sweatervest13
Active Member
Looking great Lubeck!!!
I can't wait to see this thing up and running. This setup should be all pro!!
I can't wait to see this thing up and running. This setup should be all pro!!
110 gal Mixed Reef Build. 180 gal System
- Thread starter lubeck
- Start date
acrylic51
Active Member
Honestly I'm not sure on the sand issue.......Personally I might keep a cup or 2 only to seed the new stuff....That's just me....Can never be to careful IMO.....
Side note.....When you get the Dart pump do yourself a favor and take it from experience.....Pull the volute off the pump and check the impeller.....I had quite a rough time when I got my pumps and I just want you to pull the volute off and spin the impeller and make sure it spins "true"......Hopefully you can leak test the pump ahead of time, and if it looks shoot me a PM and I'll trouble shoot you through the problem areas with the pump.....The first being the impeller could be cracked.....They are machined really thin....The next area would be to look at where the seal goes into the back of the impeller itself.....Yes this area is thin as well and if not installed correctly or that seal seat is cracked it will allow water to leak down the shaft of the pump motor immediately......
Worse case you'd have to call Chris or his daughter at Reeflo and they'll get you what you need asap or worse case I have a couple extra sets of seals hidden underneath my bed......
If I put them in the fish room I'd probably loose them....Under the bed their safe.....
Side note.....When you get the Dart pump do yourself a favor and take it from experience.....Pull the volute off the pump and check the impeller.....I had quite a rough time when I got my pumps and I just want you to pull the volute off and spin the impeller and make sure it spins "true"......Hopefully you can leak test the pump ahead of time, and if it looks shoot me a PM and I'll trouble shoot you through the problem areas with the pump.....The first being the impeller could be cracked.....They are machined really thin....The next area would be to look at where the seal goes into the back of the impeller itself.....Yes this area is thin as well and if not installed correctly or that seal seat is cracked it will allow water to leak down the shaft of the pump motor immediately......
Worse case you'd have to call Chris or his daughter at Reeflo and they'll get you what you need asap or worse case I have a couple extra sets of seals hidden underneath my bed......
lubeck
Active Member
Boy I hope the pump is perfect, did you have the same prob with the super dart gold? I will be sure to check it out thou. As for the CL I only know the om acronym what's Ss or vfd??? I was thinking for now just using directional spray nozzles. I wouldn't mind leaving the top three blow holes but the two bottom ones are too close to the sand bed and would destroy it so I will need some directional nozzles for those. If I had the funds I would go ocean motion.
acrylic51
Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lubeck http:///t/394626/new-110-gal-mixed-reef-build-this-is-going-to-be-good/120#post_3516571
Boy I hope the pump is perfect, did you have the same prob with the super dart gold? I will be sure to check it out thou. As for the CL I only know the om acronym what's Ss or vfd??? I was thinking for now just using directional spray nozzles. I wouldn't mind leaving the top three blow holes but the two bottom ones are too close to the sand bed and would destroy it so I will need some directional nozzles for those. If I had the funds I would go ocean motion.
You'd hope any equipment is perfect......I bought the return and CL pump at the same time, and the return leaked instantly......So I swapped the Super Dart in it's place which didn't leak, but had a whine sound, which I knew was wrong, and tried to figure it out.....Was hard to isolate, and as I drove the pump the whine got worse, and isolated it down to the impeller being cracked.....Looked like during machining was just a tad thin.....The Hybrid I exchanged from where I bought, and this pump as well leaked and by then I had enough.....Called Reeflo, and I was told I was restricting the pump volute, which I obviously knew I wasn't and we hashed things around, and they sent out replacement seals.....Actually the pump I exchanged it for was in worse state than the 1 I took back.....The other pump I found the back of the impeller where the seal is pressed into place was cracked causing the pump to leak water down the shaft of the pump which would spell short life for the pump if it was saltwater.....Again the impeller didn't run true, which gave it a "wobble" and a whine sound.....I have detailed pics and such in my build thread outlining my issues with them, but they've always been solid other than that....Just figured I got that hangover Monday batch.......
Sorry for all the acronyms.....SS stand for OceansMotions Super Squirt.....VFD is a Baldor motor with a volute from either a Barracuda or HammerHead coupled with a PLC and the pump can be ramped up and down making it variable speed.....Nothing sold on the market setup this way....It's purely DIY......I can shoot you a good thread on them if you want........
Originally Posted by Lubeck http:///t/394626/new-110-gal-mixed-reef-build-this-is-going-to-be-good/120#post_3516571
Boy I hope the pump is perfect, did you have the same prob with the super dart gold? I will be sure to check it out thou. As for the CL I only know the om acronym what's Ss or vfd??? I was thinking for now just using directional spray nozzles. I wouldn't mind leaving the top three blow holes but the two bottom ones are too close to the sand bed and would destroy it so I will need some directional nozzles for those. If I had the funds I would go ocean motion.
You'd hope any equipment is perfect......I bought the return and CL pump at the same time, and the return leaked instantly......So I swapped the Super Dart in it's place which didn't leak, but had a whine sound, which I knew was wrong, and tried to figure it out.....Was hard to isolate, and as I drove the pump the whine got worse, and isolated it down to the impeller being cracked.....Looked like during machining was just a tad thin.....The Hybrid I exchanged from where I bought, and this pump as well leaked and by then I had enough.....Called Reeflo, and I was told I was restricting the pump volute, which I obviously knew I wasn't and we hashed things around, and they sent out replacement seals.....Actually the pump I exchanged it for was in worse state than the 1 I took back.....The other pump I found the back of the impeller where the seal is pressed into place was cracked causing the pump to leak water down the shaft of the pump which would spell short life for the pump if it was saltwater.....Again the impeller didn't run true, which gave it a "wobble" and a whine sound.....I have detailed pics and such in my build thread outlining my issues with them, but they've always been solid other than that....Just figured I got that hangover Monday batch.......
Sorry for all the acronyms.....SS stand for OceansMotions Super Squirt.....VFD is a Baldor motor with a volute from either a Barracuda or HammerHead coupled with a PLC and the pump can be ramped up and down making it variable speed.....Nothing sold on the market setup this way....It's purely DIY......I can shoot you a good thread on them if you want........
lubeck
Active Member
This is a tough decision. I don't have all my pumps yet so I prob will wait. I'm not sure on the sump design if I should plan for the return to be in the middle or on one end?? If its in the middle I heard that with the bean overflow setup it's not good to have any 90s or even 45s but to have straight access to the sump. Splitting the drains left and right would be hard to avoid. Thoughts?
acrylic51
Active Member
90's and 45's can toy with the drain if there's major direction changes. What I did was I drilled my overflow with an additional bulkhead and put a valve inline and that particular line feeds directly to my fuge. When I get home Saturday night I'll shoot you a picture. My original design was to feed the fuge off my manifold system. Seemed like it would be counter productive in a sense that way.
snakeblitz33
Well-Known Member
Very nice. Jealous, as always.
lubeck
Active Member
Do you think it would be that bad if I set my sump going right to left - skimmer, fuge then return? Reading more up on fuges its not bad to have better flow thru the fuge. If this is a viable option, which many have done successfully, how do I determine the height to optimize the sump and that can handle the back flush when the return pump is off?
lubeck
Active Member
Bad news. Either I need to modify my stand, build a new stand or possibly get another sump but what I have won't work. After putting my sump and skimmer in the stand it is impossible to service the skimmer. I would say even with a shorter sump I still would never be able to remove the collection cup. This sucks! I'm not sure what route would be best and cheapest. I'm leaning towards buying or building a bigger stand? My arm can barely touch the bottom of the sump because of how narrow the opening is. I'm so frustrated that now I have a set back. Help
acrylic51
Active Member
I'm feeling you Bob......I ran into the same sort of issue with the skimmer.....My dilema was that the sump water depth was an issue and then using a skimmer that would have to be elevated would interfere with headroom inside the stand.....That is why I opted for the Vertex skimmer, but also had to modify the inside of the stand a bit to get the neck cleaner to fit.....
lubeck
Active Member
I know this isn't good. No I didn't build the stand. I've read and read and I really don't know what would be my best option. If I decided on getting a new sump, it couldn't be more than 13" high in order to service the skimmer. That would be only a 33 gal tank then and that is pushing it with the overflow I have. The one option that I'm thinking of is what if I widened the stand, is that possible? Then I could get s wider sump? The other option that I'm not sure of is adding about 12" of height to the stand?