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Sump Improvements

Rating: 13 votes, 5.00 average.
I removed the sump from the system Sunday a week ago. I just got it installed back in the system Monday evening. While it was out I completed the drain line plumbing to the Sump. I made a acrylic cooling fan holder and also a probe holder that allows probes to be added in the bubble trap. I also made the feet for the corner boxes along with a acrylic cover for mounting float switches to the return compartment and probe holders to the refugium compartment. I was in a hurry so I did not get a lot of photos during assembly. It still took me a week to get the sump back into the system. The tank did complete the cycle before removing the sump. I left the two MP10's running in the tank while the sump was out. The photo below is of the fan holder after it was completed.

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The next photo is with the fans installed. These fans have been in used for about 2 months now. So far they have been doing great. These are the same fans that I modified a couple of months ago for use in the wet area.

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The next two photos is the cover and mounting bracket for the float switches and probes. The holes for the probes were drilled with a 5/8" bit to around 1/8". then drilled the rest of the way with a 1/2" bit. Both were forstner bits and were drilled with a drill press. The drill press is a newly acquired tool. I am not sure it could have been done with a hand drill. All the corners were rounded after the photos.

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I also Added the drain manifold plumbing to the sump. It can be removed by taking apart the two unions. The corner boxes were made to fit under the two outputs one in the skimmer compartment and one in the refugium compartment. In the next photos of the sump the sump has the plumbing attached along with the corner boxes installed. The fan holder and the float switch bracket are also in place. I also replaced the tubing on the return pump with silicone tubing I got from BRS. The return pump is much quieter now that it was before.

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The above photos were taken just before the sump was installed back in the system. Of course the drain manifold and skimmer had to be removed to install the sump in the system. They were then installed back in or on the sump after it was installed in the stand. The skimmer and the plumbing will not fit through the opening while still in the sump. The side panel has to be removed to get the sump in the stand. It is too big to fit through the door opening.

I made a probe holder to allow probes to be placed in the bubble trap. The next photo is of the parts for the holder.

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The next photo is of one of the side parts being attached to the base. I used triangles cut from scrap acrylic along with a square to get the correct angles while the solvent set.

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The next photo is of the completed holder. I may remake this holder to match the probe holders on the float switch bracket now that I have a drill press. This one was done with a hand drill so it is not exact. It doesn't have the extensions to help stabilize the probes either.

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The tank is clear now. I did add some biopellets to the system to see if they will bring down the nitrates and phosphates as claimed. I started with a half dose. Since there is no occupants to the tank I figured it would be a good experiment to try. The latest test results are listed below.

Temp ......... 76.1 F
pH ............ 8.0
Salinity ..... 35.6 ppt
Ammonia ....... 0 mg/l
Nitrite ....... 0 mg/l
Nitrate ...... 40 mg/l
Phosphate ..... 0.44 mg/l
Calcium ......340 mg/l
Magnesium .. 1500 mg/l
Alk ........... 8 dkH

The Temp, pH and salinity readings are from the controller. The calcium, magnesium and alkalinity readings are from Nyos test kits. The phosphate reading is from a Milwaukee Martini low range phosphate tester. The remaining ones are from API kits. I got the API at the local store to monitor the cycling of the tank. I will need to get a better nitrate kit eventually.The calcium is low for some reason. It could be the salt mix. I used Sybon salt mix. I will more than likely use Instant Ocean after testing is completed. I noticed it was around $46 a bucket at the local store. I will monitor nitrate and phosphate the next several weeks to see if they start coming down.

Last but not least is a photo of the tank. I turned off the blue LED's for the photo. If I don't it doesn't look right on these iPad photos with the blue on.


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Categories
Tank Entry , ‎ Plumbing , ‎ DIY projects

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