DuffyGeos March 21, 2014 Author Share March 21, 2014 Why don't you just slope to drain .25" per foot to a floor drain instead of the channel? Just build the stand to compensate for the very minor slope if needed at all? Add liner, etc. I seem to recall Jenn, sachaballireef, doing something similar.....?? Not sure though. Sent from my rooted Nook HD+ running CyanogenMod Jack, I took a transit and a self leveling rotary laser and shot elevations for the fish room area. I have a grade that drops toward the closet and the fish room door slightly (not the recommended 1" per 4' drop but it still moves water). When I am done I should be able to flood the room with 1.25" of water and it will all drain down the channel drain. I thought about pitching the entire floor to one spot, but I would still have to cut the concrete, and then possibly still have to deal with the closet floor. I have not got to that yet, but I wanted to make sure the tank on the first floor had an overflow drain down to the basement. Your are 2 steps ahead of my build!!!..which is great, I love thinking ahead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveS March 21, 2014 Share March 21, 2014 DaveS Thanks! I am sorry, I should have credited your build as one I also went through. I liked all the construction pics and all the details. I am sorry to hear about your crash, but by posting it and what went wrong you can help cure the problem and help others. I have a whole section of emails that I have copied from build threads about what people did right, and what went wrong. My "lessons learned" section helps give me guidance so I hopefully don't need to reinvent the wheel. I would love to come by and check out your system some day if you have a moment. Thanks for the offer on help, I will definitely take you up on it when I need a hand! You're welcome to stop by anytime! At the rate your pictures are going, you'll be done by next week! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos March 21, 2014 Author Share March 21, 2014 You're welcome to stop by anytime! At the rate your pictures are going, you'll be done by next week! Thanks! I will probably take you up on that offer. I am moving along, the slowest part is trying to keep a good log (for myself), and to try and convey what I have done to everyone else. I can't wait till I get all my pictures posted with my pocket camera. Then I can start to post the SLR camera (Nikon D5200) pics, they are soooo much nicer. The camera took two weeks to get here since the wrong camera was shipped the first time. At that point I did not want to stop progress on the project, so I just shot pics with what I had. I am already done with framing (mostly) except for around the tank location and the stand), plumbing, sink is in 40" x 24"...it is massive!, channel drain is cut and waiting for final install, but I am going to play with the concrete floor. It is going to be stained and have different stencils randomly over the floor. They will be faint, almost like fossils. I have also finally put my RO/DI unit up, it will get moved, but I now have a trashcan of saltwater, and a can of RO/DI fresh sitting there which is a nice feeling...no more 5 gal can runs to get water!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos March 22, 2014 Author Share March 22, 2014 Time to get cutting!! For this we used the Hilti DCH-EX 300 that was supported with a Hilti VC 20-U vacuum. We opted to use an additional shop vac in conjunction with the Hilti vacuum to try and keep all the dust down. It did a pretty good job for the amount of cutting we preformed on a 4"-5" concrete slab. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos March 25, 2014 Author Share March 25, 2014 Here is the layout for the drain. It is the two parallel lines. The other lines are for the new wall on the right, and the threshold for the closet door on the left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos March 25, 2014 Author Share March 25, 2014 The channel has been cut, and we jackhammered around the sewer line to get access so we could tie the channel drain to the sewer line with a P-trap so we would not get any fumes that could escape. Then we cut the sewer line, installed a Y tie in for the channel drain, and another Y to drain the new utility sink. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos March 25, 2014 Author Share March 25, 2014 When doing plumbing my motto is: ......."When in doubt, buy Home Depot out!" I was not really sure what I would run into under the slab, and I was trying to tie together 2" & 3" lines for the drain, sink, and the sewer line. There were many different angles, and turns, along with the "I don't know" factor. So a few of these, a couple of those, and we are good to go! Besides, any unused pieces can be returned Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos March 25, 2014 Author Share March 25, 2014 This is the channel drain I decided to use. Thin, well designed, and has a nice wave detail going on with the stainless steel grate. It is made by ACO and comes a few lengths. Just on a side note: I figured out how to keep the wording in these posts together and the picture below it so the wording is not part above, part below, and part on each side. First copy the picture, then write your text, then hit enter 2-3 times to separate the text from the picture, then paste the picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos March 25, 2014 Author Share March 25, 2014 After installing the channel P-trap I needed to keep the pipe set in it's proper location and did not have any gravel. So I decided a offering of live sand to the Reef Gods would not hurt. This will all get buried in concrete when I am ready to set the channel drain basin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howaboutme March 25, 2014 Share March 25, 2014 Really nice work, Ken! It's nice to have all that heavy machinery at your disposal, huh? The drain looks nice...you've got a theme going on w/ the wave pattern. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motti March 25, 2014 Share March 25, 2014 Looks really nice, I'll be tagging along Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos March 25, 2014 Author Share March 25, 2014 Really nice work, Ken! It's nice to have all that heavy machinery at your disposal, huh? The drain looks nice...you've got a theme going on w/ the wave pattern. Thanks Jack! We don't own that saw or vac, you can rent them. Yea, I thought that grate was very appropriate for it's intended use. Now the real goal would be that it never gets used! I have been thinking what you had said about cantilevering the tank over the floor instead of building out a stand under it and I am starting to lean that way. I actually think that it will work out well and can help with my platform over the tank, and the scaffolding that can raise or lower in the fish room. I have been sketching out some different ideas, but I will have to run them by my engineer first. I think I would be using LVL's. One trick is going to be to figure out how to cantilever it 7"-8" +/- and still not have any posts under the stand left to right with a 8' span since the LVL's would now not be running the length, but the width of the tank. I don't want to have joists on top ofbeams or the top of the stand may be 12"-16" thick! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motti March 25, 2014 Share March 25, 2014 Hey, just finished reading the whole thread, great planning again I have similar turn in my stairscase to the basement, and Adam has created a 7' tank with one external side overflow. The ceiling in the landing area of the stairs is about 8'6" and it was very tricky to get the tank down there. depth and height are the same as your tank. For your peace of mind, I would ask Adam to stop by and give you an opinion on the stairs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos March 25, 2014 Author Share March 25, 2014 Looks really nice, I'll be tagging along Thanks Motti! Looking forward to seeing your rock work come together. Congrats on finishing the construction phase (like we are ever really done) it looks great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkiboy March 25, 2014 Share March 25, 2014 this thread is a ton of fun - wish i had more room...never ennnnnnough! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howaboutme March 25, 2014 Share March 25, 2014 Thanks Jack! We don't own that saw or vac, you can rent them. Yea, I thought that grate was very appropriate for it's intended use. Now the real goal would be that it never gets used! I have been thinking what you had said about cantilevering the tank over the floor instead of building out a stand under it and I am starting to lean that way. I actually think that it will work out well and can help with my platform over the tank, and the scaffolding that can raise or lower in the fish room. I have been sketching out some different ideas, but I will have to run them by my engineer first. I think I would be using LVL's. One trick is going to be to figure out how to cantilever it 7"-8" +/- and still not have any posts under the stand left to right with a 8' span since the LVL's would now not be running the length, but the width of the tank. I don't want to have joists on top ofbeams or the top of the stand may be 12"-16" thick! I don't know much about LVL in the commercial world but heard you will get super true and straight members as well as smaller. That's always a plus! I'm not sure I understand what you're saying though. If you want a cantilever, why would you have posts on either end on the finish side? This is how I picture it: You have 2 beams, one at the back of the tank and one just behind the wall that are sitting on a number of posts that are structurally anchored to the concrete. Then you will have joists running front to back that sit on top of the 2 beams. These joists will cantilever into your room whatever inches. Then you put a skirt or edge beam then finish it off. Think deck design. You'll have to talk to your engineer to verify the member sizes and to design the connections (simpson strong?) and whatever other bracing (tying to ceiling?) is needed. It can definitely be done. I just takes a vision (you), time (you) and money (you too! haha). Hopefully we're on the same page. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami March 25, 2014 Share March 25, 2014 Ken, the album that you linked to in your earlier post is set Private. You need to set it to Public if you want others to be able to view the pictures there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos March 25, 2014 Author Share March 25, 2014 Hey, just finished reading the whole thread, great planning again I have similar turn in my stairscase to the basement, and Adam has created a 7' tank with one external side overflow. The ceiling in the landing area of the stairs is about 8'6" and it was very tricky to get the tank down there. depth and height are the same as your tank. For your peace of mind, I would ask Adam to stop by and give you an opinion on the stairs. That was one of the things that worried me from the beginning. I wanted to put the largest tank I could in the basement, but I don't have a walkout so the staircase was the determining factor. I had Adam out the first day to discuss my tank before I ordered it. So here is my solution, I decided to build a full scale mock up of the tank and make sure it fit. If you look at the bottom of the model, we added on an additional 1' for the exterior overflows (6" each on each end). They will only be on half of the tank width, but better safe then sorry depending on which direction the tank will be taken down the stairs. This lesson had us remove the hanging lights and the railing to make it work. So I think we will be OK. If not, you will see one panicked individual ripping out the hardwood floor to buy an other 1" of room! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos March 25, 2014 Author Share March 25, 2014 Ken, the album that you linked to in your earlier post is set Private. You need to set it to Public if you want others to be able to view the pictures there. Tom- Thanks! just getting used to this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motti March 25, 2014 Share March 25, 2014 Sweet happy to know that you dry fitted it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos March 25, 2014 Author Share March 25, 2014 Ken, the album that you linked to in your earlier post is set Private. You need to set it to Public if you want others to be able to view the pictures there. Tom- so you are saying this whole time no one has seen the 20 pics I posted? Boy did I screw up it that is the case, sorry everyone. It is now set on Public. I could see it all the time, so I thought if I posted it on my thread it would come through. Well if it did not, the writing will now make a whole lot more sense since I was describing the pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave w March 25, 2014 Share March 25, 2014 OK, so your fish room is 8' x 16' main room, 6' x 3' entrance hallway, 15' x 3' closet area that starts as a walk in, then extends under the stairs where the last 5' is a dog leg left. You have quite a bit of space, and being a landscape architect I'm sure you have it perfectly planned. Now c'mon, are you SURE you don't want to make it just a little bit bigger? You know you can do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave w March 25, 2014 Share March 25, 2014 I liked your gallery of pics. A couple observations: it didn't look like there was much extra space on your mail electrical panel. Do you plan on pulling more circuits for your fish needs? Perhaps you could create some space with smaller breakers. Also, your floor drain is a great idea. You probably have already considered this, but before you finish the walls and floor trim, if you caulk the place where the bottom plate meets the concrete floor with silicon caulk it will help hold water in the room instead of having it get out and onto the carpet in the rest of the basement. Many basement floors are not poured level and it could be that your drain is half an inch or more higher than other parts of the floor. In this same vein, you might consider using a masonry blade and cutting some lines to the floor drain from other points in the room so water will flow there naturally in case of a leak. Beware, those types of saw blades (when used dry) create a huge amount of dust. I like your framing. Whenever you finish the walls you might consider using greenboard drywall instead of regular. The greenboard is treated for moisture and will withstand the humidity of the fish room for much longer than regular drywall. You might even consider using a 4x8 sheet of FRP (I think that stands for fiber reinforced panel, but i'm not sure), then your walls will withstand any type of water and it is easily washable. Keep up the good work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime March 26, 2014 Share March 26, 2014 Wow Ken, now that you've started your build you are moving at lightening fast speed! I'm encouraged to do more after reading your thoughtful planning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave w March 26, 2014 Share March 26, 2014 Having read more of this thread more slowly, I must say how nice it is to see that you are doing great planning and great construction work. Very well done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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