Full Build going to New York!

[Pip Tazo]

This is my favorite part. More plumbing and "under the hood" details please! My friends love my display tank, but they never appreciate the hard working filtration system when I try to explain it to them.

 

[JPG@CFI]

RF,

Made some good progress today on the 210. 95% finished with the plumbing. Partly, I'm a little OCD on this kind of thing. Two 1.5" primary drains, one back up 1.5" drain, and a 1" return line. We have 5% left, due to parts being inbound. Check it out!





Slight issue for all who are considering the Red Dragon DC pump. The fittings are Metric! We don't need any Metric pipe at CFI!

Red Dragon DC Pump


Pic of the union that mates up to the discharge side of the pump, and a 1" sch 80 stub of PVC.



Chucked it up in the lathe and took of a few thousandths.


Ready to glue up!


Let us know what you think! Jason

 

[JPG@CFI]

RF,

We are going to use a pair of Ecotech MP-60's for some flow in this tank. I felt that we should have a neat little holder for the controller. Let me know what you think.

This is the prototype.




Here is the finished mount and MP-60 holder. Left side.


Right side.


Side view.


Everyday getting a little closer to crating this bad boy!
How about some new people chime in on this build. Jason

 

[mfinn]

I like the plumbing job Jason. Very neat and tidy.

I saw someone mention on another board about making a holder for the control box for a Vortech pump. Nice job.

 

[Spinner]

Good stuff....nice bar raiser

 

[JPG@CFI]

RF,

Worked on getting the Red Dragon DC pump's power supply/controller mounted today. All this cool gear really takes up real estate!



Got the dosing pump unit mounted up as well. Full Apex Electronics this weekend!


Enjoy, Jason

 

[JPG@CFI]

RF,

Hard charging to get this build finished for Jamie. He should be "Jonesin" by now! Mounted all the Apex goodies on a removable panel. 3 Stainless bolts and the whole unit comes out. You'd think there would be tons of room under a 210. Not after we get done!




Here is the energy bar for under the tank. We will be able to control the Skimmer, Main Pump, Refugium LED's, and Heaters 1&2.




Here is what she will look like.




Let us know what you think, and feel free to ask any questions you may have on this build. The only stupid question is the one that goes un-asked! Jason

 

[JPG@CFI]

RF,

Ok, she is done and crated for her trip to New York! Here are a few pic's to check out.

We built a 84x36 pallet for the full build to travel on. We centered the stand on the pallet, leaving lots of room for foam, and the reat of the pallet.


Next came the sump, and it's riding on a piece of 1" foam that will be used while it is in service.


Next the tank gets placed on the stand.


We start the wrapping using closed cell foam and shrink wrap.


Next we use an oversized piece of 1" foam to place the canopy upside down. It's a clam shell design so it will ride nicely like this.


Here, we are starting to button up the crate with lots of foam and shrink wrap and a little cardboard. The sump is packed with all the equipment, and plumbing runs. the wood face frames are loosely attached to the steel stand.




Here is some of the crate being attached to the pallet. 3/4" plywood all pocket hole screwed together.


I'll try to take a few last pictures when I drop off this amazing system off at the freight forwarders. Jason

 

[mfinn]

Wow, impressive packing skills.

 

[tat2z_21]

Alright just send it to the Phoenix airport, I will be there when it is ready for pick up I wish............ As always beautiful, and amazing attention to detail.

 

[Peppie]

As always top notch.
But ya better double check the mailing address.... Should read Bonney Lake Wa.

 

[Scooterman]

Very nice build Jason, awesome craftsmanship!

 

[Maxx]

That is impressive work and more importantly, planning.

What is the total system volume for this beast?

What size heaters are you using to maintain temp? I saw they were Eheim's, just curious about the wattage on them.

Why are the heaters installed vertically instead of horizontally?

I really like the Starboard mounting plates to house the equipment, nicely done all around.

 

[Herefishyfishy]

My favorite thread in a long time.
Jason you are clearly running one class act!

 

[JPG@CFI]

Maxx,

The heaters are 300 waters. I had them mounted vertical because they are very long heaters. Even though they are fully submersible, I like to keep the ends out of the water. They seem to last forever this way.
I like using Starboard, saltwater proof, UV proof and easy to clean. Thanks, Jason

 

[mimosa]

One of the neatest builds I have ever seen. Looks nice!

Few questions:

• Curious what you have done to facilitate easy "push-button" water change, top-off and skimmer cleaning...
• Provisioning for future Calcium reactor and chiller hook up?
• How do you remove and replace the heaters? Not clear in pictures what the water level will be and if part of heaters will be exposed to air, possibly crack?
• How will the pumps be removed and serviced? Any way to add a backup pump inline, and auto-switch upon failure?

 

[JPG@CFI]

One of the neatest builds I have ever seen. Looks nice!

Few questions:

• Curious what you have done to facilitate easy "push-button" water change, top-off and skimmer cleaning...
• Provisioning for future Calcium reactor and chiller hook up?
• How do you remove and replace the heaters? Not clear in pictures what the water level will be and if part of heaters will be exposed to air, possibly crack?
• How will the pumps be removed and serviced? Any way to add a backup pump inline, and auto-switch upon failure?

Mimosa,

We have done many water change systems in the past. We usually have a number of gallons we want to shoot for in our heads, and then we make the sump have a chamber that big. It works best when you shut down the main pump and let the tank drain down. Then close one valve/open another and switch the pump back on and now your pumping saltwater into your sewer/septic system. When you hit your targeted gallons, shut the pump off, and switch your valves to pumping back to tank. You will have a container with the right amount of saltwater mixed, and it is usually mounted higher than the sump so it can gravity feed back into your system. That is about as push button as it gets.
Ca reactors are going by the wayside with the dosing systems that are out there today, but in the past we just plumbed a compression fitting into the main pump return line, and your were good to go. Same with chillers, usually they are plumbed into the main return. But with the LED lighting, and the super energy efficient pumps that don't throw heat like the direct drive pumps do, chillers are a last resort. We design systems that don't need them. Each system is different, though.
The sump in this thread is very complex in design, lots going on. The heaters are sticking out of the Refugium chamber about 1"-1.25". To change them out, just unplug, and pull them out.
The Red Dragon pump used in this system has a union right at the pump. The thing we didn't like was that the speed controller was hard wired to the pump. So the speed controller has to be un-mounted from the bracket we made, and set off to the side while you get the pumps union un-done. Small price to pay for such an energy efficient pump that throws no heat. If I recall that pump will do about 2100 GPH at about 80 watts. We will be shooting for 1200-1400 GPH for this system.
The best back up pump is to run 2 smaller pumps for redundancy. But if you spend your money wisely, and go with top shelf gear, you should get a long service life. Back in the day, (1993 or so) we would install Iwaki pumps. I bet a large percentage are still running today. They are old technology for sure, but they delivered!
I hope I answered your questions, if you'd like to go more into detail, shoot me an email or PM and we can chat. Jason