The Rebuild Begins!!! - Page 19

Geoff · 02-13-2006, 09:40 AM

man, you all are no fun.

i guess i will go pick up some black paint. maybe i will just steal some from Ryan (3yr old). i think he has some paint lying around. somehow i do not think i will be able to find a colour i like at the HD paint mess up rack.

looks like silly cone will work perfectly for hiding the seams! looking forward to putting the tank back up on the mantle.

G~

tdwyatt · 02-13-2006, 10:11 AM

Geoff, I will be watching this with KEEN interest from this point, as I m considering the same fix for the bare bottomed system in the comparison tank. My only concern at this point is whether or not the FSB will capture detrital materials on its irregular surface much like an irregular net. One of the major considerations of using the BB system for me is that there are not areas to capture ANY material on the smooth bottom, so that pump circulation and CLS will keep detrital remains suspended until skimming occurs to remove it from the system. This, to me would be particularly a concern for you, as to siphon off the substrate "windfalls" will require standing on the mantle... or at least a ladder...

At what point would you consider this type of maintenance to be too much maintenance? I am not worried about me personally having to do the ladder climbing, as my system will be much closer to the ground...

but the whole reasone for me even CONSIDERING to do this is based on low or NO maintenance other than an occasional siphoning off of the bottom in places where detritus collects.

Your thoughts on this, sir...

Geoff · 02-13-2006, 03:06 PM

if you want a very smooth surface than skip the Southdown sprinkle step. when we first poured the FSB it was quite glossy and smooth. i think i could have added more sand to it. the epoxy floated to the top of the FSB. i have a small spot that i have missed with the Southdown sprinkle that i can take a pic of for you. it looks like sand, but has a hard covering over it. it might look fine with water in it. it looks a tad odd dry. i really did not expect the epoxy to capilary up through the sprinkled Southdown that much. i pretty much just dumped handfulls in areas that needed it thinking i could just wash it off later when i removed it for transportation. i may try and flatten it out a touch. the irregularities do make it look pretty good though.

i think there are a lot of different ways to do this. i have some super smooth places and some really rough places. i think it is possible to get whatever finish you are looking for. the next time you come around i will show you one of my test pieces. i think it is exactly what you are looking to do. i was hoping it would do this here, but i think that there is a scale up problem that needs some more experimenting with. i think if we would have used 3 parts Southdown to 1 part Epoxy, it would give the desired surface you are looking for.

G~

gitsumpottery · 02-13-2006, 06:37 PM

I'm guessing the sand just drops through the epoxy as it sits over time. Two ways to avoid it are: Add more sand, although you have to understand it will become more brittle with more sand. The second would be to mix the sand when it is a bit stiffer, or sprinkle over it after a bit and then run a trowel over it to push it in.

I'm not saying that is a definate answer to that question, but it "should" work that way.

Zac

three90s&125sump · 02-13-2006, 07:12 PM

Maybe a drying catalist added at the last minute. Along with more sand. I think the key is more sand. I don't think its going to get brittle enough to be an issue. I know some epoxies dry as hard as metal.

gitsumpottery · 02-14-2006, 07:03 AM

Hey Geoff,
Do you want to get that beast up on the mantle tonight? You know where to find me.

Zac

Geoff · 02-14-2006, 08:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gitsumpottery

Hey Geoff,
Do you want to get that beast up on the mantle tonight? You know where to find me.

Zac

hey, aren't you suppose to be taking Abbey out tonight?! it is Valentines day, you know.

if not, let me know. i am pretty sure we are not doing anything for this Hallmark Holiday, but i better check to make sure also.

G~

Geoff · 02-16-2006, 10:09 PM

have not done an update in a couple of days. a lot has happened. it is starting to come together.

first we will start with a pic of the back of the tank all painted up. i just used about 4 cans of various used spray cans i had lying around. i did a final two coats with a new can just to even it out and give it a good solid deep black look.

this is all five of the FSB plates. each weighted about 16lbs each. this is why i wanted them removable. getting the tank back up on the mantle with an extra 80-100lbs in it would not be fun.

the tank was taken back upstairs for the final bulkhead fitting. all of the bulkheads were fitted hopefully for the last time. i snugged them up nice and tight. Zac and i also primed and glued the larger fitting. we then screwed them into their appropriate bulkhead. we used plenty of teflon tape this time.

here i am adding one of the 16lb FSB plates back into the tank. as you can see it is now up on the mantle!!! as you can see the LR is firmly embedded into the FSB. i had no problems just carrying the entire plate by just grabbing onto one of the LR pieces.

this next pic is for Tom. here is a section of the FSB that i had missed when i was sprinkling the Southdown. as you can see it is very smooth. you can easily have the entire bottom this smooth. there is quite a lot of variation possible with this FSB. you can actually dial in the texture you want with this stuff. using wax paper you can create some wild surfaces. your imagination is the only limit here. i will be corrected this section when i seal up the seams between the plates.

here it is finally up back where it belongs!! i am hoping it is up there for good. i am really hoping to keep this nice clean look. as it stands the only thing you will see above the tank will be the hanging canopy. i only have plans for the return pipe to be above the water line.

i may try and get a pic of the underside of one of the FSB plates. the epoxy molded itself exactly to the shape of the wax paper. every fold every wrinkle was expressed. you really can create some amazing forms with this stuff if you have the imagination. i may have to start playing with this stuff for some other projects.

G~

dobejazz · 02-16-2006, 10:27 PM

Cool Geoff ! any idea when you will be adding water?

tims · 02-16-2006, 10:32 PM

that is Sweet Geoff!
hmmm you cannt really call it a BB and not really a DSB...hmmmm

tdwyatt · 02-16-2006, 11:42 PM

FSB... faux

Awesome!

Geoff · 02-17-2006, 08:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dobejazz

Cool Geoff ! any idea when you will be adding water?

at least a couple more weeks. i still have to seal the FSB plates together. epoxy some of the LR to eachother. build a skimmer, build a canopy, and final plumbing of the CLS's and sump.

it has been slow but steady work. generally able to put in a couple of hours a day on it.

G~

gitsumpottery · 02-26-2006, 09:12 PM

you don't have water in it yet? i left for a week and i thought that was ample time for you to finish everything! jk

-zac

tdwyatt · 02-26-2006, 09:14 PM

Heck Zac, I was expecting a telegram from Pittsboro...

Geoff · 02-26-2006, 09:43 PM

i am at that stage where it looks like i have been doing nothing.

all week i have been measuring, cutting, oops, measuring again, cutting, then finally cementing PVC together. have the rear of the tank nearly completed. the Ampmaster plumbing above the mantle is done. 80% of the plumbing for the Dual Velocity CLS is done. still deciding on how to do the in tank returns though.

this is a pic of the cemented Dual Velocity CLS. nice and compact. these are actually Velocity T2's. i though they were T1's. i was able to hunt down the boxes for one of them and found out that way. i have a T1 so i am going to have a close look at the impellors and see if they are interchangeable. i am thinking they are. if so i may end up just ordering some T1 impellors and switching them out. get a little more oomph or the eductors.

here is the finished plumbing for the Ampmaster located in the crawlspace. the lower pipes are for the return and the upper one is for the inlet.

this is a recent shot. i think last night to be exact.

the shelf has been added. i am thinking of mounting a true shelf to the back wall to hold up the Velocities. should look less slapped together. that was a temporary shelf for getting the height correct.

tonight i sealed the FSB to the tank around the edge. i was going to run a bead along the top of the FSB but decided agains this because of a couple of really hard to reach areas due to the embedded LR. what i did instead was run a serious bead of silly cone all along the edge of the tank at the HDPE level (i removed the FSB to get to the HDPE layer). i then placed the FSB plates back in making sure to press around the edges firmly to squeeze up the silly cone between the plates and the tank glass. this seemed to work quite well. tomorrow i will try and hide the FSB plate seams.

i think i still have a fair amount of work to do before i get water in it.

have not even touched the plumbing below the mantle yet. plenty of ideas, but low on time. chasing kids really cuts into my PVC time.

G~

Picture Time Again!!