240g Blair Reef Project

[Reefpuck]

Following along, as I'll be building a home soon with a fish room and setup similar to yours. Any additional thoughts on a dehumidifier or even a split a/c unit, to control humidity?

 

[SteveG_inDC]

Following along, as I'll be building a home soon with a fish room and setup similar to yours. Any additional thoughts on a dehumidifier or even a split a/c unit, to control humidity?

I'm still researching this myself so I'll share what I learn. I am leaning toward a standalone dehumidifier, which I can plumb to my sink drain.

 

[SteveG_inDC]

UPDATE: gear has been showing up at my door:
* Aquaticlife 61" T5-LED Hybrid fixture
* 24" endcaps to widen the fixture
* I do not have LEDs yet. Having a hard time biting the bullet and buying Radions. Thinking about 3 Gen5 XR15s (Pro, not Blue). Will I need to buy wider brackets too?
* T5 bulbs! 2 Coral+, 2Blue+, and 1 Actinic. The fixture takes 4 lamps, so I can try different combos. Not sure how to arrange them, but thinking of 1 Coral+ and 1 Blue+ on each side.
* Test kits, additives
* Plumbing: bulkheads, gate valve, unions, and purple pipe for the bean animal overflow/3 drains/2 returns. Have not figured out how to finish the returns, like what kind of nozzle, whether to use loc-line, etc. Have not even figured out if I need to drill the overflow box for bulkeads or plumb the return up and over the box.

THE TANK is on its way. It could be a few weeks until I can install it because i still need the contractor to put in floor drain/channel, electrical, and cut out the walls. He's not moving fast.

 

[SteveG_inDC]

The tank is here! Woo hoo!!

 

[SteveG_inDC]

Wasn’t sure how the overflow plumbing was going to fit but looks like it should be no problem. I just have to figure out the height for each standpipe

 

[SteveG_inDC]

Day 1 of fish room construction -- Demolition -- is done

Here is the view from the family room where you'll be able to see the tank from front and right side. Those studs above the bar are coming out. A half wall will close up the current entrance on the right. The stand will sit behind the bar in the fishroom.

 

[SteveG_inDC]

The view from inside the fish room.

The stand and tank will go on the left side of this picture behind the bar. Studs will come down and water supply will be re-routed.

A floor drain is going in, a channel running under the stand and out to the right of it, with an accessible cleanout so I can remove any sand and seaweed before it clogs the house plumbing.

 

[SteveG_inDC]

UPDATES
Construction is moving along. My 5' floor drain is going here.

 

[SteveG_inDC]

Here's the stand, waiting to attach the plywood panels.

 

[SteveG_inDC]

UPDATE
Just to check, we had a structural engineer ok the plan now that we've opened the walls and the floor. BAD NEWS: The slab is too thin and the vertical post we moved has too much weight ot support. We need to break the slab, excavate, and add new footings under the posts and under the tank. No big deal, just another $8,000 to add to the cost of this project. (discussion, where I voice my doubts about big tanks, in this thread)

This is what my house looks like right now. Those are temporary supports in the first pic. Holes for new footings in the second and third ones (sorry the orientation is off on the second one). My hope of having water in the tank by late September is long gone. The tank has been sitting in its crate in my garage for two months now.

 

[SteveG_inDC]

Day 45

Footings are in.
All drywall in fish room has been replaced with moisture-resistant sheetrock.
Electrical done or roughed in.
Plumbing updated with floor drain relocated so as not to interfere with the tank's footings.
The water station has been dragged to the center of the fish room and will be relocated to a different spot once the walls are painted.

It looks like this now. Stand will be finalized once the floor tile is down.

 

[Kyle079]

Following along, this is interesting to see what all goes into a large project like this!

 

[JPHawkins]

Very nice tank. I almost went with miracles but ended up going with customaquariums. I’m curious on how thick your slab floor was? I’ve seen several builds where they tore their slabs up to make it thicker. Makes me kind of second guess if mine will be ok. I guess we will see.I built this house and can’t remember how thick mine is.

 

[SteveG_inDC]

Very nice tank. I almost went with miracles but ended up going with customaquariums. I’m curious on how thick your slab floor was? I’ve seen several builds where they tore their slabs up to make it thicker. Makes me kind of second guess if mine will be ok. I guess we will see.I built this house and can’t remember how thick mine is.

Slab was 1 or 2” in places. You could break it with a screwdriver. In other places it was up to 4”. We had a structural engineer spec out the New footings so i feel good about it now.

 

[MERKEY]

What a great build thread!

 

[SteveG_inDC]

Floor drain will run under the sump. It wasn't my first choice, but to the extent that there is any slope to the floor, this is where it goes. We rolled a marble, used lasers, and just poured water on the floor to find out.

I may shim the edges of the sump so it sits a half inch off the ground and lets water find the whole drain. The drain cleanout will be to the right of the stand. That's where I'll clean the algae and sand out.

This pic shows the stand just for staging purposes. Still need to skin it, add a center support in the back, and of course lay down the floor tile.

it looks like I don't have access to the sump because of some shelving, but that is in the center of the room so we can paint the walls. It will be moved into a corner before the tank is installed.

 

[JPHawkins]

Oh the crazy amount of work, money, and headache we go through for a tank!

 

[SteveG_inDC]

Tomorrow is floor tile day. Then hopefully Saturday is stand and tank placement day. Woot.

 

[SteveG_inDC]

Moving tank (almost 400lbs empty) into the house.

step 1. Remove window and stair railing
Step 2. Build two ramps out of 2x4s. One for inside the house and one for outside
Step 3. Wheel tank over on a dolley to outside ramp.
Step 4. Push through window
Step 5. Push down ramp to basement.

 

[SteveG_inDC]

Tank plumbing. My first bean animal. The nice thing is for now I can take photos from above while the tank is empty.