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Thread: AutoCad blocks

  1. #1
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    AutoCad blocks

    Hello,

    i am new and just purchased the new APEX with most bells and whistles but my new house (building) is almost complete (3-1-18) and the tank and stand (300 gallon 7'x3'x2' tall) will be install next month with actual startup around the second week of march. i have attached a cad drawing of my plumbing and i want to add apex equipment then do a wiring diagram and was wondering if anyone had 3d cad drawings of the equipment or at least dimensions as i to plan my install down to the inch..

    thank you in advance

    Scott
    Screen Shot 2018-01-14 at 10.22.12 AM.jpg

  2. #2
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    I assume you tried doing a Google search for “Neptune Apex DWG,” etc? I haven’t seen any, but you may want to try some of the online forums such as ReefCentral and Reef2Reef.

    A lot of people use sketchup, so you may find renderings in sketchup, too. I don’t know how easy it would be to convert between the two, but it’s a possibility.

  3. #3
    Frequent Contributor zombie's Avatar
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    If it's just modules and 2016 or classic base unit, neptune has mounting templates that are printable pdf that show the bounds where you need to leave space. You could insert those into your drawing, trace around them and then extrud those if you can't find photorealistic ones.

    You might be an engineer if...You have no life and can prove it mathematically.

  4. #4
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    thanks, yes i tried google and found some pipe fittings and valves but no luck on the apex equipment. the couple items i have in the drawing i just took rough dimensions and made it look good (which will work for this project). i also am on multiple reef forums including the 2 you mentioned and i will try that again as i only asked about plumbing...thought it would be quicker to start here.

    i will look at sketchup but not sure if i want to start a whole new software...

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by zombie View Post
    If it's just modules and 2016 or classic base unit, neptune has mounting templates that are printable pdf that show the bounds where you need to leave space. You could insert those into your drawing, trace around them and then extrud those if you can't find photorealistic ones.

    You might be an engineer if...You have no life and can prove it mathematically.
    this may be the best way to do this and sounds like it would work...i will search out said templates, was just hoping there was a 3d version as i wanted to do it 3d (the one i completed already is 2d)

    i am not an engineer but i play one on TV

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    hi, did you manage to find a 3D CAD, i have looked but cant find any...

  7. #7
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    no i did not, i did not have the time yet to build and honestly i do not have the cad skill to do so. i did find the piping and valves ect but since i could not figure this out i stuck to the 2d.
    here is my 2d plumbing plan. if anyone has a wireing diagram for a system using all the apex gear that would be great.
    Attached Images Attached Images

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    A 3D rendering of everything would take quite a while to create. I am fairly handy in AutoCAD and 3D drawing but other than just basic shapes its not really needed for what we are doing. IMHO

    A simple sketch (with dimensions) to scale of the space you have available and the layout you want is much more handy when you start building. I did do a 3D of my setup but I had an odd issue of how to get th e sump raised up like I wanted and also the ability to actually get the water from the tank into the sump.

    first I sketched up the frame of the sump stand.

    received_10215510248686634 by drauka99, on Flickr

    then I modeled the room
    received_10215510046761586 by drauka99, on Flickr

    I had a dimension-ed printout of the framing plan that was a big help. also let me figure out my cut list and make only 2 trips to the store for lumber

    I also made a plan for where and how I was going to mount my Apex and all the modules, this was probably more help than the stand plan since I moved around modules till they made sense for my application on the screen and was able to come up with something that works pretty well in my application.

    2018-04-23_08-53-46 by drauka99, on Flickr

    I think it turned out ok

    received_10215617421085877 by drauka99, on Flickr

    2018-04-29_11-33-03 by drauka99, on Flickr

  9. #9
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    I admire your planning, I do a lot of planning and 3D rendering in ACAD Inventor. Mostly to view important aesthetics and check clearance of things that move (can I place/remove this pump, skimmer, etc... after I build this). I would suggest to just make a simple block that is the size of the apex components. It will allow you to define the fit, if the fit is that tight that you need every 3D radius, etc.. you can have it scanned for more than the module probably costs. You should save the full rendering design time for things you see, make generic-ish 3D blocks for everything else. One thing I noticed from your 2D drawing is that you are planning several FMM's, but I don't see any optical level sensors and only mechanical float valves. When I was designing my system I liked the idea of the FMM, but it scared me because it could become a clog if the impeller jammed or a critter made a kamikaze leap. Without they hopefully won't get plugged because they are just pipe, if you fit in there you should be able to fit your way out. I have a bunch of strategically placed level sensors that can tell me if my overflow is plugged, etc.. and alert/stop return pump. Once you tune your system to preference by experience and eyeballs if using a variable speed pump (I have COR-20), you really can just rely on sump level sensors to know if things have gone haywire. 500/550/650... GPM instantaneous readings is maybe not going to add value to you. I use the opticals and industrial solenoids to auto refill my ATO container, stop filling salt mix container when manually triggered for making new batch (or stop doing AWC and alert me when empty). I used mechanical floats as a highest level last resort, especially for things that I expect to happen when I am not home. My sump ATO/AWC has a mechanical float as a last resort after optical sensors and time limits inside apex. They are pump driven so cant stick on like a rare NC solenoid failure. My salt mix container does not have a mechanical float backup, only optical and time because these need to be triggered by me when I am at home and planning on doing maintenance. My assumption is I might forget to shut off the valve after 3 hours, so my sensors and apex timers help. But if they failed, I'm still home and should notice water on my basement floor before days go by. Just some food for thought since you are doing so much work to plan everything out.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Diznaster View Post
    I admire your planning, I do a lot of planning and 3D rendering in ACAD Inventor. Mostly to view important aesthetics and check clearance of things that move (can I place/remove this pump, skimmer, etc... after I build this). I would suggest to just make a simple block that is the size of the apex components. It will allow you to define the fit, if the fit is that tight that you need every 3D radius, etc.. you can have it scanned for more than the module probably costs. You should save the full rendering design time for things you see, make generic-ish 3D blocks for everything else. One thing I noticed from your 2D drawing is that you are planning several FMM's, but I don't see any optical level sensors and only mechanical float valves. When I was designing my system I liked the idea of the FMM, but it scared me because it could become a clog if the impeller jammed or a critter made a kamikaze leap. Without they hopefully won't get plugged because they are just pipe, if you fit in there you should be able to fit your way out. I have a bunch of strategically placed level sensors that can tell me if my overflow is plugged, etc.. and alert/stop return pump. Once you tune your system to preference by experience and eyeballs if using a variable speed pump (I have COR-20), you really can just rely on sump level sensors to know if things have gone haywire. 500/550/650... GPM instantaneous readings is maybe not going to add value to you. I use the opticals and industrial solenoids to auto refill my ATO container, stop filling salt mix container when manually triggered for making new batch (or stop doing AWC and alert me when empty). I used mechanical floats as a highest level last resort, especially for things that I expect to happen when I am not home. My sump ATO/AWC has a mechanical float as a last resort after optical sensors and time limits inside apex. They are pump driven so cant stick on like a rare NC solenoid failure. My salt mix container does not have a mechanical float backup, only optical and time because these need to be triggered by me when I am at home and planning on doing maintenance. My assumption is I might forget to shut off the valve after 3 hours, so my sensors and apex timers help. But if they failed, I'm still home and should notice water on my basement floor before days go by. Just some food for thought since you are doing so much work to plan everything out.
    thanks for that information, since i posted this the system is up, running and all things are going very well. the cad plans i did were invaluable to get things as final as possible the first time, however i found one thing that i did not take in account was the length of some wires. For sensors you cannot extend so depending where you want the apex and fmm need to take in account the sensors and float sensor wiring.
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