770 Gallon Monster Setup
- Thread starter aldiaz33
- Start date
Ranco Controller came in today. I got it from Jehmco and it came pre-wired...ready to go right out of the box. I set the controller to 78, with a 1F differential. I'm going to test it this way for a week or so then increase the differential to 2F to see if it will be cheaper to run.
I set the Jagers internal thermostat to 83 so that if the Ranco fails (stuck on) the Jager's thermostat's should shut the heaters down before overheating the tank.
I set the Jagers internal thermostat to 83 so that if the Ranco fails (stuck on) the Jager's thermostat's should shut the heaters down before overheating the tank.
Ok, does anyone else hate when you read a huge thread for a couple days or at least several hours.. get caught up to real life and then panic because things happen so much more slowly in real life?? I love to hate that part. 
Looks great and super excited you're taking steps to warm the beast up.
Looks great and super excited you're taking steps to warm the beast up.
Great product, that's the one I use also, with a 1000W and 500W titanum heater set for 78 degrees. Well I was using anyway. Its been so warm here that the hearter are not even on.
haha- Yeah, that driftwood is huge. When it was soaking in the tub I had a few people ask me, "what the hell is that in your hot tub?"- lol. I think it's finally starting to leach less tannins into the tank, which I'm happy about because I don't really like the darkwater look.
Ok, does anyone else hate when you read a huge thread for a couple days or at least several hours.. get caught up to real life and then panic because things happen so much more slowly in real life?? I love to hate that part.
Looks great and super excited you're taking steps to warm the beast up.
I hate that too...that's why I didn't start this thread until about 3 or 4 months into the whole project. The plumbing took about one month alone since ball valves and certain fittings were on backorder. (BTW if anyone is looking for schedule 80 fittings or for large true union ball valves, Bulkreefsupply.com had the best prices I was able to find...by a longshot).
I just found out that the vinyl material that I ordered for the panels I'm building to skin the stand is on backorder. That's going to add another 2 weeks before I'm able to finish that project.
lol- man, not needing heaters in February? That is awesome...wish I had that "problem." I've use 109 Killowatts over the past 10 days ($37.06 worth of electricity). It's also been warmer than normal here, which is helping me out some, but bumming me out at the same time because I'm still using so much electricity even with this mini heat wave. But whatever, it is what it is. I actually read through your thread from start to finish the other day and watching your video and seeing the pix of your finished product was one of the main reasons I decided to just go for it. I love the look of those Black Bar (Wide Bar) silver dollars swimming back and fourth. Definitely need to get my hands on some of those.
My dad did that with his in-ground pool. Whenever not in use he hooks up a black garden hose to one of the filter outputs. That hose goes as far as he can run it around the sides of the pool, then drains back into the tank. I think he said as crude as it is he has raised the pool temp by 5-10 degrees doing that. Should do even better on as "small" a quantity as 770gal.
The issue with this is that it's a very inconsistent heat source and fish for the most part require relatively consistent temps. I would maybe get a little heat on a sunny winter day, but when I need the heat most and the heaters are working their hardest (during cold winter nights) the sun doesn't help me at all. I think the reason you don't see more people using solar is because you only get heat (during the day time) when you don't really need it as much. Plus, in the winter the sun's energy is quite a bit weaker (that's why it's cold in the first place). The good thing is I don't need heaters at all from around May through October which I'm guessing is the same period that your dad is using the sun to heat his pool (when the sun is at it's strongest and it's already fairly warm out)?
Solar photovoltaic systems is another story since it can help offset other electrical usage, but man, are those systems expensive!
Yeah, we're in eastern NC so a "cold" winter day often doesn't even get below freezing. This winter we've had more days over 55 than below. I didn't notice you were in the bay area, I'm sure that would be a MUCH different situation for you!
Quick update:
I skinned the stand with Melamine coated particle board that I wrapped in leather. I used some quilt batting under the leather to give it a bit of a pillow effect and I think it turned out ok.
This project was a real pain because I had to cut each piece at a slight angle. My floor is not level, so the panels have a slope of about 1/8" every foot. It was a lot of work cutting the panels to size, waterproofing (painting) the edges where the particle board was exposed, cutting the quilt batting to size and making the leather covers, but like any DIY, it was well worth it...one step closer to having the tank where I want it.
Here's a piece I just ripped to size:
The left end panel put in place to test fit:
All 6 panels cut to size. Notice the exposed particle board; if moisture gets in there, they will be ruined, so I primered the edges to give them a little water resistance.
Edges of panels painted and drying in the garage:
Here you can see the quilt batting I used to give the panels a "pillow-like" effect and the roll of leather I used to wrap the panels with:
Close up of the back of the first panel done:
First panel done:
Before:
After:
I am using industrial strength velcro to keep the panels in place and it seems to do the job. I thought about using magnets, but that would have been more $$$ and more work, so I'm happy with the velcro and the way it turned out. I'm still working on the canopy; I'm going to do the same style- 6" strips of wood wrapped in leather.
I also got a 15LPM air pump, running 2 stones in the tank and one large air tube in the sump. I forgot how nice an effect having air bubbles in the tank created. I don't have pix yet, but I will post some soon.
For those interested in how much electricity I used this past month to heat the tank...it came out to ~176KWHrs. I had the heaters set to 78F for half the month and 73 for the other half. Since I still only have goldfish I figured I might as well not waste a lot of money heating the tank. But I have officially decided to keep tropical fish, so I'll start buying some in the next few weeks.
I skinned the stand with Melamine coated particle board that I wrapped in leather. I used some quilt batting under the leather to give it a bit of a pillow effect and I think it turned out ok.
This project was a real pain because I had to cut each piece at a slight angle. My floor is not level, so the panels have a slope of about 1/8" every foot. It was a lot of work cutting the panels to size, waterproofing (painting) the edges where the particle board was exposed, cutting the quilt batting to size and making the leather covers, but like any DIY, it was well worth it...one step closer to having the tank where I want it.
Here's a piece I just ripped to size:
The left end panel put in place to test fit:
All 6 panels cut to size. Notice the exposed particle board; if moisture gets in there, they will be ruined, so I primered the edges to give them a little water resistance.
Edges of panels painted and drying in the garage:
Here you can see the quilt batting I used to give the panels a "pillow-like" effect and the roll of leather I used to wrap the panels with:
Close up of the back of the first panel done:
First panel done:
Before:
After:
I am using industrial strength velcro to keep the panels in place and it seems to do the job. I thought about using magnets, but that would have been more $$$ and more work, so I'm happy with the velcro and the way it turned out. I'm still working on the canopy; I'm going to do the same style- 6" strips of wood wrapped in leather.
I also got a 15LPM air pump, running 2 stones in the tank and one large air tube in the sump. I forgot how nice an effect having air bubbles in the tank created. I don't have pix yet, but I will post some soon.
For those interested in how much electricity I used this past month to heat the tank...it came out to ~176KWHrs. I had the heaters set to 78F for half the month and 73 for the other half. Since I still only have goldfish I figured I might as well not waste a lot of money heating the tank. But I have officially decided to keep tropical fish, so I'll start buying some in the next few weeks.
