Hop's downgrade to 300 gallons: A simple build thread

[Hop]

Originally Posted by Wiskey

Then I bet your dissapointed she didn't come hide with you


Whiskey

Not today! It's one of those days where I don't wonder how a woman could dismember their husbands and then go to a tropical destination and sip on mai-tais while a new patio is being poured back home

[Wiskey]

Originally Posted by Hop

Not today! It's one of those days where I don't wonder how a woman could dismember their husbands and then go to a tropical destination and sip on mai-tais while a new patio is being poured back home

Woh! Not good!

Whiskey

[Hop]

OK, I got the ro/di tank in it's new home... Um TIGHT FIT! I think the pressure against the tank with water in it will help to counteract the pressure from the wood pressing on it. Appearantly some wood expanded between the build process and now. So I may have to remove some stuff and re-do it to account for expansion and contraction or hope for the best

[Wiskey]

Originally Posted by Hop

OK, I got the ro/di tank in it's new home... Um TIGHT FIT! I think the pressure against the tank with water in it will help to counteract the pressure from the wood pressing on it. Appearantly some wood expanded between the build process and now. So I may have to remove some stuff and re-do it to account for expansion and contraction or hope for the best

How tight is the fit?

Whiskey

[Hop]

Tight enough that I had to use a reversed clamp to spread the verticle support that holds the american DJ shelf... I'm guessing a tad over 1/4". I built it to be tight, but not that tight The only hard part of taking the whole thing down and cutting it shorter will be the caulk... But I need to recaulk some stuff anyways. I'll just plan on half a day of my vacation to get it squared away. I took some pics anyway, I'll put them up here in a bit.

[Wiskey]

1/4"? Had to use a clamp to pry the wood out of the way? That sounds like allot of pressure on the acrilic sides, I would be worried about cracking

Good move on taking some time off to fix it,.. I think you'll be happier in the end.

Whiskey

[motorslave]

You got a ton more done today than me!

[Hop]

Well I'll go ahead and post some pics to illistrate the idea

Here is a pic of how the tank slides into it's home, with the braces removed.


And here is the tank with all the pretty paper removed:



Now here was where things got interesting. The part that elongated was the shelf where the DJ centers are slid in. They moved about 1/4" and cause the verticle support to press into the side of the tank. At least it is an easy, yet time consuming fix. I'll get this done in a few weeks:

The supports are back in and so is the tank, although it litterally is going to sit there and take up space fro a few weeks:




And then it was time to clean up and get things back together for now:


Not sure if I'll even bother trying to plumb it until the shelf is squared away

[know-it-all]

finaly

[Hop]

Originally Posted by know-it-all

finaly

I'll post the pics in reverse order when I take it out and fix it I still need to get foam under it too

[motorslave]

What a pain. I guess its par for the course when you do something as involved as this, seems there is always something. Thanks for the pics though!

[Hop]

I really don't think you can build something like this without a few set backs. This one is pretty minor and nothing to really sweat. I should have accounted for the swelling and shrinking of the wood, but didn't think it was going to be this much

Heck in a couple weeks the ro/di tank should be holding water Not sure what day I'm going to try to get the 125 swapped out... That will take coordination! Removing all the livestock and water, putting them in tubs, tearing out the old stand and building a new one, putting the 190 in the wall, and filling it back up and adding livestock. Maybe I should try and do this over two days... It will go skimmer and sumpless for a few days while the wetroom is finished up and the sump made. Then I'll have to make up an extra 100-130 gallons of water and whew. Maybe I don't want to do the swap, it so much work

[Hop]

OK, I did get the float valve installed just now. Figured I may as well advance on the ro/di tank as it can't hurt. I'll have to see in a bit if I have the right size hole saw or bit for the RO bulkhead.

[Wiskey]

Did you have the right size?

The Ro tank looks good in there anyway,.. this isn't something a couple well made shims, and a cut or two could fix is it?

Whiskey

[Hop]

Originally Posted by Wiskey

Did you have the right size?

The Ro tank looks good in there anyway,.. this isn't something a couple well made shims, and a cut or two could fix is it?

Whiskey

Nope, the bulhead needs a 5/8" and I have a .5" bit and a 3/4" hole saw. So I guess I'll add a bit to the list.

Unfortuantely no shimming... I'm just going to have to pull the shelf and support that is tied to the studs down and trim it all up some. I bet I can have it down, fixed and back up in about 2 1/2 hours.