If you have 2 air conditioners, you probably don't need the chiller at all. I also run 2 air conditioners in my apartment, but the portables I have are not as strong as yours, because each of mine only cover 600 square feet, that is the biggest size I could get at that time. In the summer time, when both of them are running, my tank only goes up to 1 more degree but that is it. I run 2 metal halides, 1x400W and 1x250W, plus other source of heat adding into the tank like pumps and powerheads, so I get more heat than your T5. On a hot day like today, I had already let 1 of my air conditioners run from 11AM to 5PM on the timer.

I wish my tank only rose by 1 degree. The old tank we had usually ran 4 degrees hotter than room temp, so I had to keep the house at around 76 degrees - Brrrrr - the wife was freezing.
It costs too much to chill the whole house continuously. There's 1800 watts of A/C here :lol: It was very noticable on the next utility bill.
The chiller is only 280 watts, so it'll have to do the majority of the work.
On the plus side, I run the A/C in my office when I need it while I'm surfing, so it should benefit the tank through the sump.

Aaahhhh ... I forgot you live in a BIG house :twised: I am jealous ! I live in a small 1 bedroom apartment. I hear you, my air conditioner is sucking 1800W for each too. But I can't let the fish enjoy all the cool with the chiller and let us suffer with the heat, so we bought the air conditioners instead :mrgreen:
I showed my husband all the pictures from your sump and your electrical boards (because I want him to do it for me the same) and he said he couldn't believe they were built from someone that is just getting into reef hobby. He said you must have done a lot of homework beforehand and must be a very talent handy person too.
Unfortunately, I don't have a husband who has a talent like you :twised::twised:

More compliments ! My head is swelling :biggrin:
Your husband's right. I starting reading here back in Oct and haven't stopped since - hours and hours every day.
I bet, with enough reading, he'd be able to get done what you need.

I am in awe of your system. I know who's brain I will be picking when I tear mine down and go bigger.
Can't wait to see this kitten purr.

Sure, I'll answer what I can.
I'm itchin' too ! Once the rock goes in the QT will be put to use asap :biggrin:

you've taken perfectionism to new levels with that sump and equipment room I'm impressed! Looks like it will be pretty nice working on things in there which is 50% of the battle (the other half being luck). :mrgreen:

Thank you Brett. Compliments from a guy with such a beautiful tank, cool fish room and impressive room build :redface:

It's funny how just wanting a clean-looking DT has progressed to such a monster sump build. Well, it's monster considering it's all for a 75g :lol:
It's worth everything I'm doing knowing that, besides a quiet living room, I can putz away whenever I like and not disturb the wife's down-time

Speaking of which I may have missed it, but are you going to try an algae scrubber on this tank? I know Reefwars(Denny) has one, and his tank is super clean, mind you he has a dozen types of macro algae as well lol

I'm going to try to avoid a scrubber. I'll try Chaeto and HC GFO to start with. If I need to expand the system, I can move the beer fridge and add another tank.

I dunno.. the beer fridge is a must IMO :wink:

Woah there big fella !!!! I didn't say remove. I'm crazy, but not certifiably so :mrgreen:
There's room on another wall beside my desk if I get rid of a useless hutch

I posted this for lockrookie so thought I may as well add it here in case it inspires someone

http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...uild/Pumps.jpg

I went shopping today for a simple check valve for the chaeto system.
For those of you out of the loop, the new system bleeds loads of air into the lines that causes the system to puke loads of water over the sump sides on re-start.

For those of you looking for the short story;
I drove over 70 miles and spent 5 hours to bring home the needed plumbing


For those of you willing to read the long story;
I left home @ 9:30am and drove to Ocean Aquatics. When I got there, I found out they didn't have the 1" clear union swing check valve I wanted, so I bought a 1-1/2" one. I then left Delta and headed for Corix in Coquitlam. Little did I know about how bad the construction delays are on the Fraser River Perimeter Road. It took me an hour and 25 minutes.
OK, no biggie, I've got time today and it's still only 12:30.
I found all the adaptors I needed and got out of there for under $6. Woohoo !
Out to the truck go I and, before I drive away, I decided to test fit a couple fittings in the new valve. To my dismay, the slip fittings fall into the valve. So back into Corix I go and attempt to solve the problem. Sorry, Charlie ....
The new valve was manufactured wrong.
OK .... deep breath ........ ( I need a beer ) .... I have to go back to OA.
I love driving my truck, but I have a tank to finish.
40 mins back to Delta ..... good thing I get great reception ... I forgot my media.
I get back to OA and show bud the issue. Even He's shocked. They had one valve left the same size and, lo and behold, the fittings are correct. I just happened to grab the one in stock that was made wrong.
No biggie, away I go with one that works.
Out the door, into the truck, out the driveway, hmmm ... this valve is too big for my space.
Back to the store, exchange for the only 3/4" one they have, test fit with a 3/4" fitting I have with me, all good.
Hit the road. Hit the ..... Alex Fraser traffic ........ on River Road ..... puddle along for another 1/2 hour.
Alright, I'm in New West, I'll take the Marine Way exit for Burnaby and .... Oh crap, they changed the off-ramp. Now I'm really in New West ... and look at all the cars ............................................
It took me another 1/2 hour to get to Kingsway .... Oh look, a :drinking:beer store. That'll come in handy in about 15 mins.
I got home @ 2 flippin' 30

I'll post a pic or 2 of the finished plumbing when it's done. I'm still messin' with it and knocking down some liquid prozac :twised:

Success :clap2::whoo:
The new valve works very well. I am again very happy with my decision to make a change.
There's no more air/draining issues causing a huge mess on pump re-start.
I've turned the pump off/on over the last hour, letting the sump equalize between tests, and it's awesome
Keep in mind ... this change was not done to eleviate back-flow per se, but only to stop air intrusion.
So, forward and onward again to get this little tank salty :mrgreen:
Here's the new setup

http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...d/DSC00950.jpg

http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...d/DSC00952.jpg

Ya, Brett, I have become lazy with the cement.
Brett commented on the neat-ness of my first few joints way back when I began. I started off making everything really clean looking, but have, after 50' of pipe and $100s of dollars in glass and fittings, lost my patience and went with 'just glue it, who's gonna see it ?' :lol:

It's ok man I didn't even iron the sheets I hung behind my tank =) Not sure I even have an iron these days actually lol.

I can relate to the air bubbles/splashing. When I bring my water-change section of the sump back online I have to do it really slow. Huge bubbles fly out and the water level is less than an inch from the top of the sump in that compartment. I've 'gone over' many times :lol:

sloppy joints make for a better seal:wink:.....thats my theory anyway:biggrin:.....

man it looks like you JUST got that valve in there!

It'll definitely help you sleep easy once the power goes out

Too funny you got in right there.
Oh, I probably haven't even washed any sheets in awhile ( don't tell Donna )
Glad you understand the splashing thing. It drove me nuts.

Ya, it was kinda sketchy. I almost brought home a 1-1/2" instead of the 3/4" one. That would have set me off like, umm, set me off :twised:
I'm glad I turned around and exchanged the valves.
I can see me now, going to Home Dee Pot for the umteenth time and spend another $15-20 to replace something I botched

For the record, I enjoy talkin' with you guys, All you guys, 'cause I really like the contact, but, Man, I really need to get some local Reef friends to talk to :wacko:
If it wasn't for you all, my wife would have been eligible for parole by now :snipersm:

Kenny, it's not for the back-flow .... It's to stop air getting into the system. The sump can handle the small amount of this tank :smile:
The problem was air getting back into the circuit, from that tank being so hi above the sump, and bubbling out when the pump re-starts.
It made a huge mess with all the air coming out of the lines, overflowing the sump and splashing everywhere.
I'm running switches and so on for 'sleeping' security, but they aren't ready yet.
That will be for a later post
You'll see some more 'too much' if I do what I'm thinking :crazy:

Ahhh I see

That's it ???? Ahhh I see ???

crazy build Greg. Only one major problem I can think of.

Your Display is " TOO SMALL" Lol

with all the effort and equipment in the background, you should go for a Big Display tank. Hmmmm 210 or 300.

Ha, ya I know. I actually sold my 125 last Nov. It didn't fit the livingroom well enough and I didn't like the deflection it caused to the floor

I finished the 20g QT today. It's not pretty, and will never be.
I tried to use some 3/4" pipe with a union and such, but it was too snug. I wanted to avoid using hose for the algae issue but this is the most quiet and flexible setup.
I have some 5" PVC for caves that isn't in the pics. It'll do the job.
There's an AC50, an 8W UV w/Quiet One 1200 and Eheim 100W. Maybe it's overkill, maybe not. The QO 1200 is padded by a piece of filter material from J&L. I tested it in the sink and there's no way I'd ever have the suction cups holding the pump in the tank.
And, ya, I wasted $15 on one of those Hagen surface skimmers for the Aquaclear. I'm a sucker for gimmicks :smile:
It'll all be run by an RKL as I had it already. The heater and UV/pump have their own GFCIs plugged into the RKL

http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...d/DSC00955.jpg

http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...d/DSC00959.jpg

And of course, everyone wants to see the prints my Dad made :mrgreen:
Here's, from right to left, the QT, new water tank, and nothing else worth describing

http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...d/DSC00957.jpg

Lol I was tired gimme a break. :lol: builds looking awesome as always. This will definitely be one clean tank

Nice ass , ummm errr I meant nice glass..

Here's another project I dealt with

Digital Aquatics decided to make their float hangers capable of only reaching tank depths of 11-1/4" max. This is with the float touching the bottom of the tank.
How does that work for me when my sump needs an 18-3/8" hanger ?
I need a low-level pump shut-off that works with my 50g sump

So, out come the tools ....

I used a 20" piece of 1/4" x 1" plex and made my own hanger.
All I needed was 2 pieces of metal to clamp the acrylic to hold the bend area, and a 3rd piece of metal to create the isolation area for heating.
I exposed about 1" of the acrylic holding the 3rd piece and heated it, then moved the 3rd piece under, along with the gun.
When I saw the acrylic starting to become a different clarity, I bent it and held it in place. I then un-clamped it and cooled it with water to speed up the process.

Next I drilled 13/64 holes and tapped them with a 1/4" ( 20 ) NC tap.

It's a slice of pie if you take your time. Just back the drill bit out every 1 second or so. This will alleviate breakage. Pressure, off, pressure, you'll see what I mean. Just don't let the bit bite into the acrylic.

Now I can adjust my floats to any height I choose :mrgreen:

I don't think there's much else to say .... here's the pics

http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...d/DSC00970.jpg

http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...d/DSC00971.jpg

Somethin' else that irks me with DA switches is you only get 14" of wire to work with.
No amount of heatshrink is going to fully protect the wires from saltwater.
Stupid DA

I thought there was such a thing as waterproof heatshrink? .. I'm not sure, I remember someone else mentioning that on the forum a few weeks ago though...

Nice work on the hanger!

Thanks Tony

Today was just some puttering ...
Installed the hanger, the new Ranco, sump ground probe
I was going to cut some wood for the chiller stand and make a cover for the electrical panel, but it kept raining. Now I'm not motivated

I was bored and made some level markers with clear label sheets. Now the 10g ATO and 20g new SW water tanks have measured marks. I wanted to know how much ATO I go through and make it easier to mix new SW. Yawn .... boring pics

http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...d/DSC00976.jpg

http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...d/DSC00977.jpg

Cheap way to do it if you have some aquarium silicone handy... Put some where the heat shrink will go, slide the heat shrink over it and apply your heat. As the heat shrink shrinks the silicone oozes out a but and Bob's your uncle .

Good thought, thanks dude

There most certainly is, we use them with submersible pumps all the time in potable water systems. Should be available in the electrical department of any big chain store. Just make sure you use a heat gun to shrink and not an open flame...........

lol Vac trucks?

Try WSI (Warehouse services) If you have one near you Greg, the price is good, but I think they may only supple bulk?

Not even close. No submersible water well pumps, potable sytems. Good God honey wagons give me the shivers..............

I gather this was a bit misleading ...
I used heatshrink, and a heat gun, I just don't have faith in it being 100% water tight. I have various sizes and used the tightest fitting possible.

I'm feeling a little pressure here - not only from all the fantabulous builds going on around me, but also from some so-called friends :wink:
With all the planning I've been doing, I've probably been stalling as I'm leery of what I may be missing

One thing that has slowed me down, besides all the re-plumbing, has been the rock curing.
I think every time I change the water, it cycles a bit again. But that doesn't explain the PO4, or does it ?
I just tested the rubbermaid after 10 days and I still have 0.1 NO3 and 0.025 or so PO4

Mindy, I tried my best, but 3 months of cookin' in the dark and I can't take it anymore :crazyeye:

I was going to have a serious sleep on what's keeping me from puttin' water in this thing tomorrow, but I'm now thinking I may as well start tonight. Then the RO can start re-filling while I sleep ( nightmares of flooding )

- I have the floats installed, they just need to be programmed, but I don't want to do that until it's running

- Heaters and chiller are good to go, just need to set up the ATO, but can't do that until it's running

- Still need to build a splash barrier for the electrical panel, but that can wait a bit. A garbage bag will do in a pinch for now :razz:

- I'm still planning the light-bleed barrier for the ATI, but I think I have finally figured that out today.

So ... I guess I'll start draining that big barrel tonight :mrgreen:

Dam you Kenny :wink:

That didn't take long. Now we wait for the drum to re-fill http://www.en.kolobok.us/smiles/arti...dle-thumbs.gif

Sump is full and I'll turn on the sump recirc pump and Ranco heaters to help speed things up.
I'm thinkin' Sunday morning / afternoon before I can turn on the pumps and RKE heaters, sunday night for salt, and monday night or tuesday the wife and I will start 'scapin :razz:

http://images.clipartof.com/small/10...lustration.jpg

calculate teh total volume meaasure out corect amount of salt put it in a pile in main display (if tank is dry).. take a picture. then you can say you finally got it salty. i was thinking of doing this myself other than it may be eaier just to set a bucket in the tank les mess