Budget doesn't exist in this hobby: Brian's 45g Build

[Myka]

Looks good!

[Etaloche]

I managed to make the brace last night before sleeping so that I can have a peace of mind when the tank is filled.



As you can see even after couple practice pieces my plastic bonding technique is still quite lacking...
Never done a piece with a big area to bond and didn't realize the cement wouldn't seep all the way to the middle.



Second try went better but still getting lots of bubbles



After all that, the long piece was scary to tackle but it actually ended up being my neatest bond yet.



Here's how it looks like on the tank. Luckily the imperfections on the bonds aren't really visible when looking at the tank so it won't bother me and keep me up at night haha



Leak testing!



Everything looks good, overflow working as it should.
I found that the airline tubing was not needed to allow the open channel to achieve a full siphon once the water level gets high enough.



All good in the sump too.



Uhhhh... so I think I'm ready to get some saltwater into this tank now!?

[The Guy]

Looks good Brian, your workmanship is very tidy and well thought out.

[maron6977]

Is there enough volume in your sump if return pump is turned off ? Watch out for back flow from returns !

[The Guy]

A small hole drilled at the water line on the back side of the return pipe also works well to break the syphon in the event of the return pump going off or a power loss, on page seven I think I see a check valve in the return piping which is a good idea too, make sure to keep it clean as those pesky little snails can cause it to stay open sometimes.

[Etaloche]

Originally Posted by maron6977

Is there enough volume in your sump if return pump is turned off ? Watch out for back flow from returns !

Did a quick test
In my leak test the pump chamber was way overfilled so it won't normally be that full
Here's how high the water gets when the pump is off. It doesn't even fill up to my 1st chamber even when overfilled so I think I'm in the clear

Originally Posted by The Guy

A small hole drilled at the water line on the back side of the return pipe also works well to break the syphon in the event of the return pump going off or a power loss, on page seven I think I see a check valve in the return piping which is a good idea too, make sure to keep it clean as those pesky little snails can cause it to stay open sometimes.

Ya I don't trust these things completely. I've been trying to find the check valve for the loc lines as a second measure but it's either not available or ridiculous to ship.

[Myka]

Make sure you have enough volume in the sump without the check valve. It will fail at some point - usually when you're not home. Murphy's Law.

You mention the return chamber was overfilled in your leak test photo, but it's actually at the level where it should be - it should be about 1/4 - 1/2" higher than the last baffle so that there isn't a waterfall into the return chamber. If you have a waterfall that makes the baffles a moot point.

Looks like it's time to get salty!