Shoelace November 3, 2013 Share November 3, 2013 It didn't take too long. As I have been assembling my 40B, I keep looking at my 180 thinking how awesome it would be to restart the reef. At first, cost was an issue. So was maintenance. However, with more research and learning from you guys, I realize things like the Evergrow lights and a more automated water changing method will help me out. The a select few of the Cichlids I have now in the 180 are going to the 40B that I going to set up. I know I am going down the path of the Dark Side. Master Jedi's Orion and Bowiereefer have slowly watched my decline and warned me, but the evil Darth Sachabballi has tempted me with cookies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoelace November 3, 2013 Author Share November 3, 2013 If anyone has suggestions about things I should do and that you might have "done differently", please chime in. It's going to be a slow process. A big question for me is: is there any way to convert my dual AGA Megaflows into a Herbie or BA overflow? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orion November 3, 2013 Share November 3, 2013 Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowieReefer84 November 3, 2013 Share November 3, 2013 Buy this! http://wamas.org/forums/topic/61600-full-mh-setuplike-new/?do=findComment&comment=541510 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gadgets November 3, 2013 Share November 3, 2013 Awesomeness!!! Can't wait to see this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sachabballi reef November 3, 2013 Share November 3, 2013 hee hee.......me love cookies remember...do or do not...there is no try Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime November 3, 2013 Share November 3, 2013 Whooooooooooooooo hoooooooooooooooooo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sachabballi reef November 3, 2013 Share November 3, 2013 Whooooooooooooooo hoooooooooooooooooo! virtual high five Isaac... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howaboutme November 3, 2013 Share November 3, 2013 Can you explain the automated water change method? Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoelace November 3, 2013 Author Share November 3, 2013 virtual high five Isaac... You guys are CrAzY! LOL! Can you explain the automated water change method? Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk Well, um, no, I can't. Therein lies the first step to my long journey. I want to figure out how people do things like that. I do remember seeing a thread for a fully automated water change system. I think all you had to do was push a button and there were solenoids controlling valves and R2D2 just dumped old water out and put the new water in. I don't think I will go as fancy as that, but perhaps hard plumb everything so all I have to do is flick a couple of switches and turn a couple valves, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoelace November 11, 2013 Author Share November 11, 2013 I've been cleaning out the tank room while figuring out how to turn the two AGA Megaflows into a Bean Animal. I finally figured out the solution! The first pic Megaflow has the 3/4" full siphon on the left hooked up to a gate valve below. On the right is a 1" partial siphon with a bushing to fit the 1/2" U to act as the John Guest loop to create the airlock and backup siphon if the water level goes too high. The other Megaflow pic has the 1" dry emergency drain on the left going just above the level of water at the overflow teeth. On the right is the return which is pointing downwards to prevent too much detritus from collecting in the overflow. This was the main point that people couldn't get around over at Reef Central. Everyone was stuck on still using the 3/4" return pipe hooked up to the loc-line nozzle. Then they would complain that the water would stagnate in the Megaflow. With my mod, the water just flows over the top of the overflow in reverse. I realized that the loc-line return nozzles will give very little flow (Eheim 1262) compared to the two Jebao MP40s I'm planning to get, so I just decided to ditch the loc-lines. I think it will look cleaner anyways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime November 11, 2013 Share November 11, 2013 Love the idea! I also love that guitar rack in the back, home made? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epleeds November 11, 2013 Share November 11, 2013 You guys are CrAzY! LOL! . I don't think I will go as fancy as that, but perhaps hard plumb everything so all I have to do is flick a couple of switches and turn a couple valves, etc. My set up is similar. I have a valve off my sump that when I open it, it dumps 30 gallons into my house sump pump and sends it out to the back field. Then I turn on another pump, and pump 30 gallons of new water into the sump. Takes about 5 minutes once the saltwater is mixed. So much easier then buckets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoelace November 14, 2013 Author Share November 14, 2013 Love the idea! I also love that guitar rack in the back, home made? Yup, just a big wooden plank varnished over with guitar hangers. Do you play? My set up is similar. I have a valve off my sump that when I open it, it dumps 30 gallons into my house sump pump and sends it out to the back field. Then I turn on another pump, and pump 30 gallons of new water into the sump. Takes about 5 minutes once the saltwater is mixed. So much easier then buckets. That sounds like what I want to do. I'm not sure I can get that much out of my sump, though. So I might just create a way to siphon off the correct amount from the DT and turn on a pump for fresh refill. Indeed, NO MORE BUCKETS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoelace November 14, 2013 Author Share November 14, 2013 So I totally cleared the tank room, repainted the concrete floor with Home Depot Behr gloss porch and floor paint (I really like this stuff so far), and am slowly going to start redoing things. I couldn't help myself and ordered two WP-40's off Amazon. I'm just testing them out here. Wow, they move water! I think I would have saved a little more waiting for a group buy, but if I factored in driving and gas and waiting, I just said what the heck. I have a temporary fluorescent light hanging until I decide what LEDs to get. Next up is replumbing the new 40L sump. The 55 is too tall for the space I have and I can't get the skimmer and stuff out easily for cleaning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sachabballi reef November 14, 2013 Share November 14, 2013 looks great!!!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_elite_edge November 14, 2013 Share November 14, 2013 Looks really good im jealous !!!! Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallreef November 15, 2013 Share November 15, 2013 Looks so awesome! Can't wait to see this thing filled! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkiboy November 15, 2013 Share November 15, 2013 following along - nice room for a fish room! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacobB89 November 15, 2013 Share November 15, 2013 hmmm that is very interesting overflow setup i may pick your brain on that for my 180 not sure if i can do it with my corner overflows. Following along to this for sure looks great so far beating my build lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoelace November 15, 2013 Author Share November 15, 2013 hmmm that is very interesting overflow setup i may pick your brain on that for my 180 not sure if i can do it with my corner overflows. Following along to this for sure looks great so far beating my build lol If they are the typical AGA type durso corner overflows, I don't think there will be any problem doing this mod. You just need four holes - three for BeanAnimal and one for return. There should be plenty of room for the plumbing and you don't have to do any permanent mods so if it doesn't work out you can switch back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.OptimusPrime. November 15, 2013 Share November 15, 2013 If they are the typical AGA type durso corner overflows, I don't think there will be any problem doing this mod. You just need four holes - three for BeanAnimal and one for return. There should be plenty of room for the plumbing and you don't have to do any permanent mods so if it doesn't work out you can switch back. Might have to pick your brain as well since I wanted to do the herbie. I have the corner style overflows from Marineland. I was going to setup one overflow as a full siphon with the emergency drain. the other overflow box would have 2x3/4" returns. Thoughts? As you mentioned, there have been problems with detritus and stagnant water in the return box, but I think a weekly siphon during WCs should take care of it. The water coming into your drain looks like it drops far. Could just be the picture though. Is there any waterfall noise? On your return picture, the left pipe is your emergency and the right pipe with the downward elbow is pushing water back against the bottom of the tank and essentially just circulating it until it flows back up over the top. Which takes care of the stagnant water problem. I know you explained it, I'm just trying to make sure I understand it correctly. Looks great so far. I'll be following for my own 180 build. Its sitting in the garage collecting dust since I have no finished basement yet lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveS November 15, 2013 Share November 15, 2013 Nice mod. Looks like you may need a check valve on the return or ensure your sump can accommodate all the extra water in the overflow when the power goes out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime November 15, 2013 Share November 15, 2013 That is a great place for a fish room. Sink right by the tank, you can hook up your RO/DI and everything else you need, I was going to say this is coming along real quick, but then I realized that you were halfway there already! I like the WP40's. They are a bit clunky, but once you get other stuff in the tank I don't think many notice, I don't at least. They are quiet, and I haven't put them past W1. I had 2 MP40's, and I ended up selling one, now I just keep one of my back wall hooked up to the Ecotech battery backup in case we lose power. Yup, just a big wooden plank varnished over with guitar hangers. Do you play? Nicely done. I have a few Ovation's that I really like, but self taught years ago. I do play, but if I play well is another story, haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoelace November 15, 2013 Author Share November 15, 2013 Nice mod. Looks like you may need a check valve on the return or ensure your sump can accommodate all the extra water in the overflow when the power goes out. Good point, but I've never trusted check valves. :( I usually design my sumps to make sure all the overflow can be accommodated. I've done power outage tests and found that the overflow volume is 12.5 gallons. My 40L sump will be less than half full, so I hope the math works out. Might have to pick your brain as well since I wanted to do the herbie. I have the corner style overflows from Marineland. I was going to setup one overflow as a full siphon with the emergency drain. the other overflow box would have 2x3/4" returns. Thoughts? As you mentioned, there have been problems with detritus and stagnant water in the return box, but I think a weekly siphon during WCs should take care of it. The water coming into your drain looks like it drops far. Could just be the picture though. Is there any waterfall noise? On your return picture, the left pipe is your emergency and the right pipe with the downward elbow is pushing water back against the bottom of the tank and essentially just circulating it until it flows back up over the top. Which takes care of the stagnant water problem. I know you explained it, I'm just trying to make sure I understand it correctly. Looks great so far. I'll be following for my own 180 build. Its sitting in the garage collecting dust since I have no finished basement yet lol I really like the BeanAnimal over the Herbie because you have to have two drain failures before a flood. I'm sure a Herbie would be fine, but it depends on your level of comfort. I chose to forego the loc-line returns because the flow from those pales in comparison to the WP40 beasts. Yes, there is a several inch drop. It makes a slight trickle noise, but I think once it slimes over, it'll be OK. I might be able to cut some of the 1/2 inch PVC elbows down to size and shave off an inch of the siphon lock. It will nee a little tweaking, but it will be easy and cheap to change. And you have it right, the water just flows back over the top of the overflow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.jpg.cec6c540fb2da6431942d5ff09ef7a2d.jpg)
Recommended Posts
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 accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now