Hey Rob, I got one word, Ridiculous! You tanking the "Bigger is Better" mantra to the limit. Unbelievable project, wishing you the best of luck. I'm following with great interest 
Rob's tank and greenhouse
- Thread starter robvdv
- Start date
The greenhouse has been painted and almost completely sealed:
DIY acrylic windows are performing okay:
8 of the tubs have been connected to the common sump:
Great to finally see it starting to look like something:
Black is the drain, white is air and blue is water return:
I'm not going to get much of a chance to work on it between now and the conference, so I'm really glad I managed to get to the water circulation milestone. If you haven't booked yet for IMACSA but you're still planning on coming, please book now so we can better calculate numbers etc.
DIY acrylic windows are performing okay:
8 of the tubs have been connected to the common sump:
Great to finally see it starting to look like something:
Black is the drain, white is air and blue is water return:
I'm not going to get much of a chance to work on it between now and the conference, so I'm really glad I managed to get to the water circulation milestone. If you haven't booked yet for IMACSA but you're still planning on coming, please book now so we can better calculate numbers etc.
Looking good!
What is the flow through each bin?
Also, glad to see you work with the right tools! see pic
What is the flow through each bin?
Also, glad to see you work with the right tools! see pic
Yup, that's the celebratory Windhoek Light 
The pump is around 8000L per hour, so I guess each tub is a little under a 1000L taking head pressure into account. This will more than halve when I get the tanks online.
The pump is around 8000L per hour, so I guess each tub is a little under a 1000L taking head pressure into account. This will more than halve when I get the tanks online.
So that will +- 400Lph, on a +-400L vat, 1x volume per hour, is this not a little too low? or will each tank have a power head?
looking fantastic rob, really well done fella
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Wow looking great can't wait to see the end product.
I'm not using the return pumps for flow. I'll use air pumps for that. I also have a cunning wavemaker idea which I may try at some stage.
leslie hempel
Professional Aquarist
really looking awsome rob.. i wish i could hget some of those containers down here in E.L.
So, a couple of updates. The greenhouse is ticking over, but doesn't have much in it yet. I'm playing around with some coral and I'm starting to have some success. I'll post later when I have worthwhile pics and progress.
My tank is taking shape, finally. Here are some shots from the rigging process:
The tank on the day:
The 70mm front pane:
Craning the first pane in:
Oops. One of the guys didn't pay attention at the wrong time, and the corner met the concrete.
Which necessitated a trip from the glass manufacturer to repair:
In goes the repaired sheet:
And then it was finally over:
My tank is taking shape, finally. Here are some shots from the rigging process:
The tank on the day:
The 70mm front pane:
Craning the first pane in:
Oops. One of the guys didn't pay attention at the wrong time, and the corner met the concrete.
Which necessitated a trip from the glass manufacturer to repair:
In goes the repaired sheet:
And then it was finally over:
...........................What can one say........... this is going to be an unbelievable tank!
wow Rob this is really an amazing build/project glad to see everything comming together.cant wait to see this all up and running please keep us updated with pics...ill be following this build very closely good luck!
glad to see everything comming together.cant wait to see this all up and running please keep us updated with pics...ill be following this build very closely good luck!
Rob, just one small concern (I know your glass is overdesigned and really strong), but you must just be careful here. You going to have deflection short term or long term, and having a Rubber strip between the glass and wall is a good thing, but it means that the pressure will be only on the top against the rubber, leaving a void below the rubber, meaning you create a weak point. Unless you going to put rubber/silicone/seals evenly across the whole area
Thanks, Sean. The wall you've pointed out is the outside wall. The architect wanted to line up the top of the tank with the top of the window near it. That strip you see there is actually not part of the tank. The reinforced concrete shell of the tank stops just under that strip you see. The bit below it is brick and lintel. I can't safely brace against that bit.
I'm going to inject silicone above that line, bracing that pane of glass against the concrete. It'll have the same span as the other sheets, so it should be okay. Sorry if I'm not explaining this well
When I do the siliconing, I fill in the spaces between the rubber. On the bottom seal I stuffed 4cm long strips of rubber every centimeter to get a nice, even spread of pressure across the pane. Unfortunately the glass company didn't put the 19mm sheet at the front, so I have to be extra careful about bracing evenly.
I'm going to inject silicone above that line, bracing that pane of glass against the concrete. It'll have the same span as the other sheets, so it should be okay. Sorry if I'm not explaining this well
When I do the siliconing, I fill in the spaces between the rubber. On the bottom seal I stuffed 4cm long strips of rubber every centimeter to get a nice, even spread of pressure across the pane. Unfortunately the glass company didn't put the 19mm sheet at the front, so I have to be extra careful about bracing evenly.
Tobes
Retired Moderator
Very very nice so far, great project, well done - good luck with it and keep us updated
It looks awsome Rob.
I'm sure plenty of well-held breath with the maneuvering in of the glass.
Fantastic and I truely beleive that the glass is going to cause far fewer headaches from a scratch point of veiw.
Very lekka.
I'm sure plenty of well-held breath with the maneuvering in of the glass.
Fantastic and I truely beleive that the glass is going to cause far fewer headaches from a scratch point of veiw.
Very lekka.