Neptunes 125 Reef Diary.

[king_neptune]

Thanks spank.
I was Going to drain the DT, and spray some foam underneath pipe...not the whole length of the bar...just a small portion to add some support. once it hardened I was going to remove the 2x4. (Ill do this on the peice that works)
I broke off a 2" section to peek inside the pipe...it was full to the top with water...so its drawing as fast as the ends can drain.
therefore I need to figure a more efficient placement of slits.
Too wide as some of the photos above show...and Im worried about a casual swimmer wanting to ride the slide. So Ill probably do the same design...just less holes near the ends.
I may even drill the length of the pipe like so:
- - - - - - - - - ++++++- - - - - - - - -
Well see. Its going to be a long process since I had to not only shape...but file all the excess shavings away...not easy when you have a tiny slit and they ar on the inside of the pipe

 

[posiden]

Originally Posted by King_Neptune
http:///forum/post/3098396
two fold problem. neither is really critcle. but they do present themselves:
1. Now I have no way to shut off the scrubber...ill be splashing everywhere while i try to attach/remove the pipe for cleaning.
2. I have no way to reduce the flow incase the scrubber is getting too much. You dont want to high of flow...just enough to film the screen...not blast it.
I never said for you to remove the ball valves. Just to swap them one for another. Yes you still can adjust flow and yes you still will be able to turn the scubber off and remove it for cleaning.
However in the end it is your tank. Do with it what you will. Have you opened up that line to see if it will make the system noisy? Your system will have to "Bridge" that gap (the T fitting) in order to feed the scrubber. If you were running a sphion style drain then I would not see a problem but, your drain system requires a smooth transition so air doesn't become an issue creating noise.
I see your having issues with flow in the scrubber thread. I told you I would not do it that way.

 

[king_neptune]

Im still confused, I guess it looked in your picture like you meant to remove the valve beacause it seemed like you blotted it out.
Which seemed honestly

, evidently you meant something totaly different.
Fortunately I took the precaution of leaving enough room for me to cut/splice any part of the system for removal/upgrade ect in case I was wrong about anything.
Im still not following how swapping them makes sense...something to do with air exchange? This will affect the scrubber how? I can block the flow to the bottom and it backs up to the scrubber increasing its pressure and therefore speed of water flow...but the result is the same...the flow comes out at an angle...weather fast or slow. Im going to remove the screen and see if its not shaped right or something. But then again santa said it will be fine once its covered in algae.
I still have yet to install the air lines in the durso standpipe. But removing the cap does nothing really. If anything the system is quieter with the cap on. Of course adding the cap AND the airline should have the predicted results.
Thanks for the input.

 

[posiden]

No I didn't mean to remove the ball valve. That was just sloppy work on my part.
OK, I think I get it now. You are having an issue with the flow about coverage not flow as in not getting enough. Sorry.
Oh. and just a guess of what the tank deminsions are and the length of your plumbing runs but, your Mag 18 is giving you about 870 GPH

 

[king_neptune]

id say that's a fair assessment 800ish/2sides=aproxamately 400gph each almost dead on with whats his name at the top of this page...kudos!
im very happy with the volume of water. I actually throttle it down considerably to get a nice slow churning down below. But If I want I can open it up and it races through the sump.
the water flowing off the scrubber can be tweaked from a gentle film...to a steady downpour racing with force. So Ill let it sit as is. According to Santa_Monica I will be fine once it seeds with algae.
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I drained it last night, and im going to re-do the seal behind the foam wall. part of it separated from the tank wall. To accomplish this I will drill a small 1/4 inch hole at the bottom where the break away is..and insert a tube. From there I will shoot some great stuff into the gap, and press it back firm against the wall and let it dry over night. Also I re plumbed the return lines. Now instead of a "T" that goes to either side of the tank..I will have a single "Y" locline at the center top. This creates more pressure from the locline as I have cut the outlets in half.

 

[jas1]

Originally Posted by spanko
http:///forum/post/3096899
And this

Make the slit a little bigger and turn it straight up. If needs be then put the extra pipe inside, I think the inside pipe allows for better flow because the water is not dropping to the middle, it has something to flow across b4 it hits the bottom of the main pipe and heads for the bulkheads. If any of that made any sense

 

[king_neptune]

i decided to keep my bar. i get great flow from it, no risk of small fishes to swim inside. and my sump has a nice stead flow. i actually have it throttled down considerably, so not having enough will never be an issue.

 

[king_neptune]

Stumbled across an awesome head loss calculator, determins GPH, jsut enter the data number of pipes/bends/valves/pump ect.
I have 976gph turnover on my mag18 at %100, so throttling it down to 75% should theoretically give me roughly 730ish GPh, which would be 360ish each side. Think that's still too much flow in my sump? should I close it off even more?

 

[king_neptune]

finally got the concrete poured n the saltwater mixing room. now I can plumb in the RO-UNIT. I should be ready in a couple days!

 

[fishkid13]

Is that outside?

 

[king_neptune]

ya. till I frame up a wall. that will be done later. its jsut the underneath of a porch that is being converted into a laundry room/bathroom/saltwater mixing room.
upstairs the same porch was converted into a bathroom.

it used to be a barn style garage, but it was converted into living space so guests could stay ect. Now I rent the place while I finish school.
re-doing all the plumbing to copper, thats why its all gutted.
When finished the back door to the "Aquarium Room" will lead to the utility room.

 

[fishkid13]

Sweet, that seems like how our house was. Nothing like a fresh start.

 

[king_neptune]

Ok update time,
Drilled a 1/4" hole at the bottom of the foam wall, near the breakaway. I inserted a tube that was clamped to the great stuff bottle. then fished it as deep as i could. Then i pulled the trigger and watched the foam seep all the way in. after i filled it nice and good i pulled the tube out and the hole self sealed on its way out. Then i proceeded to brace it back tight against the glass so it could dry in place.
*the only thing I would do different would be a 12" line...instead of 3ft....the great stuff can had barely enough pressure to force it all the way down the tube*
Next I put more egg crate pads along the bottom to support rocks.
After that I Put a seam all the way across the bottom and up the sides of the wall, as well as around the drain lines. This help seal it in so water doesn't flow back there. Its not super water tight...but it will definitely hinder detritus buildup ect.
Filled it up with freshwater again and 3 days later I am extremely pleased.
Gonna drain it tonight and push everything back against the wall, hang the lights, and begin getting my RO unit online so i can fill it with saltwater.
By the end of next week I should have my Live rock in the mail!
Then while I got the cycle going I can finish the lights for the scrubber, plumb in the Phos/carbon reactor,skimmer,and calcium reactor.
======================================
Now to begin thinking about a stock list!!
On the fish side! Ok all i have right now is:
1. A Powered Blue Tang(those browns look like barf!)
2. A purple Tang
3. Couple Blennies...not sure which..something pretty.(ideas?)
4. A couple Gobies.(ideas?)
5. A single Pistol shrimp to go with the gobies.
6. Some assorted wrasses.(maybe 3 or 4)
7. When it is matured nicely I'll have a Mandrin. Love em!
Thats 10-11 fish, most of which are small, so im confidant I can add more than that.
=========================================
A maxima clam...blue.
Tons of coral and a few anemones.
==================================
For CuC:
1. Assorted snails, about a dozen total.(Ideas please)
2. Few more shrimp for the CuC...probably a pair of cleaner shrimp, and maybe a skunk or two.
3. Pair of emerald crabs(maybe as much as 3 later on when tank matures).
4. A sally lightfoot crab (Maybe)
5. Pompom Crab (maybe)
===============================================
In the sump I got lots of room. So more LR and sand. Im not sure if I want a DSB...or even any at all, ideas please.
I deffinatly want some chaeto to go in it.
And some cleaner clams.(do they need light? or they ok to just eat waste?) Maybe I should put them up inthe DT...not sure, let me know.
Anything else useful to put in a sump to help with bio filtration? I got two chambers that are close to 20gallons each, so i can hold alot.
The return has about 10gallons in it, but I want that empty.
Thanks,
Nep

 

[king_neptune]

Filled it with RO, hung the lights and added the salt.

Some local reefer contacted me and offered to sell me 50lbs of matured and established LR for $230, so Ill go with that. Beats paying 190 fro something I cant eyeball, and has most of the good stuff stripped off.
By Thursday I should be in business

Im going to lower the lights to about 10-12" off the surface. Right now they are high so I can work with the tank.

 

[posiden]

If you are going to put a scrubber in, then why the cheato?? Your skimmer.........maybe. Once the scrubber gets going the cheato will just die. Seems like a waste of time and money. JMO.

 

[king_neptune]

i did not know that. I figured both would be good. double up on filtration. if that's the case. i dont know what to put in that extra chamber...maybee some sand and cleaner clams.

 

[mkroher]

Originally Posted by King_Neptune
http:///forum/post/3110077
i did not know that. I figured both would be good. double up on filtration. if that's the case. i dont know what to put in that extra chamber...maybee some sand and cleaner clams.
Live rock rubble

 

[king_neptune]

that thought crossed my mind. that's why I made the side with the scrubber extra tall. to accommodate a large quantity of LR.

 

[king_neptune]

Its not enough, so im going to order another 50lbs of base rock and have it seeded form the other LR.

 

[ryancw01]

Wow...that looks really good under that lighting...worth all the hard work so far. Been following this one for a while now...