mattseattle
Well-known member
soon my friend, soon - be patient! 
live rock will be ordered this week.
live rock will be ordered this week.
My new 120 upgrade
- Thread starter mattseattle
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Krish
RF STAFF
Just messin' with ya
I always hear it from the others and just wanted to say it to someone else for a change
mattseattle
Well-known member
well i'm going on a year with this tank so yeah it's been time enough already!
mattseattle
Well-known member
I spent Sunday finishing up the PVC and getting everything glued together. Today was leak test day! Here are the final shots of the plumbing. It's even more scarey now, huh?
mattseattle
Well-known member
This is the plumbing to feed the skimmer.
and overflow plumbing:
and overflow plumbing:
mattseattle
Well-known member
and this is the beautiful sound of water filling the tank for the final leak test! I hope anyway!
mattseattle
Well-known member
The plan now is to let it run for about a week and see if it leaks anywhere. Also, I am going to try out a few scenarios and make sure I can easily change out a pump, do maintenance on various things, and remove the drum out of the Oceans Motions 4-way all while the tank is filled.
spongebob lover
flea whisperer
woouu dood !!
i like how it's getting filled !!
i like how it's getting filled
!!
Scooterman
Well-known member
Hey Matt where did you get the flex outlets, they don't look like the normal loc-line?
BTW somehow I missed this but glad I found it, I'm still building my stand, so I can add your side doors to mine. Ever gave thought to running hard pvc on the O.M. unit?
BTW somehow I missed this but glad I found it, I'm still building my stand, so I can add your side doors to mine. Ever gave thought to running hard pvc on the O.M. unit?
mattseattle
Well-known member
Yeah, they are not the normal loc line....they are the Oceans Motions Omni-flex nozzles that come in 1" and 1.5". I really like them as they are extremely adjustable.
The side doors are great for sliding in and our your skimmer, sump or other equipment. It's the only way to go.
I thought about putting hard PVC on the OM-4 but with elbows and getting plumbing to work correctly I just chose to go with Spa-flex. It saved me a lot of time and it also gives me flexiblity in where I can position the pump.
The side doors are great for sliding in and our your skimmer, sump or other equipment. It's the only way to go.
I thought about putting hard PVC on the OM-4 but with elbows and getting plumbing to work correctly I just chose to go with Spa-flex. It saved me a lot of time and it also gives me flexiblity in where I can position the pump.
mattseattle
Well-known member
so does anyone use check valves on their return system? I am debating whether I need to add one. I put siphon breaks on both return omniflex nozzles at the very top and that seems to work very well. I don't want to add something else to the mix that could fail and/or be high maintenance. Everything I've read seems to nix them if you can get away without them.
thoughts?
thoughts?
-=dieseldave=-
Well-known member
I have one on my small system it worked great fora month or so, it was a real cool looking(clear). It grew coralline faster than anything I have ever seen. does it work now, Nope. What a waste of time.
mattseattle
Well-known member
ok, guess that answers my question!
mfinn
Surgeonfish
As long as you have a syphon break drilled into the return lines, you should not have any problem. Adding a check valve like a wye check valve, would be insurance in case the syphon break holes became clogged.
I've used the wye check valves for many years and never had one fail.
I don't have mine close enough to light to have coraline grow in them.
I've used the wye check valves for many years and never had one fail.
I don't have mine close enough to light to have coraline grow in them.
Last edited:
mattseattle
Well-known member
thanks finn! i'm used to cleaning out the siphon breaks on a regular basis so hopefully i'll be fine. i can always add the check valve later if i think it's an absolute. my budget is getting tight now!
Scooterman
Well-known member
mattseattle said:my budget is getting tight now!
LOL I feel your pain, you have nice stuff so it will be worth it!:|
mattseattle
Well-known member
thanks! well i learned from past experience that it does not pay to buy cheap stuff. i think I went through 4 skimmers on my 55 gallon tank before I found one that worked well. I went through 3 or 4 lighting systems and countless powerheads, wave makers, etc. to realize I should have just drilled the tank! so this was a cumulation of 3+ years worth of knowledge wrapped up into one. so now we'll see how it will work!
so this was a cumulation of 3+ years worth of knowledge wrapped up into one. so now we'll see how it will work!
Scooterman
Well-known member
Hey I'm basically doing the same, I sold off my 100g tank & starting new. I hope to get my MBV soon, it is the first step to doing things better!
Maxx
Staff Housemonkey
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2003
- Messages
- 2,935
Matt,
I prefer not to use check valves. I've heard too many horror stories of them failing when they should have worked. Instead I flood test my system.
Determine the max volume your sump can handle w/o overflowing in the event of a power failure. Dont forget your sump will be containing things like skimmers, heaters, pumps, etc...these displace water, so your sump will be containing less water than before. Subtract an inch from the total water height in the sump. This is the highest level you want water in the sump.
Determine how deep you NEED your sump returns to be. If you need an inch of water over the returns to prevent whirlpools that suck air, then you need an inch. If you need two inches, then you need two inches. Now cut your sump returns down to that max needed length. This is now the siphon break. If your tank loses power, the sump returns can only back siphon water until they hit air.
Fomr there, you just calculate how much water that is. Length X Width X Height, Divided by 231 = you water volume. For example, if your returns are 1 inch below the surface of the water, and your tank is a standard 120 gallon size, (48Lx24Wx24H) you will multiply 48X24X1, (length x width X height), = 1152, divided by 231 = 4.987 gallons of water. So your sump will now need to handle an additional 5 gallons of water to prevent flooding in a power outtage.
Repeat this process for your sump....L X W X H, divided by 231 should allow you to factor the volume of your sump, 5 gallons (in this case) will take up.
If your sump is a standard 30 gallon tank (36Lx12Wx16H) if you allow 3 inches for your emergency water level, you will have a reserve space of 5.6 gallons of water. (36 X 12 X 3 = 1296, / 231 = 5.610).
What you do at this point is mark your sump so that you have a high mark for normal water level. If you make a mark at the 4 inch point, (allows safety margin just in case), and you dont let your sump level pass that mark, your sump wont overflow in a power outtage.
To test, shut off the power to the tank briefly. If it looks like it will overflow, turn the power back on and adjust what you need to. I've been doing this for a few years now and had infrequent power outtages over the years and never had a flood from backsiphoning. I've flooded the house other ways, but not like that.
I prefer this method to the standard small siphon break method so i dont have to worry about snails or other crap clogging the siphon break by mistake.
Hope that all made sense,
Nick
I prefer not to use check valves. I've heard too many horror stories of them failing when they should have worked. Instead I flood test my system.
Determine the max volume your sump can handle w/o overflowing in the event of a power failure. Dont forget your sump will be containing things like skimmers, heaters, pumps, etc...these displace water, so your sump will be containing less water than before. Subtract an inch from the total water height in the sump. This is the highest level you want water in the sump.
Determine how deep you NEED your sump returns to be. If you need an inch of water over the returns to prevent whirlpools that suck air, then you need an inch. If you need two inches, then you need two inches. Now cut your sump returns down to that max needed length. This is now the siphon break. If your tank loses power, the sump returns can only back siphon water until they hit air.
Fomr there, you just calculate how much water that is. Length X Width X Height, Divided by 231 = you water volume. For example, if your returns are 1 inch below the surface of the water, and your tank is a standard 120 gallon size, (48Lx24Wx24H) you will multiply 48X24X1, (length x width X height), = 1152, divided by 231 = 4.987 gallons of water. So your sump will now need to handle an additional 5 gallons of water to prevent flooding in a power outtage.
Repeat this process for your sump....L X W X H, divided by 231 should allow you to factor the volume of your sump, 5 gallons (in this case) will take up.
If your sump is a standard 30 gallon tank (36Lx12Wx16H) if you allow 3 inches for your emergency water level, you will have a reserve space of 5.6 gallons of water. (36 X 12 X 3 = 1296, / 231 = 5.610).
What you do at this point is mark your sump so that you have a high mark for normal water level. If you make a mark at the 4 inch point, (allows safety margin just in case), and you dont let your sump level pass that mark, your sump wont overflow in a power outtage.
To test, shut off the power to the tank briefly. If it looks like it will overflow, turn the power back on and adjust what you need to. I've been doing this for a few years now and had infrequent power outtages over the years and never had a flood from backsiphoning. I've flooded the house other ways, but not like that.
I prefer this method to the standard small siphon break method so i dont have to worry about snails or other crap clogging the siphon break by mistake.
Hope that all made sense,
Nick
mattseattle
Well-known member
Thanks Nick! That was quite helpful. I did a flood test earlier and everything worked perfectly and my sump still had quite a bit of extra volume to go. I think it will work fine. I'm going to put it through a few more real world tests in the next week before the tank goes into production.
I would rather skip the check valve if it's not a 'must have' and it doesn't sound like it is.
Thanks everyone!
I would rather skip the check valve if it's not a 'must have' and it doesn't sound like it is.
Thanks everyone!
