TGunn's 90g Reef

[tygunn]

...and a new reef is born! I figured I should probably journal new new 90g setup in a new thread.

Here is the tank, after successful delivery; thanks so much to @<3-2-reef and @wpeterson for moving the tank!

WPeterson did a great job cleaning out the tank, so there's not much to do on that front.

Euqipment I'm planning on bringing over from my current tank:
- Kessil 360AW
- Tunze auto top off
- 250w titanium heater with industrial process controller (I have a bunch more titanium heater elements I can plug in if I need more heat; they used to be Won Bros digital heaters, but in the end I found those were so unreliable that just cutting off the controller and using a new one was a better choice)
- Jebao RW-8 powerhead
- Jebao WP10 powerhead (maybe)
- Controller for jebao powerheads
- Jebao dosing dump
- for now, Tunze Nano DOC skimmer

Equipment that I will need to get:
- Another Kessil 360AW
- More powerheads; I have a couple Tunze 6100 Streams from my old 140g kicking around; they're so big compared to all the new pumps though; wish I had sold them when they were still worth something. I'll probably stick with the Jebaos; they seem pretty decent so far.
- Bigger skimmer

Next steps:
I need to measure out the space under the stand and figure out my sump and ATO strategy.

 

[Bruce Spiegelman]

Looking forward to watching this one develop -- and learning.

 

[wpeterson]

I'm excited for you, @tygunn - I hope the tank works as well for you as it did for me.

For sump selection, the frame on the front is narrower that the overall width - so stand is probably 38" external across, but opening to the cabinet is maybe 31", so my 30" sump was a snug fit going in and out. I'd recommend something 30"x12" or so. I previously had a Trigger Systems Tideline 30 sump in there.

 

[Coral reefer]

Glad it got moved without me! Suoer embarrassed that I left home without my phone and circled around mountain view looking for a pay phone for quite awhile. Happy to help if you have any issues w plumbing or anything just let me know

 

[wpeterson]

After talking with you guys last night, I'm debating keeping all of my dry goods. So do let me know if you're interested in the MP40s, Kessil A350s, the sump, or the skimmer.

 

[tygunn]

I'm excited for you, @tygunn - I hope the tank works as well for you as it did for me.

For sump selection, the frame on the front is narrower that the overall width - so stand is probably 38" external across, but opening to the cabinet is maybe 31", so my 30" sump was a snug fit going in and out. I'd recommend something 30"x12" or so. I previously had a Trigger Systems Tideline 30 sump in there.

Good to know on the dimensions, thanks. I'll probably either use a commodity glass tank and install baffles, or try my hand at making an acrylic sump.

 

[tygunn]

Glad it got moved without me! Suoer embarrassed that I left home without my phone and circled around mountain view looking for a pay phone for quite awhile. Happy to help if you have any issues w plumbing or anything just let me know

Hehe happens to the best of us. I've been there.

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[tygunn]

Okay so I've been measuring and trying to figure what all I can fit under the stand. I need to keep absolutely everything in the cabinet. I have a 35wide x 21deep footprint to work with (20 near the doors due to hinges).

So far I'm thinking:
7" wide x 20" deep x 23" tall top off container. Accounting for material thickness and actual max water level I'm looking at about 10g of usable top off water.

Sump 22" wide x 21" deep x 15" tall for full volume of 30g, but more like 14g of actual water assuming half filled.

This leaves 6" on the left for dosing bottles, the dosing pump, and other stuff hanging on the left side.

I will have to calculate the volume of the overflow and max potential drain back from the tank to determine if I have enough margin in this size sump.


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[tygunn]

The overflow holds about 5.5g full, and I'll assume in a power outage the full volume will drain back to the sump.

Each inch of water in the display is about 3.5g. If I assume 2" drain back to the sump in a power failure that makes a total of 12.5g drain back -- the sump I envision should be able to handle the worse case.

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[tygunn]

Yikes, I REALLY need to watch more tutorials on using AutoDesk Fusion 360. I managed to model out a basic sump with a eurobrace. Took FOREVER.

 

[tygunn]

I think I'm FINALLY getting the hang of things with AutoDesk Fusion 360.

I started over and was able to dimension out a basic sump (albeit with the top bracing missing this time around), with a center divider in the sump this time, and the starting of some baffling into the right side compartment.

My working thought is that water will enter in the top-left corner where it'll dump (maybe) into a filter sock in the rear-left area of the sump. In the front-left area of the sump will be the skimmer. Water will flow to the front-right area of the sump which I plan to keep as a refugium for pods, macro, and all the goodness that is involved with that. Finally, the return pump will be in the rear-right quadrant of the sump.

I don't know if I'll bother fully developing this as a 3-d model. I may just mock it up with cardboard and see how it feels.

 

[roostertech]

I haven't used autodesk for many many years. But recently I've been using Sketchup and it is super easy/fast. Drew this plan for our living room in an hour. Give it a try.

 

[tygunn]

I haven't used autodesk for many many years. But recently I've been using Sketchup and it is super easy/fast. Drew this plan for our living room in an hour. Give it a try.

View attachment 4774

I haven't tried sketchup in a long while myself. The last time I used it i had a hard time positioning things and resizing them later if I didn't get them right initially. Have they made that easier?

So far Autodesk Fusion isn't too bad. I think.the biggest le as being curve for me is just getting using to its workflow. You make sketches in 2d and extrude them to 3d. I've been trying to be fancy and use parameters in my sump design so I can go back and, say, change how wide or deep the sump is and have everything adjust itself automatically.

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[Flagg37]

I use sketchup too but came from a 3D studio/maya background. Like everything new, it takes some time to get used to but it does have some pretty good tutorials that will make the transition smoother.

 

[tygunn]

I use sketchup too but came from a 3D studio/maya background. Like everything new, it takes some time to get used to but it does have some pretty good tutorials that will make the transition smoother.

I am only really using Autodesk because I eventually want to be able to make tool paths for metal cnc work. So you're right. It's what you're familiar with.

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[tygunn]

I'm considering painting the inside of the stand with marine paint, just to protect it all from the high humidity and inevitable spills. The problem I have is that I don't have a good spot to really do this, so I will likely need to do it in place, indoors. That means nasty fumes.

The best option I can come up with so far would be to seal up the stand with painter's plastic and tape, and then to run some cheap foil-ducting to the window and attach it to my window fan blowing out so it'll keep the stand at negative pressure while the paint dries. Worse case I could always get a cheap $14 bathroom fan and hang it under the stand for this purpose.

Can anyone else think of a creative solution for this?

Too bad I can't tap into the dryer venting that runs in the wall behind the the tank -- then I could just leave the vent fan under the stand Lol. I'm sure my leasing company would LOVE me.

 

[Flagg37]

I never thought the fumes were that bad. I just opened all the doors and windows and had fans blowing through. Some people are more sensitive to the fumes than others though.

 

[tygunn]

I never thought the fumes were that bad. I just opened all the doors and windows and had fans blowing through. Some people are more sensitive to the fumes than others though.

I've always found oil paint nasty. Lol but then I guess the last time I dealt with it I was doing it in the middle of winter in Canada and couldn't open the windows. Oooh man did I get high from those fumes.

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[roostertech]

You can't get any high VOC paint in California anyway. So most of the stuff you can legally get should be fine with just opening windows/doors and run a fan.

 

[tygunn]

You can't get any high VOC paint in California anyway. So most of the stuff you can legally get should be fine with just opening windows/doors and run a fan.

Ah right I should have figured we'd have some kind of ban against that. Lol.

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