My 1st Father's Day Gift

[BigAl07]

Originally Posted by astiesi

Alright, I haven't updated in a while and things have been progressing slowly but I have made some progress.

YEAH!! It's coming along VERY nicely! Good work

Originally Posted by astiesi

I painted the back black. I used Rustoleum flat black spray paint which worked out really well. I've read about the reduction of PAR values due to painting the back glass but I really prefer the look.

I Think I've also decided that "Even though it DOES make a difference initially since in the long run it will be completely covered anyway with coralline and such I'm going to paint mine from here on out as well"

[astiesi]

Thanks Al for stopping by, I went back and forth with the paint issue. I hate wasting PAR if I can avoid it but realized from my first tank that there was no way I was going to clean the back glass every couple weeks let alone every couple days. With plumbing along the back a Mag-Float doesn't really work well which is my tool of choice for cleaning the glass...therefore I went with the paint.

I did get some plumbing done as nstiesi has pointed out, just haven't had a chance to snap a pic. Basically both drain lines are plumbed down to the sump, thanks for the help by they way. I am currently trying to decide if I should do 1 return or split it into 2. By my calculations due to height and fitting loss I'm looking at around 500 GPH delivered by the Mag 9.5 to the top of the tank. If I split that I will have 2-250 GPH returns. I'm thinking it may be better just to do one return and have a K2 on the other side. Anybody have any thoughts??

[astiesi]

Plumbing is finally done! Everything was leak tested tonight and surprisingly passed without so much as a drip.

[Dweezil]

Wow..really nice job Anthony. Great work!

[astiesi]

Thanks Tammy, the build seems like its taking forever but I'm very happy with the way its coming together!

[BigAl07]

GREAT plumbing work. You do realize that's WAY to clean & neat to actually WORK! In order for it to work you'll have to DOUBLE the # of connectors, TRIPLE the number of elbows and QUADRUPLE the FEET of tubing! Then it's a MAYBE!!!

Seriously it looks SWEET!!

[bskinn77]

wow looks great man cant wait to see it with water in it!

[Varga]

nice project. great plumbing

[BigAl07]

Ok I'm REALLY liking this plumbing... can you give some idea/diagram what each item is in this pic

[astiesi]

I have to agree with bskinn77, I can't wait to see water in it either! Unfortunately, I just got laid off at work on Friday so the build is going to be put on hold for a few weeks till I can line up something else. Luckily the build is still at a point where I don't have to spend any money on maintenance.

BigAl, since I have nothing but time now I'll write up a better description of the plumbing when I get more than 5 minutes to type it up. The one thing I can say is I love the union ball valves...they were considerable cheaper than buying both individually and they simplified things greatly.

[Dweezil]

I'm sorry you got layed off Anthony but if your as good at your job as you are at building a tank you'll find something in no time at all! I'll be pulling for you.

[astiesi]

Tammy, thats one heck of a compliment...I really appreciate it.

[brikeibur]

Dang Anthony, so sorry to hear about the job.

Keep your head up though, I'm sure you'll find something even better.

The tank is looking awesome btw...that is some top-notch plumbing you have going on. I can't wait to see more!

[astiesi]

Well, I haven't been around too much lately and the build hasn't progressed any but that should change soon. I ended up being unemployed for only a week... started a new job last Monday. I've been busy dealing with all that but I'm looking to pick up some LR and get water in the tank in the next 2 weeks, so there will be some progress soon. Thanks to everybody who has stopped by.

[astiesi]

Originally Posted by BigAl07

Ok I'm REALLY liking this plumbing... can you give some idea/diagram what each item is in this pic

Well its been a while but I'll describe the plumbing in a bit more detail:

Overflow Plumbing (Tank -> Sump):

1. Glass-holes 1500 overflow kit. This consists of two 1.5" threaded bulkheads with two threaded to slip 90 degree elbows.
2. Two 1.5" PVC ball valve / union combo fittings, slip to slip.
3. Two 1.5" PVC 45 degree fittings, slip to slip.
4. Two more 1.5" PVC 45 degree fittings, slip to slip.
5. Two 1.5" PVC 90 degree elbow fittings, slip to threaded. I chose threaded here in order to allow all plumbing in the cabinet to be easily removed without touching the plumbing behind the tank.
6. Two 1.5" PVC 90 degree elbow fitting, slip to slip. I did not cement the side connected to the down spout as this will allow me to remove these pieces easily.

Return Plumbing (Sump -> Tank):

1. 3/4" Vinyl tubing connecting the Mag 9.5 to the start of the PVC.
2. One 3/4" 90 degree elbow, slip to slip.
3. One 3/4" PVC tee fitting, with the branch connected to a 3/4" ball value, a 3/4" PVC 90 degree elbow, and a PVC 45 degree fitting for feeding the refugium, all slip to slip.
4. One 3/4" PVC union, slip to slip.
5. One 3/4" tee fitting, splitting the return to the dual returns, slip to slip
6. Two 3/4" 45 degree elbows on each return, slip to slip.
7. One 3/4" ball value / dual union combo fitting for flow control on each return, slip to slip.
8. Three 3/4" 90 degree elbows on each return, first two slip to slip, the last one is threaded for locline attachment.