So i got a bunch of stuff done last night, and there is a lot more to come today and the next day. I got the rest of my electronics mounted and ready to be wired up, my apex is online now and waiting to be programmed

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF3732.jpg

I also got my probes plumbed into my return line on the downside that will feed my fuge, i also finished that line as well too. believe it or not getting them to fit took me close to an hour and a half!!

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF3733.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF3734.jpg

today ill be finishing the baffling in the sump and then wiring the cabinet with a GFCI plug to run everything!!

Where did you get those in pipe probe holders? Your build looks amazing so far.

Don't let those probes dry out

Looks great so far, pretty elaborate for a nano :mrgreen:

They are for conduit, they have a rubber o-ring inside and they squeeze tight when you screw the cap down, I had to drill then out just a little to get them to fit the probe but i got them at lowes

OH crap! they have been out of water for about 2 days now while i fit them to the system...now what :eek:

Is that a low flow line? Probes generally don't work correctly in a high flow.

Yes Sir!! that line is just going to be a trickle to feed my fuge,

does anyone know anything about my probes being out of water for the last two days? did i mess anything up??

Alright guys! today has been a good start so far, I got all the glass for the sump ready and siliconed in place

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF3738.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF3739.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF3740.jpg

Then i got it put inside the cabinet and started putting my equipment in and sizing things up

1. Back right corner is the Tunze ATO

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF3743.jpg

2. Right infront of the ATO chamber is the return pump, and to the right of the return and ATO is the fuge

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF3745.jpg

3. Next came the skimmer

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF3746.jpg

4. Then right at the front is the down pipes that feed the whole sump

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF3747.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF3748.jpg

5. the only thing left to do is to cut a piece of acrylic to sit just on the otherside of the tubes to hold my filter sock, then its water time!!


While i had the sump out i took the chance to wire in my GFCI plug and then cut up an extension cord to wire the whole box to one single plug that i can plug into an existing outlet under my desk

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF3736.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF3742.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF3749.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF3751.jpg

Holy crap buddy! Thats some amazing DIY and design skills you got there! Looking fantastic.

All these sweet stuffs for a nano! Total killer :mrgreen:

(I am putting my bet on this build for the contest :razz:)

Way more effort in your nano then mine that's for sure. Nice job!!

As for the probes, get them back into a SW mix ASAP, once you have filled the tank do the calibration, if they calibrate ok your all good.


Now GET SOME DAMN SW IN IT!!

Agreed although fresh water works fine as well. It's just the pH and Redox that you have to worry about, temp will be fine.

I thought those probes came with a mild SW mix in them? I could be wrong cause I never really tested it :biggrin:

I don't know what fluid it is but can you not use the probes for freshwater setups as well?

Not sure either but it's a good point!

the probes have what looks like a tube inside of them, with a few small air bubbles, so im assuming there is something liquid inside of them. They also have tags on them, the guy i bought the apex off of had them calibrated last month, they are also still currently in my plumbing with no water, but im going to charge that line with saltwater right now

You will still need to recalibrate once you get the system up & running just to make sure everything is correct.

Do i need the calibration fluid for that? cus i dont have any haha also i just looked, and i dont have any salt!! haha i sold the last of it with my old tank

do you think there would be any problem using table salt to mix up about 50ml of water to keep them wet, or is there any point is getting them wet again cus ill have to recalibrate them now anyways

Just throw some FW in the line for now & you could get calibration fluid from concepts when your ready. I just check a brand new ph probe I have & it's not SW in the cap.

pH probes are generally shipped with a neutral cal solution
Not sure about the redox ones

Nice work on the sump ... just one question
What are your plans for circulating the fuge water ? I only see a dam wall ...
Are you planning on a small pump to feed it ?

Did you taste it?

Hell no!! Dropped some on to my refract. :biggrin:

Just checking :lol:

Perfect, i have freshwater running thought the tank right now, YES its finally full of water, just no salt :( sorry

The return pump is decided, the line that has the probes in it will feed the fuge, the rest of the water is sent up top where it is divided once more fora special surprise i have waiting for you guys when i do the rock work

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...CF3733copy.jpg

The red is the water destined for the display tank
The blue is the water destined for the refugium

They both come from the return pump and "T" off

Sheesh, no sense of adventure :spit:

Ahh, I should have spotted that in your plumbing
Great work and planning

OK!! Now that we figured out how we know its not saltwater hahaha i have one final set of pictures for you before I put my tools away

Enjoy!

The middle compartment will have my filter sock in it once i get the glass cut with a whole big enough haha

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF3752.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF3755.jpg

Return and Refugium

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF3754.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF3757.jpg

Excellent, this is looking great

Now I have another question ...
Where is your sock going ? If I am seeing it right, you're planning on having it in the chamber after your drains. If this is correct, I see an issue
You want the water after the sock to go under the next wall ... otherwise it will just run past the sock

Am I missing something ?

And for cost savings, you could make the sock plate out of acrylic/plexi and cut the hole with a jigsaw, unless you're getting a smokin' deal on the glass :smile:
Let me know if you want more info about this

No Gregg you got it right, the sock is going to go inside the chamber after the pipes, it will look like this

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...CF3752copy.jpg

Then the water will flow down through the sock and fill that chamber then go over the last wall into the skimmer chamber

Again you have it covered :smile:

Thanks for the clarity

Hey everyone, time for an update!! over the last day or so i have been slowly turning this

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF3913.jpg

into this!!

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF3919.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF3920.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF3921.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF3922.jpg

I still have a ton more work to do on it to make it look perfect and fit the same way, i also need to try out a few things to make the foam look identical to the rocks then epoxy it all and cover it in sand but its getting there!

ohh and yesterday this showed up in the mail! its 10 feet of 3/4 inch braided cable wrap! now i can clean up my wiring and make it look pretty too!!

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF3914.jpg

All clean!!

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF3917.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF3918.jpg

Looking good.

Holly crap.....this build is insane. I said it before and I'm saying it again.

I declare thee the winner!!!!!! :first:

Am I allowed to do that??? :lol:

In all honesty it is coming along quite nicely.

100% agree

So for all of you guys out there that just cant resist seeing what the rock wall is turning out like, here is a little sneak peak!!

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF3940.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF3939.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF3938.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF3937.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF3936.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF3935.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF3934.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF3933.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF3932.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF3931.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF3930.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSCF3929.jpg

okay so i took more then a few haha but i should be getting epoxy and sand on it in the next week and then ill let it sit in a bucket of saltwater for a week or so to make sure that all the dust is off the rock and that the epoxy did its job, then its on the Light and water!!!

Is the back of that thing sealed? Might get drips off the back of the rock inbetween your overflow box and wave box.

It only looks to be over the middle section in one pic tho... the rest looks like its over the overflow box completely lol

I tried to keep it mostly over the overflow for that reason actually but before it goes into the tank permanently ill make sure it doesn't leak out the back haha

okay okay okay!!

so i got the first coat of epoxy and sand done but there are still spots that arent covered as much as i would like them to be! here is what it looks like right now

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...psf7d01170.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps4076d67b.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...psbfeb2730.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps836b598a.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps03f53862.jpg

I had a thought while i was working on it, but im not to sure how it will work. Anyway's i want to try to replicate an island surround by a coral reef, i know that most islands are volcanic and that rock is dark if not black that fades to a lighter grey or brown as it approaches the water. How could i colour up the rock above the water to a darker colour almost black. Could i put the some food die in the epoxy when i brush it on?

i have no idea how i missed this build but wow is it ever EPIC! and to think this is a nano to boot! i'm loving the creativity here well done =)

does the nano stream from the nano wavebox fit directly into a bulkhead?

Yes sir, its a 1 1/2" bulkhead (slip slip) that i cut down and put a pice of pvc into to make it fit nice and close to the impeller, the pump is then held to the glass with the tunze magnet it came with on the nano wavebox and then is attached to the pump

I was just out in the garage putting the last coat of epoxy on the rock wall it should be back in the tank by dinner tomorrow!!