Jump to content

UPGRADING!!!!

FishWife

By FishWife,
in General Discussion

 Share

Recommended Posts

FishWife Master Reefer

FishWife

(edited)

Well, just as we get our 80g bowfront up and running, we decided that our worthy friends (who will soon join WAMAS and only have four feet of wallspace to work with) need our tank more than we do, 'specially when we just made a KILLER deal on a 175g bowfront.

 

Yep, same tank shape, same color, just BIGGER. :clap: Double the size! We have 7' of wall space (about 6' is useable) in the same spot.

 

SO, we get to fix all our beginner mistakes with more advanced ones! :rollface:

 

Our BIGGEST dissatisfaction with our current setup is our sump. Current setup is this:

gallery_2631270_258_573359.jpg

 

plus a calcium reactor not pictured. The sump is a converted 75g brick tank.

 

We're planning a closed loop for flow using two lower manifolds like our old one

gallery_2631270_258_14088.jpg

 

for flow. BUT, because we want a mixed coral community, tank turnover (through filtration) and nutrient import from our sump/'fuge is important to us. We're going to want to turn our 175 over ten times an hour thru the sump, but that's about what we have now (since ALL our flow goes through out sump) and it's a lot of flow! All along with our current setup, we've fought microbubbles as a result of flow.

 

We're going to haul out our sump and redo it. One thing we'll do is to enlarge our first compartment so that our Grey Seas skimmer (Standard *8) goes IN the sump. (Less drop; fewer bubbles.)

 

We are also intrigued with a benthic zone, duplex approach as seen in this video linked to this thread. Hover mouse over second box on top row: Sump Concept

 

How high do you all keep water in your sumps? (Ours leaves NO room for error currently; it's 2" from the top).

 

Does anyone have remote sand beds inline with their (separate) purification tanks?

 

How do you deal with microbubbles?

 

Any other ideas for sump?

Edited by FishWife
Link to comment
Share on other sites
lletellier Master Reefer

lletellier

if your water level in your sump is only 2" from the top what happens when you turn off your pumps?? I would think you would want it low enough so that if the power goes out your sump won't overflow.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
zotzer Grandmaster Reefer

zotzer

Wow...intentionally farming aiptasia! Pretty nifty stuff, but it makes a lot of sense.

 

I agree that the one shortcoming of the system is the zapping of the beneficial lifeforms via the pump and UV sterilizer before returning them to the tank, but otherwise, it seems pretty neat!

 

T

Link to comment
Share on other sites
FishWife Master Reefer

FishWife

  • Author
(edited)

Wow...intentionally farming aiptasia! Pretty nifty stuff, but it makes a lot of sense.

 

I agree that the one shortcoming of the system is the zapping of the beneficial lifeforms via the pump and UV sterilizer before returning them to the tank, but otherwise, it seems pretty neat!

 

T

 

Yeah; I'm thinking of skipping the aptasias and majoring on sponges! :wig:

 

if your water level in your sump is only 2" from the top what happens when you turn off your pumps?? I would think you would want it low enough so that if the power goes out your sump won't overflow.

 

Well, OK; not 2". It's only 2" from the top in the first compartment where water enters from the tank; more headroom is had as the water progresses. BUT, it's VERY CLOSE when all the pumps quit, to overflowing and that's without bringing online the second tank that this sump will eventually service. SO: is half-full enough given the need to process 1700 gph?

Edited by FishWife
Link to comment
Share on other sites
FishWife Master Reefer

FishWife

  • Author
(edited)

Here's another idea we're thinking of trying along the back of the tank to both provide a fake rock wall to put coral frags on toward the back of the tank. The egg crate would come in front of the two overflow boxes AND shield any siphons for the closed loop.

 

Reef Central discussion of pond foam and egg crate rock wall backdrop

 

What type of epoxy is he probably using?

 

I'm thinking of using old lava rock that's been around since our last foray into reef keeping five years ago. No problem using that kind of dead rock, is there? (It will eventually be overgrown with coraline algae, green algae, and corals (I hope!))

 

Pretty wild... see any problem with it?

Edited by FishWife
Link to comment
Share on other sites
treesprite Neptune Reefer

treesprite

YAHOOO!!

Since I don't live far, do I get to be one of the first people to see it?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
FishWife Master Reefer

FishWife

  • Author

YAHOOO!!

Since I don't live far, do I get to be one of the first people to see it?

 

You sure will! We'll have you over when it's in. (Thanks for rejoicing with us!)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
FishWife Master Reefer

FishWife

  • Author

We're thinking it will take us at least a month ('specially given the holidays) to get it set up and plumbed. We'll be cannibalizing our master bathroom to keep our livestock alive during a week or two interim to redo the sump. Poor things: they JUST got used to the new tank. :cry:

 

But, I hope they'll like their new, bigger home when we're done! :bb:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
zotzer Grandmaster Reefer

zotzer

Oh, I've always loved the pond-foam back wall on tanks. I considered doing it on mine, but since it is small to begin with, didn't want to take out that extra volume. I say "go for it!".

 

Tracy

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dschflier Grandmaster Reefer

dschflier

Wow this sounds exciting. I will make a suggestion from my experience when it comes to sumps. If you can afford it, get one custom made. I know everything begins to cost a lot but if I still have some pictures of my old setup I will send them to you. I have been through many frustrating combinations of sumps.

 

One of the best investments I made in the hobby was getting a proffesionally built sump. Built to my exact specs with advice from the maker. I paid $500 for the sump and I never regretted the decision.

 

I make this suggestion to you guys speciffically because it appears you want to be in the hobby long term. If that is the case I will just save you the aggravation you will encounter from using a sump that isn't specific to your needs

Link to comment
Share on other sites
discretekarma Master Reefer

discretekarma

I couldn't agree more about how important the right sump is.

 

 

Wow this sounds exciting. I will make a suggestion from my experience when it comes to sumps. If you can afford it, get one custom made. I know everything begins to cost a lot but if I still have some pictures of my old setup I will send them to you. I have been through many frustrating combinations of sumps.

 

One of the best investments I made in the hobby was getting a proffesionally built sump. Built to my exact specs with advice from the maker. I paid $500 for the sump and I never regretted the decision.

 

I make this suggestion to you guys speciffically because it appears you want to be in the hobby long term. If that is the case I will just save you the aggravation you will encounter from using a sump that isn't specific to your needs

Link to comment
Share on other sites
FishWife Master Reefer

FishWife

  • Author

I couldn't agree more about how important the right sump is.

 

Me, neither. Hence the cry for advice above!

 

Dave, I'd love to have a custom sump, built to my specs. but WHAT ARE THEY????

 

THIS is our problem: HOW do we improve our design??? :clap:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...