My first aquariums - 404 display/150 frag

[b09u5]

My first salt aquariums and my first post! I hope I can figure both of these out! Sorry this post is so long, but I needed to get it up to date in one fell swoop! Any comments are definitely appreciated!
______________________

I know this probably isn't a great idea, but in October, I decided to get my feet wet in salt water. lastlight was "getting out" of the hobby, so it was a perfect time to pick up his 404. After months procrastinating, slacking, daydreaming, planning, and very little work, lastlight bailed me out and helped with the stand construction. This left me in a position where I am now able to start a build thread, as the effort required to move forward with this build is now less than the effort to redo my basement.

My plans are to have an 8'x3',27" flush mount tank, in a back room in my basement. It will be viewable from one side only, and serviceable from the other three. The room it sits in will also house an 8 foot/150 gallon frag tank plumbed into the same sump. I hope that I haven't bitten off more than I can chew.... time will tell. With that said, any advice or comments on my set-up are more than welcome!

I started off by tearing out the drywall and carpet in the soon to be fish room.
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3734/8805754335_fb12e2ee35.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8805754335/)
removed drywall, etc. (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8805754335/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr


Weeks later, I prepped the floor with a polisher and a carbide disc, and etched the floor with muriatic acid.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7380/8805755815_895084b112.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8805755815/)
removed paint (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8805755815/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr


http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2881/8816344460_379b965d68.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8816344460/)
IMG_2156 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8816344460/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr



A few weeks following that I threw 4 coats of Enviro Epoxy on it... just to be safe.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7330/8816345618_83e242900c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8816345618/)
IMG_2259 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8816345618/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr



From there, I taped out the floor plan for the room and waited a few more weeks - didn't want to rush things!

Finally had some serious help to build the stand, and that started things moving in the right direction. The stand itself is overkill, as this is my first build and I am extremely nervous when it comes to worst-case scenarios. The stand itself is cantilevered and free floating - not actually connected to the framework of the wall. The 4" cantilever allows it to span the framework of the wall and lets the tank to sit flush with the viewing wall. I left space beneath for storage, as the sump will be a stand-alone unit to the side of the tank.
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3761/8805770111_f7ab55217b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8805770111/)
Framework of the stand (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8805770111/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr


http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2862/8920159093_f8a059b37f.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8920159093/)
IMG_2372 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8920159093/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr



http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3828/8805768631_8497e42a0b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8805768631/)
the stand (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8805768631/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr



After another month of delays due to work and a vacation, I was inspired, again with much help from lastlight, to move in the sump and glass for the display. This was not fun and we got all pieces moves, except for the base. It is a beast and I am not looking forward to carrying a 8'x36".75" piece of glass up and down stairs!


http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2820/8920216603_56e5a9f5a7.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8920216603/)
IMG_2658 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8920216603/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr


http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3802/8920217213_94e18f77a1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8920217213/)
IMG_2659 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8920217213/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr



Seeing all of the glass in the house, I was motivated to get moving on the electrical and ventilation for the room. I wanted each section: display tank; sump; and frag tank, to be on separate circuits and for everything to be run on GFI outlets. This way, if I have a catastrophic failure of any device, none of the others should be affected. To do this, I needed to either get a new electrical panel, as mine is did not have the room to accommodate additional breakers, or set up a sub-panel near the aquarium room and run the separate services from there.

As I am planning for a hot tub and air conditioning unit in upcoming years (may need the AC sooner due to the heat from the aquariums), I chose to run a 3 conductor/2 gauge wire from the existing panel to the fish room for a sub-panel. This was more of a pain in the ass than anticipated, but 3 hours later, it was done.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8126/8920217769_f8e43c2f50.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8920217769/)
IMG_2685 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8920217769/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr


http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7416/8920218591_bcfb11c36a.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8920218591/)
IMG_2699 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8920218591/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr


http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3781/8920834780_7cdbbc6642.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8920834780/)
IMG_2700 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8920834780/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr


http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7366/8920835752_a1aa35f173.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8920835752/)
IMG_2703 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8920835752/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr


From there, I had an electrician run the wiring for the three separate 15Amp services and had him run some extra wire for the ventilation of the room.
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5333/8920838696_4c37c438a2.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8920838696/)
IMG_2720 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8920838696/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7451/8920837672_75b7924c48.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8920837672/)
IMG_2718 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8920837672/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7453/8920839444_4e54e11c61.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8920839444/)
IMG_2722 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8920839444/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr


For ventilation, I researched dehumidifiers (too loud and energy consumptive), HRV/ERV units (too costly and ineffective for heat removal in the summer), dehumidifier/extractor units (effective in circulating air while maintaining pressures in the home, but more expensive than the do it yourself version that I ended up settling on. I picked up two FR100 in-line duct fans from Fantech.

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3774/8920841358_da349b84dd.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8920841358/)
IMG_2724 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8920841358/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr



These things move something like 140cfm using only 20 Watts. From what I am told they are nearly silent and are plastic and sealed to prevent invasion from moisture. As they are designed to operate 24/7 I hope they are up to the task.



To figure out how much evaporation I could expect, I used some online calculators and researched a bunch about how much water vapor air can hold at specific temperatures. I doubled my results to be on the safe side and figured that for now, these two fans will be hooked up in series (with reverse thermostat, de-humidistat and variable speed controls) and one will act as an exhaust and the other as a fresh air intake. Should I need more ventilation to keep up with humidity or temperature, I can simply turn the second fan from an intake to an exhaust and place a third fan with double the cfm as a new intake.

With the parts bought for this build, I am now at the mercy of a concrete cutting company to come and drill me two 4.5” holes in the cement so that I can get the dampeners installed.

As I wait, we are sizing up the plumbing for a double sink. I have relatively easy access to hot and cold water, as I am working right below my shower, but I do not have a drain in this room. The closest is across the hall in the furnace room. As I do not want to spend money installing a drain in the concrete floor, I have decided to use an in-line pump. It is a 1/4 HP Flotec Sink Pump System. It is essentially a sump pump in its own sealed container with 1.5” PVC hook up for the sink and another 1.5” PVC hook up for the drain line. I plan on running 1.5” flex PVC up the wall in the fish room, in between the joists into the furnace room.
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3757/8921090458_442df0c2a0.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8921090458/)
IMG_2725 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8921090458/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr


Following this, I have to work on getting vapor barrier, humidity and mold resistant drywall and waterproof paint in there. After that is done, I can build the stand for the frag tank (which is actually cabinetry for 55 gallon plastic drums for RO/DI water and salt water mixing) and doubles as a counter top for the double sink.

Only after all of this, will I be able to call in the cavalry to build the two tanks. Following the build, I will finally be able to tackle what I am looking forward to the most: plumbing all of the systems together, cycling, etc. I am optimistic that we can have water in tanks sometime this summer, and fish/corals in the winter. All of this with an original time frame of being done by December 31st, 2012!


As I mentioned before, I am open to advice and suggestions!


Wish me luck!

[albert_dao]

Your first aquarium is only 404 gallons? Why even bother... And you got lastlight to help you? *shakes head... This is going to be a rough ride. Brett's sorta, how to put it lightly... sloppy around the edges. The kind of unfortunate do-gooder who only does good with a bottle of beer in his gut and Justin Bieber playing absently in the background. My recommendation, get use to being uncomfortable in your own skin.


















































































<3 Brett

[Edmonton newbie]

great start but im thinking your already 6 months past your deadline??? all good tho everything i do is over budget and behind schedule lol

[kien]

Welcome to the Canreef! Everyone loved this tank before so we are looking forward to loving it again :-)

:pop2:

[b09u5]

only does good with a bottle of beer <3 Brett Something doesn't add up. You gotta know this guy works best on Slurpees!

Also, I should note: This is my first salt set-up. I used to be in to see you at Gold's on a weekly basis, when I was into freshwater!

[b09u5]

Edmonton newbie - I hear you about over budget... that's part of the reason this is taking so long. That and, it's my first. The one thing that I have learned so far, is that if I had got this done right away, I would have regretted it. The plan has developed and is much more thought out since I have taken the painfully slow path. Now that I am committed to this plan, it's time to ramp things up a bit!

[b09u5]

Kien - Thanks! I hope I can do it justice! She was a beauty..... the main reason that I got myself into the hobby.

[lastlight]

I thought Kien was long-winded wow. Tagging along (and helping when told to).

[Proteus]

Tagging alongggg

[madchild]

Subbed

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk 4 Beta

[banditpowdercoat]

Sweet, Welcome

[Myka]

My first salt aquariums and my first post! [...]My plans are to have an 8'x3',27" flush mount tank [...] also house an 8 foot/150 gallon frag tank plumbed into the same sump. [...] I hope that I haven't bitten off more than I can chew.... time will tell.

:lol: No kidding! That is one big project for a newbie! Or for anyone for that matter... :mrgreen:

[b09u5]

Thanks for the post Myka, it led me to your articles in your signature. They should prove quite helpful!

[monkE]

very cool start! looking forward to more!

[lockrookie]

I am a follower therefore I shall..... Great start you have great help you will do wonderfully

And welcome to the darkside

[neoh]

sssubscribed. :clap2:

[b09u5]

So we went to install the sink and sump system. I am trying to avoid running a traditional drain through the floor, as jack-hammering my foundation in a finished basement sounds costly. The water was just a T off the hot and cold for my upstairs shower, but the rest of the plumbing is starting to frustrate me.
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5463/8968448495_282ef7e68c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8968448495/)
IMG_2760 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8968448495/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7451/8969641170_ea06cb2421.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8969641170/)
IMG_2761 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8969641170/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr

I thought that I would be fine running ABS from the sump, over my wall and allow it to run into the drain in the floor in my furnace room. No such luck. Apparently plumbing code calls for Schedule 40 out on pumps within a house, until the point of gravity feed. That is easy enough. The second issue is that I cannot allow one drain to flow into another, I actually have to plumb this into the sewer system. Again, simple enough - probably would get someone to do this, but not to complex - all of my plumbing ends up in the unfinished furnace room. The third issue is the most difficult to resolve: The sump has a vent on it and the vent -by code -must be plumbed outside. Not just through the wall outside (that would be too easy), but through the roof.

So after pulling a permit myself, learning that there are issues that I cannot resolve, cancelling the permit, I now have a guy coming who can hopefully get it done tomorrow.

The silver lining for this, is that the guy also knows HVAC. Apparently my idea for running an exhaust and intake fan is not a good idea, nor is it to code. I have also just learned that any time changes are made to the ventilation or circulation of air within a home, a permit is required and a licensed HVAC person must do the work. This made me crazy, since simply opening a window and pointing a fan at it meets the criteria above and thereby would require a permit and a licensed HVAC person. Unfortunately, the City of Calgary does not sympathize with this point.

Probably another few hundred dollars and I will have a solution. This just keeps adding up!

[b09u5]

OH! And the bigger, better news is that I am looking at ordering up a starfire front for the 404g. Because of the size that the 19mm Starfire comes in, if I replace the 8'x27" front piece, I should have enough Starfire left over to pair it with the original front panel 8'x27" (as a base) and make an 8'x27"x11" frag tank! All out of 19mm Starfire.

I still have a lot of work to watch the plumber and HVAC guy do before I can move on with vapor barrier, drywall, paint, etc. But once that is done, the building can finally begin!

[neoh]

You haven't even got to the expensive stuff yet. ;) Good that your doing everything to code. I probably wouldn't, haha.

[lastlight]

Sorry to hear of all the problems. Did the guy you bought the setup from do this stuff to code or did he take the cheap man's way out?

[FishyFishy!]

Sorry to hear of all the problems. Did the guy you bought the setup from do this stuff to code or did he take the cheap man's way out?


^^ LOL

I'm not a fan of 'code'. It's just silly. Especially when you're talking about HVAC. Electrical.... yes, totally understandable. But HVAC???? c'maaaan

[b09u5]

Sorry to hear of all the problems. Did the guy you bought the setup from do this stuff to code or did he take the cheap man's way out?

Not certain about him and code.... but I do know that he has a habit of making things look easy. I get that impression mainly because I am a crappy friend and don't help out in the builds, but also from the fact that he works like an animal and accomplishes a months worth of work in 5 straight all-nighters!

[Myka]

Probably another few hundred dollars and I will have a solution. This just keeps adding up!

Oh, just wait until you start adding livestock! That's when it really starts adding up, but for some reason spending $1000 on livestock doesn't hurt as much as $1000 on setup. Maybe it's the eye candy. :D

I sympathize with the frustration of making it all work, but that is great that you are building everything to code. Codes are made for good reason, and it would not be pleasant if after all this your not-to-code plumbing failed you.

What do you have in the works for electrical? I would suggest you dedicate at least two different breakers so that if one pops the tank will still remain half-running. I run all my lights on one breaker (so if they have trouble they only kick out half the system) and my pumps are split between two different breakers. I have (2) 20-amp breakers...one is GFCI protected, the other has GFCI receptacles.

[FishyFishy!]

What do you have in the works for electrical? I would suggest you dedicate at least two different breakers so that if one pops the tank will still remain half-running. I run all my lights on one breaker (so if they have trouble they only kick out half the system) and my pumps are split between two different breakers. I have (2) 20-amp breakers...one is GFCI protected, the other has GFCI receptacles.

The first post of the thread goes through his electrical setup :wink:




[/URL]


Seeing all of the glass in the house, I was motivated to get moving on the electrical and ventilation for the room. I wanted each section: display tank; sump; and frag tank, to be on separate circuits and for everything to be run on GFI outlets. This way, if I have a catastrophic failure of any device, none of the others should be affected. To do this, I needed to either get a new electrical panel, as mine is did not have the room to accommodate additional breakers, or set up a sub-panel near the aquarium room and run the separate services from there.

As I am planning for a hot tub and air conditioning unit in upcoming years (may need the AC sooner due to the heat from the aquariums), I chose to run a 3 conductor/2 gauge wire from the existing panel to the fish room for a sub-panel. This was more of a pain in the ass than anticipated, but 3 hours later, it was done.
[URL="http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8920217769/"]http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8126/8920217769_f8e43c2f50.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8805768631/)
IMG_2685 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8920217769/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr


http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7416/8920218591_bcfb11c36a.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8920218591/)
IMG_2699 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8920218591/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr


http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3781/8920834780_7cdbbc6642.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8920834780/)
IMG_2700 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8920834780/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr


http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7366/8920835752_a1aa35f173.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8920835752/)
IMG_2703 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8920835752/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr


From there, I had an electrician run the wiring for the three separate 15Amp services and had him run some extra wire for the ventilation of the room.
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5333/8920838696_4c37c438a2.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8920838696/)
IMG_2720 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8920838696/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7451/8920837672_75b7924c48.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8920837672/)
IMG_2718 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8920837672/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7453/8920839444_4e54e11c61.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8920839444/)
IMG_2722 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/8920839444/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr

[b09u5]

What do you have in the works for electrical? I would suggest you dedicate at least two different breakers so that if one pops the tank will still remain half-running.

I have 4 separate 15 Amp services into that room (1 off my main panel, and 3 off a sub panel that I had installed). All have 4 GFI double outlets on each of them for a total of 16 double GFI outlets. All but one of the services are above the water line, so problems should be limited, and if there are any, they should not affect the other outlets.

[Myka]

I have 4 separate 15 Amp services into that room (1 off my main panel, and 3 off a sub panel that I had installed). All have 4 GFI double outlets on each of them for a total of 16 double GFI outlets. All but one of the services are above the water line, so problems should be limited, and if there are any, they should not affect the other outlets.

Awesome, great plan. :)

[Magma]

I have 4 separate 15 Amp services into that room (1 off my main panel, and 3 off a sub panel that I had installed). All have 4 GFI double outlets on each of them for a total of 16 double GFI outlets. All but one of the services are above the water line, so problems should be limited, and if there are any, they should not affect the other outlets.

Word of caution on GFI breakers/plugs if you plug lighting into them they may trip. The ballasts in T5's and MH are sometimes enough to trip the plug. I suggest you put all the lighting together and don't add vital equipment on with them in case they trip.

[b09u5]

Word of caution on GFI breakers/plugs if you plug lighting into them they may trip. The ballasts in T5's and MH are sometimes enough to trip the plug. I suggest you put all the lighting together and don't add vital equipment on with them in case they trip.

Thanks for the tip! I will have to keep my eye out for that. I have gone with enough GFI outlets that each MH should have its own - not sure if that'll help or not. If they still trip, I can swap the GFI outlets for standard outlets as the lights are on their own circuit and the circuit itself is not GFI.

I never once thought of that, but it makes sense. I hope it's OK as is, but if not, at least I am now aware of it, so thanks!

[Myka]

Magma's advice to put all lights on one breaker is good advice. Since you have 4 breakers you should have no problem dedicating one to lighting only. I found the GFCI receptacles couldn't handle my halide lighting which is why one of my breakers is GFCI instead of the receptacle. The GFCI breakers are about $100 each where the receptacles are $20 each. My understanding is that you only need one GFCI receptacle per breaker to protect the whole breaker, but check with an electrician!

[Magma]

Magma's advice to put all lights on one breaker is good advice. Since you have 4 breakers you should have no problem dedicating one to lighting only. I found the GFCI receptacles couldn't handle my halide lighting which is why one of my breakers is GFCI instead of the receptacle. The GFCI breakers are about $100 each where the receptacles are $20 each. My understanding is that you only need one GFCI receptacle per breaker to protect the whole breaker, but check with an electrician!


Good thing I am an Electrician!

GFCI breakers range from about $90 and up, the plug is around 15-20 depending on the style.

So yes it depends on how you wire the GFCI plugs. They have a Line side and a Load side.

Generally speaking you would come from the panel and into the Line side on the GFCI plug. If you have more plugs down the line you can just put the next circuit into the LOAD side of the plug and everything after that would be GFCI protected. (Basically anything wired directly off the GFCI plug down the line is GFCI protected, and anything before the GFCI is NOT protected. Thats if its all wired correctly)

When you buy a GFCI plug it has an instruction sheet on how to wire it and also clearly marks on the plug which side is which. Most have a yellow sticker over the Load side so you don't end up hooking it up wrong.

If you needed some help with it I am free on weekends and some evenings to help as well.

[b09u5]

So I think I have this cased then. I have three sections, each on a seperate non-GFI breaker: Display Tank; Frag Tank; Sump. I will only be powering lights and powerheads on the tank breakers, and the sump will take the rest. Smaller things like the fans, and lower outlets are technically GFI as there is one between the breaker ant the first outlet.

I can simply continue as I planned with 3 GFI outlets on each of the tank breakers. I think that this means that if the lights trip the GFI, the 2 other GFI outlets on the same line would still work. If this is true, I am OK. If this is false, I need to teach my electrician a thing or two! If the lights keep tripping, I think I can simply swap that outlet for a non-GFI and keep the other 2 as GFI. Let me know if this is the case.

Here is what the setup would look like for both tanks:

non-gfi breaker-----GFI outlet lights-----GFI outlet lights-----GFI outlet powerheads


if that doesn't work:

non-gfi breaker----- non GFI outlet lights-----non GFI outlet lights-----GFI outlet powerheads

The setup for the sump would look like this:

non-gfi breaker-----GFI outlet heaters------GFI outlet return pump------GFI outlet skimmer-------GFI outlet doser----GFI outlet light-----GFI outlet open-----GFI outlet open.

Again, I was going with so many separate GFIs so if i had issues with any, all other things would work. If this is not the case, clearly the GFI outlets are redundant. I think this makes sense, and should work, but I could be wrong. I may need to feed each GFI individually from the main power ie: in parallel rather than in series.

Let me know your thoughts, Magma.

[Magma]

heres the thing I notice (now I would almost need to see it in person to actually see how its wired) but if you have for example the sump setup.

non-gfi breaker-----GFI outlet heaters------GFI outlet return pump------GFI outlet skimmer-------GFI outlet doser----GFI outlet light-----GFI outlet open-----GFI outlet open.

Say your away for the day and all the GFI plugs are wired on the Load side starting from the heaters. If the light tripped the GFI and it actually went back and tripped the Heaters everything down the line would be off not saying it would happen but hey I have seen some weird things happen before (I tripped a dedicated lighting circuit in a panel downtown and took out the MAIN breaker for the building).

So if that whole circuit is off for a day you have just lost, heat, skimmer, return, doser plus whatever else you want.

But then again if the guy wired them correctly so they are all separate then if you trip the light plug the rest still keeps going. It all depends on how they are wired and its easy to screw up if your not paying attention.

My suggestion would be anywhere you have a "GFI Outlet lights" change it to a standard plug no GFI. Ballasts trip GFI's randomly and if your lights are on a timer and your not home its asking for trouble.


My whole tank is on 2 circuits in my house and I dont use one GFI plug or breaker. I have standard plugs with drip loops on all my cords. Thats just how I do it, everyone has there own ways.

[gregzz4]

As mentioned, having a lot of hardware on one GFI breaker is looking for trouble
I use a total of 13 GFCI duplexes and ran 2 15A circuits
'Almost' every individual piece of hardware I'm running has it's own duplex
The only things that are doubled up are;
My heaters, but there is another pair on a Ranco controller on it's own duplex, so no problem
My UV and GFO are together
My Skimmer and Carbon are together
My Return pump and Tunze Osmolator are together (on purpose)
My Chiller/UV pump and 'fuge' pump are together

I run 4 T5HO ballasts and have never had an issue with the GFCIs
The ballasts are connected through a PC4 power bar, so whether or not this solved any nuisance tripping or not I don't know

I also installed Surge supressor duplexes to protect the solid state stuff, like my Controller, Vortechs and Battery B/U, and ATO

I may have missed mention of it but are you going to use ground probes ?
I have 5 :surprise:
DT, Sump, ATO tank, NSW mixing tank and QT

Keep up the good work and enjoy your build

[Myka]

I have >600 watts of lighting and my return pump on one 20 amp GFCI breaker, and it has never tripped in the 2 years it's been installed. We first set it up with a GFCI receptacle and it would trip as soon as the halide ballasts tried to fire. My powerheads, doser, ATO, and skimmer are all on another 20 amp breaker with GFCI receptacles.

In my fish room I have 3 quad receptacles each with a GFCI receptacle that are all surface mounted by an electrician. There are also two standard in-wall dual receptacles in the room that were both plugged with those kid proof covers. I was short one plugin and decided to plug a Mag 3 pump into one of the in-wall receptacles to mix saltwater. It ran that way for several months without a hitch, and I forgot about it. I was away for the winter working in Alberta and I receive a panicked text message from the inlaws saying there is a firetruck at the house (ya thanks for the details!). It turns out the Mag 3 decided to seize and proceeded to overheat and the receptacle caught fire. Luckily there wasn't anything near the receptacle that would catch fire or the whole house could have burned down. Apparently the whole house was full of smoke, and I had to paint over the 18" black flame marks up the wall. When the receptacle caught fire it did eventually trip the (normal) breaker in the panel. If it was GFCI the receptacle probably wouldn't have caught fire to begin with.

Moral of the story, Murphy's Law says it will be the ONE unprotected receptacle that will happen to have the ONE piece of equipment that will fail and cause your whole house to burn down. Now, all my fish related receptacles are protected. They have saved the bacon numerous times.

I had a similar thing happen with a different mixing pump on a GFCI receptacle and it tripped the breaker at the very first spark. I was actually standing within 3' when that happened. Nearly pooped my pants. :lol:

I also had a newly installed algae turf scrubber fall over in the sump overnight. It then shot water 4' up the wall directly at the plugs...of course. This tripped the GFCI and saved all the pumps in the sump that would have run dry otherwise, it also limited the amount of water on the floor. I slept like a baby through all this and groggy in bare feet before my morning coffee I walk in the room and wonder why the heck my feet feel wet. An aquarist wakes up real fast when the feet get wet for an unknown reason.

Moral of those two stories, GFCIs are multi-purpose tools. :D

You have to figure out what you're comfortable with for yourself, and then you have to try to sleep at night for the first week it's running. :lol:

[Magma]

I may have missed mention of it but are you going to use ground probes ?


NO NO NO NO NO!

Ground Probes have to be one of the worst things IMO.

Your not fixing the problem at ALL! All you are doing is providing a path for current to flow. If you have that much voltage and current that you need a ground probe you have a problem and it needs to be fixed NOW.

Voltage is not a problem, current is. BUT you can have voltage exist without current. Its how birds and squirrels can walk along the power lines and not end up as BBQ.

Pretty good ready with some longer explanations can be found here:
http://angel-strike.com/aquarium/GroundingProbes.html
http://freshaquarium.about.com/od/problemsolving/a/grounding.htm (Tips and tricks)


Lots more lengthy discussions on other forums and I find a lot of people have mixed feelings on this. But to me I find putting on a band-aid over a big problem on works for so long before it can be come a massive problem. Isolate the problem and replace the equipment.

[gregzz4]

NO NO NO NO NO!

Ground Probes have to be one of the worst things IMO.

Your not fixing the problem at ALL! All you are doing is providing a path for current to flow. If you have that much voltage and current that you need a ground probe you have a problem and it needs to be fixed NOW.

Voltage is not a problem, current is. BUT you can have voltage exist without current. Its how birds and squirrels can walk along the power lines and not end up as BBQ.

Pretty good ready with some longer explanations can be found here:
http://angel-strike.com/aquarium/GroundingProbes.html
http://freshaquarium.about.com/od/problemsolving/a/grounding.htm (Tips and tricks)


Lots more lengthy discussions on other forums and I find a lot of people have mixed feelings on this. But to me I find putting on a band-aid over a big problem on works for so long before it can be come a massive problem. Isolate the problem and replace the equipment.

OK then.
You're the electrician here :smile:

But it's my understanding that using a GFCI 'without' a ground probe causes it to react slower, and a GFCI 'with' a probe protects life, as far as millisecond response time goes where heart issues are concerned

Please explain how a ground probe 'can't' help trip a circuit faster than without one ....

[Magma]

OK then.
You're the electrician here :smile:

But it's my understanding that using a GFCI 'without' a ground probe causes it to react slower, and a GFCI 'with' a probe protects life, as far as millisecond response time goes where heart issues are concerned

Please explain how a ground probe 'can't' help trip a circuit faster than without one ....

Not saying it wont trip faster, but the fact is the ground probe will provide a path for current to flow which may not have been there before. Potential causing a problem. Personally I think if you have current flowing in the tank you should fix it ASAP and not provide a path for it.

GFI's are set to trip with 5mA difference between the lines. You might feel a slight poke but its not going to drop you to the floor before it trips. I cant see it changing the reaction time to a point it would be noticed.

IMO I think the ground probe can be ok if used correctly and you fix problems that arise. That being said, 9/10 times it makes us lazy in actually looking for the problem. So a $10 ground probe and 5 min to install problem "gone" or spend 20-30min tracing out which device is causing the leak and replacing something at a cost of 50? 100? 200? or more...your going to take the 10$ option every time and not truly fix the problem.

I wont ever use a ground probe I would rather check my devices, use drip loops and isolate myself through the use of a mat or dry towel. Be safe and smart. Just take the time to check each device and replace it its going to save a lot more in the long run.

[b09u5]

So, to catch some things up:

-No, I don't plan on using grounding probes. My mind is open to this idea and I may come around in the long run.

-I worked out something to allow every plug to be GFI. Each separate breaker at each location will have a set of 3 plugs wired like this:

Breaker A-----------GFI 1
I I
I I
I I-----------GFI 2
I
I
I-----------GFI 3

Definitely not three wires directly from the breaker as outlined, but wire through the wall to the triple box, then split to three.

_____________

Onto bigger and better things: I called in the reinforcements to finish off the plumbing and HVAC. HVAC had to be done by a pro as per The City and plumbing was going to be a pain because of the 1.5" vent line for the sump.

HVAC was simple. Core some holes:

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5473/9096061518_aa0ca203cb.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9096061518/)
IMG_2801 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9096061518/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr

Hook up the fans, flex and insulation. Tie into existing cold air return and insulate it as well.

Exhaust:
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7333/9096066222_824de14c43.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9096066222/)
IMG_2811 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9096066222/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr

Return:
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5450/9093840281_4211790387.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9093840281/)
IMG_2812 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9093840281/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3753/9093841107_cd1054242b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9093841107/)
IMG_2813 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9093841107/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr

The only part remaining are two snorkels for the intake and exhaust vents on the outside of the house. These will get done tomorrow, at the same time as I get my main panel swapped out to gain extra room for the sub panel that I put in for this room.

The tough part was still the plumbing. Hooking up the sump was straightforward enough, and getting the vent line out of the room was easy too.
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3803/9096065360_319d7679c3.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9096065360/)
IMG_2810 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9096065360/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr

The tough part was tying in the vent line to the existing vent from a downstairs bathroom. Since we had to run the vent line from the sump, up the wall, into the furnace room, we were already at the same height as the existing vent line, but were still 6 feet and 4 joists away. This meant that we had to come down three inches or so, span the joists and go up again to connect to the vent. This would have left a trap for water and would have been against code. As there are no other vents in the area, and the house is finished, the contractor suggested a 1.5" cheater vent just before we drop below the joists. This is a bit of a grey area, but he says that inspectors sign off on this stuff all of the time for island sinks, etc. where there are no options for a vent.

We will know if this is kosher on Monday, following the inspection.

Hopefully all goes well, and it will be time to vapor barrier, drywall, mud/tape, paint and build the frag stand/counter.

I have my 19mm Starfire on order and can't wait to get started on the fun stuff!

[b09u5]

First things first: All the best to everyone affected by the flooding in Southern Alberta!

And speaking of the floods in Alberta, my inspections have been re-prioritized (rightfully so), as all of the inspectors are working on assessing homes for re-entry, etc.

I don't have any idea when I will see an inspector, and the only reason I would hope for one soon, is to hope that the clean-up is quicker than anticipated.

In the mean-time, I have my concerns as to whether the work done will pass inspection at all.

Here are pics of the "1.5 inch cheater vent":

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2838/9147341349_bb3edf20f6.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9147341349/)
IMG_2862 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9147341349/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr

And the snorkels for the intake and exhaust respectively:
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5516/9147339033_ce51c51602.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9147339033/)
IMG_2857 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9147339033/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3792/9149567332_becf9fba44.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9149567332/)
IMG_2856 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9149567332/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr

I have concerns that the cheater vent will not be to code. And I have the same concern with the exhaust snorkel. It is my understanding that any vents need to be a minimum of 3' from any electrical junctions or windows. I would appreciate any information from anyone with an understanding of plumbing and HVAC codes.

On the upside, my new main electrical panel was installed and it looks to be done correctly, and at a pretty respectable price. Here is a pic:
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7415/9147333049_a8a359d3b5.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9147333049/)
IMG_2831 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9147333049/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr

I am now going to frame in a bulkhead around the ventilation and wait for the inspectors. In the meantime, I'll have time to help out with the recovery.

[daplatapus]

Its been a couple years since I worked in HVAC in Alberta, but I believe you're correct. 1 meter from any exhaust vent to a building opening.
I'm not sure, but I thought they no longer allowed cheaters in the plumbing though.

[b09u5]

Thanks for the reply! The exhaust is definitely more than 1m. away from the windows and air intakes, but it is about 1ft. from the electrical junction box for my future AC and hot tub.

Agreed, the cheater vent seems like a poor substitute for doing the job correctly.

[lastlight]

Past your bedtime boss.

[b09u5]

You're right! I am out!

[Parker]

Looks impressive so far, I look forward to seeing it come together.

[b09u5]

The inspectors came on Friday and passed all the work done a few weeks back. So I am cleared to close it up and call for a final inspection.

Brett came by and helped me vapor barrier and drywall. He helped me finish off the vapor barrier, which I was struggling with. Once it was all up, I went OCD on tuck taping and he did the lower half of the drywall around the whole room.

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2871/9234387981_8df5d0d31c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9234387981/)
IMG_2900 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9234387981/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr

Next it will be the drywall for the upper half of the room, the ceiling and framing in the bulkhead around the HVAC and plumbing.

If anyone knows a good taping and mud person that isn't busy, let me know. I really don't feel like doing that myself.

Then some more framing for the quarantine frag tank stand/counter, and it'll be time for glass!

[lastlight]

i've heard there are tuck tape shortages in and around the calgary area!

[b09u5]

Yup! If I had one more roll, I wouldn't have needed the vapour barrier!

[b09u5]

Over the past couple of days I have had more help. A buddy who is also into fish came over after work yesterday and helped me frame in the bulkheads around my HVAC. He is not responsible for them looking so crappy! It was my idea to have the lower 2x4 below the runners, but it worked out because I was able to use them to level everything out. On the longer HVAC run, I was way off on measuring, so the bottom 2x4s are only part way screwed in, to level it all out! Hopefully the drywall hides it all! If I need a little more surface to anchor drywall to, I may have to double up the long 2x4s... As you can tell, I do not do this for a living!

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3704/9258275463_aa513c587a.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9258275463/)
IMG_2911 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9258275463/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3758/9258276541_17a0eb83b7.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9258276541/)
IMG_2913 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9258276541/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5496/9261056140_d2f7b2ef1a.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9261056140/)
IMG_2912 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9261056140/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr

Tonight, I started putting drywall up on the top half of the room. I didn't get very far, but I am sure I can plug away at this next week.

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3672/9261057316_c949e02a6c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9261057316/)
IMG_2916 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9261057316/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr

I checked on the Starfire glass for the front of my tank, and it is ordered and on its way! I am pumped. I need to get this drywall up, have someone mud and tape, and I need to clean the silicone off the current pieces that I have. The glass should be in and ready in a couple of weeks, so the timing should be just about perfect!

I mentioned earlier that I am using the 8'x27" 3/4" front piece of glass from this tank as the base for a frag/quarantine tank. Does anyone have any suggestions on how deep the quarantine tank/frag tank should be? I was thinking 14". If I do that, I can nearly make the whole thing from the sheet of Starfire that I am bringing in. If I lowered it to 11", I could do the whole thing! I would like it a bit deeper, as I want to get some fish that like to burrow in the sand. It would likely be traumatic for a fish like that to quarantine in a shallow, glass bottomed tank.

Let me know your thoughts! Also, if anyone knows a mud/taping person that wants to get this done, let me know!

[gregzz4]

I QTd wrasses in a bare-bottom by using a take-out tray full of sand - about 2-1/2" deep
Coris literally 'dove' into it when the lights went out

Room is coming along very nicely

[b09u5]

Just a quick update to show that I am still working on this.

Glass just came in a week ago, so I am getting anxious to get it in the house.

I finished dry walling with Brett, then had a guy in to mud and tape. I threw three coats of Kilz Premium on before starting on the counter/frag stand. After that is built and both stands are painted, it'll be finally time to get the tanks built.

While I wait to add water, I will have time to finish the viewing wall and plumb everything together.

Here are some pics from the last couple of weeks:

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2852/9490340985_3e198c735f.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9490340985/)
IMG_2956 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9490340985/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7281/9490340601_797223a973.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9490340601/)
IMG_2955 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9490340601/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3750/9490340215_b49b04a560.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9490340215/)
IMG_2954 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9490340215/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2840/9493136224_c36b6655c9.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9493136224/)
IMG_2952 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9493136224/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3797/9493139986_9a558a32de.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9493139986/)
IMG_2968 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9493139986/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2829/9490343477_57e5bed733.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9490343477/)
IMG_2969 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9490343477/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2874/9493141620_bc55472ea3.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9493141620/)
IMG_2972 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9493141620/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5482/9490346685_67ae1ace28.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9490346685/)
IMG_2978 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9490346685/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2834/9493144008_f8eb4e6c5c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9493144008/)
IMG_2979 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9493144008/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2839/9490347693_c31e4a1e17.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9490347693/)
IMG_2980 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9490347693/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2863/9493145538_bc8f98af4b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9493145538/)
IMG_2982 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9493145538/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2885/9490349823_1b263e6c29.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9490349823/)
IMG_2989 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96247177@N05/9490349823/) by gschaus (http://www.flickr.com/people/96247177@N05/), on Flickr

[Myka]

That's a lot of work! So, where's the water? :lol:

Fyi, the top drywall piece is supposed to be installed first. It would have been easier. :p

[b09u5]

Piece by piece, this build is coming together.

This past week has been pretty productive. I went and watched my glass get cut for the new starfire front and the frag tank. I got a 143"x48" piece of 19mm starfire and had enough to build all but the back pane of the frag tank.

Inspired by that, I came straight home and finished off the back stand/counter top. That only took a day, thankfully and my lovely girlfriend hit them with 3 coats of Kilz Premium while my brother, dad and I scraped silicone from the old glass.

We took Brett's 404 apart months ago and moved it to my place, but as always, I left the cleaning until the last minute. Cleaning the silicone off was a PITA. I will not ever do that again. To those of you that haven't tried, and don't learn well from others mistakes, I strongly suggest using Methyl Hydrate to help soften the silicone once the majority has been scraped off. I also suggest roping everyone in that owes you even the slightest favor. Without the help of my family, I would have been up all night. Instead I was up until 2AM and again at 6AM to get done for the build at 8AM.

Long story short.... Buy new glass.

The hard work of everyone paid off. Here is how things look presently:


http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2863/9597482106_78f5d8285c.jpg

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3811/9597482712_fdf39986cd.jpg

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3750/9594691737_65a7ebc3da.jpg

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5512/9594692315_bc5b591102.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7403/9594692917_387ac8e68f.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7285/9594693497_1b5da1c5a8.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7445/9594694627_4e6907f50b.jpg

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2841/9594696597_2b5e48eca6.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7421/9597489326_c18cb57a3a.jpg

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5343/9597490784_0c868a023e.jpg

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5450/9594700159_499aa7d25b.jpg

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3831/9597491796_fc99cbd1ab.jpg

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2820/9597494716_780d7dd53b.jpg


And somewhere amid the chaos of the stand build, glass clean and tank build, Christine and I drove to Wetaskawin and picked out our new puppy!

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5532/9594698545_ec801612d9.jpg

*Normally when I 'Preview Post' I am able to view my photos. I can't this time. I hope it works.... as the first post on this thread says "This is my first aquarium build and my first thread". Still learning both.

[FishyFishy!]

Pics arnt workin. But glad you are making some progress!

[b09u5]

Yeah. I have 0 idea why they aren't working. I just copy and paste that BBCode from Flickr. That is already more than I know a out the situation!

Wish I could get the pics out.

Maybe they'll work later?

[FishyFishy!]

Yeah weird.. now I see two of them. Lol. Maybe they will all work in a little bit.

[kien]

*Normally when I 'Preview Post' I am able to view my photos. I can't this time. I hope it works.... as the first post on this thread says "This is my first aquarium build and my first thread". Still learning both.

Looking good :-)

I've never used flickr's BBCode so I don't know much about it, but maybe stick to using the image link in flickr (by copying it) and pasting it into the image code icon to embed images like you did previously.

[kien]

that is unless you were using the BBCode thing before and it worked. In which case they must've changed the BBCode ? I dunno.. :-)

[lastlight]

I can see all the pics things look awesome! Too bad your family isn't going to answer any calls from you for a while lol.

[JDigital]

Cute puppy!

The tank build looks good. Hard to believe this is your first aquarium! :lol:

[thmh]

Love the progression photos!! Everything is looking awesome ,cant wait to see the rockwork :D

[SoloSK71]

^^ LOL

I'm not a fan of 'code'. It's just silly. Especially when you're talking about HVAC. Electrical.... yes, totally understandable. But HVAC???? c'maaaan

Normally I would hesitate to contradict someone who sold me the low cost and beautiful MH light that he did ... but ... HVAC to code prevents sucking CO back down a hot water, dryer or furnace pipe and into the house and the various colourful but bad side effects that follow ... I did that just once and gained a whole new respect for code.

Charles