My sumpless 77 gallon evaporates about a gallon a day. I use a glass wine carboy that holds about 7 gals. as an ATO reservoir & it lasts close to 7 days (lucky 7!). That's under LED lighting. Depending on how much heat your lighting adds & additional water movement with sump, YMMV, but I'd guess 9 gallons will easily last a week.

Thanks for the input Mike. Think I will plan for a 10 gal reservoir.

I was able to get some work on the tank in, despite a busy Mother's Day.
Got the back glass painted, although there was a learning curve to this. Didn't expect to have to do several coats, waiting for it to dry in between.
Please ignore the back yard... it's a work in progress.

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Drilled all the holes for plumbing/electrical/venting, and then painted and mounted the back panel.

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Originally started with two 3 inch holes for the overflow, but on further inspection it seemed a tight fit to install the bulkheads.
Ended up just chopping out a larger rectangular section.
Should be able to get a wrench on them now.

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Here is how she sits now. Got the cabinets ordered from the maker next to work and will probably start some plumbing in the meantime.

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Comments/suggestions welcome, thanks for looking.

Ordered the cabinets almost 2 weeks ago and picked them up today. I'm impressed how they turned out. The stain colour, called 'Wendy custom toned' is the same as our kitchen and mantle (seen on the right).
Colour is pretty darn close. Doors are ubber custom at 22"x33", solid maple. Going to assemble on the weekend hopefully.

You can see a few schedule 80 fittings on the right of the stand. Been collecting them over the last week. Those I couldn't find locally I had to order online, including some pretty damn sexy pipe.

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Yup, lookin' very sexy :smile:

The wife noticed a few problems (like they always do) with the front cabinet and doors, so off it went, back to the maker.

Trying to find an affordable way to fab the ATO, still searching. Was quoted $190 and I think that is too much, considering my display tank was only $260.

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Got the rest of the fittings on Friday from BRS. First time I've ordered from them and I look forward to dealing with them again. Got the pipe from a company called Formufit. http://www.formufit.com/ They supply the coloured pipe to BRS, but on their site it's half the price. I went around asking for coloured PVC pipe to Noble, Corix, Home De Pot, and PoCo Builders... they all looked at me like I was from Mars.

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Another piece of the puzzle. I really love the look of Vertex.

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Hey Warren RE: auto top off.
I got the Aquahub DIY kit from Bulk Reef Supply and it works great for me.
$39.99 and a small pump and RO water storage container, total cost approx. $60.00 :mrgreen:

Although this looks like a great kit Laurie, I am not looking for the hardware/electronics part of the ATO, just the reservoir. Thanks for the idea!
Matt from Concepts has sent me a message and I am considering a custom glass reservoir from them. It is cheaper than anything I can find locally even when you factor in shipping.

Yet another idea stolen... errrr... 'borrowed' from gregzz4. Any more and I think I may have to start paying royalties. :nod:

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Nicely done :smile:

Plumbing progress. Main drain, emergency and overflow standpipes done!

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love the cover on overflow, yet another thing to throw on my to do list. Good looking build

Ooooo, I likey the red pipe, and the skid80 fittings, and the gate valve
Great choices
Looks awesome dood :mrgreen:

Just a thought, as you don't yet have a high level switch attached to that fancy new overflow cover ...

You may want to lower your emerg pipe an inch or two, or install a switch on your controller
Sorry I don't have a pic handy for you of the underside, but you get the idea

My emerg is an inch or more below the top of the inner lip of the megaflow box
I TRUST NOTHING :surprise:
http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...d/DSC00910.jpg

My cover has saved many wrasse lives :smile:

Thanks!

Thanks gregzz4! So what you are saying is a high level switch connected to a controller (via a breakout box?) that detects high water level and shuts down the return pump?

Oh ya baby, or whatever connection you need to make to whatever controller you're using :lol:
But yes, to shut down your return pump is the idea - as well as all related gear during that kind of issue
Nothing worse than having your sump dump all over your livingroom floor :doh:

I test my high level switch weekly when doing WCs, as well as all my other switches, and my check valves

You can always PM me if you have questions

Keep up the good work and pics bud, your build is coming along very nicely
You're makin' me jealous

If I had the time to redo my system, I have ideas/plans ... :mrgreen:

Where do you get the red PVC pipe?

http://www.formufit.com/ . They supply the coloured pipe to BRS. Half the price on their site.

Return piping complete. I'll show a picture of the back after the wife lets me drag the tank back into the middle of the living room. :rolleyes:

I'm debating whether or not to add a tee on the return for a chiller, or use a dedicated pump with some transparent hose?

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If you've got the extra GPH coming from your return pump I would tee it off to your chiller. Adding a separate pump will just add that bit extra heat to the system (even if you are running a chiller). That's just my opinion though... I've never ran a chiller. :lol:

Lost all motivation to work on the tank this week what with the crazy heat. Temperatures in the house are around 41 C. :flame: Been hiding away in the air-conditioned confines of the bedroom. :smow:
Crawled my way out of the deep freeze to do a bit of work. Sweat was dripping down my face as I mounted 8 screws to the plumbing clips I picked up today. Yeah... that's enough!

Here are the pics. I was thinking to paint the back of the wood white, but my mind melted and I remembered the A/C. No one will ever see it anyways.

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Thanks for looking. Comments/suggestions welcome.

Think I might just do this. I am running an Eheim Compact+ 5000. After fittings and head loss I should be getting 650gph to the tank. I think this is enough turn over, and I should be ok to tee into it for the chiller.

If anyone else has thoughts on this I'd love to hear them, thanks!

Every time I see that red pumbing .... oooohhh :wink:

41C in your house !!!!
When mine hit 37C with the heatwave 5-6 years back I installed 2 x 10,000BTU units and we cool the whole house now

A thought - how are you planning to keep a chiller running if your house temps are above it's rated intake air temps ?
41C is 105.8F
My chiller's ratings are based on max room temps of 90F and I easily hit 85-86 in the sump room if I don't monitor it. This can happen before I turn on the house AC and then it's hard to bring it back down. Luckily one of our AC units it in the sump room, but it doesn't help the chiller if I'm not watching it
82 in our livingroom translates to 86 in the sumproom, so not a lot of proper cooling going on
I'm currently working on plumbing the chiller's hot air out a window to alleviate the cycle of compounding hot air buildup, and am also thinking about a separate exhaust fan on a humidistat

Keep the build pics up when you can stand the heat !!

Good point, I never even thought of this. We had a 12,000 btu a/c in the living room last year but it couldn't keep up, so we moved it to the bedroom. I will have to figure something out. I am reading the temp off the thermostat control in the hallway, where it does feel hotter. I will need to get a thermometer and put it next to the tank to test. Worse case scenario we may have to invest in central a/c.

I had a problem with a deadspot on the left side of my overflow, and it took me many days and tests to solve it

I had to split my return
My left side is running a locline Y fitting
Half of it points straight down towards the sand and the other across the surface towards the front of the tank to take away what would churn up the sand
On the right side of my overflow is the other locline, and it points towards the far right corner

Any way to install the chiller outside? Mine is in an external room off the side of the house.

Or just a second unit on the other side of the house ...

I run one unit in our master and one in my office/sump room
Back and front of the house and the furnace fan runs all summer

I wish
Maybe that would work for him

All the heat from my chiller is enough to cause me to run my office AC when the house is still comfortable

Ah yes Greg, I have thought of this already! I am planning to add several more powerheads on the back glass of the tank.

It's an option, not one the wife would be too happy about, but an option none the less. The tank is on the north side of the house on an exterior wall. That side gets shade all day and only moss and 'special' mushrooms grow there!

Every summer I tell myself I need to wire the furnace with a summer switch, and I never do it... and I'm a gasfitter! Who want's to bring their work home with them, right? Lol.

Understood
I used to love to help whoever I could, but after 23 years in my last industry, I dreaded everytime some family member/friend asked "Hey, can you ..."

Went to NCIX and bought one of these do-dabs. All I need it for is the 110v to 12v Molex connector (shown here) to power the case fan. Fan is on order from TigerDirect.ca and I am expecting it next week.

Adaptor: http://www.ncix.com/detail/vantec-2-...36790-1013.htm
Fan: http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...6213&CatId=801

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Also received my utility lighting for the stand. Got it off Ebay. I am very happy with it. Super cheap and free shipping to boot. Took less than a week to arrive from China.
If it konks out, I have no problem buying another.

LED strip: http://www.ebay.ca/itm/1-20M-RGB-505...item258b915553.

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Regarding the ATO reservoir, it made more financial sense to build it myself. Too bad really as I was looking forward to a Concepts made product. That's ok, my next display will be made by them for sure.
Went to my local glass cutter and got it all at a reasonable price. Stupid me, I shelled one corner as I was laying it all out for prep. DOH!!

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Assembled the ATO this evening. Going to let it cure before I trim, do the inside and finally the top. Silicone looks ugly as I've never built a tank before.
Interior volume works out to 12 gallons.

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This project is taking forever. Thanks for looking.

$3 for the LED kit, and with a remote ??? That's almost ludicrous
Good score :smile:
Kool fan too. I like the temp display

http://images.highspeedbackbone.net/...26-1002-02.jpg

The LED kit came to about $20. 2 meters of LED strip, power supply, remote and a few T connectors (the strip can be cut to fit). Plus the strip is waterproof and free shipping. Still a steal!

I've used the fans before in my computer mods. I like them. The LED's on the fan only run strong for about 18 months then crap out. It's only $12 so it doesn't break the bank.

Continuing on with the ATO build. Here is the corner I shelled. :ohwell:

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5570/...22c91170_c.jpg

And the inside bead of silicone holding the panes together.

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I was thinking how to get a nice fillet bead of silicone on the inside of the ATO without getting my fingers all sticky and silicone everywhere.
Then I remembered a tool glass makers use for just such the trick. Off to Home De Pot, but couldn't find one. Saw a vinyl siding colour swatch (which was free), took it home and made this.
Simply cut it in half and then nicked a nice 45* corner off of one.

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3896/...801513f2_c.jpg

Applied a generous amount of silicone and slid my custom tool from bottom to top with lots of pressure and... VOILA!

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3840/...6764177a_c.jpg

Let it cure for 48 hours and then began to trim the excess on the outside. DISCLAIMER: Please do NOT eat the razor blade.

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I was pretty happy that it held together! Sophie could care less.

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Siliconed the top on tonight, probably trim it up tomorrow.

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Thanks for looking.

That inside bead looks awesome, well done.

Thanks daplatapus, how's the fish room coming?

I also have those color changing LED reels, but where did you get those 4 pin connectors ??
this is a cool build !!

Thanks! Kevotron, I will provide a link when I get home.

4 pin connectors here: http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Connector-Fem...item27e0789f67


Finished the ATO this evening. Total cost was about $110 all in. Hoping I can find some black 3/4" spa flex for the open side of the bulkhead. This will allow for easy filling with RO/DI.

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Wow that's one BOSS ATO! Imma gunna hafta borrow that idea!