Gary's Oceanic Illuminata 57 build

[Peppie]

Looks much better. You want that skimmer to have a shot of the in-coming water to process it first and also, a lot of skimmers spit out microbubbles so you definitely don't want it sitting in the return chamber.

Good luck slapping it together! I see Peppie gave you some great advice. Trust whatever he says with confidence. He's a great DIY'er/builder like you can't imagine.


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This design looks much , much better. IMO.
Kirsh is spot on regarding the placement of your equipment.
Looks like you will be able to use the majority of the sheet goods you have already cut.
Please post some pics of your progress.

 

[Gary]

Nuts! I got to work and didn't have any double back tape. Luckily Uline was open. I'll give it a try Sunday.

Thanks again for all the great suggestions!

I have a question. Would it be a good idea to raise the skimmer some so that I can raise the overall level in the sump?

 

[Peppie]

Nuts! I got to work and didn't have any double back tape. Luckily Uline was open. I'll give it a try Sunday.

Thanks again for all the great suggestions!

I have a question. Would it be a good idea to raise the skimmer some so that I can raise the overall level in the sump?

The more water volume the better. Raise it as far as you feel comfortable with.

 

[Gary]

I didn't get into the shop until about 3 today. I forgot it was Dim Sum Sunday. I got my setup done and made a couple parts. I toe clamped an extra 1" thick sheet of acrylic to the table, made some holes for locating pins and used double sticky tape to hold the part down.

Here is the setup

Not too bad of a finish

 

[Peppie]

I am not sure how you are dressing that edge? Can you give some more info? However you are doing it it looks good enough to weld!!

 

[Gary]

That's just the machine finish.

 

[Peppie]

That's just the machine finish.

Yea I grt that part of it. I just dont understand the machining process you are going thru to get to that point.
I am a wood worker. I have not spent any time in or around a machine shop.

I am also curious. LOL

 

[Gary]

Yea I grt that part of it. I just dont understand the machining process you are going thru to get to that point.
I am a wood worker. I have not spent any time in or around a machine shop.

I am also curious. LOL

Sorry. I misunderstood.

I'm using a .25" 2-flute end mill. 5000 RPM 50 FPM, .025" depth cuts then a .005" finish pass at full depth. It's pretty conservative machining and could probably be sped up, but since it's not a production part I'm not worried about speed.

 

[Peppie]

Now that I understand.
Thanks keep the progress coming!

 

[Gary]

Got most of the parts machined today. *Luckily* our machinist had some lathe work to do so I got the CNC all day. I have about 5 more parts to go.

Here is the first step in the assembly.

 

[Gary]

I finished the both sump structures today. The larger one is for a friend.

peppie, I ended up with this: .25" 2-flute end mill. 5000 RPM 120 FPM, .050" depth cuts then a .010" finish pass at full depth. I experimented with using coolant (on parts I won't use in the tank) and I could do full depth cuts instead of stepping down. A hole that took me 20 seconds could be done in about 3 seconds with coolant.

The base of the sump ended up being slightly warped. The table I built it on wasn't straight. So, I am going to use the Sorbothane feet. They will accommodate the warp. The structure is plenty strong enough to have a six point support. This was a great learning experience for building small enclosures.

After getting the sump in the stand I determined where to put the ATO valve. I will glue in a mount for that Wednesday.

The next items on the list are:

1. Hook up the RO/DI in the garage and run a line to the tank. I will need to come up with a neat looking wall penetration.
2. Install a discrete outlet for the tank with a GFCI.
3. Install an overflow drain in the sump. Just in case the ATO ever fails. I might make a combination wall penetration that includes the drain and ATO.
4. Plumb the tank

Here are both sumps. The larger one is for a friend.

Here is the sump in the stand. It fits nicely.

This is with the door on the stand closed with the light on. I might need to replace the glass with something darker.

 

[rukis]

Wow that looks flippen awesome! Good job, the finished product looks amazing!

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[Gary]

Wow that looks flippen awesome! Good job, the finished product looks amazing!

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Thanks rukis!

 

[lmannan]

Great choice here. I had this tank and was always pleased with its look. I can't wait to see it setup. I really miss mine wish I wouldn't have sold it , but I was told if I get a bigger tank I was still only allowed one tank haha.

 

[Peppie]

I am sure there wont be a problem with the feet on the bottom. The water volume is not that great in either of the sumps.
However,, Have you done a flow test with the holes drilled as overflows?
I have not used them, But I think they may need to be bigger to allow the unrestricted flow. They may shoot water out of them instead of letting the water flow thru and down the other side. They may be create some water fall noise. Do you have a back up plan?

I would rather take the extra time to cut a piece twice if it will result in less wear and tear and a better finished product that is reef safe. You could look into a reef safe solvent to cool as you cut.


BTW They look professionally fabricated. IMO a functional piece of art.
Great job!!!

 

[Gary]

Great choice here. I had this tank and was always pleased with its look. I can't wait to see it setup. I really miss mine wish I wouldn't have sold it , but I was told if I get a bigger tank I was still only allowed one tank haha.

Thanks! I'm excited to get it going! It's been a long time since I've had a tank!

 

[Gary]

I am sure there wont be a problem with the feet on the bottom. The water volume is not that great in either of the sumps.
However,, Have you done a flow test with the holes drilled as overflows?
I have not used them, But I think they may need to be bigger to allow the unrestricted flow. They may shoot water out of them instead of letting the water flow thru and down the other side. They may be create some water fall noise. Do you have a back up plan?

I would rather take the extra time to cut a piece twice if it will result in less wear and tear and a better finished product that is reef safe. You could look into a reef safe solvent to cool as you cut.




BTW They look professionally fabricated. IMO a functional piece of art.
Great job!!!

Thanks peppie! It turned ok. My glue joints leave something to be desired. All the other tanks I've built were much larger and used Weldon 40 and it didn't matter if the joints were nice looking. The joints on the sump that prevent leaking are good. The baffle joints have some bubbles though.

The holes in the baffles are cosmetic. The water should never reach that level. If you check out the last picture in post #31. The water enters the sump on the right then flows under the baffle into the refugium then through another baffle into the pump chamber.

You're right about the coolant. Almost everything we machine is metal so that's the coolant we are stuck with. It would have cut a lot of machining time to have coolant!

 

[Gary]

I added a mount for the ATO today and flamed some of the edges. The sump is now done.

 

[Peppie]

Thanks peppie! It turned ok. My glue joints leave something to be desired. All the other tanks I've built were much larger and used Weldon 40 and it didn't matter if the joints were nice looking. The joints on the sump that prevent leaking are good. The baffle joints have some bubbles though.

The holes in the baffles are cosmetic. The water should never reach that level. If you check out the last picture in post #31. The water enters the sump on the right then flows under the baffle into the refugium then through another baffle into the pump chamber.

You're right about the coolant. Almost everything we machine is metal so that's the coolant we are stuck with. It would have cut a lot of machining time to have coolant!

Glad to hear the holes are cosmetic. Sometimes pictures are deceiving, or I didnt look close enough. LOL
I knew the coolant thing would be a major change over for the machine and not worth the trouble unless you were to cut for a couple of days straight.

How do you rate working with the 40 compared to the 3 or 4? Again I am planning a large build with in a few months or so and was considering using the 40 instead of the 4.

 

[jgalvin]

looks great! i have an illuminata as well and "partially" built my own sump by adding a baffle and ATO resoviour. let me know any questions, i have a build thread as well.