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Chimeras Tank Build (Sump room, new tank etc)


chimera

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ok, while im waiting for the replacement capacitor, have added more plumbing bits to the setup. added "threaded adaptors with o-rings" (cant remember the name of it) last night to the outside of each 4-way outlet. this allows the plumbing to be "unscrewed" from the om unit for maintenance.

om4way.jpg

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The OM plumbing job went underway last night. I removed the two Eheim 1060's and plumbing and started planning out the Dolphin/OM-4way install. What a mission! I ran into my first problems almost immediately. First, adding the union couplings meant they got in the way of the OM and second, the 'Y' connector that runs to the spray bar was in the way of EVERYTHING. Next issue was the tank stand legs were in the way too. It only meant chiseling out a small nick here and there but a pain nonetheless. So after sitting for almost an hour trying to work out how to fit it in comfortably, I adjusted the position of the pump til I found a suitable spot then lower the OM (closer to the pump) so the plumbing fits under the big 'T' connector for the intake. Here are some photos of the work so far (still have to do other 2 OM outlets and pump intake)

It's quite dark under the tank and quite hard to get a good photo so I've done 'gamma correction' on the photo's so you can see the pic's better (and is why they look a bit washed out). The flash only tended to bring out the foreground.

om-plumb1.jpg

om-plumb2.jpg

om-plumb3.jpg

om-plumb4.jpg

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"painful" is perhaps the best way of describing this... :D without leaks,... yeah, thats always a worry!

I hope I'll have it done by this Monday. I still need to go to the plumbing store and buy a few more 45 degree elbows and a couple more metres of pressure piping. Think they're closed being Easter Friday though? Are shops open Monday? Hope so! Going to Mangawhai for the weekend shortly, the plumbing has tested my patience long enough for now. You'd be amazed at the clearances I have on this thing!!! 1mm in some places, 2mm in others. Cutting the pipe to exact length and getting the right angle using 3 x 45 degree bends is an artwork and takes plenty of time to get it right!

Another couple pic's:

om-plumb5.jpg

om-plumb6.jpg

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Just a note to others using pressure piping: The elbows and other type of fittings you can get are obviously a relatively fixed size. This adds a reasonable bit of extra design to your plumbing setup - for example, two 90 degree 40mm elbows plumbed together in a ╚╗shape can add a good 200mm in plumbing height! Because of this, I've had to redesign the intake on the plumbing (specifically the 90 degree elbow going straight into the pump) as you can see from the pic two up, the intake pipe is so close to the existing spraybar outlet plumbing and tank stand framework, I dont have enough room to fit it in any bends. Am changing this to a 45 instead and lengthening the pipe heading into the pump (pic's tonight will explain what I mean if you dont get it!)

I went to Mico's today and a plumber (who was buying some bits and pieces at the time) offered me a hand ripping the 40mm pipe out of an already glued USA fitting I had (cant get them here - would have had to import from US if it broke!) then recommended some really evil solvent glue to use instead of the usual stuff you buy. I'll post the name and some more pic's tonight! Hopefully will have it all finished then too!

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Only one more OM-4-way outlet to go (to right side of tank in pic's) and I've run out of glue :roll: I do have the "evil glue" I could use but it takes too long to use (have to prime PVC first then use solvent) and other than that, it's 2:30am and I'm knackered and half-high from all the solvent abuse... not on purpose of course :D Here's what I call "spaghetti heaven" :D

om-plumb7.jpg

om-plumb8.jpg

I'm off to snowplanet for a board Weds night first thing but will finish when I get back from that and get some final pic's up. It's difficult taking pic's close up because the tank stand legs are in the way! As mentioned earlier, the whole thing is modular so each section can be unscrewed (combo of socket union's and union ball valves) so this will make maintenance easy.

It wont be turned on until the following night (Thursday) as I want to flush all the excess glue from the pipes down at the beach. Figured that would be the best cleanse prior to having some hell water flow going! The replacement capacitor is apparently on it's way but I wanna turn the pump on prior to make sure it's leak proof and see what sort of flow this thing is going to produce! Over 13,000 litres per hour - should be good 8)

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Yeah! Finished my plumbing!!! So stoked that is out the way. What a tedious time consuming job that was. Here's a pic of all my plumbing bits that fit together somewhat like a jigsaw puzzle... sorry about the poor photo, not enough battery life left for flash to work!...

closedloop-parts.jpg

Will clean out the pipes tomorrow with seawater then switch it on tomorrow night. Can't wait... :D Hmmm, just noticed the large ball valve is missing from the photo, oh well.

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After talking to JoeBlog about tank inlet's from a closed loop, he suggested "loc-line". Just curious to know if anyone else has used this stuff? Benefit is you can twist it to adjust the flow very easily.

product_image.jpg

REF: http://www.loc-line.com/products/

It's available from Blackwoods and Paykel's I believe.

http://www.blackwoodspaykels.co.nz/indexbp.asp

I might go get some this arvo and try it tonight on the new closed loop system. Considering adding a 'Y' on each outlet to provide 8 directions of flow within the tank.

Anyone with any better ideas/suggestions?

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blackwoods and paykels had a pathetically small collection of loc-line. i will try the "rotating flow nozzles" but i honestly think the ampmaster 3000 will rip the ends off the cogs! if it does, they will be up for sale. i have 4 of them. ($30 each) will put them on private t&e section tonight if the ampmaster is too much for them. certainly hope not!

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:evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:

The plumbing is testing my patience somewhat, all is good in terms of fit but the thread on either side of the 50mm ball valve didnt have enough plumbers tape so started to leak. I disassembled the plumbing and added heaps of teflon tape to the thread. I put it back on and went to test again, this time the OTHER end of the ball valve started to leak, again, not enough teflon tape :evil: Problem with this side though is I cant get the threaded part off the pipe. So, have to wait til tomorrow when I can either go buy, hire or borrow some plumbers pipe grips (know what they look like, dont know the name!) to remove it.

Damn and I was so looking forward to turning it on tonight... arghhhh!!!

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