The Dry Reef - What's old is new! 96x36x25 Peninsula

[WhatCouldGoWrong71]

Still a lot to do, but it’s hung in place at the height I will start out at. Now i can start plumbing the 3 closed loops. I’m probably going to change out the t slot portion that attaches the light rack to the unistrut trolleys with wood. It’s plenty sturdy. But, i have 4 ballasts, 8 bricks and two EB832s I need to get up in the air. But this will work for now to get it plumbed. My goal is to be wet testing this weekend.

Contractor should be starting Monday to put the wall, door and build in look starting Monday. I need this in place for these guys too.

 

[Janci]

Nice engineering.
I like the wet testing schedule... something to look out for after the weekend.

 

[WhatCouldGoWrong71]

Without being able to post videos here, I’m not able to post some of the updates directly I need to start uploading to YouTube, but YouTube says I have used my phone number too often with other YouTube accounts. So I am not sure what to do. Hopefully I don’t get yanked for this, but my IG has some recent updates. I did a really simple and basic flow test. Plumbing has seen a big dent and the contractors are here framing it in. They I have some pics of:

https://www.instagram.com/thedryreef?igsh=MW1wZmxkOWptdWVhcw%3D%3D&utm_source=qr

 

[WhatCouldGoWrong71]

Closed loops 1 and 2 are now plumbed. Only loop 3 to go. It will be week or so as I need to order Couplers for my Pentair UVs. I’ve tested the the lower loop with the Abyzz, and am very happy. The lighting rack is mobile and functions great. Tomorrow I’m going to fill the tank again and then connect the hard plumbing to the over flow and plumb the sump and return. The build out of the exterior wall will be complete with one more day of work. I have some work to do with the over door as it relates to how it opens, stays open and then closes. My contractor went a little rogue with the engineering of some somethings.

 

[Janci]

This plan is coming together nicely.
Looking great
Will there be any cladding on the walls on the inside of the fishroom?

 

[WhatCouldGoWrong71]

This plan is coming together nicely.
Looking great
Will there be any cladding on the walls on the inside of the fishroom?

Around the door to the tank yes. Above the tank and behind the 2 Sea Swirls, no. I am considering not putting cladding up from the tank to the corner but the door. I’m debating about putting cleats in there for shelving. Can always use a place near the tank to place things so I don’t use the eurobrace. But I am not sure. But for sure not around the tank. I still have some venting to cut in. I’m going to have a couple of online fans pull air from the living space into the room to the right of the tank looking from the outside. That air will dump into the lighting system. I will then have two fans, with a little duct work, pulling air from the lighting area and dumping it out the short side of the tank. That hot air will be sucked up the stair case. I have a high air return for an exchange system that sits at the top of my front stair case. I have 1 hvac vent in the room tied to the house. I’m going to add a vent fan to it. Not sure if you noticed, on that wall in that room is a in wall full house dehumidifier rated for 2.2k sq ft. I have it set to turn off at 55%. Before I put the wall up w/ door, it gave a nice assist on the first floor. Now with the wall up, the door shut and no ventilation- I doubt my heats need to come on right now. Add the lights and I may need to build an outdoor enclosure for my chiller and consider plumbing to it outside, lol.

 

[WhatCouldGoWrong71]

I am trying to get 20 or so Sch 80 45's here for by tomorrow. I want to drop the returns down. I have plenty of 90's, and with four 1.5" drains I really won't impact my ability to move water. I think I would prefer to go with 45s to do this. I also am going to relocate the gate valve which is mounted vertically about 8" below the overflow box to horizontally about 7 feet down near where it will dump into the sump. Better full siphon performance should result from this. The beauty of this is that I can move it between the two spots and test both locations due to me having unions on both sides of the gate valve.

I am using more Tslot on the wall to mount all the electronics to. It should work nicely. The "studs" are 2040. So where I will have reactors on shelves, there is ample room to run up to 1" piping behind the shelf due to the spacing of the 2040 off the back wall. Also, this makes for nice cord runs as I will use 2020 between the 2040 studs which will still leave plenty of space for cords. For some, I will mount the 2020 to the front of the studs. This stuff really comes in handy. I really am going for function. I am trying to make everything UBER easy to gain access, rip apart and replace. Good stuff.

 

[Devaji]

man that is coming along!! looks so good!

 

[WhatCouldGoWrong71]

I finally finished plumbing the drains. Tomorrow I plan to plumb the 2 return pumps and the third and last closed loop. I should be able to power up the 4 sea swirls. I also have been playing with how I want to have the 10 3/4 RFGs mounted on the bottom of the tank. I hope to get to that also and share those pics. I’ll be able to hide them I think but it’s hard to tell with nothing in the tank if the flow is right.

 

[Sdoutreefer]

This is pretty epic. I wish I had the space and $$ for something like this… envious for sure.

 

[WhatCouldGoWrong71]

I should have the 3rd closed loop running tomorrow. It’s just a matter of connecting the unions after I reattach the pipping. What a pain getting the UV laid out while still being able to access the Abyzz. I used this time to rebuild both units. Totally not cool that the service pack for o rings is $40. There are two you simply can’t find so you are stuck. I seldom use UV, typically only when a new fish is added or osteoporosis (sp? Water born Dino’s). This is about the best I could do to try and mitigate flow loss. This is plumbed if the 3rd and final closed loop. It will dump right at the top of the tank there into those two Sea Swirls on that side of the tank. I forgot to order true union ball bales (1”) for each return at the overflow box. They got here tonight at 7, so, I have about 30 minutes of pipe work tomorrow and at least one of the return pumps should be operational.

 

[WhatCouldGoWrong71]

Was able to get the 3 loops operational tonight. I also finally decided or realized that I can actually talk on my insta videos. Wish it was easy to post videos here.

Chris Freader (@thedryreef) • Instagram photos and videos

443 Followers, 506 Following, 65 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Chris Freader (@thedryreef)

www.instagram.com

 

[WhatCouldGoWrong71]

I got the first return from the sump to the display plumbed. Need to order check valves to put them in reverse. I will have water in the sump tomorrow, but I need to drain the tank and clean it before I let this water flow into the tank. I’m plumbing the pumps staggered so they will nestle in the return chamber. I also want to pull water from the furthest point in the sump. Basic plumbing to get the display operational is near completion. But I have 2 tanks up and running that I need to consolidate into this tank with a bunch of gear, plus, I bought some new gear for this build. I hope to get the lighting system closer this weekend. Time for sleep.

 

[Janci]

I am amazed you manage to get all those pipes in without using any hose. Nicely done.
The PVC art behind the tank is getting close to look like a a set of V8 headers.

 

[WhatCouldGoWrong71]

I am amazed you manage to get all those pipes in without using any hose. Nicely done.
The PVC art behind the tank is getting close to look like a a set of V8 headers.

Thanks. That means a lot that you appreciate that. I can’t even tell you how many hours I have into that, lol. They easily come out, but it does require two people to reattach. The length creates too much leverage to get the union on the overflow box started. I shortened one of them with a union. I’m just about to post some others.

 

[WhatCouldGoWrong71]

I posted a bunch of videos this weekend on Insta. I’m going to try and figure YouTube out. It says I’ve used my phone number too often. So I am not sure what to do.

Lots of flow testing this weekend. Lots of videos showing the flow. In the videos I have all 3 loops going, and it’s really looking good. I still have to get the returns set up in the tank how I want them. I’m just not sure yet. I decided to add some horsepower to the return chamber. I’ll have 2 - L2s and a L1. Since I plumbed a second gate valve to act as a bypass to the rollermat, I’m going to push these 3 return pumps through RFGs also.

 

[DucRacer1199]

Great build!

 

[Janci]

I posted a bunch of videos this weekend on Insta. I’m going to try and figure YouTube out. It says I’ve used my phone number too often. So I am not sure what to do.

Lots of flow testing this weekend. Lots of videos showing the flow. In the videos I have all 3 loops going, and it’s really looking good. I still have to get the returns set up in the tank how I want them. I’m just not sure yet. I decided to add some horsepower to the return chamber. I’ll have 2 - L2s and a L1. Since I plumbed a second gate valve to act as a bypass to the rollermat, I’m going to push these 3 return pumps through RFGs also.

Love it how shallow the fixed piping in the tank of the closed loop are. Great choice.

 

[WhatCouldGoWrong71]

Received the first order of @LiverockRocks. Good lord the ladies at Tampa Bay Saltwater are great to work with. I’m still a dolt for my email, ladies. I’m sorry . I posted 3 videos over on IG. If videos were easy to post here I would. Just look at all the life on these rocks!!!!

 

[LiverockRocks]

Received the first order of @LiverockRocks. Good lord the ladies at Tampa Bay Saltwater are great to work with. I’m still a dolt for my email, ladies. I’m sorry . I posted 3 videos over on IG. If videos were easy to post here I would. Just look at all the life on these rocks!!!!

Excited to watch this build, it’s going to be spectacular!