Planning First Big DIY Systems

[Ulu]

All of the plumbing is installed except for the fan tip and the strainers, valve extensions ... the minor stuff that doesn't need glue.

All the other plumbing is assembled and the glue is curing in the 105°f California Heat.

It occurs to me that putting a lid on the sump is going to be quite a trick with so much penetration. 3 drains, two return pipes and a handful of wires. I'm going to be carving plastic for a little while.

Really good Lids are not necessary until the weather gets cold though. I've been running the patio tank and sump with the lids removed and lots of extra splashing to cool the water. Once I put the insulation back on those tanks and we start exchanging water with the 125 in the air conditioned living space I don't think this will be such a problem.

I have some background in air conditioning Theory and repair, and I thought I could arrange a passive Chiller Loop between this system and the air conditioner which sits almost directly above it.

But ultimately I think I would be better off to build a system which cools the water as a swamp cooler does because the humidity here is so low.

 

[Ulu]

Well it is finally happening.



Six months after I started on this road and about six years since I said I wanted to do this, the tank is filling for the first time.

This is the part I didn't want to show.


That's a lot of Plumbing.

 

[Ulu]

Ime, the tank bottom will conform to the stand when its filled. All tanks, especially glass tanks, seem to flex at least a little bit between empty and full. . .

AFAICT, it didn't move more than a couple thousandths yet. It's still sitting on the 4 corners.

I thought it would move too, and it didn't. I'll check again in the morning but it's been full 2 hours.

It is totally quiet indoors, with the lids on. Just a tiny, tiny trickle and no vibration heard, though I can feel just a little in the pipe.

The swoopy new return pipe appears to have increased flow on my Harbor Freight pond pump by an impressive amount. I think it's pumping 3x the previous & I didn't expect such an improvement in my dreams. I think I'll run this pump for now.

My sump was getting low in this photo and the pump started to suck air. You won't normally see all these bubbles. This was at the first drainage event.

 

[Ulu]

It has been 6-1/2 months since I drew the first sketch for the 125 setup with outdoor sump, and it has evolved to include a 55g outdoors, and in other ways.
There have been fish in the patio tank, with the 30 sump going, for 5 weeks now, and they are fine. 2 plecos, 2 convicts, one malawi.

But today fish will go in the 125 . . . finally!

6-1/2 months isn't forever, but that's what it took, and today officially marks the end of the beginning and the beginning of the end.
I still do not have a lamp or a hood, or the planter that will go on top.

But it will have fish, and fish who are dying for more real estate. Everyone will be happy after the sand settles.

 

[Ulu]

Oh these poor babies needed a water change and a siphon bad.

I moved the sand filter to the patio sump and started conditioning for the move.

They had 24 hrs with some random co-mingling of waters, and then I stripped their tank except gravel and fish, and placed everything in the 125. Then I scooped fish up in a pond basket and into a bucket.

In a new tank, their society collapsed and they resorted to schooling.

I sieved the gravel right in the old tank and scattered it into the new one.



I put Mojo the murderer in last. He's been in solitary (sump) for many weeks.
That's him in the upper left corner.

Here we are with a temporary lamp and will short on gravel and a total hodgepodge of decorations mostly included for their biofilm.



So far everyone seems happy and is swimming around and eating bloodworms.
Maynard the golden mbuna seems to have taken some damage to his right eye and I may have to treat him. Hopefully 120 + gallons of clean water will encourage his Improvement.

There is more work to do on this system, but my next goal is to clean the old African system, move it and my betta tank around dosidos, and get my brackish fish into this tank.

Anyhow it's been a long road from the first idea to the current Inception and if any of you have read through this monograph from the first post you deserve some kind of a medal for hanging in there with me.

Now I'm going to open a bottle of bubbly and jump in the shower. I got to go buy more Plumbing for the brackish tank setup.

 

[Ulu]

I started moving the brackish tank today, but it will take a day. Lots of scrubbing to do, and then I'm revising the weir and return pipe.

I'm making another one with 1" sweeps as shown above. It'll replace a too-long 5/8" garden hose, so I should see an improvement.

I put the moving bed filter on the patio sump, but I think it'll be more suited to the Oscar tank.

I think a 200 gal system needs more than 3 lbs of sand. I haven't figured out how to back-flush the sand though.

I think I may have to dump it out to rinse it.

Is this not like a pool filter? Hmmmm. . . . .

 

[Ulu]

Late last night I put together a swoopy 1" return pipe for the Mono tank-to-be, and tested it all night with grand results. I will build another one for the pleco tank today.

I need to mod the emergency drain to be a bit taller, then I can start moving tanks around. Again.

Phoo, I need the exercise!

But after the recent startup of the 125. I find I need a break to celebrate the job and the enormous stress reduction I'm feeling over this. I've never built a three tank 200 g system with 7 pumps going and tanks outdoors!

What a huge relief that this all worked out and it's not flooding my house.

If all 7 pumps stop, the sump might overflow, out doors, into my garden. : )
Not on my carpet!

 

[Ulu]

The Monos, mollies and guppies are in the old African 55 with 20g sump.

 

[Ulu]

While dumping the mulmwater from my 30 into the sink, I spotted a live molly just 10mm long. He must have been living under the UGF plate, as I didn't see him until I removed it to dump the last quart.

I quickly plugged the drain and chased him down.

I set him up a 5g nursery, even though I promised my wife I would't install another tank.

Fortunately for babies, even baby fish . . . she has a big heart for babies.

Generally the fry are being consumed as fast as they are delivered, so it's a wonder this one got away.

 

[Ulu]

I added a bypass hole in the brackish sump, to increase circulation, and reduce head pressure.

This tank still needs a better drain system. The overflows are too small in diameter and they are choking off the flow.

I need to rebuild them with a larger stand pipe diameter.

But I was able to increase the water capacity of the system to 60 gallons total, and I still have a little cushion in the sump to prevent overflow.

But I've got nothing to prevent overflow of the tank, should one of my siphon screens suck up a leaf.