joro

Welcome to WAMAS!

Progress update - Got a few new "toys" in today including the Apex Gold system, the built-in probe holders in the sump are a little lower than desired and since they aren't supposed to fully submerged, I decided to order a small holder from Neptune which should be here tomorrow to finalize the installation! Purchase around 90 pounds of Real Reef Rock (3rd Generation) + a Tonga Branch from Quantum Reefs and we're very impressed. We've got another 4 bags of live sand coming tomorrow, so we'll get that in and time to cycle! A view of the aquascape without the sand, will try to post a better picture once the dust storm dies down over the next few days. Unfortunately we purchased a Maxspect Gyre XF-150 today and once installed it doesn't seem to be working. It will turn on for a few seconds, then start blinking red. Maybe another 10 seconds goes buy and it does the same thing over again. I've got a ticket in with CoralVue but any experience here with this and suggestions for how to fix (if it's not a bad unit)? Thanks!

Alright, so I've done some investigating and I think I found the culprits - Most of the noise I'm describing is coming from a small hole under the return elbow to which the loc-lines screw into. Is this necessary? Seems that if I got a new elbow (without the hole) that would eliminate the vast amount of the noise. It does appear as well the "knockout" holes are causing issues as well - one side is empty, the other side has the loc-lines coming out but they don't fill the hole completely so there is still water overflowing this hole underneath them. Suggestions on how to close these up?

Both of what I'll call "knockouts" (for the returns) were punched out, so the one doesn't have anything in it - I think that's the stretch you're referring to? Also, one other thing I thought about is what's the right level to keep the drain pipe at? Right now it's about an inch below the teeth of the overflow, is that's correct placement?

Questions for the forums in regard to heater placement. We recently purchased 2x Eheim Jager TruTemp 150W heaters which we were planning to place in the sump. Would it be best to place one in each end (e.g. one in the skimmer compartment and one in the return compartment) or is there some trick to placing these correctly?

Here's a video showing it running from both the side and top that may help diagnose - https://youtu.be/IRjChn8YXmw Appreciate the insight and have you noticed any issues with the valve's longevity/performance when using them to slow the flow down?

Here's a few pics of the overflow and drain/return setup. We turned off the pump this morning so I can repair the one leak which is why the water is below the air gap in the pictures.

It's mainly coming from the overflow and would best be described as a "waterfall sound". Fortunately no gurgling or anything of the such.

(1) The Durso is factory and thanks for the suggestion, I'll play around with the return flow to see if we can quiet it down. (2) There is an adjustable gate between the fuge and return pump; however, the drain comes in the first compartment. It basically goes Drain -> Skimmer -> Fuge -> Return. The problem with the flow open all the way is that it's splashing over the opening into the skimmer compartment without going through the first filters. I included a pic below which may help? The red area circle is a cutout where water is intended to fall over once it's gone through the two filters.

It's also worth mentioning that the Tunze 6065's have been running a bit loud as well both in the 32g Brute Trashcan we're using for RODI + Salt Mixing as well as in the Tank where we are using it just to provide flow for the heater. Is this is a common problem with these and are their better alternatives that are quieter?

I re-jiggered the plumbing again this evening before the full water test to make sure everything aligned. Post full water test, only one small leak identified on the return side which I'll fix tomorrow morning but in general working well. Two observations / questions for you all: I've noticed the overflow is really noisy, it's like having a waterfall in our house. We decided to go with the Dorso Drain and have adjusted that to within 1 1/2 inches below the return pump. Is this correct? Is there a better method to prevent this sound? The drain from our tank is overrunning the first stage of our Trigger Systems sump, so I've noticed we had to dial down the ball valve to reduce this flow. Is this common or is there something we should be doing to prevent excess flow? You'll notice from the pics that we had to "cap" one of the drain pipes in the sump because I couldn't figure out how to get tubes into both (they were too close to each other). Any suggestions on this front? Thanks!

Cool, thanks for the tip!

Are these things you can buy off the shelf or is it something that needs to be rigged?

This is our first time using them, so I can definitely let you know. Our previous 125g FOWLR tank we had maybe 8-10 years ago, we didn't use them.

First round of plumbing done for the sump and will be installing the overflow portions tomorrow!

It unfortunately only has a single (left) overflow - so 1 drain, 1 return. I'm going to do Durso standpipe to help minimize noise.

Great tips, thanks! In terms of the 90 degree elbows, it looks like I will need quite a few unfortunately but am open to ways to minimize. The Trigger Systems Sump has 2 drains - sorry if I'm using the incorrect terminology - but it seems like I'd want to do a 90 to put overflow into both or is that not needed? Alternatively, would 45 degree fittings be "better" than 90 degrees in terms of flow? To add - here's what I was thinking as a basic high-level with the exception of a split for the two "drains" into the sump.

Bulk of gear arrived today, including the sump - time to pay Lowe's a visit to begin plumbing!

First project earlier this week was getting the old fans/fittings removed which were setup for a MH/CF combo light. Turned out pretty good and looks clean when you're walking down the stairs to our basement which is where the tank will live for now!

My wife and I are getting back into the hobby and we've decided to re-enter with a 90G reef ready tank which we were able to source from another WAMAS member! We've been slowly accumulating all of the equipment to begin the build and today received most of what's needed. There will be a few trips to Lowe's the next few days to begin the plumbing (including the installation of RODI unit) and wanted to share the build with you all and get your opinions/advice as we progress! Current equipment includes: 90g Glass RR Tank Trigger Systems Emerald 34 Sump (31 Gallons) Reef Octopus Classic 152 - S Protein Skimmer 2x Tunze Turbelle Stream 6065 Pumps Reef Octopus Diablo 5500 Controllable DC Pump Reefbreaders Photon 48” LED Light I've included a few staring photos in the replies below and we're looking forward to the journey with you all! ~ Joel