Squidd I'm Almost Ready To Move To The Basement!!

[squidd]

Originally Posted by Lubeck
Where exactly am I putting the ATO? The float valve is going to be in the same chamber as the return pump? I ask this just because the return pump water level will change if I have carbon in the chamber before it. Also, because using the mag18 it does not seem to be pulling as much water, in turn, the water level of the return chamber is much higher.
What type of drill bit did you use to drill the 5/8 hole?
ATO will go in the side of return chamber where pump is located...
1/2" below height of "D" which should be 9" ...so set float level at 8 1/2"...
Use diamond tip Dremel bit to "start" hole and open with Glass drill...

 

[squidd]

What should I use to put on the 1" intake pvc pipe for the C/L? The large sponge I have, I don't like it.
How about a "strainer"...Possibly the black "cone" that came with the Mag 18 or a nylon screened one from LFS/on-line...?

 

[squidd]

I did a check on the water . alk-3.3/ cal-400 / mag.1200. all of those readings have dropped compared to "before" fuge/sump.
.... there is brownish algae on the rock as well as the sand bed....
...Any suggestions would be appreciated
All you added was a large influx of new water...Depending on how it was prepared and balanced when introduced, this could/would dilute/lower cal and alk readings.
Brown indicates Diatoms feeding on an influx of silicates...(kind of a new tank syndrome) and should clear up soon, unless there is an excess of silicates in your water...
Hopefully you have washed and rinsed your pipes and sump tank after construction and haven't contaminated tank...Pipe glue is inert when dry, silicone is inert when dry, maybe some oils or something on glass from when they cut it , Or Home Depot Dust from inside the pipes, but again I asume you cleaned before use...
So we're back to water..
Or dsb issues...
Of course, I have nirtrous bubbles coming up from the sand and lr but that is a different problem...Also, I don't know if I have said this already but, there is gray streaks or large patches in my DSB, what is it? its not on the top but in the middle and bottom part. It seems to happen every time the top layer of sand gets covered up...

 

[lubeck]

Originally Posted by Squidd
All you added was a large influx of new water...Depending on how it was prepared and balanced when introduced, this could/would dilute/lower cal and alk readings.
Brown indicates Diatoms feeding on an influx of silicates...(kind of a new tank syndrome) and should clear up soon, unless there is an excess of silicates in your water...
So, it will just take longer if there is an "excess"? And should I do more water changes?
Hopefully you have washed and rinsed your pipes and sump tank after construction and haven't contaminated tank...Pipe glue is inert when dry, silicone is inert when dry, maybe some oils or something on glass from when they cut it , Or Home Depot Dust from inside the pipes, but again I asume you cleaned before use...
I did wash the pipes, but I am not certain that I removed all the dirt and such, also, the cement, I did wait about 2 hours as recommended. But.... lets say I did not efficiently clean or wait for drying, and I did contaminate the tank. Do I just do 2-3 10%-20% water changes a week?Will the tank eventually cycle itself clean?
So we're back to water..
Or dsb issues...
I still believe this is the root of my problem, the hermits dig too far, and actually dug up the grayish sand from 3"down. I will be taking them to lfs on Thursday. I am hoping once this mini cycle is over, which I am assuming it will be just by regular water changes, the excess bubbles will be gone forever. I believe this vaction will be good for the tank because I wont be here to mess things up.
I have decided to wait to do the ATO because the diamond drill bit is 40bucks. I will take care of it when i get back, plus i forgot i need to get a pressurized tank$$$.

 

[squidd]

Dremel tool...Diamond bits #7103 and 7134 ..about $7-$9 at the hdwr store..

 

[lubeck]

About the water quality... should I be doing large water changes? I don't know if this cycle will go away on its own. Of course, I still have been doing the weekly though but should I do more than once a week, will that speed up the process?

 

[squidd]

Water Changes never hurt (within reason)...as long as you confident in the quality of the water your using...

 

[lubeck]

Squidd,
I have a serious problem... I had to let my dog out at 3am last night and of course... had to check out the tank... anyway the water level in the DT was ALMOST OVER THE EDGE!!! My 3/4" drain line was not taking any water... I think there might be a snail somewhere in the pipe. What should I do? I opened my 1" drain all the way to make up for the lack of water from the 3/4 pipe. Although, when the forein body decides to exit the 3/4 drain it will create some problem if I am not around, like vacation!! Please help!!

 

[lubeck]

Angry is not the word... I cannot tell you how livid I am right now and for the past week. (just so you know this has nothing to do with you).
I am ready to f#@cki& sell everything right NOW. This has been the most expensive stress headache I have ever had and don't EVER WANT AGAIN.
I thought with the moving of the sump/fuge and the LARGE influx of water and new protein skimmer and the closed loop and HOURS OF MY LIFE, it would be easier to maintain and the DT would be in MUCH better shape or at the very least have better water qaulity.
Between the curing live rock which was stupid on my part, the MASSIVE amount of bubbles still coming from lets see.... oh yeah EVERYTHING CLOSED LOOP/SUMP/FUGE/LR/LS. I cannot get rid of them plus the nitrous gasses, the loud noises/vibrations coming from everywhere/the dursos changing randomly.
So to sum things up... I have spent a $1000.00 on NEW/Good/ equipment and All I have to show for it is a LOUD/BUBBLY/TOXIC FREAKIN REEF TANK THAT MY CORALS HAVE NOT COME OUT SINCE THE CHANGE. THIS IS BEYOND DISCOURAGING.
The tank looks absolutly horrible and has looked that way for quite some time. I have put hours upon hours of time trying tweak here and there. My wife hates me for the money I have dumped into it and the time I spend with the tank is more than with her, so the time spent with the tank has been unsuccessful.
I am so bitter, that I hope something dies when I am gone so when I come back I can just break the system down. I thought this would save me time but has done just the opposite, really... I spend a minimum of 5 hours a DAY trying to reduce bubbles, fix flow, noise ect. I don't know what to do, I do know that I don't want to give up, but I have had enough. It is just sooooooo discouraging to put so much time and money in to something new and it turns out to be worse than when you started.
However, I do hope the tank does not overflow all over my living room while we are in Florida. This would most certainly convince me to get rid of this absolute headache.
I love the reef, and I love taking the time to care for it... but I will not spend thousands of dollars in upgrades just to have a negative affect on the DT. I wish this plan would have worked out how I planned... I am sad... I really wanted this to work out...

 

[squidd]

Lubeck...
I can understand your frustration...Especially in light of involvement vs.return...
and I'm sorry things aren't working out as planned, but can assure you these are not insurmountable obstacles..
The frustrating part is we/you are fighting battles on several fronts at the same time which may or may not be connected..so bouncing back and forth takes up a lot of energy...
Dude..you need a vacation...

I'm sure we are overlooking something rather minor, probably obvious, that is hard to see when focus is drawn in several areas at once...So tackling one problem at a time is probably a better approach...
I can tell you what it's NOT... which will help narrow down your/our focus to what it may be..
It's not the bubbles...as stated earlier, though annoying, not harming DT..
It's not the sump/fuge tank..That particular design, layout, even measurements are working in Leonas system just fine...
It's not the "additional water volume" causing cycle...(unless there's a problem with source water)...otherwise it's just a WC dilution of elements...
So that leaves us with:
1. DSB issues..Crabs digging, Overall health and age of bed and balance of micro flora and fauna "life" keeping bed functional...
2. Uncured LR possibly causing mini cycle and resultant reaction of corals..
3. Source water...silicates Diatom bloom etc..
4. Drain system function, drain capacity and source of bubbles in sump...
The 4th one I can help you with...
I believe the issue is the long vertical drops you have (per photos and earlier "theory") on suction effect and possibly the "H" pipe (crossover manifold) I mentioned earlier several times and am not sure if you installed or how you have that laid out...
So here is the (hopefully) solution to vertical drain and cross over/bubble issue..
Cut the two drain lines just below floor(ceiling) level ...45* toward center..."T" into larger crossover "H" manifold... valve each end... drop into appropriate chambers...
This should cause slight back pressure and slow and collect water in manifold..which then gets distributed and balanced thru valves to proper flow speed in each chamber...
If set up correctly...should eliminate most of sump tank bubbles...which will then not get to Main tank...
Then (after) just a little more "tweaking and tuning" of Dursos for silence...
Time will help with LR "mini cycle'..
Removing Crabs is a start on DSB "stirring" issues should also allow Micro flora and fauna to regenerate..
Hopefully source water tests out fine, and over time and tank can stabilize at "normal" levels...
Corals come out, Fish are happy, the Sun comes out, and the Wife sings happy songs about how brilliant you are for coming up with this idea in the first place...

 

[lubeck]

Well said!
First, how do I fix the durso? Where can I get air valves for durso? I have one on the 1" I need one for the 3/4". They keep fighting each other and the 1" is winning thus not draining any water to fuge and slowly raising the water level in teh DT.
Will the manifold (what size 1-1/4"?) eliminate the fight of the two durso? I will need to adjust the flow with the valves right... to get the gph to each section of the sump, right?
The tank is only 1year old and the DSB is only been in since December.
As far as the water source goes... It only reads .2 of nitrates 0's on everything else. So that should not matter too much.
Squidd, I thank you for your commitment to the project and hope your still around when I get back from Florida. See ya soon! (really mean talk or type to ya soon)
Thanks again

 

[sw65galma]

Lubeck i know how you feel, i've about given up 100 times...I can't make a good PVC connection to save my life...
I've left my tank alone for some time to re-think things...Then after I've calmed down and thought about the problems...I'll re-attack them.

 

[lubeck]

I'm back!
Have not done any tests on the water but still have some nitrous bubbles brown algae and have increased a bit in puprple coraline and green fuzz algae. It may be from the food but not sure. I did not loose any fish but did loose it seems my zoo's. should i remove them or wait? Will they cause amonia and contaminate the tank?
The fuge walls have been cleaned quite well but the ls has brown algae.
Need some advice on my last post. how to fix the durso, build the maifold, ect.

 

[lubeck]

One more thing... I don't think I have enough flow with the CL. I believe this is also why the algae is occuring. Any suggestions?

 

[squidd]

Hope you had a restfull vacation...!! Cause now the "real" work starts...

Here's my thoughts...we want to work one issue out at a time, in a logical order so we dont endup chasing tail and going in circles...(again)..
Start with the drain line modification and "Manifold" pipe to slow and control drain flow...
"Then" remodel and adjust Dursos to work with drain line...
I don't think I have enough flow with the CL.
Did you use the Loc line ends..?? :thinking:

 

[squidd]

We went through the theory on the Manifold earlier, so to bring it to reality, we want to go as large as possible in the Horizontal chamber...
I suggest 1 1/2".. to gather and collect the rushing "vertical drop" water and allow it to collect and fill the chamber...Then we drain it from the bottom getting a more "condensed" water flow (less bubbles)
The 45*s also help in breaking the vertical drop and allow trapped air to work it's way back "up" the drain lines rather than disburse through your sump...
After we get the water slowed and collecting in the manifold, we can adjust Dursos for silence and "matched" airflow...
The "air valves I mentioned are just the little (usually blue) air valves from an "air pump" system... 50 cent pieces, probably find them at Wall Mart if not the LFS...

 

[squidd]

What about the Zoa's...did they just retract...or are they a slimey mess...?

 

[lubeck]

Yes I am using loc lines
The zoo's were slimey
I did some tests last night my nitrites and trates were reading but the amonia was 0. I going to do a water change tomorrow. I won't be able to install the maifold until later in the week. I am disappointed that the nitrous bubbles did not disapate while I was gone. There are not as many but still present.
To top things off... I was doing yard work today and my wife comes out and says your right side of the tank is not lite. So now I have no lighting on the right side... will my carpet anemone be Ok? I need to take the bulb out just to make sure salt did not cause it to flicker out. I don't what to do. I know it will take about a week to get a new bulb if I need one. Will my corals be Ok. I still have the middle 150DE 20k and on the left. a 250DE 10k. Plus, I have the 2-65w blue acntic. What to do... what to do... I need a part time job to pay for this habbit.

 

[lubeck]

I noticed before leaving for vacation that the the holes I drilled for the durso's are clogging with salt debris causing more suction. Is this normal? I need to fix that problem as well. I think I'd rather just by the durso they are only 20 bucks on line.
On another note... percepitation and salt "eventually" building up on equipment is two different things right. I just notice downstairs when the water droplets sometimes hit the edge of the tank it eventually creates salt chucks as well as upstairs. this is normal right? Percepitation happens inside the water... right?

 

[lubeck]

About your picture of the manifold diagram... The issue I may have is I do NOT have any space between the 1" drain and the 3/4" drain they are right next to each other... will this be a problem? Also, what size are the pipes coming from each end of the maifold?