AlanM March 16, 2016 Author Share March 16, 2016 OK. I will check it out. Here is the back wall of mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anemone March 16, 2016 Share March 16, 2016 I'll take a picture of the back of the wall to give an idea of the space available. I'd like to minimize the holes through the wall for noise reasons.If your carpentry skills are up for it (mine would be stretched by this), you might be able to install an access door over the opening with a plumbing cutout to get the best of all worlds. Something else to think about is stud placement. If you've got to cut out part of a stud to fit the overflow box then you will have to install some supports (basically a box around the opening). That could all be done from the sump side, leaving the display side wall mostly intact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM March 16, 2016 Author Share March 16, 2016 If your carpentry skills are up for it (mine would be stretched by this), you might be able to install an access door over the opening with a plumbing cutout to get the best of all worlds. Something else to think about is stud placement. If you've got to cut out part of a stud to fit the overflow box then you will have to install some supports (basically a box around the opening). That could all be done from the sump side, leaving the display side wall mostly intact. Yep. I'll be cutting at least one stud. Not load bearing, but I just painted that wall, so I'll be careful not to make a mess. I will support the drywall around the opening with some studs from the back just to keep it from getting damaged too much. I'm not sure what you mean by the access door over the opening, though. You mean in the wall behind it in the stairwell put the little door to get access to the one return that will be stuck in the wall? That's a fun idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anemone March 17, 2016 Share March 17, 2016 Sorry, I wrote before seeing the picture. I was thinking that the back wall was finished and was thinking of putting an access door on that side. That way you could keep the noise down, but still open the door for better access when needed. I think when you cut out a stud, you're supposed to put a frame across the top and bottom of the cut and on the left and right sides too. At least that is what our contractor just did when I asked for an access door to a crawl space. I might be able to get a picture this weekend if you want to see. Anyway, you could mount some kind of door on that frame for noise blocking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt March 17, 2016 Share March 17, 2016 Is where that light is sitting where the overflow will punch through into the sump room? Looks like you're working with studs that support stairs. Maybe I'm wrong about placement, but if not be careful. I know you know carpentry, but I'd shy away from removing or altering a stair support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM March 17, 2016 Author Share March 17, 2016 Is where that light is sitting where the overflow will punch through into the sump room? Looks like you're working with studs that support stairs. Maybe I'm wrong about placement, but if not be careful. I know you know carpentry, but I'd shy away from removing or altering a stair support. Good point, Matt. The stair treads sit in notches cut in the stringers on the two sides. The stringers rest on the bottom on the concrete floor and on the top they have a vertical support that is tied into the side of a joist holding up the first floor of the house near the central steel beam. Each stud that you're seeing seems to have a single nail that goes from the stringer into the stud. The studs aren't right under the stringers, but next to it. I'm not a super good carpenter, but I don't think those studs are bearing the load of the stairs. They're next to the stairs with nails holding them together just so the wall doesn't move around, I think. What do others that know carpentry think? I can always put a 2x8 header above my hole and some jack studs to the left and right holding up the header if it's needed to transfer load. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt March 17, 2016 Share March 17, 2016 can you mange to poke the overflow through a space between two studs or is that not possible? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM March 17, 2016 Author Share March 17, 2016 can you mange to poke the overflow through a space between two studs or is that not possible? Nope. Box is huge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anemone March 18, 2016 Share March 18, 2016 FWIW our new stairs are supported like you said, by resting on the floor/at the top, and not by any other supports. The old 1958 stairs that came out during the remodel were the same. (Sadly could not be reused.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anemone March 18, 2016 Share March 18, 2016 You can always have a couple friends jump around on the stairs and see whether the studs flex. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM March 18, 2016 Author Share March 18, 2016 One more quirk is that I measured the top of my stand with multiple straight edges and levels to make sure it was all square and level before putting the tank on it. Now that I have the tank up on it I can see that it is not in contact with the stand in one corner. Checking with fitting shims under it, I would have to have most of the one side shimmed and about half of the back. Is it possible that the tank isn't totally square and flat on the bottom? It will be tough to check for squareness of the tank with a lack of good reference surfaces. Assuming it's the tank that is a little off, should I shim the bottom to make sure it's in contact with a hard surface all around as built or should I let it settle in to the stand that I know is flat? A second question is where the right place to check for level of the tank is. I assume that the top trim is routinely installed uniformly across the entire top of the tank. Should the level go on the top trim of the tank or should it go on the glass floor or what? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime March 18, 2016 Share March 18, 2016 I've always used the top trim for leveling. I've also not kept a tank longer than 2 years. Take that FWIW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowieReefer84 March 18, 2016 Share March 18, 2016 Measure the water for level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM March 18, 2016 Author Share March 18, 2016 The water is self measuring, but 180 gallons later it's a lot of pumping in and out to check for level, heh. I can always tilt my overflow box a smidge if it isn't quite right, heh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM March 18, 2016 Author Share March 18, 2016 Actually, that's right! The most important thing, from a tank operation point of view is that the overflow box needs to be level so the water goes down it evenly. I'll attach the overflow lined up with the top trim as best I can, and then put the level on the overflow box and get it set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM March 20, 2016 Author Share March 20, 2016 Check out d2mini's fish room video on youtube...the most recent one Also here, about 2m in you see where his overflow is through the wall...and at about 3m in he talks about it http://www.aquaticlog.com/aquariums/d2mini/1/videos/1018 I watched his video. Looks pretty nice. It's weird that he spent all that time and still has a long nearly horizontal segment to his main full siphon drain instead of going straight down, but whatever works for him. He invested heavily in spaflex everywhere. Heh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM March 20, 2016 Author Share March 20, 2016 Got the overflow box in. Also got holes for returns. Amazing that they all lined up between the two rooms. I must have measured about 10 times to make sure I got it right. The hole is 1/4" clearance on all sides. As it is, the bulkheads that go down out of the box won't fit below the box. The drywall under is in the way, so I'll have to cut some more under the box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khh27 March 20, 2016 Share March 20, 2016 Looks good. Are you going to frame out the spot where you cut? For support or are they just useless 2x4s Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM March 20, 2016 Author Share March 20, 2016 They were some 2x3's just holding on the drywall. I had my wife jump on the stairs after I cut em to see if my suspicion was right. 8) I may do the suggested and build kind of a box around it to block the noise a bit, or I may enlarge the hole a bit and then put some weatherstripping between the wall and the tank to kind of seal off the whole area for noise and salt creep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowieReefer84 March 21, 2016 Share March 21, 2016 Hows it look from the other side? You might want to use an "L bead" or something to make the edge nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM March 21, 2016 Author Share March 21, 2016 Hows it look from the other side? You might want to use an "L bead" or something to make the edge nice. I may do that in an attempt to seal it up a bit, but you really can't see it. Here is from the front of the wall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime March 21, 2016 Share March 21, 2016 How's the cover fit with the 2x3's? I'm already worried about that insulation above the box. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowieReefer84 March 21, 2016 Share March 21, 2016 (edited) Cut out the baseboard and quarter round, and really tuck it clean! This might also give that last bit of clearance for the bulkheads on the bottom. Edited March 21, 2016 by BowieReefer84 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM March 21, 2016 Author Share March 21, 2016 How's the cover fit with the 2x3's? I'm already worried about that insulation above the box. The cover fits kind of tightly. There is 1/4" of clearance above the cover which just lets it come off, but once it's off there is plenty of room to work in there. I actually just cut out some space beneath the overflow box in the center to allow the bulkheads to extend down. It will let me watch for salt creep coming from the external bulkheads holding the box on too. Cut out the baseboard and quarter round, and really tuck it clean! This might also give that last bit of clearance for the bulkheads on the bottom. I cut out the quarter round already in the photo above, but left the baseboard. I may do the baseboard as well. It would help with the bulkheads, that's true. I am still planning to put a Gyre on the back wall in each corner, so I like the 1" or so of clearance behind the tank for magnet clearance, though. It also allows a little bit of space for tucking cords through the wall, lets them have a bit of room to accomodate the bend radius of the power cables for the ATI light and powerheads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Puckstable March 22, 2016 Share March 22, 2016 Nice tank. Following Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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