MrX's Build (Started 03/01/2020)

Sometimes I really hate companies.

Plumbing was supposed to arrive from Aquarium Specialty today, after a delay. UPS came and left a small box on my porch. Hmmm... that box isn't going to cut it. I ordered a lot of little stuff and 3x 5' sections of black PVC. No way those are going to fit into this little box.

Of course I try and call them and they closed 30 minutes before my call and don't open again until Monday. WTF!!!!

There goes my weekend of putting together the plumbing.

Anyone know where I can get 1" black PVC tomorrow around the Worcester area?
 
Home Depot+ Black Spray Paint=happiness

lol. That's too much work man. I'd rather wait until Monday to see what their answer/excuse is.

This is the box they sent me... no way it was going to hold three 5' pieces of PVC:

IMG_20200313_180546.jpg


IMG_20200313_183002.jpg
 
Sometimes I really hate companies.

Plumbing was supposed to arrive from Aquarium Specialty today, after a delay. UPS came and left a small box on my porch. Hmmm... that box isn't going to cut it. I ordered a lot of little stuff and 3x 5' sections of black PVC. No way those are going to fit into this little box.

Of course I try and call them and they closed 30 minutes before my call and don't open again until Monday. WTF!!!!

There goes my weekend of putting together the plumbing.

Anyone know where I can get 1" black PVC tomorrow around the Worcester area?
Hate when that happens
 
Got a response from Aquarium Specialty about the missing PVC. Waiting to hear back after answering their questions. If it's going to take another two weeks to get it I might just go the white PVC / Krylon spray paint route.

Today I picked up 3 barrels from a guy over in Oxford. Was looking like I'd have to go an hour+ to Brockton or CT to get them, then this popped up.

Need to rinse the vinegar out some more before using them.

May end up cutting the tops off like I did the last time i bought these.

Bought the 3 so I can make my initial RODI water (would help if I had a RODI), then I'll probably sell one.

IMG_20200314_124929.jpg


IMG_20200314_124941.jpg
 
Felt like going outside and doing some stuff. Cleaned up the yard a little, moved some spring/summer stuff out of the shed. Brought out one of the hose reels and turned on one of the outside faucets to rinse out the barrels.

Then I decided to just go ahead and cut the tops off two of them. lol.

I went around the tops near the caps and cut that part off. I need to clean up the edges a little but they are mostly done. Rinsed them out and left them outside to air out/dry.

I'll pick up some brute covers from Home Depot as those seemed to fit pretty well last time around.

Now... what RODI do I get? Last time I had an Air, Water, and Ice Typhoon III. Was looking at the Melev's Reef one that other day... that comes with a booster pump, which I'll need.

Any suggestions?
 
Current progress/status:

- Melev's Reef 150GPD RODI will be here Friday
- Cleaned up the cuts on the two 55g water barrels; still looking for covers
- Plumbing arrived from Aquarium Specialty
- Spent some time the other night working on the plumbing with some temporary (read cheap) white PVC to test things / make cuts / etc.
- Adding some outlets to the basement (finally, only took 10 years) to make setting up the RODI/Booster easier. Putting in a total of 3, one of which will be near the RODI/Booster. The other two will be for tools/etc.

Did a mini water test after tightening the bulkheads. Poured about 32oz of water into the overflow to see what would happen. Tubes for the drains and return were in place; just pushed in, not glued. The bulkheads themselves were leak-free. The return pvc wasn't seated very tight and had a very slow drip, into the bulkhead, so it just fell down into the sump.

I'm not gluing any of pipes in the overflow; no pressure on the drains so no reason to. The return is held in place by the loc-lines screwing in from the side. So unless there's some sort of spray/leak I'm not going to glue them.
 
Some pictures from the other day.

Added some plywood under the stand to be able to mount things without cutting into the stand fascia.

IMG_20200312_151028.jpg


IMG_20200312_151040.jpg


IMG_20200315_184152.jpg


Jebao CrossFlow pumps rinsed off and tested in sink, then installed in tank:

IMG_20200315_184202.jpg


Overflow plumbing in place. I've since added some strainers to the drains. None of this will be glued in place. The loc-lines screwing in from outside the overflow will hold the return pipes in place.

IMG_20200315_184216.jpg


Yesterday and today I spent some time wiring up 3 new outlets in the basement. I should have done this years ago when I had all the sump/etc. stuff in the basement.

IMG_20200319_213222.jpg


Planning on putting the Melev's RODI up on the boards here (left of the dart board). The feed line I set up last time is to the right of the dart board. I'll feed the waste line back up into the bathroom drain on the first floor where I had it last time. I still have a string there to help me pull it through.

IMG_20200319_213238.jpg
 
Melev's 150GPD RODI just arrived. Will need to get this installed later tonight (have to do some cleanup in the basement). Forgot to grab some 1/4" tubing from Home Depot so will have to make another trip there.

IMG_20200320_134853.jpg


IMG_20200320_134911.jpg


IMG_20200320_140251.jpg


IMG_20200320_140316.jpg
 
Decided not to wait until tomorrow. Houston, we have water!

Running the drain line up to the first floor again was super easy thanks to having the foresight to leave the string there from the last time.

Connected everything, put both output lines (RO and DI) into one of the 55g drums. Said drum had a 5g Home Depot bucket in it so I could "time" the 5g flush.

Opened up the supply line and heard the satisfying "fill sounds". Everything was fine until it go to the pressure gauge... then there was a minor leak; just had to tighten that one connection.

Without the booster plugged in I was getting about 40-45 PSI. After plugging the booster in I was getting 80-85.

Just before the 5g bucket was full I ended up moving the DI cartridge to the right of the main RODI unit. The directions say to; even though I know it doesn't really matter as long as the connections are made correctly.

Things that make you go hmmmmmmm: Now I just need to figure out why the booster pump doesn't turn off automatically when I close off the supply/output line(s) ball valves. I expected the pressure to drop down to zero and have the pump turn off, but it kept running. Will read the setup/instructions again and see if I missed something. Worst case I'll email Marc and ask.

Tomorrow I plan on washing out the drums again, installing the float valve in one of them, and then I'll be all set to start making RODI for the tank.

Sometime this weekend I may work on the plumbing as well. My leak test of the bulk heads was a success; it's still holding water.

IMG_20200320_222612.jpg


IMG_20200320_222620.jpg
 
RODI is up and running 100%!!

Cleaned out the barrels (did some more trimming), got the DI canister up and running with the TDS probes, and am making water.

Now I have to get the plumbing done.
 
Making water for less than a day and already had a spill. Not sure if one of the barrels has a leak, or if I just got really unlucky and it sprayed out.

I was transferring water out of the main RODI barrel into a second one for storage (need to make like 150G). It was only a little over full when I came upstairs to do some stuff. Went back down and there was water spreading out across the floor.

Looked like the tube may have floated up and the sprayed out/towards the hole (which is only 8" around or so, just enough to get the MJ1200 in/out if I need to).

Will test the barrel tomorrow. Done with the transfer/cleanup now. Will let the main barrel fill up until I go to bed then turn everything off.

Why did I leave reefing? *grin*
 
RO water across the floor is a reefing rite of passage I'm pretty sure.

Ain't that the truth!!! I will say in my old apartment when I had to hook up the RO to my faucet I used to put the containers in the shower stall in case they ever overflowed but ever since I've had it in my house for 5+ years it's only overflowed once and of course my wife said I'd have to fet rid of it if it ever happened again... Once in 10+ years of making my own water it happens and she threatens me lol...
 
Spent a couple hours this morning roughing out the plumbing. Changed it from what was there originally.

I cut a straight piece of PVC to go where the manifold it to start with. With unions on each side I'll be able to swap it in/out as I want.

The three true union ball valves are just in case I need to shut everything down. With the DC return pump I'll dial in the flow using it's controller. I found a MUCH cheaper source for them so I'll order a couple extra that way I can change those sections around if needed.

Originally I just had a union where the return ball valve is (center one).

The overflow drain (on the left) will just flow into the refugium section. The main drain (on the right) will go into the filter cup/skimmer section.

I have some plastic J-hooks that I'll put on the manifold/straight line to give it some extra support. May spray paint them black (they are white).

Any comments/suggestions before I start cutting the expensive black pvc?

IMG_20200322_114659.jpg


IMG_20200322_114647.jpg
 
If this is a herbie style drain you’ll need the main drain about a inch under water to keep the full siphon quiet. A union somewhere above the filter sock will let you remove the sock a lot easier.
 
If this is a herbie style drain you’ll need the main drain about a inch under water to keep the full siphon quiet. A union somewhere above the filter sock will let you remove the sock a lot easier.

Thanks Chris. The valve on the main drain has unions on both sides. So I should be able to just remove the bottom one.

I wasn't aware about it having to be that far under water. Explains why the original pipe was so much shorter
 
Upcoming Events

April 21, 2024
Paul B
Club Meeting

Back
Top