well its a good thing i got busy with work monday and tuesday haha. so my original plan was to use 50 gallon garbage cans until i found out use were 40 bucks a piece. are the rubbermaid toats the things you get at walmart for like 10 bucks? i know they work but they don't seem sturdy enough to hold water for very long if they were over half full. did you connect the toats together with pipe so the water level stays the same in each one?
first "real" build 320gal!!
- Thread starter wheatgerm
- Start date
thanks for all the comments and help guys. i have gotten slowed down a little because of work and mostly just making sure i have everything i want done right before i put the glass in. i have changed my freakin mind 9000 times on if i want over flow boxes or not. how i will run my return lines and most of all how im going to build the sump. but i just need to apply one more coat of liquid rubber and it will be ready for glass. keep checking hopefully it starts moving fast again soon
wheatgerm;4285961; said:
I used 50G totes that I picket up at Lowe's for about $20ea. Inside those totes I have a 10G tote that holds the filter media. The 10G totes sits on a small stand (about 6"tall) that I have attached to the bottom of the 10G tote with nylon zip ties. I do have the two 2 50G totes connected with an 1 1/2 bulkhead fitting and a short section on 1 1/2 PVC to keep to water levels even. Mine were sturdy enough to hold the water when the pupms were turned off but they did flare out quite a bit. This past week I have added 2x4s down the side of each container to keep then in place. Here are a couple of pictures of container and them in place under the tank. Note the small piece of wood that helps re-enforce the area where the bulkhead fitting attached. I needed to add that to get a good tight seal. In the lower pic you will see the lids are on the larger totes, I have since removed those. I fould that the water condensation on the lids would run down the underside of the lid and then to the outside of the tote. I do have lids on the smaller 10G totes with a hole cut in them for my overflow pipes.
i got the glass in today 
used 4 tubes of silicone just to make sure there wasnt a weak spot on the entire face hahah. i know you have all read this from me before but i actually decided and commited to what i will do with my sump.
i smoothed all the silicone out after i took the picture so once its dry it will be one piece of silicone holding the glass on both sides instead of doing 2 different coats of it.
the sump is going to be in another room but just incase i ever move i had to make it so it will fit under the tank. each garbage can will start with a filterpad then go to a drip tray then about a foot tall worth of bio balls and pot scrubbies then im going to connect them to a 50 or 29 gallon tote that will sit between the 2 and that will be where my return pumps will be. i will prpbably only be able to have each part of the sump filled with about 16inches of water maximum because the tote will sit shorther than the garbage cans but i want the bio filtration to never be totally submerged in water so i will be happy with it this way
ross, when your power goes out how many gallons would you think keeps overflowing into your sump before it stopps? just so i can estimate how tall i want the lowest part of my bio to be
used 4 tubes of silicone just to make sure there wasnt a weak spot on the entire face hahah. i know you have all read this from me before but i actually decided and commited to what i will do with my sump.
i smoothed all the silicone out after i took the picture so once its dry it will be one piece of silicone holding the glass on both sides instead of doing 2 different coats of it.
the sump is going to be in another room but just incase i ever move i had to make it so it will fit under the tank. each garbage can will start with a filterpad then go to a drip tray then about a foot tall worth of bio balls and pot scrubbies then im going to connect them to a 50 or 29 gallon tote that will sit between the 2 and that will be where my return pumps will be. i will prpbably only be able to have each part of the sump filled with about 16inches of water maximum because the tote will sit shorther than the garbage cans but i want the bio filtration to never be totally submerged in water so i will be happy with it this way
ross, when your power goes out how many gallons would you think keeps overflowing into your sump before it stopps? just so i can estimate how tall i want the lowest part of my bio to be
You overflow gallons are all going to depend on where you overflows are located in the tank. I'd guess that I get about 20 gallons in my sump after the pumps shut off.
i was guessing about that for mine too. or even less. im going to get a 90 degree elbow and hook it into my overflow bulkhead and point it straight up so it acts like a surer tiny overflow box added right into the over flow piping so it will only have to drain the tank less than an inch before it stops flowing. did i explain this well enough? not sure how else to say it hope it makes sense
on another note i have done my full 12 coats everything but i don't think my roller puts it on very thick because i cut a small chunk out of the bottom and its close but still less than a dime thickness does anyone have an opinion if i should keep adding layers to it or just call it good?
on another note i have done my full 12 coats everything but i don't think my roller puts it on very thick because i cut a small chunk out of the bottom and its close but still less than a dime thickness does anyone have an opinion if i should keep adding layers to it or just call it good?
