New Build ~ 600 Gallon

[JK47]

The finished product below. As you can see everything terminates in the proper position and will look much cleaner from the front of the tank. OCD is officially in stand down mode... I'm happy with this.



Not bad, huh? All solvent welded and the down pipes are positioned correctly and evenly. This will be much easier to connect to from under the tank.



If you can envision these two pumps facing the opposite direction, you can see why this design is better for where they terminate. They will also be centered in between to two vertical posts in the stand. Nice and clean. You will also notice the 1/4"-1/2" left between the pumps so they do not touch one another. I don't want any humming or odd vibrations coming from the pumps touching.



Next up: returns from the pumps.

 

[JK47]

Amazing congrats on the new tank its bigger than my 1st apartment

Thank you. Been enjoying your build from afar and decided to post mine as well. Thanks again for the back and forth in your thread, I've enjoyed it to this point.

 

[JK47]

The outlet to each pump is 1.5" reduced to 3/4" bulkhead fittings through a manifold. This enables the use of shortened loc-line.


It is a REALLY tight fit next to this intake on the right hand side. There is a lot going on in that corner.



You get the idea of what I am after here in this test fit.




Manifolds all solvent welded and ready to install once the tank is drilled. The unions are just dry fit for now. I will not know the length of pipe needed for them until they are installed. Easy to do later

 

[JK47]

I used masking tape to transfer the manifold to the tank essentially making it a template. I built the manifolds evenly spaced the distance they should be spaced on the interior of the tank. It seemed like trying to match up a manifold to pre-drilled holes was going to be a pain to line up so this was n the next best thing.

I transferred the template of the manifold to the tank and used that to mark where to drill. Just in case anything was off, the holes would be off by the same and still match up. Fits like a glove....



A last minute correction prior to drilling. I forgot to take into account the thickness of the acrylic when transferring the template and wanted the bottom return 3" from the bottom. I changed the manifold to the new position, remarked and drilled.


Bulkhead fittings installed. The last step is to solvent weld the manifold to the bulkhead fittings and then tighten them down.


The view from the interior of the tank. Now they are correctly spaced and out of the way in the far corners. The back wall is reserved for the "whoosh whoosh" fron the henlei..





Not too shabby! All line up perfectly and are aligned correctly. I still have to transfer the manifold template for the opposing side tomorrow. I need to pick up a couple of things before starting that.

 

[JK47]

Easy maintenance is a big objective in this build. Now I have filters that do not need to be opened. The downside being the refilling. Not now... I have never seen anyone design their system like this and am hopeful that I designed it correctly.

The reasoning for the two ball valves on the returns:
-The top valve will be turned off when backwashing a filter so the top return does not spray but the bottom returns continue to flow and filter.
-If I have to drop the water level below the middle return (approx 280 gallons) there are two valves just in case.
-This will make it so the temps not not drop overnight from water splashing.
-No noise to scare the arowana. A 27" beast (pic below) is not one I intend to startle. We respect one anothers space lol...
-The drip system will fill it up over night with heater, dechlorinated water.
-The next day the pump for the sump gets turned back on (or remotely if I can save enough for an apex)
-The sump is life support for the pup tank during backwash day.
-The above means I will not have to refill the tank after a backwash and can do maintenance without being intrusive.

 

[aldiaz33]

Very nice!

How much does that stand weigh?

Tagging along; looking forward to seeing updates.

 

[JK47]

Very nice!

How much does that stand weigh?

Tagging along; looking forward to seeing updates.

There he is! How have you been Alan? Hope you're good. That stand is ridiculously heavy. Like I think I'll leave it when I move lol! Somebody else probably has a better idea of actual weight but I would guess 700 lbs?

 

[aldiaz33]

I've been good, thanks. Really enjoyed reading your build thread. I have a touch of OCD myself, so I feel your pain. Everything looks fantastic. =)

I think my stand weighs around 300lbs and your steel looks to be twice as thick, so 700lbs sounds about right.

Keep the updates coming!

 

[Def Leppard Hysteria]

I would look into how much water it takes to backfush an ultima II properly. It might be around 300-400g which may or may not be a problem for you.

I can usually backwash our Ultima II 1000 with less than 200 gallons of water, sometimes less. I usually backwash the system twice a week.

 

[JK47]

I can usually backwash our Ultima II 1000 with less than 200 gallons of water, sometimes less. I usually backwash the system twice a week.

How do you like the 1000?