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Chimeras Tank Build (Sump room, new tank etc)


chimera

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silicone wont dry under water.

It most certainly will, infact it will cure much faster under water.

Chimera: Why risk drilling your tank and implimenting that nightmare of pipes to get the same flow you had prior with the 2 Iwaki 30s? Why not just leave it and keep the 2 Iwaki 30s? I don't see the 'up' to the change, other than the change itself.

Finding a glazer who will drill a pre-made tank thats all ready full of water may be a challenge.

What do you do if it cracks or breaks?

Pie

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Pies, why not have a twice as grunty pump, less power to run, for the same price and same flow rate as 2 x iwaki's (and thats same flow rate when its restricted) if i drill the additional holes, then I more than double the flow rate of the two iwaki's.

have you ever tried siliconing under water? a great big sticky mess - unless there is a specific silicon made for this?

risky yes, hence why i'd empty it half way. only risk would be the crack going downwards below water surface.

i will talk to some glazier's and see what they say/recommend.

jetski - isnt that the one pies is buying?!!! or did you get two?

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have you ever tried siliconing under water? a great big sticky mess - unless there is a specific silicon made for this?

Yes I have, 4 times. I even glued in one of my overflows when the tank was full. No drama, no big sticky mess, no special silicone, thats how its made. Not sure why you think it won't cure or will be so difficult as its not.

risky yes, hence why i'd empty it half way. only risk would be the crack going downwards below water surface.

Imagine your tank cracks, even if it cracks above the waterline, then what?

Pies, why not have a twice as grunty pump, less power to run, for the same price and same flow rate as 2 x iwaki's (and thats same flow rate when its restricted) if i drill the additional holes, then I more than double the flow rate of the two iwaki's.

? So its twice as grunty but provides the same flow. Do the math of the power saving verses the cost of changing pumps to end up with the same flow. Whats the upside?

Do as you please but its not hard to question drilling a full tank. If I said to you 'hey James I am going to half empty my tank to drill a few holes' would your advice be 'sweet man good luck' or would it be 'your mad!'.

Just trying to be objectionable, i would hate to read that you lost most of your stock because of a flash flood.

Pieman

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Yeah Mark I know exactly what you're saying - and please stay objectionable. Im looking for a "yeah it's been done and its not too bad" reply!!! If I had any reservations I would seriously not even contemplate it. However, if I want it done properly (same motto as you) I HAVE to drill it. As you say, I will never be happy with it done any other way. Only question is "Do I empty half way" or "do I completely empty it". If it cracks, so be it. I start again. If it doesnt, cool, I continue. A risk Im willing to take to get it right (pending recommendations from a glazier that is!!!)

BTW, didnt say it wont cure, said it is difficult to do - uncured silicon and water I've found is difficult to perform. But perhaps thats the difference is the brands of silicon we are using?

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BTW, didnt say it wont cure, said it is difficult to do - uncured silicon and water I've found is difficult to perform. But perhaps thats the difference is the brands of silicon we are using?

We probably all use the same silicone, fosroc RTV. Same stuff all the tank makers use.

Gut the tank, position the holes correctly, make the plumbing senseable. At the moment you are trying to retro fit some stuff which requires some pretty big comprimises.

Pieman

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i just phoned the guy who made my tank. he is coming up my way on friday to drill the tank. i asked him about drilling a full tank, he said "yup, done it before plenty of times". i asked him about the risks. "about the same as drilling when making the tank". i asked him are the risks high. "no, you just have to take alot longer and use heaps of blue tack" (?) he said something about using blue tack in the well to stop it cracking?

anyways, i have to go buy some tank and ball valves and some silicon for this friday. fosroc is not the stuff i use, where do you buy it? this is the stuff i've been using:

http://www.selleys.co.nz/products/live/304/86.asp

about half a dozen corals (mixture of acro's, shrooms and leathers) will be out of the water during the time the tank water is low. i will move as many as i can temporarily to the bottom but some are fixed to the rock and cant be moved. how long can they stay out of water for? (i will obviously turn off the lights to stop them getting 'burnt') should i just use wet newspaper over them or leave them be?

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does :D

Im getting a UPS for the sump room this week. It will run the return pump and heaters only. I figure if the power is off then the halides will obviously be off so the temperature of the tank will not increase too much (since halides are main source of heat) The heater is mainly going to make a difference over winter. It also ensures the 480 odd litres in the refugium and sump keep turning over to the main tank. The other issue it resolves is when the power goes off and back on within about a 30 second window, the return pump has to pump back up against the water reverse syphoning. The impeller seems to get stuck in limbo as it cant "wind up" against the force of the water returning to the sump. The UPS will also resolve this. Depending on how long the battery lasts, I may also hook up the skimmer.

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Wouldn't bother about the skimmer, the only thing that really matters is the return pump. Also perhapps look at investing in an UBER load alarm that detects when the power is off (inline before the UPS) so when the power cuts its SQUEELS LIKE A PIG.

The only thing that can cause a flood problem for me is return pump failure, nothing else is important.

I thought you had anti syphon holes for your sea swirl to stop the reverse syphon?

Do you have an RCD? If so give some thought to how the RCD will effect the UPS. Esentially the UPS makes the RCD redundant.

Pie

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Depending on the wattage of your return pump and your heater it wont last that long so i wouldn't put the skimmer on to the UPS as this will drain the battery even quicker. I looked at making one from an inverter and a marine deep cycle battery but even an 80amp hour battery would only last for about 4 hours with a 40watt return pump and a 200watt heater. The other thing to consider is that a lot of the inverters they use in these systems are not true wave current and this will not run a heater (To long since i was at electrical classes at tech but something to do with the SIN wave lenght). As most of our power cuts happen in the winter i would check up on this first. Remember that you have to work out you amp hours in 12volt for the UPS as this is what your battery will be

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