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#1
02-11-2011, 04:08 AM
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I didnt snap any pics of the process here as it was just some basic plumbing, but here is a pic of the back of the tank with the plumbing complete
Not entirely sure who had the brilliant idea to put the 3/4" bulkhead right above the 1.5" bulkhead and so close but a 45 degree elbow took care of it quite nicely. I did install a double union ball valve on the 3/4" like so that we could controll the flow to the tank from inside the stand. I didnt get a pic of this either, but I am sure it will follow in some later pics. And as we were using a double union ball valve, we needed to come in closer to the stand which is wy I put in a dog leg right after the 45 degree elbow in the pic. Now its time for the fun mods! One of the main reasons for the tank upgrade was so that we could add a fridge to this setup. Previously when we made the food mash it would only stay good for 2 days at room temp and then it would have to be changed. We have been changing the food every 2 days for what feels like an eternity and both Trina and myself have had enough! Long ago I had planned to install the frigde in the upper part of my stair well and run the likes down to the tank. This would mean tat you either saw the lines on the wall (not what I want) or I would have to take the drywall off and feed the lines through the wall to the tank (again more work than I care to do). So when we chose this tank we got a nice stand from perfecto that would easily house a fridge. Now for the complication... Before we could fill the tank we had to get the fridge installed as the foor on the front of the stand was decent enough, but not big enough to put a fridge in from the front. It just so happened that I had a small bar fridge left over from university that would do the job quite nicely. So we put the fridge in from the back of the stand, elevated the fridge so the door would open and pushed it against the wall. I didnt get a pic of this, but no matter how you positioned the fridge in the stand, when you open the fridge door it hits the door frame for the stand. It does open, but not enough to get easy access into the fridge. So if it is not going to be easy to get into the fridge, chances are it just wont happen as often as it should. So Shaun stopped by and we did some brain storming and came up with a great idea! And here it is: This is a pic of of the top hinge for the fridge door We decided to remove it. And instead of leaving it on the top right side, we relocated it to the bottom right side of the door So now if you are thinking about it I bet you have realized that there are 2 bottom hinges to the door and no top hinges, and you would be correct. Thats the beauty part! Now the front door sits on the 2 bottom hinges and the magnets hold the door firmly shut and in place. When you want to open the door you just pull the top towards you And lift the door off the hinges to remove it from the fridge entirely. So while you are in there the door is a bit beyond completely wide open.... but as you only have to go into the fridge once a week to change the food mash mixture I am sure it will be fine. Here is a pic of the fridge under the stand. Once we modded the door, there was no need to raise the fridge so that the door would swing open. Next up, time to drill the fridge to to run the lines in for the dosing pumps! Last edited by PFoster; 02-11-2011 at 04:13 AM. 
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#2
02-11-2011, 04:41 AM
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For layout, the dosing pump would have to go on top of the fridge. I had originally been thinking of having the dosing pump in the fridge, but I want the extra space and flexability afforded by having the dosing pump outside.
Plus for this type of fridge, its the freezer that actually cools down the rest of the fridge. So if the dosing pump was very high up it might frees the liquids inside of the actual pumps... Time to measure twice and cut once! I got out the square and made my marks on the top of the fridge where the line would be going through for the dosing pumps. This too a few min and bit of sketching things out on paper as I wanted the dosing pump the be dead square about the fridge and I wanted the lines to be able to into the fridge perfectly straight. To make sure the holes were perfectly lines up I punched the holes... yes with a scribe.... but still. First the holes were drilled at 1/8" Then the were drilled out larger And a pic from inside the fridge If you are going to try this yourself I think it is worth mentioning that the holes for the lines that we drilled were just slightly smaller that the diameter of the tube. Not by enough to pinch the line, but by just enough that Trina had to work at it for a while and twist the lines as they went in to get them to fit. A decent interference fit should mean that you have zero air movement between the fridge and the lines. You will always have some temp lost due to the lines coming out of the fridge being cold and transmitting the cold to the outside, but it will be minimal. Here are the lines installed through the top of the fridge. And now finally with the fridge done we can install it under the tank and start to transfer the livestock over and fill the new tank!
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#5
02-11-2011, 03:15 PM
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I think if you check the links I posted, you will see that the first picture posted on this thread is of a cardiff and not a solana...
semantics though and I suppose irrelevant in the light of a great build.
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#6
02-11-2011, 03:44 PM
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LOL, sorry.
Yes I meant the cardiff. And thank you once again The cardiff is actually still setup and sitting in my living room room as we speak. I wanted to take my time with the setup and equipment detail so instead of rushing things I actually just shifted cardiff over and setup this tank in its place. The number of times I have had to move our sectional counch though so that I can work on the tank... Lets just says its been a few  Details to follow this weekend: MP10 Install Individually switched powerbar and livestock transfer! I think I will be doing some mods to the fridge door too to make it easier to open, but not sure if I will have a chance to get the acrylic today.
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#7
02-11-2011, 03:55 PM
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Quote:
I can imagine how relieved you will be to have a build in place you are personally satisfied with that will not require moving anymore furniture and enables you to keep your food mashing to a minimum. I don't know that Ive seen any other non photosythetic tanks on here before...I must admit, I like the concept, especially for an upstairs tank in my 40 year old house that pretty much necessitates a reverse light cycle which being a 6 am to 2pm and in bed by 8 kind of guy, leaves me little time to actually enjoy the upstairs display. I'm looking forward to some close up full tank shots, I would love to see some of the original cardiff if you have any...
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#8
03-01-2011, 02:06 AM
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Sorry, things have been a bit busy recently.
Just as un update, the tank has been running smoothly for a bit now. We have added some of the corals from the 24g back in as well as a few new pieces. I will see if we can snap a few pics and update the thread.
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