. usually after having problems, i'll mark the bit with a sharpie and toss it aside. don't know what happened with this one. just glad all four got done and the three for the external overflow and i got no more planned drilling to do! Edited July 17, 2013 by monkiboy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkiboy July 18, 2013 Author Share July 18, 2013 so i'm going to fill her up today to let her settle for a few days then will relevel the stand. just under weight of the tank alone, there has been some slight settling and not having this thing perfectly level while filled will be accomplished. so, my question is this. initially i was going to fill her up with fresh then try to find use for the water somehow but thats a lot of water and i dont know what i'd do with it or how i would store it for use and i'd feel like crap wasting it. would i be better off filling it with RO/DI so that i can at least use that for the tank and just add salt afterwards? so the hurdle being that the tank is going to weight a heck of a lot more (~2100lbs) to adjust the stand to level with her mostly filled but i'm sure with two jacks i can make quick work of the extra weight. thoughts and ideas, por favor! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Der ABT July 18, 2013 Share July 18, 2013 youd be suprised what a hammer and a composit shim will lift. the other option is always to drain the water back out into a holding tank and then lift and place a shim or whatever is needed.....recheck a couple of weeks later, i had to bang in my shims a month later just a little. other option is to capture your RODI waste water in the tank to level it....i did this then used it for the washing machine and to water some plants...also gave me an excuse for a last clean up of the tank ...there was a suprising amount of dust that had settled (granted i was doing a little drywall cutting to cover some holes i had made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkiboy July 18, 2013 Author Share July 18, 2013 thanks for the reply, sir. i think i'll fill a few inches with fresh, clean it inside (i also have some dust from how long it's been sitting and cutting the drywall out from above it), then empty and fill with RO/DI and relevel. RODI wastewater is a great idea but man that would take a long time since i only have my 100g system running right now and don't do a ton of water changes. the composite shim is a good idea. i may try that first instead of the jack but we will see. it wouldn't be too much trouble to get blocks and jacks to raise up appropriate amounts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Puckstable July 18, 2013 Share July 18, 2013 The suspense is slaying me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Der ABT July 18, 2013 Share July 18, 2013 well filling a 300g tank you wuold only end up making about 60-70 gal of RODI water (estimating a 4-1 rejection) so you will be suprised how quickly it fills the tank up.... i actually did it with mine and went ahead with a leak check while i kept filling all the buckets, rodi container, brutes etc that i had so i wouldnt have to waste any RODI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami July 18, 2013 Share July 18, 2013 I had to level an old 90 with shims while filled. The PSI on the lift should be about manageable. I'd probably just go ahead and start filling it with RO/DI after washing the tank out (if that's what you need to do). You're going to have to fill it anyway after all. Toss a heater in when it gets up high enough and that way you're ready to mix the salt directly into the tank later. The only downside of this approach is that if there is a leak that you find, you have to toss out a lot of RO/DI. That doesn't often happen with a new tank, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohaverd July 18, 2013 Share July 18, 2013 This thread is an awesome read, cant wait to see it finished. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime July 18, 2013 Share July 18, 2013 This thread is an awesome read, cant wait to see it finished. This will never be "finished" if I know Marcos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohaverd July 18, 2013 Share July 18, 2013 This will never be "finished" if I know Marcos Well are any of our tanks really "finished" lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkiboy July 18, 2013 Author Share July 18, 2013 The suspense is slaying me. haha, soon enough! well filling a 300g tank you wuold only end up making about 60-70 gal of RODI water (estimating a 4-1 rejection) so you will be suprised how quickly it fills the tank up.... i actually did it with mine and went ahead with a leak check while i kept filling all the buckets, rodi container, brutes etc that i had so i wouldnt have to waste any RODI. the BRS kit i have always ran more efficient and then i have the 150gpd upgrade so that cuts waste in half so it'd take me a while. if things were different or there were more wastewater, i think i'd follow your idea. I had to level an old 90 with shims while filled. The PSI on the lift should be about manageable. I'd probably just go ahead and start filling it with RO/DI after washing the tank out (if that's what you need to do). You're going to have to fill it anyway after all. Toss a heater in when it gets up high enough and that way you're ready to mix the salt directly into the tank later. The only downside of this approach is that if there is a leak that you find, you have to toss out a lot of RO/DI. That doesn't often happen with a new tank, though. exactly the plan - thanks! This thread is an awesome read, cant wait to see it finished. thanks for following along! This will never be "finished" if I know Marcos you know me well! Well are any of our tanks really "finished" lol i know, right?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM July 18, 2013 Share July 18, 2013 I think you will win if we are racing. My floor is dead level, but super springy, so I am adding joists after emptying mine. Yours is a bit off level, but solid, so youre shimming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkiboy July 19, 2013 Author Share July 19, 2013 I think you will win if we are racing. My floor is dead level, but super springy, so I am adding joists after emptying mine. Yours is a bit off level, but solid, so youre shimming. yeah, i've been following your build. seems like the best course of action for you. i just want a perfectly level tank when filled. speaking of getting filled...AND SO IT BEGINS!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime July 19, 2013 Share July 19, 2013 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallreef July 19, 2013 Share July 19, 2013 Love it so far!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami July 19, 2013 Share July 19, 2013 Exciting milestone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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