EW's 75g Build Planning Thread

As soon as the next group buy starts I'm gonna get all the gadgets and stuff ordered, then it's on!

 

Currently...

2 x 40g storage tanks in transit
A bunch of PVC stuff ordered
100 lb of Marco Rock and 80 lb of Marco course sand (is that enough?) ordered
Group buy still pending.
Working on stand design, it's gonna be sweeeeeeet.
Hole-saws ordered.
Life is good. 8)

 

Excellent! I love getting packages in the mail, it's like christmas every day!

Did you do the second story water drop yet? ;D

 

Even after I made a nice list of PVC pipe and fittings, I still made about 10 trips to the hardware store when plumbing it all

And yes, 80 #'s should be perfect. That's .8 CF which will cover the entire bottom 2". Since you also have the rock, you will have more than enough (some for the 'fuge ).

 

No, haven't had the chance to go get the pipe yet but I'm doing it for sure.

Thanks for the confirmation on the sand Marshall. I'm pretty confident I'm going to become re-aquainted with the Home Depot guys over the next month or so. When we were building our house about 6 years ago I think I was there about 4 times per weekend at least, sometimes 3 times before lunch and always to buy one stupid little thing that I forgot. I'm sure this will be no different.

 

One of these days I'm going to actually go buy a tank too!

 

Ok, so stuff is starting to roll in and will be starting a build thread in a few weeks (lot's of travel coming up). In the meantime, I have a few questions that I'd appreciate some feedback on:

1. I received the 40g storage tanks. I was just reading norg.'s thread on PO4 coming from the storage tanks. I had planned on using a bleach solution to sterilize them prior to use with a 1Tbsp bleach to 1G water ratio. Is this strong enough? What other precautions can be taken to avoid that situation?

2. Got the Spectrapure RO/DI unit installed. Any idea to control that thing to make sure the storage tank doesn't overflow? The catch is that I have the output tee'd to supply an ice maker so I have to shut it off at the output (or, just before the DI canister). Doing more research on it but if anyone has any ideas I'd love to hear 'em.

Been going back and forth on 2 part dosing vs. calcium reactor vs. kalk. After reading this excellent thread on the subject, I've decided that I'm going to go the 2 part route.

And, the best part of all is that Mrs. Wolfe has decided that she wants to just go ahead and get a 90.

Fun times await! Thanks again for all the support guys.

--EW

 

So you are just running a DI line directly to your ice maker? I would think the better way to go is to tee off between your RO and DI, install a check valve, then to a pressure tank, then to your water supply's (ice maker, faucet, etc). This would save on DI resin and give you excellent water to drink. Unless the cubes are for your tank?

For avoiding overflowing, float valves are very simple and effective. I drilled right through my container so there is no chance of the valve lifting (if you just installed one secured to the top of the container). You can also buy a water detector that when it senses water will use a solenoid valve to shut the water line off. BRS has one, or you can search for "Water Detector Shutoff" for more options.

 

Good suggestion on the float valve, thanks Marshall. Now that I read my last, it is a bit confusing. I have tee'd for the icemaker before the DI.

Bonus smart a$$ response: Actually, my plan was to use ice cubes for top off water. It's way cheaper than buying a chiller... is this a good idea? LOL. <--- totally kidding, please don't waste time explaining how silly this is.. wait, this is silly isn't it? ;D

 

Glad you worked it all out LOL. And ok, I won't answer the ice question ;D