Neptunes 125 Reef Diary.

[veni vidi vici]

Originally Posted by King_Neptune
http:///forum/post/2947185
good catch. Ill proably toss it as well. Cant believe this...they sell it in a saltwater store!! I am never going back there. I already made up my mind after the lava rock debacle. Letting me walk out the door with a ticking time bomb and getting upset with me and scolding me like a child with the "No body forced you to take it" speech. Whatever. there prices were over priced anyways. Ill just order fish hear. the guarantee is better anyways.
Look for Tonga Shelf Rock

 

[king_neptune]

Got the sump up and running. Been watching it off and on for the last 4 hours. Seems to work good. The fuge side is a little taller...I was originally going to put in a 10" sheet of glass on the reservoir side to match the skimmer side...but Since I broke it... I had to use a spare 16". The pump I have running is 400gph and seems to be doing well. It has a thin but steady sheet of glass that rides smoothly all the way down. No bubbles when it drops onto the other side.

Hear are some high res 10megapixle shots. Big resolution so I just have the link.
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e2...e/SANY0012.jpg
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e2...e/SANY0011.jpg
Now about the sump...I am at a crossroads in its design...I like the 400gph flow. I am considering NOT putting in the "T" on the return line as per JPA's suggestion.
Instead I am now thinking I will have the return line go straight back to the DT unbroken. And keep this 400GPH pump dedicated to the fuge. This would put 2 pumps in the Sump. But I don't think that's real problem. They both can fit easy. And this way I can stick with my original plan and have a dedicated 1800GPH pump, instead of having to go with a2200GPH pump...and have it split.
I do have a question about the fuge...Should I consider having a small light power head inside it at the bottom to "Stir" up the water as its inside? Or is the 400GPH hitting the surface plenty?

 

[king_neptune]

Originally Posted by Veni Vidi Vici
http:///forum/post/2947201
Look for Tonga Shelf Rock
SInce wse are on the topic of rock...what kind of rock you like?
I am looking into Florida LR...but it also has a higher chance of hitchhikers from what i read. I m not really picky though...I might just buy a hundred lbs on CL. people sell it all the time for about 3 bucks a lb.

 

[veni vidi vici]

Originally Posted by King_Neptune
http:///forum/post/2947209
SInce wse are on the topic of rock...what kind of rock you like?
I am looking into Florida LR...but it also has a higher chance of hitchhikers from what i read. I m not really picky though...I might just buy a hundred lbs on CL. people sell it all the time for about 3 bucks a lb.
Tufa......without a question.I have mostly Tufa as well as Lace and Texas Holey.Plus i also have about 100lbs of Bali and Fiji LR.I probably have close to 250 Lbs in my DT and refugium.

 

[king_neptune]

Interesting, so far I like tufa alot myself, mostly because its so light and easy to drill...ha ha. But seriously, why do you prefer it?

 

[wattsupdoc]

Originally Posted by King_Neptune
http:///forum/post/2947203
Got the sump up and running. Been watching it off and on for the last 4 hours. Seems to work good. The fuge side is a little taller...I was originally going to put in a 10" sheet of glass on the reservoir side to match the skimmer side...but Since I broke it... I had to use a spare 16". The pump I have running is 400gph and seems to be doing well. It has a thin but steady sheet of glass that rides smoothly all the way down. No bubbles when it drops onto the other side.

Hear are some high res 10megapixle shots. Big resolution so I just have the link.
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e2...e/SANY0012.jpg
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e2...e/SANY0011.jpg
Now about the sump...I am at a crossroads in its design...I like the 400gph flow. I am considering NOT putting in the "T" on the return line as per JPA's suggestion.
Instead I am now thinking I will have the return line go straight back to the DT unbroken. And keep this 400GPH pump dedicated to the fuge. This would put 2 pumps in the Sump. But I don't think that's real problem. They both can fit easy. And this way I can stick with my original plan and have a dedicated 1800GPH pump, instead of having to go with a2200GPH pump...and have it split.
I do have a question about the fuge...Should I consider having a small light power head inside it at the bottom to "Stir" up the water as its inside? Or is the 400GPH hitting the surface plenty?
Thats not going to work very well....... Too narrow of spacing between the baffles, too high baffles leading to the return pump compartment, Too high a water line in the fuge.....Bubbles, Bubbles, noise and salt creep.......

 

[king_neptune]

Originally Posted by wattsupdoc
http:///forum/post/2947264
Thats not going to work very well....... Too narrow of spacing between the baffles, too high baffles leading to the return pump compartment, Too high a water line in the fuge.....Bubbles, Bubbles, noise and salt creep.......

Ok....1" spacing for the high volume of flow in the skimmer section...how much wider should it be to handle 1800GPH??
1/2 inch in the fuge side. Low volume of water flow. 400GPH. how wide does it have to be to handle 400GPH?
When will I see bubbles? I've ran it 10hours straight and haven't seen any yet, just small thin sound free sheet of water.
How low does the fuge have to be? And why?

 

[jpa0741]

I was not saying to T your return line but put a T in your drain line. There is no need for 2 pumps in your sump/fuge. Just direct a low amount of the return to the fuge and the rest to the skimmer.

 

[jpa0741]

Your fuge is a bit tall, but I think it will be fine. You can put alot of LR in it. The thing I would change is the baffle closest to the return pump on the fuge side should have been shorter. As you stated I am not sure if it will be ok with a low flow. As far as the spacing, I really don't know how much 1" spacing can handle.

 

[posiden]

Originally Posted by King_Neptune
http:///forum/post/2947056
Its factory original. Heavy looking plastic...It's about as sturdy as anything Ive ever seen. No markings to indicate manufacturer. Would something like that be on the bottom? I haven't flipped it yet. So I spose maybe I should.
I think I might just go ahead and drill tonight as well. I just got home, and nothing to do till I can get to the drill press tomorrow. Since I haven't found a solid answer on the bulkhead placement...I'm going to take my best guess. Since the bulkhead is 2 3/8th's, I'm not drilling any closer than 2 3/8th's to the edge of the tank.
Can someone give me the name of a reef safe silicone I can use for fastening the back piece to the tank? I want a caulking gun sized tube from the hardware store...but so many brands to choose from, which is safe?

As far as drilling you need to know what type of over flow you are going to use. Also you should get a plan on what type of drain style you want to use. You have some crazy big bulk heads there. Is that the hole size or the bulk head size? How many do you plan on drilling?
Why so much flow in your sump? The big pump you have, is it a submersible only? If not, why not do a closed loop for the flow with the 1800GPH.

 

[king_neptune]

Originally Posted by jpa0741
http:///forum/post/2947460
I was not saying to T your return line but put a T in your drain line. There is no need for 2 pumps in your sump/fuge. Just direct a low amount of the return to the fuge and the rest to the skimmer.
Ahh glad we cleared that up...that's a relief. Now I can concentrate on that 1800gph pump, and T the drain line instead.
Originally Posted by jpa0741
http:///forum/post/2947465
Your fuge is a bit tall, but I think it will be fine. You can put alot of LR in it. The thing I would change is the baffle closest to the return pump on the fuge side should have been shorter. As you stated I am not sure if it will be ok with a low flow. As far as the spacing, I really don't know how much 1" spacing can handle.
yes, I agree, it could be better with lower baffles....however,the water is a thin sheet and I get no bubles. Since I had broken the intended 10" peice I stuck in the 16"er instead. I will empty the sump, and cut the 16" out and replace it with a 10" to match the height of the oposite side. I just put in a few more 300gph pumps and the 1/2" side and it did fine.
I cant really test the 1" side since I dont have enough house pumps to come anywhere near stressing it out.
But considering I have 2x 1.5" drains...and only %70 of thier total usable volume pumping back up... a 12"wide baffle 1" deep will more than cover the volume.
Correct my math if I'm wrong.... 3.14x(1.5squared) is the water flow area on the stand pipes. Which equals me needing a 14.13" wide baffle that's an inch Deep, but since I'm not using the total pipes volume. I initially planned on roughly %75 which would be approximately 1950GPH flowing into that tank. I would need to have a baffle system that allows 1950, which would in reality need to be 10.59" well under the 12" wide I have available.
Now that is solid math, as far as I can tell. the baffles were large enough to accommodate my original plan.
And as a bonus...JPA tells me he meant something slightly different..."T" the water at the drain, so if I split off 400GPH to the fuge...I am given evin more freedom of flexibility. Since now the volume of water going into the skimmer side will be reduced evin further. And 400GPH would be a minimum...I'm actually entertaining having the scrubber run the full length of the Fuge...18" wide scrubber means I would need 630GPH bleeding off into it. And that, I believe is more than adequate for a fuge, and yet wont come anywhere near to stressing out a 1/2" deep baffle system.
With 2600GPH worth of drain pipes, and 630 going to the fuge...I think both sides are more than enough to handle the water flow.
Again, I am going to rip out that 16" baffle, see no error in anyone's logic on that. Ill put a 10" in its stead.

 

[king_neptune]

Originally Posted by Posiden
http:///forum/post/2947605
As far as drilling you need to know what type of over flow you are going to use. Also you should get a plan on what type of drain style you want to use. You have some crazy big bulk heads there. Is that the hole size or the bulk head size? How many do you plan on drilling?
Why so much flow in your sump? The big pump you have, is it a submersible only? If not, why not do a closed loop for the flow with the 1800GPH.

The over flow is my suprise!! You haven't seen anyone do it...at least I think, I personally haven't seen it done yet. It will work, just be really tricky to balance right But I have an idea that will over come it's flaws.
The bulkhead size is 2 3/8". the pipe fit into each bulkhead is 1.5". 2x1.5" standpipes have 2600GPH drainage.
And I am doing closed loop. That's why I want a large pump. And if I want to upgrade the pump in the future...I have the standpipes with large enough size to accommodate a larger pump.
I just need help choosing a good pump. any suggestions in the 1800-2200GPH range? In sump and one that wont kill pods on their way to the top.

 

[posiden]

I don't know I have seen quite a few OF's.
Okay now I get the bulkhead size. On my 75 I am building I will have three that size.
Closed loop won't tie into your drain stand pipes for the tank. A closed loop is just that, closed off from the rest of the filtration. It doesn't go or come from the sump/fuge.
I don't think there is a way to get all the pods to the top unharmed.
Also on the silicone a lot of people use the GE type I for windows and doors. That is if you don't want to spend the cash on the aquarium stuff. I have checked out some others and DAP makes an aquarium silicone and the ingredients are an exact match to their 50 year 100% silicone. It is a blue tube. It also matches the All Glass aquarium silicone. I can't post the link here to the silicone.

 

[king_neptune]

thanks

 

[jpa0741]

Oh yea I forgot about the slilicone. I just picked up a tube the other day here is a pick. Keep up the good work. Looking forward to your new overflow design.

 

[posiden]

Oh yea I can post a pic. Duh...
It comes in clear as well as other colors.

 

[veni vidi vici]

Originally Posted by King_Neptune
http:///forum/post/2947241
Interesting, so far I like tufa alot myself, mostly because its so light and easy to drill...ha ha. But seriously, why do you prefer it?
$$$$$ This is definitely one area you can save money in.

 

[wattsupdoc]

Like I said earlier...I'm done here....

 

[jpa0741]

What is your problem with the way it is. He said he is going to lower the one baffle that was too tall. I don't see why it will be a problem with the water level high in the fuge. And many people use 1" spacing between baffles. If your are going to comment please explain why it won't work.

 

[jpa0741]

Originally Posted by wattsupdoc
http:///forum/post/2948048
Like I said earlier...I'm done here....

What is your problem with the way it is. He said he is going to lower the one baffle that was too tall. I don't see why it will be a problem with the water level high in the fuge. And many people use 1" spacing between baffles. If your are going to comment please explain why it won't work. I don't see any problems once he lowers the one baffle.