Building Gurgly – Kallor’s 125ish gallon reef tank

[Kallor]

You may not know it but that's HUGE...he's king of scapes B)

 

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

 

Its true

 

Wow, well then considered me flattered X 2 !

 

Everyone who has commented thus far is a king of reefing relative to me - though I did get promoted from an "egg" to a "pod"

[Kallor]

I don't have too much to add for an update today, but I do have a few thoughts. I'm now 1 week into my cycle. My ammonia/ammonium are relatively steady - my nitrates are very high (off the scale on my Red Sea test-kit, so well over 4.0 ppm) and over the last week my nitrites have climbed from 0.5 to 1.0 ppm (according to me Elos test kit). Looks like I've still got a ways to go.

 

I finally got the Tunze ATO system up and running today. One slight surprise is how gratingly loud the pump is when it kicks on. The tank and ATO are in the living room, so this isn't really going to work well long term. I'd move the ATO system, but that would mean a long hose run, and placing it in the bedroom, which would be even worse 

 

Is anyone aware of any other pumps I could swap with the one that comes with the Tunze 3155 that is any quieter? 

 

Also, as we all love photos, here are a few more I can add:

 

I added the dry rock well after I filled the tank with water. During the process, some air got trapped under this piece, and after 1 week the air pockets are still hanging in there.

 

What terrors lurk behind the aquarium stand doors .... I actually did spend some time trying to keep cords neat, but things can get out of control rather quickly. On a side note, that acrylic rod on the 'fuge light is to make it harder to accidentally bump the light into the water. You can also see the skimmer is still doing its breaking-in-bubble-explosion. The microbubbles do however provide a nice way to appreciate the flow patterns the MP-40s make :-)

 

This is my view of Gurgly when I'm sitting on the couch watching TV, reading, etc.

 

This is Gurgly's other visible side.

 

Thanks again everyone for checking on the 'log, for the kind words and feedback. Hopefully my cycle will kick into high gear soon and I'll have some more interesting things to post.

 

Edit: I should add that there are probably more loose shells in the tank right now than I want to leave in permanently (for aesthetic reasons). I wanted some shells for hermit crabs to move to (the smaller ones I added) and maybe for some fish to hide in, but I likely tossed in a few too many.

Edited December 12, 2013 by Kallor

[YHSublime]

Pictures are always interesting. I think Avast makes a pretty quiet pump for their ATO's, from what I recall, I've not had any experience with it personally.

[Kallor]

Pictures are always interesting. I think Avast makes a pretty quiet pump for their ATO's, from what I recall, I've not had any experience with it personally.

Thanks - I'll give the current noisy pump some time to settle in first (especially since Avast is out of stock on their pump). Maybe there are some air bubbles to be worked out ... 

 

Also, on the theory that the pump could be rattling the ATO reservoir, I decided to break out some sound dampening material (similar to Dynamat) that I had laying around ....

 

Before

 

After - not the neatest job, but the jug does live safely hidden behind the couch

 

It certainly can't hurt anything

[Nytelighter]

If it helps, my Tunze pump was noisy at first as well.  Pretty much settled in after a week and now doesn't doesn't even warrant my attention when it kicks on.

[Kallor]

If it helps, my Tunze pump was noisy at first as well.  Pretty much settled in after a week and now doesn't doesn't even warrant my attention when it kicks on.

That is great to hear! I was hoping for some news like this - I figured something must be up or people wouldn't recommend the Tunze ATO system so frequently. Thanks for the info!

[Kallor]

Quick update: putting the vibration/sound dampener on the ATO reservoir helped tremendously! So if you've got noisy ATO issues, this is certainly something to consider doing. 

[Kallor]

Could it be .... the start of a a diatom bloom? I've never been so happy to see this brown slime show up - it is great to see the cycle really is kicking and churning!

[Kallor]

Help!

 

I've got a leak issue and I am desperate.

 

My tank is drilled for bean-animal style overflow. My secondary drain keeps having leak issues. At first I blamed it out my tubing. I was using braided vinyl tubing for both the main and secondary returns. They had to go to essentially the same location in the sump, and the hoses kinda pushed up against each other. I ended up with a leak  in the secondary drain, and I assumed it was due to the stiff braided vinyl tubing either unscrewing its connection, or ultimately creating micro cracks in the bulkhead (due to the angle of the stiff tubing). I've now replaced that leaky bulkhead - and switched from braided vinyl to the ridged hard plastic tube which is more flexible than the braided vinyl. After this switch on Friday I was blessedly leak free for two days.

 

However, I'm now once again getting a leak in the secondary drain at the connection point of the bulkhead to the tank flooring. I removed that section today, checked for random stuff stuck in the bulkhead, made sure the gasket was in place on the wet side, and checked the bulkhead for damage. The bulkhead and its rubber gasket all seem fine. However, when I connect everything back up it continues to leak.

 

Does anyone have any idea what could be going wrong? I inspected that section of the tank's 'floor' as best as I could, and it appears to be in good shape structurally. The bulkhead I'm using is new and has been fine for the last two days, but today, with no provocation from my part, started leaking again. I'm at wits end, and would love any ideas anyone out there has!

 

Thanks!!!!!

Edited December 16, 2013 by Kallor

[CaptainRon]

Are they the bulkheads that have a built in barb fitting? They're notorious for failure.

[Kallor]

Are they the bulkheads that have a built in barb fitting? They're notorious for failure.

Thanks for the info - I don't think I've run across those, but I'll be sure to avoid them now. The bulkheads I'm using are thread x thread schedule 40 ABS, like these www.bulkreefsupply.com/bulkhead-abs-thread-x-thread-2.html.

[CaptainRon]

In that case I'd take the same advise that Marco gave me - use thread dope rather than the Teflon tape - seems to work much better with less stress on the parts.

[Kallor]

In that case I'd take the same advise that Marco gave me - use thread dope rather than the Teflon tape - seems to work much better with less stress on the parts.

 

That is certainly sound advice. I came to the same conclusion when I was planning this build out, so has been what I've been using during the build. Well, 90% of the time at least - occasionally I used the tape just because I was more familiar with it and started get superstitious when I noticed a leak ;-)

 

The part that is puzzling to me is that the leak started 2+ days after I had last messed around under the tank. It guess the currently leaking bulkhead has some teeny cracks in it that are letting water through - I just don't get why this particular bulkhead location keeps resulting in failures. Maybe there was some gunk on the wet side when I installed it last time, which perhaps could create an uneven seal leading to an eventually micro crack forming in the bulkhead.... or something like that.

 

At least I've got the current leak channeled so that it is dripping into the sump rather than around its edges onto the floor of the stand. When I "fix" this again using a fresh bulkhead I'll be double sure to clear away any debris that might cause for a partial or uneven seal, and see if that results in a long term fix.

 

Thanks again for the advice and tips!

[YHSublime]

Better fixing/finding it now then when you have it fully stocked, it's a blessing in disguise.

[Kallor]

Better fixing/finding it now then when you have it fully stocked, it's a blessing in disguise.

That is a very, very good point. Keeping things in perspective is always crucial.  All that this current leaky mess is doing currently is stressing me out, and stressing out my fledgling population of diatoms and algae. But my diatoms and algae are resilient - I have confidence they will pull through this ordeal. I'm slightly less resilient, but I will manage one way or another!

 

Thanks for the support! I think Vince from QR is going to be able to swing by this evening and see if he can spot my blunder so that hopefully the this next "fixing" of this leak actually lasts   

[Kallor]

I was cleaning everything up so that when Vince came by we could get straight to work. Below is the view looking down into my overflow area, straight onto the troublesome bulkhead hole. 

 

See the white kinda lumpy looking thing at the 4:00 position? It appears to have the slightest bit of texture when I rub my finger over it. Perhaps so PVC cement leaked out of the standpipe when I was first installing everything and seeped under the bulkhead, making it impossible for the rubber gasket to fully seal?

 

Does this sound like a possibility?

 

 

The Gremlin in the Overflow? Check the goop at the 4:00 position

[monkiboy]

it's certainly possible. you want a very clean area for the gasket to seal as you are aware. if you can feel texture that might even slightly raise the gasket preventing a 100% seal then it could be enough to allow water to enter from the outside perimeter inwards for the slow leak you were experiencing. take a blade, clean it up carefully and wipe very clean and smooth, inspect your bulkhead very carefully for fractures, install hand tight and just a bit more, make sure your gasket is not rotating or sliding under pressure and rotation, and you should be good. out of curiosity is your gasket a flat gasket or a two/three-ring design? not sure if the latter comes only on sch80 or not.  g'luck and keep us posted!

Edited December 16, 2013 by monkiboy

[Origami]

Did you start with a new bulkhead and scrape the glass surface with a razor to ensure it was clean? I've found teflon pipe sealant (aka "dope") to seal more reliably than tape to seal most threaded joints - especially the larger ones. It's important, when you have a leak like this, to determine exactly where it is coming from. That often requires that you get underneath the leaking area with a towel and flashlight, and to dry off the affected area while watching very closely where the water is coming from. Is it coming from the hole, but outside the bulkhead body? If so, it's likely a problem between the rubber seal and the mating surfaces. Is it coming from inside the bulkhead at the threads? If so, then it's a thread-sealing problem.

 

You can also over-tighten a bulkhead, sometimes causing the gasket to push out. This happens more often if you lubricate the gasket with something like a silicone grease or something. There are a lot of possibilities, but narrowing it down requires that you watch closely to determine the nature of the leak.

[Kallor]

it's certainly possible. you want a very clean area for the gasket to seal as you are aware. if you can feel texture that might even slightly raise the gasket preventing a 100% seal then it could be enough to allow water to enter from the outside perimeter inwards for the slow leak you were experiencing. take a blade, clean it up carefully and wipe very clean and smooth, inspect your bulkhead very carefully for fractures, install hand tight and just a bit more, make sure your gasket is not rotating or sliding under pressure and rotation, and you should be good. out of curiosity is your gasket a flat gasket or a two/three-ring design? not sure if the latter comes only on sch80 or not.  g'luck and keep us posted!

 

Thanks for the tips! I took your advice and cleaned up the bulkhead hole with some blade scraping and lots of towels. I think it looks quite nice now, and I can't feel anymore irregularities in the service.

 

Bulkhead area, post clean-up

 

The bulkheads I have are the ones shown here. I got most of them from Quantum Reefs, though I also picked up two extras on my last BRS order.

 

Did you start with a new bulkhead and scrape the glass surface with a razor to ensure it was clean? I've found teflon pipe sealant (aka "dope") to seal more reliably than tape to seal most threaded joints - especially the larger ones. It's important, when you have a leak like this, to determine exactly where it is coming from. That often requires that you get underneath the leaking area with a towel and flashlight, and to dry off the affected area while watching very closely where the water is coming from. Is it coming from the hole, but outside the bulkhead body? If so, it's likely a problem between the rubber seal and the mating surfaces. Is it coming from inside the bulkhead at the threads? If so, then it's a thread-sealing problem.

 

You can also over-tighten a bulkhead, sometimes causing the gasket to push out. This happens more often if you lubricate the gasket with something like a silicone grease or something. There are a lot of possibilities, but narrowing it down requires that you watch closely to determine the nature of the leak.

 

I did indeed use 'dope' on the threaded joints. It certainly seems like the way to go. Upon close inspection, I could both see and feel the water leaking directly from where the dry side of the bulkhead meets the bottom of the tank - so that rules out the threaded connections to other plumbing items.

 

The old bulkhead I was using still leaked even after my cleanup, so I'm pretty sure I cracked it somewhere during the last few times I took it on and off the tank. So into the rubbish it goes, and out comes one of my spare bulkheads. I've now got the new bulkhead attached in the overflow. It wasn't leaking with just a few cups of water in the overflow, so I added a few gallons to give the connection a better test. The dry side of the bulkhead is currently wrapped up with paper towels so I can quickly spot a slow leak (as it will seep into the towel, rather than hiding via a slow drip drip drip into the sump).

 

I've been very careful to try to avoid over tightening this bulkhead. Perhaps I over tightened its predecessor in order to (temporarily) stop the leak that the gunk on the wet side of the bulkhead was causing.

 

Its been about 20 minutes and everything is still staying dry. I'm going to slowly add more water to the overflow, but I'm starting to be cautiously optimistic now

 

Thanks everyone for all the advice and comments! It is great during a stressful situation like this to have  people to talk to that can relate to your exact situation! 

 

I'll keep everything updated - hopefully this evening I'll have good news to report!

Edited December 16, 2013 by Kallor

[monkiboy]

yeah, that looks a lot better and cleaner. keep us posted!

[Origami]

Sounds like you'll have it licked this time around.

 

Pipe dope is a little messier, but it seals reliably - especially on the big items like return pumps, etc. It doesn't sound like the leak was from the threads, though.

 

The old bulkhead gasket may have hardened some after aging. They do that and don't always seal very well when manipulated after a long time in one place. Over-tightening is a lot easier if you use silicone grease on the gasket. I used to do that but don't any more because it's really easy to over tighten and, if you clean the surfaces well, there's really no need for it.

 

The picture of the newly cleaned surface looks really good. Nice job.

[Kallor]

yeah, that looks a lot better and cleaner. keep us posted!

 

 

Sounds like you'll have it licked this time around.

 

 

The picture of the newly cleaned surface looks really good. Nice job.

 

Much appreciated guys! I've got the whole system up and running again, and I know for sure I've at least fixed some issues this time around (what with scraping the hardened goop on the wet side of the bulkhead, and replacing a likely-cracked bulkhead), so I really do feel I've got a good reason to be optimistic.Things are looking good so far but I'm keeping *fingers crossed* of course!

[TheyCallMeMr.703]

Glad to hear your back up and runnin'. One less thing to worry about later.

[Shoelace]

Crossing my fingers for you.  Bulkhead leaks can be so unnerving!

[Kallor]

Crossing my fingers for you.  Bulkhead leaks can be so unnerving!

 

 

Glad to hear your back up and runnin'. One less thing to worry about later.

 

Thanks guys! Your good wishes, and everyone's help is much appreciated! Everything is looking nice and dry so far (and for the last 30 or so hours) so I'm starting to relax. Now back to cycling!