pepper'scove

Well, although it looks like nobody's been on here in a few days, here are two more videos with one more to come. I left for my meeting and when I got back the forth video was unbelievably still uploading. Anyway, I hope somebody watches these and enjoys them. I also hope another group of people watch them and make suggestions and add input - especially on the topics I specifically bring up on the videos. Oh, I should add that the minor leak I had around the 3/4" bulk head seems to have subsided! I still think I might add some silicone... what do you guys think?

The tank looks great, what’s the display size?

if your bulkhead isn’t leaking anymore i wouldn’t worry about it, the rubber gasket has probably swelled a little now that it’s been there for a bit stopping the leak. adding silicone is only going to make a mess….if it begins to leak down the road, the way you have it setup allows you to easily address the problem if need be.

I’ll be part of the group of people watch them and make suggestions and add input i really only see a couple minor problems...which aren’t really problems, just things i would do different.

-First being your sump baffles are they glass or acrylic? If they are acrylic you may want to raise up you water level in your pump section to avoid them bending over time. if they are glass you still may want to add more water but NBD
-The second being that thermometer, i wouldn’t rely on it for any accurate temps, I’d go digital but for now i suppose its fine seeing that there is nothing in the tank yet.
-The last thing is the bioballs and filter floss under them? I’d just pull those out if i were you, they are going to be more of a pain in the *** than anything.
Other than that everything looks great!

Sweet, I just uploaded the last of my videos. I also just completed a full cycle of my UPS and managed to get 1:25:32.1 of run time on the UPS. However, that was just running the return pump and the protein skimmer. I imagine that when I get my 300W heater in there the amount of time I'll loose will be significant. I'm thinking that I'll only have about 45 mins of run time in the event of a power outage when the power goes out - especially if it occurs at night during the winter when my house gets down to about 50 degrees. Basically what that means to me is that I'll need to invest in a backup generator at some point.

Originally Posted by baker.shawn

The tank looks great, what’s the display size?

if your bulkhead isn’t leaking anymore i wouldn’t worry about it, the rubber gasket has probably swelled a little now that it’s been there for a bit stopping the leak. adding silicone is only going to make a mess….if it begins to leak down the road, the way you have it setup allows you to easily address the problem if need be.

I’ll be part of the group of people watch them and make suggestions and add input i really only see a couple minor problems...which aren’t really problems, just things i would do different.

-First being your sump baffles are they glass or acrylic? If they are acrylic you may want to raise up you water level in your pump section to avoid them bending over time. if they are glass you still may want to add more water but NBD
-The second being that thermometer, i wouldn’t rely on it for any accurate temps, I’d go digital but for now i suppose its fine seeing that there is nothing in the tank yet.
-The last thing is the bioballs and filter floss under them? I’d just pull those out if i were you, they are going to be more of a pain in the *** than anything.
Other than that everything looks great!

Thanks Shawn! I'll go through your comments one by one.

To start off, the tank is a 75 gallon display and the sump is a 40 gallon breeder I bought (total real water volume of about 95-100 gallons). Also thanks for your input on the leaking gasket. I'll hold off on any replacement or corrective actions provided that it doesn't present itself as a major problem. Now on to your bulletized questions:

-First one: my baffles are 1/4" glass spaced one inch apart. I actually had this sump set up as a tank awhile back and had it running for several months. However, since then I tore it apart and reinstalled the baffles using Momentive 100 Series silicone instead of GEII window and door (which I talked about in other blogs... what a disaster the GEII was...). The new stuff has a tensile stress rating of 400 psi so (I'll probably regret saying this) I think the baffles should hold fine.

-Second one: I don't like my present arrangement either, the little stick on thermometers are more for reference than anything else. Other than that it's just the thermostats on my heaters, but inevitably that means one will work harder than another. Also, since they're in the sump they will read a slightly cooler temperature than in the main display tank so... You suggest digital. Do you mean a full on aquarium controller or are there some other good options out there with some kind of simple thermistor setups or something?

-Third one: The bioballs are an option that I kind of want to try. I have heard a lot of people say that they go south, get dirty, foul things up, etc. However, I've never noticed that myself (I'm a noob though so I'm probably wrong...) and thought that maybe if I elevated them off of the bottom of the sump (using that plastic lattice material that goes over top of industrial flourescent lights) that they wouldn't become a detrius wasteland. If that proves to be untrue I will either replace them with live rock rubble or just use the space to stow my heaters.

Thanks again!

In the first video I say that the tank is not level front to back. since then I have discovered that this is not true. It's actually due to the fact that the water is running down into the overflow, the tank is level though and I am not going to try to level water that is running down hill. When the pumps are off it reads perfectly level. That's great news for me since I really didn't want to fiddle with making more shims today.

Oh, also, please give me suggestions on quite return pumps. I had been thinking that I would just go with the Mag 9.5, but I really don't like the low frequency hum coming off of the smaller Mag 7 I have in there right now. Thanks guys!

i have the same problem with my mag 5! i really want to try an eheim, they are top notch and apparently dead silent....but they are expensive

Wow, I think Shawn and I are the only living souls left on the site this weekend! Where is everybody!?!? Must be a big expo this weekend.

Shawn, I'll have to look into the Eheims. I know about the sicce and Tunze pumps that are supposed to be super quite, but the Eheims are a lot cheaper and from the stuff I've been reading they're super quite just like you said! Thanks for the tip!

I just watched all of your videos. Here's some thoughts:

1) The sounds you are hearing will be lessened with saltwater. Freshwater is noisier.
2) The drain into the refugium should be an elbow at the water's surface, half submerged. That way air breathes out of the pipe and water pours gently, rippling the surface.
3) In a power outage, everything is off. That means the body of the skimmer above the normal water level will drain into the sump, as might any reactors full of water. You need to make sure the sump can hold all water drainage, not just the tank.
4) I usually recommend anti-siphon holes, but with Penductors that creates jets of water that will literally move the sandbed. For now, it appears you're sump can hold that water.
5) The Mag pump needs some type of sponge material placed under it, or you can make silicone feet.
6) Congrats, you're nearly ready to start up your reef.

Originally Posted by melev

I just watched all of your videos. Here's some thoughts:

1) The sounds you are hearing will be lessened with saltwater. Freshwater is noisier.
2) The drain into the refugium should be an elbow at the water's surface, half submerged. That way air breathes out of the pipe and water pours gently, rippling the surface.
3) In a power outage, everything is off. That means the body of the skimmer above the normal water level will drain into the sump, as might any reactors full of water. You need to make sure the sump can hold all water drainage, not just the tank.
4) I usually recommend anti-siphon holes, but with Penductors that creates jets of water that will literally move the sandbed. For now, it appears you're sump can hold that water.
5) The Mag pump needs some type of sponge material placed under it, or you can make silicone feet.
6) Congrats, you're nearly ready to start up your reef.

So a few questions and comments.

1.) One, thanks for the idea about how to put the drain line into the refugium.
2.) Although I think I will have more than enough left over volume (and a good bit to spare) I definitely need to simulate a full on power outage where I turn off the skimmer as well. I think I'll wait to do that until I get a chance to put the stand underneath the skimmer (that way it will be even closer to the real deal). However, until I get my Eheim or Mag 9.5 I won't really know how much drainage I'll get back into the tank so... a full on simulation is a little ways off.
3.) Could I try drilling the anti-siphon holes anyway and just turn them sideways? Also, what do you think about Penductors? I am planning on using them and I know you do, but what's your honest opinion about how effective they really are. At 550 gph I just don't know. I'm thinking about running a test where I run some airline from and air pump into the return pump's inlet and then taking video footage with and without the Penductors. I don't know if that would be a totally fair test, but what do you think?

I like my Penductors, but the anti-siphon holes I drilled move my sandbed to the point that I had to ziptie on a deflector plate so my bommie wasn't affected any more. You probably do need the Mag 9.5 for those to work, but after observation you might decide to install a ball valve to reduce the flow somewhat. You'll have to decide that for yourself.