Blog Comments

thanks for the updates, thats alot of concrete

Carl, I'm just erring on the side of caution. There's no reason to rush it, right?

This makes my 55g build seem mundane and useless........

Concrete is nasty work, looks like you did a good job cant wait for more updates.

usually the forms are removed within a couple of hours and then the final finish is put on the concrete. why are you waiting a couple of days?

Carl

If it gets too messy, you could float the floor complete and come back later and wet saw cut the drain track with some chisel work shouldn't be too difficult. HD has those yellow tile skil saws with diamond blade and hook-up to a hose attachment. Goodluck with whatever you have to do to getter done

You guys are exactly right, the drain floated up. I didn't anticipate that at all. I used some concrete block to hold it down as the concrete hardens, and in a few hours I'll get busy with the surface work to smooth things out. It's really rough at the moment with the french drain having been added after the form was filled. I'm sure it will be fine, but I'm going to have to try hard not to be such a perfectionist about it and just get it done.

Hey, M.,

Oh, this is getting GOOD ... The half round drain staying anchored during a cement pour has my pulse racing Too bad you couldn't put some kind of legs on the half round or strap the drain pipe to the ground before pour? Or, block out a thee inch channel with 2x3's smooched together with few screws (1.5 x 2 = 3) and standing on end as temp forms. Elevate to allow cement to flow under forming the eventual bottom of drain support. Tack the wood on ends to your existing forms to stay put. Remove later and set your thee inch half round as step 2 once you can walk on slab? Use small batch of cement to fill under half round?

Either way, much success and it's really gonna be AWESOME......

Marc I've been out of action for a while and recently found out about what happened to your tank. You've probably said this already but what are you planning on doing? I see you're doing a lot of construction. Bigger tank? Bigger fish room?

Love the french drain idea. Our land lord is constantly getting on me every time I spill a bit of water.
How are you going to hold it down to keep it from floating out of the concrete while it sets?

I see you used my idea about the French drain! Lol

Yeah marc I would take the drain out and keep it where it will just come out for cleaning purposes.

Good looking set up. I wouldnt leave that plastic on the french drain. You'll never get ut all cut and it could potentially prevent the concrete from adhering to the drain and holding it in. Think about removing it and taping off the top of the drain to keep it new looking. Use a quality masking tape. Don't use duct tape...too hard to clean off...don't ask...been there once at work with over a hundred round drains.....PITA!!!!!
I wouldn't suggest painters tape either, you'll want a little more adhesion.
Good luck

wow man, grats to you for doing this whole process DIY, and even more for taking pics to share with everyone. Looks like you are learning alot along the way. Love the french drain you have going

Here's the next chapter: http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php...ete-at-last%29

The pipes in the picture are not fully covered yet because I didnt want to damage the covering till he was completely done and ready to pour. He wont have any issues with piping leaks everything was done right and up to code as I have my master plumbers lic along with many others.

As for the slab he drilled several holes for lateral support and will be droping and placing several more criss cross for support he wont be having any issue with concert cumbling as most of the tank wieght is supported by the orignal slab plus the new slab will have enough support.

Good to hear Marc, I think everyone is glad that you understand their concerns. I think we can all say that we don't want to see a failure like the last one in the next 20 years unless they have some fast dry super strength glass-o-bond or something that can literally fuse glass together at the seams guaranteed for 50 years, LOL.

As for the pipe that you cant wrap and the joints on the rest where you could. . . You may want to just get a good old bucket of tar so isolate from the concrete to prevent a chemical reaction. For bonding the concrete the main thing is making sure it is clean and rebar is in place, you may also want to slightly dampen the old concrete before putting new down so the old does not rapidly absorb the moisture from the new stuff. If you want to take an extra step you can epoxy the rebar into the holes in the old concrete as well.

As for the french drain you may get the stuff from home depot and cut the bottom at an angle so that you can use it over the entire length where you want it. Then on the area where it is cut epoxy it in place so that when concrete is poured it will not pull it up just make sure your cut is pretty accurate to where you want it. The main thing that you will be needing is the sides and top as the floor that is already in place should be good enough to channel the water where it belongs but you could use a sealer inside before using it to make sure that the bottom is watertight.

I would ask one of the larger concrete companies in town (Not Home Depot) and they should be able to help you with both.

Sounds like a solid plan to me.

50 bags sucks though. I hate mixing quickcrete .

Thank you for all your input yesterday and today. Here's what I'm thinking:

The slab is 3" tall at the kitchen end and to level the floor it will be 4" tall at the opposite end. It will take about 50 bags of concrete to do the area. I was planning to use 3000 PSI-rated concrete because 90% of it is fishroom floor for me to walk on and only one area will be covered with a large upright container to mix saltwater. I'm toying with 200g, but it may be smaller. I'd like to have it on top of where you see all the copper, but that may be a bad idea although it is the ideal corner of the room. I could put a frag tank in that corner as it is lighter, but the big water container would be in the way and I'd have to walk around it to access the frag area.

The only area that I feel matters is where the pipes were poking up before, and are now elbowing toward the water heater. That spot isn't under the corner of the tank, but is about 8 to 10" under one of the bottom horizontal rails that make up the stand. The stand will sit on three sides on the original foundation, and one leg with the corresponding rails will be on the new concrete (6" from the current step up area).

That one piece of rebar you saw was cut out of the way, so... let's hope the new concrete poured in there will glue things together.

It won't be thick right over the pipes because of all the black foam sheathing I had to wrap the pipes with because we couldn't find any sleeve material. Yes, I plan to protect the copper as much as possible.

Rebar is planned for the new concrete, and I'm going to have to make my own french drain system because of the shallow depth of this concrete, which is sitting on top of the garage floor slab.

I don't believe I'm skimping on the foundation for the tank, although I do hear your concerns. Remember when I originally discussed busting out the concrete where the tank would sit (7' x 3') and letting that be its own floating foundation so the house could do whatever it wanted around the tank. However, after Sunday's little project, I'm glad I only had to cut out a tiny area and not that entire rectangle. Seeing what the floor looked like under the old tank, I don't see any areas of major concern that would move me to greater action. The new concrete will simply make the entire fishroom floor one level instead of a single step down, something that has been a bit of an annoyance these past 6 years. Plus the room is bigger, which I like.

Tonight, I tied in the new copper plumbing going to where the utility sink will go, and changed out some copper to flex lines going into the water heater. It took a while, longer than I expected, but I didn't have any leaks when I turned the water back on. I did get a big burn on my inner forearm when it touched a very hot fitting I'd sweated 5 minutes prior, which was an unfortunate accident. Other than that, we've got running water and I'm ready to proceed tomorrow.

Jonathan, where can I buy that locally? And what kind of glue or resin do I pour or spread on the slab for the new concrete to adhere to?

The plan is to bring home 50 or more bags of concrete and rent a large mixer that I'll set up in the garage for the concrete pour.

This is what I was referring to when I mention fibers.
http://www.fibermesh.com/product.aspx?name=Steel+Fibers