Come pick my brain...I know there are more beginners out there.

[Tecnomage]

i would go with the 1400's for 15$ for sure especially if you plan to keep SPS. I use to try and shortcut my flow just ask Myteemouse and I failed hard. When I started again this time the first big investment I made was 2 MP40w ES powerheads in my 75 Gallon. The wave timer off the RKL will be awesome. It will be really cool if you can eventually sell the old non-wavemaker PH's and end up with 4 on a timer like that. Really random good flow.

Well thanks man, I'm out of questions.... for now, but I'm sure I'll dream up some more. I was looking at the MP40s but I really don't think I can justify it even if I get one used, I need a new skimmer first, then better lights, then something else I'm sure

 

[akunochi]

Well thanks man, I'm out of questions.... for now, but I'm sure I'll dream up some more. I was looking at the MP40s but I really don't think I can justify it even if I get one used, I need a new skimmer first, then better lights, then something else I'm sure

It's one of those things you have to save for. Heck I just bought my first controller and I am one my 6th system LOL. When you have more questions just come back....I'll be ready for ya

 

[jill]

akunochi!!! You are the answer to my prayers!!!!

I am not technically new but pretty light on my plumbing knowledge and adding a new refugium to my existing system. These pictures help a lot.

My question is that I want to add another 75 gallon fuge UNDER my existing 75 g sump which is under my 250 peninsula display on the the top floor.

The water now flows from the overflow on the display down two 11/2 " J - pipes to socks in my sump then out a side port to the Barracuda return (with a bypass the the chiller below) and back up to the peninsula display.

If I am putting the new fuge under the display can I just plumb a 90 from the old return hole on the existing sump down into a sock in the bottom refugium? Does that make sense? Is there a better way for me to do it?

I like you sooo much right now LOL





The 4 bulb T5 will be hard pressed to keep up the the most light demanding corals. It can be made to work depending on the height of the lights from the tank and the placement of corals below the water line. I would recommend looking into upgrading to a 6 bulb fixture, MH lighting or LED lighting if your budget allows for it in the future. If not looking into some of the less light demanding SPS that you may come across such as Monti caps or Hydropora.(sp) The individual reflectors will help but you are still running only 216W of lighting vs most 24-25" deep tanks with run a 250W MH or comparable with decent reflectors.



Lucky for you the father Bangaii will host the fry in his mouth until they become a bit larger. Your first concern will be capturing the young fish without causing bodily harm and before they become a snack for your larger fish. This naturally occurs by using a long spine urchin for protection. One thing that can be done is a chem light fry trap. I'll attach a link below for construction. Also once the fry are released from the father a simple 10 gallon tank will suffice for raising them for awhile. Here is a great article from teh breeding registry that will help you out

Light trap in case you can't catch the male.

Chemlight larvae trap

Bangaii Cardinal Breeding Registry

Raising Bangaii Fry



A herbie overflow is a very simple a silent way to do an overflow using only 2 pipes. I have used one in a previous tank of mine and it is very easy to regulate. A later improvement to the design was the Bean animal silent a failsafe overflow. I will include link to both designs for you.

Herbie overflow (Note you must use a gate valve not a ball valve)

very long discussion on Herbie overflow

Basic Herbie graphic

Improved Bean animal overflow (requiring 3 holes)

Bean animal overflow

The Maxi-jet 1200 is a 295 GPH pump in "powerhead" IE pump mode at 0' head. I would look into a mini-jet 404 or 606 adjustable flow pump. Several of our sponsors carry them. This will allow you to adjust the flow down or up as your need grow.



I would need to know the dimension of your tank as well as your current aquascape to give you an accurate answer. A generic answer would be is has to do with the collision point of the water flow from the powerheads creating random current throughout the tank.



Just as a reference 1" PVC under a Pressure of 20 PSI can flow 2200GPH. Under Low pressure IE gravity it can feed 960 GPH. If you upgrade to a MAG 18you can upgrade to 1.5 if you feel it is necessary, but depending on your head height it may not be. Also keep in mind you would have to replace it all and not leave any of the old tubing behind as that would create a choke point. Your Maximum flow will be dictated by the smallest choke point. (IE You will flow less but with higher pressure at the discharge)

(Reference PVC flow rates based on ID)

 

[akunochi]

Hey Jill great to see you jump in here. So If I understand right the DT is a floor above your current sump? You are wanting to add a fuge directly underneath the current fuge like a stacked tank?

If the above is correct what I would do is have a bulk head from the sump feed the fuge with a gate valve to regulate flow. Add a divider to separate the bulkhead from fuge material (macros, sand etc.) Then add a bulkhead and plumb your barracuda into the fuge. Does that make sense?

Your other option would be to have a pipe with a gate valve feed the fuge and a small pump feed from the fuge back into the sump return chamber.

 

[akunochi]

Or did you mean the entire tank was on your second floor? Either way the above would work. If you need meto draw if up just let me know and I'll give it a shot.

 

[akunochi]

Read this with fresh eyes.

If I am putting the new fuge under the display can I just plumb a 90 from the old return hole on the existing sump down into a sock in the bottom refugium? Does that make sense? Is there a better way for me to do it?

That would work but I would lose the sock and add a gate valve.

 

[Nana Chloropsis]

akunochi, I have two questions!

Would drilling (and then of course rinsing) established liverock create any sort of bacteria bloom or cycle?

In my DT (center return box, 1 1/2 inch main drain, Herbie) I am experiencing a lot of noise. On and off again, not from crashing through the teeth of the box but from the drain pipe itself. It sounds like someone is pouring a gallon of water from way up high into a small narrow glass, every 5 minutes) I believe the problem is I may have a low spot somewhere in the line to the sump ( the DT is in the house, the sump is 25 feet away in the garage with 7' of head loss) - and possibly air in the line that is only allowing water to trickle by. Another hint to this may be the fact I was expecting much more flow out from the DT and it's just not there. If it IS air, do I have to completely replumb? That crawlspace under the house is scary....

Thank you in advance for doing this. This is my first tank with a SUMP and it's been a learning experience to say the least...lol

 

[akunochi]

akunochi, I have two questions![\quote]

Would drilling (and then of course rinsing) established liverock create any sort of bacteria bloom or cycle?

Are you wanting to drill to add PVC/Acrylic rods to it? I would recommend getting a rubbermaid container or similar and adding some salt water (just enough to cover the rock youre drilling) in it. Then get a drill bit long enough to reach the rock and drill it under water. If that isn't an option you may experience a slight bloom from bacterial die off from being in the air and handled. How long you handle it and leave it out will dictate the bloom.

In my DT (center return box, 1 1/2 inch main drain, Herbie) I am experiencing a lot of noise. On and off again, not from crashing through the teeth of the box but from the drain pipe itself. It sounds like someone is pouring a gallon of water from way up high into a small narrow glass, every 5 minutes) I believe the problem is I may have a low spot somewhere in the line to the sump ( the DT is in the house, the sump is 25 feet away in the garage with 7' of head loss) - and possibly air in the line that is only allowing water to trickle by. Another hint to this may be the fact I was expecting much more flow out from the DT and it's just not there. If it IS air, do I have to completely replumb? That crawlspace under the house is scary....

So you have a true herbie would be my first question. You aren't bringing the pipes together into one pipe that runs to your sump right? If it is a low spot that is causing air to fill the pipe you will have to find the low spot and fix it. Your main drain on the herbie should be under full siphon and remain submerged though so I am unsure you air got in there. You could try running rodi line up the pipe attached to a small pump and see if you can find the air pocket and suck it out. You will have to fix whatever is allowing air in though or it will be time wasted.

Let me know if you need anything else to get that straightened out.

Thank you in advance for doing this. This is my first tank with a SUMP and it's been a learning experience to say the least...lol

My pleasure

 

[Nana Chloropsis]

I would like to give credit to whoever got me thinking about making a acrylic base and drilling holes in it for the rods and rock, as a support base for aquascaping, but whoever you are, thank you! Yes, acrylic rods. I have at least 200 pounds in four tanks, waiting to go into the new DT and I would like to have as short of a cycle as possible. I drilled one hole last night and it made quite the mess, so it got me thinking about bacteria/new exposed surface. I hadn't thought to drill underwater in a tub, thank you.

Yes I have a true Herbie. I have a ball valve under the tank, not used, and another one near the sump, other than that it's one big C-flex line running out under the house. I'll mess with the valve a bit more, but really, there's not much to mess with as the amount of water is not what I'd expect from a 1 1/2 incher. I am afraid that the C-flex has a low dip in it... I am assuming that running a small (as in RODI) line down from the DT drain and snake-ing any air out would be what you mean? (sorry to ask again, I am just unclear..)

 

[akunochi]

Yes.

It sounds like you only have one c-flex line running from your sump to your tank...you should have two. Also it is going to be very hard to dial in the herbie with a ball valve. That may be where the air is coming from. It gets low....burps and then goes to a normal level....level slowly drops....burps repeat.

Yeah running the rodi line up to snake out any air is what I was getting at. The air may be in several spots so maybe attaching like a maxi jet 900 to literally suck it out would work well.

 

[jill]

Okay - so here is a crude (very crude) drawing of what I think you said and what I am thinking. Does this look like it makes sense? I am restricted in space because of the walls...

Read this with fresh eyes.

If I am putting the new fuge under the display can I just plumb a 90 from the old return hole on the existing sump down into a sock in the bottom refugium? Does that make sense? Is there a better way for me to do it?

That would work but I would lose the sock and add a gate valve.

 

[akunochi]

That looks like it should work. Just add a gate valve to the drain going into the fuge and also keep in mind in a power outage water will now all end up in your fuge not your sump.

 

[Krish]

Don't let them pick that brain of yours too much Seth. You are only working off of half of a brain and so too much picking will leave you with nothing :lol:

Great thread BTW! You seem to actually know a little bit about the hobby! I'm impressed! eace:

 

[akunochi]

Don't let them pick that brain of yours too much Seth. You are only working off of half of a brain and so too much picking will leave you with nothing :lol:

Great thread BTW! You seem to actually know a little bit about the hobby! I'm impressed! eace:

Don;t let me fool you. Just lots of reading on a great forum...experience and google to fill in the gaps.

 

[Krish]

Don;t let me fool you. Just lots of reading on a great forum...experience and google to fill in the gaps.

You are doing good man IMO. Very helpful and have some good thoughts. Keep it up.

 

[jill]

Excellent!

Thanks for the help Seth.

That looks like it should work. Just add a gate valve to the drain going into the fuge and also keep in mind in a power outage water will now all end up in your fuge not your sump.

 

[Peppie]

Seth if you keep this up that will be a HUGE GAP. lol

 

[akunochi]

Glad I could help....hope it all works out. if not post back up and we'll get it straightened out.

Who's next

 

[akunochi]

Seth if you keep this up that will be a HUGE GAP. lol

Whacta mean cletus? Am I doing it wrong?

 

[Peppie]

Referring to picking your brain. If you are any thing like me, I once was picking at my nose, I pulled out a long one, Next thing I knew I couldnt remember the previous 3 days LOL I wouldnt wish this on you. Be careful, on how and what you pick!!!