chimera Posted June 15, 2004 Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 Well I finally got this underway a few weeks ago by digging it out - wow what a heap of dirt! I laid the concrete floor on Sunday, 3/4 of a metre done by wheelbarrow - now thats dedication The room is under the house, slightly back from being directly under the fish tank (which is in the wall in the lounge and taking up half a bedroom!) Will post a progress pics shortly of the room and my plans for it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted June 15, 2004 Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 Dood pics. I am in the process of starting my sump room so keep me in the loop, ideas mistakes anything I can use. I am all ears. Good luck with it! Ohhh I saw your comment on sump turnover rates somewhere. I get about 3-4x my tank an hr through the sump, no problems at all. I run an UPS for the return pump though, to make sure it keeps running through power cuts. Pieman. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted June 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 ahem, had to wait for digital camera batteries to charge up it's only a start but i gotta start somewhere! first, the dirt. no progress pic is complete without a shot of the dirt - and this is only about 3/4 of it, the other 1/4 is dumped on the other side!!!... Here's the start of the room. Had to move one of the angled supports (the one in the foreground) around to the other side of the posts to make more room! Also added a new (square) post as seen on the left then got out the skill saw and cut out the door. The idea (will post floor plan soon) is to have the filtration equipment on the left side of the pic (or the right side of the door as you walk in) There will also be a 'water change' tank sitting to the right of the pic (a black 100 gallon drum) which will have plumbing leading to it from the outside of the house (makes it easier to fill up) All walls are going to be double lined with marine plywood with insulation in between them. Floor plan shortly... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted June 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 here's a quick slap together of where stuff will sit. Still not too sure how I'm going to fit stuff in as most of it needs to be near the 2 foot tank (sump) I will probably dose the calc reactor straight into the refugium instead of the sump as there is more room. The main things that HAVE to stay as they are are the location of the refugium and sump as I want to minimise the length of the return. The red arrows show direct of flow out and in from/to the main tank. The refugium will have an overflow to feed the sump (hence the variable height bench) I can basically plump up a tap (for RODI and top-up water tank) and electrical points (most of which will be mounted higher than the tanks at this stage) anywhere. I also bought a 2nd hand laundry sink which I will probably sit in between the 2 and 3 foot tanks to allow ease of water changes. Most pipes will be plumbed up with taps to direct water flow "to the main system" or "to the sink" meaning that removal of water from the tank is as easy turning a tap and adding NSW back is as easy as turning on a pump. Chiller, Calcium Reactor, CO2 bottle, Kalkwasser tank etc etc will mostly be located below the bench (will this be a problem?) so it's easy to access. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted June 15, 2004 Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted June 15, 2004 Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 Chim, I'm a carpenter, and I notice you say that you removed a brace that was in the way. Looking at your last pic., I take it, it is the one from the top outside corner and it ran across where the door is. This is an intergral brace from and to piles that are longer and set in more concrete than the others. May I suggest you check with your local building inspector: possibly get away with putting in a bracing pile to the left of the room, then brace back to it. If there was an accident of any sort, the insurance company would be the first to say that because of your negligence you wont get a claim. Mind, you don't get earthquakes up there very often, but you can get strong winds. Just a thought, and the extra room looks an interesting project. Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted June 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 Hi Alan, Thanks for the concern but it was actually the brace that goes across the front of the picture (and is actually shown) The brace was sitting on the other side of the 2 posts, I simply moved it to the side the photo is taken from to make more room in the room itself. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetskisteve Posted June 15, 2004 Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 ooooh all that room and so little water :-? cant you squeeze a 1000L plastic tank under there? think of the stability Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted June 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 of course i could squeeze a 1000 litre in there in fact i'm still considering it for NSW storage - will call you tonight re: the containers you can get! believe it or not this is all for a measly 300 litre tank. however, its being done like this (as well as the tank room in the house) coz i know i'll eventually go around 1000 litre minimum in the next few years anyways! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted June 15, 2004 Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 A good sump means you can add the larger tank whenever you want, no sweat. 1000 litre? Bigger is better man. The current plan, no matter what other considerations, is to make sure you end up with a tank larger than Reefs. By the time 2 of us have tanks larger than his, I am willing to bet even money he will have a 3500 litre + tank within 12 months.... Piddly little 8footer... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted June 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 oh, you mean the 10,000 litre tank I have sitting in my garage? yeah, piddly little 15 footer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef Posted June 15, 2004 Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 why dont you get a double sump. will save space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted June 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 a good idea but at the moment 1. dont need to save space and 2. want easy access Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetskisteve Posted June 15, 2004 Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 i see yr wifes cleaned yr sumps for you reef, oh and get a BIGGER skimmer :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted June 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 new additions to sump room. added walls and small unit for 3 foot sump to sit on. bottom right underneath this unit made to hold the chiller (back plywood is vented) changed design from before since im upgrading main tank from 300 litres to 540 litres. current 4 foot tank moving to be refugium and will sit same line as the current 3 foot unit but opposite side of the room. View from back left corner of room (door to the right of the picture): View from the door at right side of room (shows top of 3 foot sump unit) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted July 4, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2004 new additions to the sump room shown above! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted July 4, 2004 Report Share Posted July 4, 2004 Uber. More photos! Looks awesome? Are you leaving the gab at the bottom of the concrete floor and the sides on purpose? Make it easy to hose out I guess. Nice work 10/10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted July 4, 2004 Report Share Posted July 4, 2004 Oh to have space like that under your house I think we need to move. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted July 4, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2004 gaps left on purpose incase any water leaks it does rot the walls. the last thing that will be done is outside walls to the ground (to stop drafts) and insulation between (got to get the plumbing through there first though!) the return pipe runs up the side of the door (right side of first pic). the second pic showing the spilt over bit of concrete will be covered over by a unit to hold the 4 foot refugium (this stand will be 500mm higher than the 3 foot stand as its all gravity fed) i bought a 2nd hand laundry tub from trademe which will be going in the middle of these two units and be used for water changes/cleaning/emptying skimmer into etc. a 2nd tap will be above the refugium and hooked up to RODI pumping water into a holding tank for top up/kalk. will also be painting polyurathane over all the timber (argh, not keen on doing that) i still need to work out a place to put calcium reactor (plus CO2 etc) and nitratereductor - probably build a smaller bench next to the 3 foot sump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted July 4, 2004 Report Share Posted July 4, 2004 i still need to work out a place to put calcium reactor (plus CO2 etc) and nitratereductor - probably build a smaller bench next to the 3 foot sump Ummmm isn't that what the sump is for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted July 4, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2004 I'll rephrase - i still need to find the best place to physically locate this equipment in the sump room Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted July 5, 2004 Report Share Posted July 5, 2004 In the sump! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted July 5, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2004 what, the nitratereductor and calcium reactor bobbing up and down in the sump water?! i mean the actual units, not the plumbing for them (although i need to take into account the plumbing to work out where the best place to physically seat them) Birds eye view of the sump room will be up soon!!!.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted July 5, 2004 Report Share Posted July 5, 2004 In the sump! That way if they leak, drip or stop working they can't cause any problems. I had an issue with my Zeovit reactor. All that equipment should go in the sump, or over it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted July 5, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2004 good thinking batman..., errr.... pieman I'll do one better on ya and install them in a drip tray seated higher than the sump with an overflow going back to the sump! thanks for making me think outside the square! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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