Mitch's 400+ gallon build

Ok this is an exciting update!   the tank actually has some water in it. In fact it is now full of water. I played around with the aquascapping for a few weeks just trying to find something I liked.



here is the tank as its filling up and almost full



I have had a little trouble with my pump. when i plugged it in it is just pulsating a shooting water in spurts. not sure what is going on there. I might have to open it up and see whats going on. but it sure does move a lot of water.

And I always have to throw in a little update on my house renovations. we got new countertops on friday



and the garage addition is really coming along well.



If anyone has any thoughts on this pump problem let me know.

good point maybe I can put another check valve higher before the reactors

Looking nice. Looks like it's time to get it wet!

Ok its been a while since I last did an update because progress has been very slow. but I guess slow and steady wins the race. the plumbing is all completed. the return line from the sump runs up inside the pantry wall and comes out near the top of the tank.

Here is a picture of the drain lines and all the other plumbing.



on the left is the return line coming from the tigerhead pump. it has a feedback loop that goes back into the sump in case i have too much pump pressure. following that line up I put in a valve again to dial in the pump as well as a check valve. then a T goess off to the manifold to hold some equipment.

on the right is the main drain line with a T and valve to be able to do a water change. and behind it is the back up drain.

also going in on the right side is the line from my water changing system and the drain on the holding tanks.




and just for fun here is a picture of the equiptment on the shelf. a calcium reactor, carbon and GFO reactor and a sulfer denitrator that I will be making.

yes I made sure the tank is nice and level now. I have been thinking about the closed loop idea. I am worried I would be making more work and more potential for problems. If I need more flow in that corner I may put another powerhead.

If anyone is wondering why there are 2x4's in the tank it is braces because I had to repair the euro bracing on the top of tank.

I like the critical thinking though cause now is the time to make any changes by throwing out ideas. If anyone has any imput I am always up for fresh ideas.

Edited by backwards32 - May 10 2017 at 12:30pm

ok a lot of work went into the tank this weekend. first off I have decided to remove one of the corner overflows to make it more of a peninsula style tank.



while doing this i decided it would be better, now that the overflow is gone, to have the euro bracing go all the way to the corner for more support. so I cut out the old bracing and have ordered new glass to replace it. that should be here by the end of the week.

here is the pic with the overflow gone. It makes a huge difference in the viewing angles.



to accommodate for the loss of one of the overflows, I am going to make both holes in the other overflow as drains. my return lines will be coming up through the wall and then come out and into the top of the tank. I need to find a way to make this look nice and not too much like PVC coming out of the wall

finally the finishing touches were done on the stand and the high bar and ledge installed.



my wife is excited to get some bar stools to finish off the look.

it needed to be replaced anyway and we decided if we move it over we could add 2 more cabinets and add some more counter space.

No the tile cuts into the front room a little bit to go under the whole stand. well luckily I was able to the back wall and rebuild it and install the sliding glass door all in one Saturday.

I was so excited to get all of these things done knowing that as soon as this house stuff was finished I could get my tank going. so I stayed up many late nights doing the grout and sealant on the tile. I finally picked up the stand and got it moved into place.





so everything is ready to go for the tank now which I will be picking up tomorrow. and then the fun begins. It will still be a slow process because I am also in the middle of building a 2 car garage on the side of the house, but at least it is actually setting up my dream tank.

It's been a long time since you updated.