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fishgate

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Posts posted by fishgate

    Drilling 40B

    in General Discussion

    40bs really scare me. They are so thin. I don't think I would drill one. Drilling will probably go ok but they flex so much when full of water I would be afraid they would break. Good luck though!

    Anyone in the Gaithersburg area comfortable drilling a tank?

    in General Discussion

    It is much easier than you think. Really no chance you will crack the tank. Smaller tanks maybe but not a big 220 with 1/2" glass. You aren't cutting, you are grinding. Keep it wet and let the weight of the drill do the work and you will be fine. Don't bottom drill almost 100% chance the bottom is tempered. And don't drill too close to the edge or another hole.

    Adding a sump, need advice

    in General Discussion

    You can drill but it is not recommended while the tank is in "production". Among other things, you will get glass shards in the tank later to be filtered into unsuspecting fish lungs. But check out youtube videos of this being done. The bottom is almost certainly tempered while the sides are probably not.

    Fluval

    in General Discussion

    Thanks for the video. Might invest in this. Until I figure this sump thing out and possibly start that this summer. Would it be better to remove the fluval or keep it?

     

    A CPR is one choice but this is not needed to prevent flooding. A properly designed sump filtration system will never flood. Your tank should be able to hold anything that would be pumped up in the case of overflow failure and  your sump should be able to hold anything that would drain down in the event of pump failure. The Eshopps are better. They do not rely on a pump to start or maintain siphon. They also maintain siphon even if the return pump stops. They are very well designed.

     

    I would remove the Fluval once you get your sump in favor of a filter sock. Canister filters are great for mechanical filtration but need to be cleaned weekly and not allowed to build up ditreus or have too much bacteria colonize in the filter. As you have seen, they create a nitrate factory. Meanwhile, clean the Fluval out weekly.

    Return pump options....any recent additions

    in General Discussion

    Are you are basing your decision on purely anecdotal evidence of DC pumps not being prime time? I think a lot of people are pissed off that they flushed their money down the toilette on Ecotech products, the biggest ripoff out there, and are now badmouthing cheaper pumps as some sort of retribution. I hear of way, way more problems (anecdotal) with vortechs than any other pump out there. Then people gush over the wonderful "customer service" they get when they call for problems. Well I guess you should get wonderful customer service since you paid $700 for a $50 pump! $700? What, over! It moves water! Hello! And I am sure I will get the "you never owned one" comments blah blah whatever responses yes your GD right I never have and never will buy one of these overpriced water movers.

     

    FYI: There is a lot of anecdotal evidence of the Mag pumps also being less than reliable. I heard it all when I bought my Mag 6 over 5 years ago (they were a cheaper alternative to eheim at the time which was the defacto standard), which I never had any issues with at all.

     

    Do your own research and get whatever allows you to sleep at night.

    Diatoms or something else?

    in General Discussion

    Not sure I would add an ATS given already low po4 and no3: if that were in my tank, I would increase flow and get both a sand sifter and an urchin (latter can really clean and maintain rock IME). $0.02.

     

    If you have a lot of algae or other things that use phophates/nitrates your test readings are typically not accurate. In those cases you should go by what you see. A lot means high phos/nitrates.

    Return pump options....any recent additions

    in General Discussion

    I have a Jabeo DC6000 and DC9000 as well as an Eheim 1262. All of them have performed flawlessly. I like the DC pumps due to the adjustability and low power consumption. I don't see a down to the DC pump I have Jabeo wave maker as well never had an issue. Beware of those that criticize without ever owning one and simply parroting unverifiable anecdotes.

    Diatoms or something else?

    in General Discussion

    · Edited by fishgate

    Super easy. Just get the following from home depot, all 3/4" fittings

     

    8ft length of 3/4" PVC pipe (you will cut it, cheaper than buying those smaller pieces)

    2 90s slip to slip

    2 90s slip to thread

    2 3/4" to 1/2" ID barbed to thread fittings (plastic) (to fit in the 90s)

    2 end caps

    2 3-way tee splitter

    2 quick disconnects

    1 small pump (I use a small rio pump) http://www.amazon.com/Rio-Plus-600-Aqua-Pump/dp/B0017JJMUW/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1458761856&sr=8-7&keywords=rio+pump

    3ft of 1/2" ID tubing

    1 3 way 1/2" barbed fitting (barb/barb/barb)

    1 (or 2 if you can do both sides) cheap shop light

    1 2700k CFL bulb 100 watt equivalent

    PVC glue pack (glue/primer)

    pack of zip ties

    1 piece of needlepoint plastic http://www.amazon.com/Darice-Plastic-Canvas-Clear-12-Pack/dp/B00DV68A9I?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00

     

    You need to cut a slit in the 3/4" PVC that will receive the algae sheet. Attach this with 3 zip ties. Use a table saw or dremel. You could also just drill holes but I don't think it would be as effective. I actually nest the needlepoint about 1/2" inside the PVC pipe in the saw groove. Rough up the needlepoint sheet using a hole saw or some other rough knife/cutter. You want it really rough.

     

    Look at the photo for general design. The small pump pumps water into the entire frame via the 1/2" barbed connection. I have the ball valves in the pic but they are unneeded I thought I might need to throttle the input but I didn't. Also make the right side like the left side not like the pic. I changed design 1/2 way through. And you can see on the right leg I have tap for future expansion to something else. Also not needed. The tee fitting creates the legs of each side of the ATS. Plug one end with the cap and the other gets the 90 slip/thread fitting and is the input for the pump.

     

    I have my light on an 18 hour timer - 6am to 12am. I also have my needlepoint sheet just touching the water so I have no splashing at all.

     

    Pic - this is within a week of setting this up. I already had hair algae growing on it and the tank is crystal clear. These things WORK!

     

    This was a quick and dirty so hopefully I did not leave anything out.

     

    post-2635356-0-73473900-1458761477_thumb.jpg

    Fluval Help!

    in General Discussion

    It is getting air in it. I finally gave up on my 404. Same issue with the 105. They just accumulate air. I even got a new o-ring seal but still got a lot of air. Mine never stopped but tilting it would make it spit air out. My FX5 has an auto air purge mechanism I wish they would do that on the smaller ones. I think air comes in via the prime handle.

    Thoughts on beananimal overflow

    in General Discussion

    This is easy to test - just put your hand over the drain output on the main drain for a herbie or close the valve all the way.  If its setup right, the water will just flow through the other drain and there will be no flood.

     

    Have you ever done this?

    Thoughts on beananimal overflow

    in General Discussion

    I disagree. It is almost impossible to tune a Herbie without extra water tricking down the open channel/emergency drain. This small amount of water means with a blockage of the main drain, you will not have enough drain capacity to keep up with the pump in the event of full siphon blockage. The Herbie design also does not allow the emergency drain to go full siphon when called upon guaranteeing a flood if the main drain clogged. Full siphon flows a LOT more than non full-siphon. This can be corrected but in the original design it is just a stand-pipe and will not go full siphon.

     

    You can read all about the Bean design and why it is infinitely better than Herbie on the Bean page. Bean was invented to correct Herbie design flaws. IMO all new setups should go Bean.

    Thoughts on beananimal overflow

    in General Discussion

    You should also look at herbie overflow too. It only requires 2 holes instead of 3.

     

    This is a design flaw. Bean corrects that flaw. If your primary drain stops in a Herbie, your risk of flood is very high. With Bean, there is no chance of a flood even with a total blockage of your primary full siphon drain.

    New tank setup questions

    in New to the Hobby

    1.020 Salinity is very low. You should have 1.025 even for just fish. You can add salt directly to the tank it will all disolve this is no problem at all as long as it doesn't settle on something that is alive. Since it is still cycling, no issues.

     

    1 month is too soon for corals really. You should wait 6 months or so to let the tank establish more. They will do better in the long run.

     

    Don't lose a lot of sleep over pH. PH changes throughout the day and will settle at the right amount when the tank establishes. Aragonite is a natural buffer.

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