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Any particular reason for the pentair over the lifegard Promax sterilizers. Only asking due to a big thread comparing the two with the winner leaning towards lifegard. I need to replace my green machine and its a decision between these 2 companies. I want to mount it outside the stand like you've got here.
Incredible place... the tank issues can be managed. Beautiful view. I know this thread is a few months old but I'll throw my interior designer hat on here... Levelor, Hunter Douglas and a few others made automatic shades... including tinted and solar shades. You can mount above the tank and have it programmed to open and close. (not Apex ready - sorry - LOL) Of course, that is only if you find that the solar impact warrants it. I hope you are able to just leave the wall clean. So pretty.So first part is to address one challenge with this build, one which has conflicting information out there: Direct sunlight.
Unfortunately, due to the way the house is built, orientation, and a ton of other factors, the in-wall tank hole had to go where it is now. No way around it. But I also didn't really think too hard about things during the design stage. The result is that the tank will be hit with up to 3 hours of direct sunlight during the late afternoons during some parts of the year, and no sunlight at other parts of the year. No, there is nothing I can do about it. No, I cannot put in window shades. The living room is "loft style" with ridiculously high ceilings. Here is a picture of the issue, and all the "walls" of the living room look like this so there is no avoiding the sunlight.
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So in a way, I am about to do a small experiment on whether direct sunlight, in and of itself, has a detrimental effect on the tank (outside of heat gain and photospectrum for potential algae growth)
Thanks so much for the kind words. Yes we are hoping to be able to keep the wall clean. But you are right, if solar issues arise then looking into automated blinds in front of the tank may be the way to go. Let’s see what happens when the tank gets delivered in March.Incredible place... the tank issues can be managed. Beautiful view. I know this thread is a few months old but I'll throw my interior designer hat on here... Levelor, Hunter Douglas and a few others made automatic shades... including tinted and solar shades. You can mount above the tank and have it programmed to open and close. (not Apex ready - sorry - LOL) Of course, that is only if you find that the solar impact warrants it. I hope you are able to just leave the wall clean. So pretty.
Really enjoyed reading about this build. Please keep it going.I also made progress this weekend with the plumbing, and I finished the returns as well as the emergency drain line. I ended up directing the emergency drain into my return section as it was a straighter shot and would be more out of the way than the increasingly crowded fuge and skimmer sections.
There are more 90 degree elbows than I anticipated. Far far more. Lol. I will see what kind of flow I am getting and can always redo them if needed. Both UVs are now plumbed as well as the check valves and the Apex flow meters. I left 8” of straight pipe on either side of them for more accurate measurements. I also used painters tape to mock up the Apex control boards and the drain lines so I have a basic idea of where things are going.
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The pipe in between the two returns is the emergency drain line.
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Also, in order to use the BRS pvc clamps, and still have enough room for unions and ball valves, you need to use some standoffs. I ended up going to Home Depot and buying a 1.5”x0.75” PVC molding strip and chopping it to size.
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In any case. I can wait to move on from plumbing. While this is fun, there’s just SO much other stuff left to do ! :/
Thanks allReally enjoyed reading about this build. Please keep it going.