reef 'n ale's 37.5g custom

[reef 'n ale]

Hi all! I'm new here and wanted to catch you up on what I've been up to for the last couple of months.

Let's start with the tank. Here it is right after construction at SoCal Creations.

Rob

 

[reef 'n ale]

Here's the stand, also built by SoCal Creations. It's oak with black stain and a poly finish. I thought it would look cool to see the wood grain through the black!

Rob

 

[Krish]

Very nice! And if I haven't welcomed you yet...Welcome to RF!! I like the design. I've acually never seen one build like that with the overflow attached permanently like that to the back. How will you control water flow? Will it be strickly by the opening and closing of something like a ball valve? I think it is cool idea because you don't lose any space in the tank itself. Can't wait to see your progress setting it all up...Good luck with it!

 

[reef 'n ale]

Thanks krish!

This whole thing has been a learning experience for me, and having lots of fun doing it!

I'm not sure exactly what you mean by "controling the flow", but the external overflow was designed to handle the Mag Drive 9.5 I'm using for the sump return. Is that what you meant?

Here's a couple of pics that are close to where I'm at with it now. It's my first attempt at plumbing, so be nice! :lol:

Rob

 

[Krish]

WOW!!! Nice!!! Yeah, it's sort of what I meant. I know with my CPR overflow, I can adjust the water flow from 600-800 gph. So, say for instance your pump weakens a bit, will you be able to adjust the flow for it?

 

[reef 'n ale]

Ah...now I see what you mean!

Well, like I said, this is my first attempt at building a tank like this...

The Mag 9.5 is sized perfectly to the small sump, so I can't go for any more flow there. So, at full pace, the display water level is just a little lower than I would like. To fix this, I'm going to try an adjustable "gate" behind the teeth of the overflow instead of trying to adjust the pump.

Does that make any sense? :lol:

 

[Krish]

Yeah, it does or even on the pvc pipe coming down under the overflow if it is easier to get to (also would take up less space in the overflow). I know with my CPR overflow, the way it works is simply by lowering or raising the overflow itself. So say for instance I want to hook up a 800 gph return pump, I'd have to lower the overflow as far down as possible, and vice versa for a smaller pump. So basically, theoretically if you were to go by how my overflow works, all you would have to do is raise or lower your water level in the tank to conpensate for the gph of return pump flow. You wouldn't necessarily need a gate valve etc for this. You'd just have to watch your water level if my thinking and logic is correct.

 

[big t]

Very nice setup you have coming along there Reefnale. Krish, basically w/ a built in overflow, or built on the back in this case there is no adjustment required. You could run a 50gph power head if you wanted to, or up to its max. You never have to worry about it losing siphon or anything like that. It just dumps any extra water thru the teeth and that goes down the drain. It really is the only way that I would ever consider doing it.

Reefnale, if you want a real quick and easy fix try adding a slightly taller durso and that will raise your water level a little, only problem w/ that is it won't surface skim quite as well as otherwise. Your suggestion of a adjustable gate is a good idea too, and if you want as a bonus for joining our forum I can whip you up something if you give me the dimensions of the wier.

 

[Krish]

You never have to worry about it losing siphon or anything like that. It just dumps any extra water thru the teeth and that goes down the drain

Do you mean it dumps the extra water back into the tank because the pipe size will limit the amount of water it will allow to flow down it or am I confusing everyone (myself included)LOL. Because if the extra water will go into the sump, then the sump will overflow if the pump cannot keep up with the flow...Right? Wrong again? LOL. I'm confused...Sorry Tom and Reef n ale.

 

[big t]

No no no no no.... LOL. Ok you set it up pretty much just like what you have now. The sump is designed to accept all water that could possably overflow the tank when power is off. Then when the pump is on the water level in the sump lowers and the tank raises. The extra water raises the water in the tank to a certain point then it all overflows thru the teeth and down the drain back to the sump. That is it. So when the power goes out the water just drops to the bottom of the teeth, and the tank stays pretty full, then w/ power on it goes up and overflows back to the tank, and there is no siphon to ever worry about. Come on over and I will show you mine in person.

 

[Krish]

Oh, O.k! I understand what you mean now Tom. Why didn't you say that in the beginning(LOL)

Come on over and I will show you mine in person.

That's a mighty long flight to see an overflow(LOL) I guess I might as well come and let you take me to IAP onetime and pick up an acrylic tank! Thanks for clearing up the overflow operation thingy for me. It makes things a little more interesting for me now.

 

[reef 'n ale]

Hey Tom! Thanks for the offer! Steve at SoCal is making the "gate" for me. It should work, but if it doesn't I may need some help.

The way mine is working, if I turn off the power the tank will siphon to the level of the two returns(wherever the Loc-Line is set). To minimize this, I'm going to drill a small hole in the Loc-Line fittings that thread into the bulkhead. That will break the siphon at the highest possible point.

Now I'm getting confused! :lol:

Rob

 

[Krish]

I'm sorry Rob for starting up all of this confusion(LOL) But look on the bright side, atleast you won't have to worry about any issues later on down the road. Tom is great at what he does, no doubt and does it for a living. I'm sure he will get you all sorted out. Can't wait to see your tank all setup...Did I say that already?(LOL)

 

[reef 'n ale]

No worries krish!

I think I know what's going on, I just have trouble describing it sometimes. :lol:

I'll post some more pics soon of my progress.

For now, here's a link to my construction page at SoCal...

http://www.socalcreations.com/36x16x15_rob_system.htm

 

[Elmo18]

That's a nice clean setup.

Makes me think of a nice clownfish setup....hehehe

- Elmo

 

[reef 'n ale]

Thanks Elmo! Let me guess... you love clownfish, right? :lol:

I have a beautiful pair of percs...well, at least I think they are percs. I've never understood fully how to tell sometimes. Maybe they are ocellaris, but they are the coolest!

Rob

 

[Kensn]

To say that Elmo love clowns is an understatement. I really like your setup, as said before it looks clean. I think the "gate" will solve your tank level probel. You may want to get a Y connector for the one side of the lockline and put one return up towards the surface to brak siphon sooner.

 

[reef 'n ale]

Thanks Ken!

I'm really trying to keep everything as clean and organized as I can. I'm a little anal that way... :lol:

I will use that plan to break the siphon as high as I can. The sump is tall enough to handle quite a bit though, so I'm not TOO worried. Thanks!

Rob

 

[Krish]

Very very nice as I've said before Rob! Can't wait for you to get it up and running again for the 3rd time(LOL)

 

[reef 'n ale]

Whew....water! It's about time!! :lol: .

Rob