300g Setup

[lnelms2]

So we closed on our new home on the 29th and I picked up this beast on the 30th lol. Acrylic 72"x36"x24", center overflow with 2x1.5" drains.


Got it home and into the basement. Setup the stand and started thinking about plumbing. I'd like to setup a sump with K1 and an Ultima II 1000. Until I can find a deal on an Ultima I'll just setup the sump with the existing drains.



This is the sump it came with. Not made for k1 but it's nice and large. It also has a hole drilled into the side for another 1.5" bulkhead. I think I'll fill it with the 10lbs efhi substrat I had in my 2262, put a bulkhead + elbow in the pump section and let it drain into a 55 gallon tank I have setup for K1.


Existing standpipes I posted about. Previous owner glued then down to 1" ds I had to buy new ones. I'll alter one of them to fit as the sump drain.

New bulkheads (and a clear one I thought was cool)



Grabbed some Novus for the bottom panel, previous owner had this setup as a reef tank at one point and had a crushed coral substrate which left some decent scratches. Hopefully this can take care of it as I'm not comfortable sanding it.

Return pumps...

Now I've never setup an ultima but I believe the intake has to be fully submerged and you can't run it off an overflow because you can't let air into the system? Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. I was thinking and hoping that instead of drilling the back panel I could drill a hole about halfway up the overflow put an elbow/bulkhead/strainer on it and plumb the Ultima into that. I drew a pic to give you guys a idea of what I mean.


Any reason why that won't work? Any ideas or suggestions? I'm going out of town this weekend for a wedding but I plan to clean it and start buffing on Monday.

Also is BRS the best place for PVC. I plan to check Home Depot/Lowes/Menards when I get the chance but I doubt they'll have unions, gate valves etc.

 

[twentyleagues]

Depends on the type of union you want standard unions yes, gate valves no. Brs will probably be the best place for those. I though an Ultima needed to be fed by a pump? I'm not sure on that though.

 

[jaws7777]

Nice tank man. Those pumps need to be fully submerged. Jebao makes a decent pump only one I've ever used and haven't had any issues.

Nothing wrong with using pvc from HD or Lowe's. Just order your gate valves online. My local hardware stores didn't have any. I usually get mine from www.flexpvc.com along with a few other fittings and BRS.


JK47 is the resident Ultima expert.

 

[lnelms2]

Depends on the type of union you want standard unions yes, gate valves no. Brs will probably be the best place for those. I though an Ultima needed to be fed by a pump? I'm not sure on that though.

Yes Ultimas need to be fed by a pump. I guess the illustration should've said "to pump".

Nice tank man. Those pumps need to be fully submerged. Jebao makes a decent pump only one I've ever used and haven't had any issues.

Nothing wrong with using pvc from HD or Lowe's. Just order your gate valves online. My local hardware stores didn't have any. I usually get mine from www.flexpvc.com along with a few other fittings and BRS.


JK47 is the resident Ultima expert.

Yeah these pumps are for the sump. I would more than likely get a reeflo dart for the Ultima.



Union ball valves came today. I found them on Amazon for $20 each. I think it was JK who posted these air stones in one of his build threads so I grabbed some of those too.




I got a light on the aquarium to better see the scratches on the bottom. I don't think novus 3 will clear these up but I'll give it a shot.

 

[lnelms2]

Started sanding the bottom today. I'm gonna try to get the bottom and front panel done tonight with 1000 and 2000

 

[JK47]

Oh hell yeah! Sweet setup @lnelms2! Sorry I missed this thread man!

Ultima intakes MUST have access to water during a backwash as well. It would run great inside an overflow tower until the time came to backwash it. Since the overflows hold back water from draining beyond a certain point, the ability to pull from inside a tower is incredibly complex. A hole in the middle, back wall of the tank is/would be perfect.

 

[JK47]

Started sanding the bottom today. I'm gonna try to get the bottom and front panel done tonight with 1000 and 2000

Are you planning on sanding off the paper? That is a rough job to do

 

[lnelms2]

Are you planning on sanding off the paper? That is a rough job to do

No the paper will peel right off, I'm trying to take care of these scratches.


Here are a couple deep ones in the side panel, there's algae in them. I'm not sure how much pressure to apply or if I can just target these scratches instead of the whole panel...

Oh hell yeah! Sweet setup @lnelms2! Sorry I missed this thread man!

Ultima intakes MUST have access to water during a backwash as well. It would run great inside an overflow tower until the time came to backwash it. Since the overflows hold back water from draining beyond a certain point, the ability to pull from inside a tower is incredibly complex. A hole in the middle, back wall of the tank is/would be perfect.

I was planning on drilling a hole in the wall of the overflow, so the Ultima is pulling directly from the tank but without me having to put plumbing on the back. That way the tank can go flush against the wall with all the plumbing underneath.

 

[JK47]

No the paper will peel right off, I'm trying to take care of these scratches.
View attachment 1325451 View attachment 1325452

Here are a couple deep ones in the side panel, there's algae in them. I'm not sure how much pressure to apply or if I can just target these scratches instead of the whole panel...



I was planning on drilling a hole in the wall of the overflow, so the Ultima is pulling directly from the tank but without me having to put plumbing on the back. That way the tank can go flush against the wall with all the plumbing underneath.

A sealed intake on the front the overflow tower is a killer idea. I may use that on in the future, thanks man. You're lucky that stuff is coming off. Most I've tried have been rock hard.

Pressure is acrylics enemy. Any pressure using a wheel will cause crazing which cannot be buffed. Unfortunately the only way to get deeper scratches out is step down the grit and work your way back up slowly. It's a lot of surface area to cover. Using a lot of compound will help keep heat/friction to a minimum as well.

 

[lnelms2]

A sealed intake on the front the overflow tower is a killer idea. I may use that on in the future, thanks man. You're lucky that stuff is coming off. Most I've tried have been rock hard.

Pressure is acrylics enemy. Any pressure using a wheel will cause crazing which cannot be buffed. Unfortunately the only way to get deeper scratches out is step down the grit and work your way back up slowly. It's a lot of surface area to cover. Using a lot of compound will help keep heat/friction to a minimum as well.

How low of a grit would you go? Most vids and posts only go as far as 1000.