Prepping for a ~260G set-up

jeffers

Piranha
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Jun 11, 2009
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I don't use that exact one but you can get some good deals this week on caribsea shipped. for my last 3 substrates it is what I have used.
 
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DN328

Potamotrygon
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Aug 14, 2014
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I don't use that exact one but you can get some good deals this week on caribsea shipped. for my last 3 substrates it is what I have used.

I ended just getting it local since I wanted to see exactly what I was getting.
 

DN328

Potamotrygon
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Aug 14, 2014
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Made a little plumbing prgress. Got some help from bro in law and to get another perspective on how I wanted to run plumbing. Edrain and trickle drain running to sump in the pixs below. Using BashSea sump...

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dr exum

Goliath Tigerfish
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Sep 29, 2007
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Got the tank on the stand this weekend. I used a couple of the online acrylic aquarium calculators and it came out to about ~250lbs. I still had three other guys to balance the load and to be safe. All of them were at least 6'+ medium build, ranging from 40-52 years old and all thought my calculation was off LOL.

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Plumbing will start later this week. Sorry for the bad pictures. I'm not good at taking pictures while I"m doing the work. I just take whenever I remember to. I will take pictures of the plumbing as I go. I think I have most of what I need, but inevitably I'm sure I be taking a few trips to HD/Lowe's.

Question for folks: I'm looking to use some really fine gravel or some course sand for the substrate this time around. Of all the places I looked, I surprisingly liked this size and color from Petsmart! It seems Petsmart is the only place that has this color AND size. Anyone else use this?

I just bought 350#’s of two variety’s, good stuff and can’t beat the price, think 50#’s for $25? Free shipping too ? . Felt bad for fed ex dude...
 

DN328

Potamotrygon
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Aug 14, 2014
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Slow pogress but drains are done. Plumbing for return and getting the help of my bro in law to make a bracket to support the PVC return that will T into two returns. We want to avoid down pressure and weight with water running through 24/7.

I know many folks won't like the 90 degree elbows, and Im willing to compromise function and aesthetic ;-). I found this relatively inexpensive SS brackets to hold up the return pipe in the second picture. I enjoy this, kind of, but I need to get done to test and tune this.

Thanks for those following along.

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TheWolfman

Goliath Tigerfish
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Sep 5, 2010
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Slow pogress but drains are done. Plumbing for return and getting the help of my bro in law to make a bracket to support the PVC return that will T into two returns. We want to avoid down pressure and weight with water running through 24/7.

I know many folks won't like the 90 degree elbows, and Im willing to compromise function and aesthetic ;-). I found this relatively inexpensive SS brackets to hold up the return pipe in the second picture. I enjoy this, kind of, but I need to get done to test and tune this.

Thanks for those following along.

View attachment 1397955View attachment 1397957
The build is coming along nicely. Where did you get that black schedule 40? It’s a awesome touch. Why are you only going with one return pump? It would be a good touch to have some redundancy, and you wouldn’t need to make that t on the return. Just a thought. Keep us posted.
 

DN328

Potamotrygon
MFK Member
Aug 14, 2014
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Thanks Wolfman. I know dual return pumps is a good thing - I just made the decision not to. The sump pump chamber is limited to just one, and, it helps to reduce the amount of PVC Run. I'd have to run a completely separate PVC run.

I hope to have this tank for a long time, so decided to go with the black PVC that I got on BRS. You can actually get colored PVC in many places including Home Depot Online, however, they're not made to run water through - at least the "furniture grade" PVC. So, I ended up playing it safe and getting from BRS.

I hope to make more progress within the next 1-2 weeks. I'll be completing the return plumbing. My bro-in-law has some extra acrylic so we wanted to make a "bracket" to stabilize the T in the back of the tank. It wouldn't hurt to help stabilize the 3/4" returns.. From there we'll plumb the closed loop circulation that I had the tank drilled for. I'm also going to add a T and valve to quickly drain the tank for water changes (I had that before and wouldn't want to be without it).

I'll keep you all posted :)
 
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TheWolfman

Goliath Tigerfish
MFK Member
Sep 5, 2010
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Long island, NY
Thanks Wolfman. I know dual return pumps is a good thing - I just made the decision not to. The sump pump chamber is limited to just one, and, it helps to reduce the amount of PVC Run. I'd have to run a completely separate PVC run.

I hope to have this tank for a long time, so decided to go with the black PVC that I got on BRS. You can actually get colored PVC in many places including Home Depot Online, however, they're not made to run water through - at least the "furniture grade" PVC. So, I ended up playing it safe and getting from BRS.

I hope to make more progress within the next 1-2 weeks. I'll be completing the return plumbing. My bro-in-law has some extra acrylic so we wanted to make a "bracket" to stabilize the T in the back of the tank. It wouldn't hurt to help stabilize the 3/4" returns.. From there we'll plumb the closed loop circulation that I had the tank drilled for. I'm also going to add a T and valve to quickly drain the tank for water changes (I had that before and wouldn't want to be without it).

I'll keep you all posted :)
That makes sense, builds like these always take longer then we think they will. Well actually they could go a lot faster if we weren’t ocd. Your doing a great job. Definitely do the drain. I had that in my past two setups and it makes water changes effortless. Keep it up.
 
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DN328

Potamotrygon
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Aug 14, 2014
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That makes sense, builds like these always take longer then we think they will. Well actually they could go a lot faster if we weren’t ocd. Your doing a great job. Definitely do the drain. I had that in my past two setups and it makes water changes effortless. Keep it up.

Yeah, just trying to do the best I can while I have a chance. I OCD is an issur for sure and don't like gluing LOL. I like the planning, measuring and even cutting. That's why I use clear primer rather than the purple color. Good thing I don't need to pass inspection.
 
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