dcreefer March 6, 2016 Share March 6, 2016 Hey WAMAS Family!!! It has been a long time since I have been online and a lot has happened...I am not going to bore you with all the humdrum details but in short I have started all over with a new build... entitledHappiness 2.0 "The Happiness Awakens" The tank consists of a 220g display and a 300g sump. My goal is to keep things simple with the build and overall fun! Powering the tank will be a Ecotech Vectra L1 that I picked up from Quantum Reefs (Thanks Vince). Filing the tank to leak test Just about full The sump will be behind a wall and under the tank will be drywalled and open for a couple of bar stools when everything is finished. Sump All the plugs will be connected to GFI and on their own circuit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcreefer March 6, 2016 Author Share March 6, 2016 Front of the Display Tank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime March 6, 2016 Share March 6, 2016 Love the view from the front, that's pretty fresh! You going FOWLER again? Looking forward to watching this one grow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcreefer March 7, 2016 Author Share March 7, 2016 Was thinking of a quasi reef... Zoanthus, leathers, maybe some sunset Montipora but I always got to have a little interactive aggression in the tank...so a porcupine puffer and some anemones will be in the mix also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epleeds March 7, 2016 Share March 7, 2016 Love those porcupine puffers. Too bad I can't set up a FOWLR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcreefer March 8, 2016 Author Share March 8, 2016 A little background on the system... Personally, I've been keeping saltwater systems for about 11 years. I have had some amazing success and some catastrophic failures over the years. I've tried super high tech setups with the legendary SeaVisions DialySeas running the system with Metal halides imported from Germany to completely low tech setups using natural sunlight and tap water with Prime water conditioner! Although I have been around for a while, the hobby's evolution continues to make me feel like I've got a lot to learn. A while back I visited Fazio's system and was inspired by his setup. It was absolutely amazing! I am hoping to use some of the things that I saw on his system on this one. All four of the bulkheads will be used as drains on this system but the PVC pipes inside of the overheads will be at 2 different heights. The different heights will provide additional support to the system when the Ecotech Vectra pump sends surges to the tank. I have had the best experience when the volume of water in a tank is able to be changed, cleaned and replaced quickly. Ok so now the fun begins... The tank was level before I put water in it...or so I thought. Once I got water in it to test everything out it seems that it has a slight lean to one side. The lean is great enough that only one overflow is getting water. So now i'll drain it, pick up some wood shims and raise up the lower side. Also, I've got a couple of leaks in the plumbing...so I've got to break out some more glue and see what didn't get fitted well. Hopefully, I will have that done between tonight and tomorrow night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkiboy March 8, 2016 Share March 8, 2016 thanks for the update and looking forward to hearing more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WheresTheReef March 9, 2016 Share March 9, 2016 Is this the bottom floor? Just wondering what caused such a lean from being level. Might investigate that the floor is strong enough to hold a tank that size without additional support. Maybe you already did this, but worth a mention for safety. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcreefer March 9, 2016 Author Share March 9, 2016 Hey WheresTheReef the tank is in the basement on the concrete slab but, it is an old house so hopefully its not the floor... the stand is homemade ( bought from another member) more than likely its the stand! We did drywall it and paint it but other than that it was already built when we got it. Well the tank is almost drained Sump is getting the majority of the water from the tank The rest of the water goes right into the home sump pump I am actually looking at how to plumb a drain line into the sewer line so that water changes will be easier. For now I have a mag pump and some vinyl hose going to a drain. I read somewhere that if I want to pump salt water into the main sump pump that I needed a special pump rated for seawater normally sold in costal areas prone to flooding. Not sure if anyone else has read/heard anything link that before? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epleeds March 9, 2016 Share March 9, 2016 I have had my tank draining into my house sump like your talking about. I have been had it that way for over three years. The pump has never given me an issue and I'm using the one that came with the house and it's 15yrs old. I also have a water softener for my house that uses salt too. I think you will be fine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcreefer March 10, 2016 Author Share March 10, 2016 Cool! Thanks, I will set this one up to do the same thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCReefer1964 March 10, 2016 Share March 10, 2016 Ensure you perform a freshwater flush from time to time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmatt56 March 10, 2016 Share March 10, 2016 I wanted to drain my tank to my sump, but I was strongly advised against it. I was told that the saltwater would kill the grass as it pumped out of the sump. Did I get bad advise? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcreefer March 10, 2016 Author Share March 10, 2016 It looks like my sump drains into a sewer line...Is this uncommon? I have dumped hundreds of gallons of fresh water into my sump as I test for leaks and clean out my system and I can't find one place in my yard that gets wet as the sump is pumping the water out. It is an old house and when we moved in, I thought it was cool to find out that the downspouts go right into the sewer also! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime March 10, 2016 Share March 10, 2016 It looks like my sump drains into a sewer line...Is this uncommon? I have dumped hundreds of gallons of fresh water into my sump as I test for leaks and clean out my system and I can't find one place in my yard that gets wet as the sump is pumping the water out. It is an old house and when we moved in, I thought it was cool to find out that the downspouts go right into the sewer also! If you're still in DC, I'm shocked you have grass to begin with. I don't think it's uncommon in the city (draining into the lines) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epleeds March 11, 2016 Share March 11, 2016 Mine dumps all the way out at the end of my backyard. Not too worried about it out there. And I also ran my RO waste line into my sump also so it flushes everytime I'm making water anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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