150 Gallon Build Thread

[joelbegt]

Its hard to tell from the picture, but it looks as if you could raise the durso standpipe a bit. Raising it should cut down on the noise. It looks like I have my durso raised alot higher in my 75. I also have alot less overflow turnover than you. It seems like it would be worth it to try.

 

[inktomi]

There is room to raise my durso by about a quarter inch or so. I just need to cut the pipe.

Should I valve back by return pump some? It does about 450ish gph as-is.

 

[Tigahboy]

Very nice set-up! Looking forward to this thing fully stocked.

 

[inktomi]

As do I! Right now with the totally uncured rock I've got a good amount of ammonia in the water though.. in time! I'm doing 20g water changes every day to try to speed it up =p

(it'll give me time to plan all the fun things I want to add!)

 

[inktomi]

OK, so a quick update. When your overflow with durso sounds like Niagara Falls and you can only raise it up a quarter inch or so - DO IT!

I cannot believe the difference in sound that just a quarter inch has made. So what if I don't have a flush fitting acrylic cover for my overflow anymore - it's close enough and the difference in sound is night and day.

I don't need to have my television at 55 anymore (I used to have it around 40)!!

 

[maroun.c]

Looking great so far.
Check out my cuild thread I remember getting good tips on the dursos at the first few pages and again somewhere in the middle.
I also posted few videos a few pages ago on flow with a single MP40 on my 150 so 2 of them should rock your tank. My tank is nearly the samme dimensions as your's only a bit longer so I'm sure you'll get graeat flow with 2 Mp40s and your return pump.

 

[goochesfish]

what fish do you plan to stock?

 

[inktomi]

I've been keeping a list of fish that I like, and I've been thinking something like this:

Powder Brown Tang (Acanthurus japonicus)
2x Percula Clownfish (Amphiprion percula)
Coral Beauty Angelfish (Centropyge bispinosus)
3x Carberryi Anthias (Nemanthias carberryi)
Green Mandarin (Synchiropus splendidus)
Diamond Watchman Goby (Valencienna puellaris)

Most of those are small, but I like having more small fish rather than a bunch of large ones. Certainly nothing set in stone, and the Anthias scare me a bit because of how touchy they can be, so I may not end up getting them.

Of course, I'll be waiting for several months after the tank is going before adding the mandarin.

 

[inktomi]

The other fish that I'd love to get, but am a bit scared of due to long term mortality, is a Copperband Butterflyfish. Maybe once my tank has been running for a while, if there's one in the divers den I'll give it a try.

(I tried to edit but I'm outside my 60 minute window).

I get to read RC rather than go to work. Ah, the joys of waiting for painters to come to the house. Of course, the second I go into the restroom my doorbell will ring..

 

[mcoomer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15422504#post15422504 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by inktomi
So I think I might have an issue with the returns. Right now - there's not enough room in the sump for the water that would drain down through them in the event of a power failure.

How should I break the siphon on these? If the "power goes out" (I pull the plug), the overflow quickly fills with water and covers over all the PVC that I use for the returns. Should I use loc-line inside the tank and drill the hole in that closer up to the top of the water? (there's nothing on the inside of the bulkhead right now)

I don't see you address this in the rest of your posts so I'll tell you what I did on my tank. I used to run loc-line but went to a full length PVC spray bar. I too worried that I'd have a flood when the power went out and in the Pacific Northwest that happens several times each winter so I did two things. I drilled a hole just slightly below the water line on the return pipe. I did it with water in the tank so I used a hand drill and angled the bit so that water would be focused down into the tank. Use a stepped bit so that you can drill the hole bigger if you need. Drill, turn the pump off, check that it works, and if not drill the hole the next size larger. Step one is done.

I also put a check valve in the return line just above the outlet from the pump. From the sump I run pipe to a union then to the pump. Out of the pump I have another union, check valve, and a third union. When the pump is running the water flow is sufficient to open the valve but as soon as flow is cut a spring forces the valve to close. I get almost no backflow now when power to the pump is cut. The valves are available at you home improvement store in the plumbing section. If you use one be sure to put unions in there so you can pull the valve out and run some vinegar through it periodically. I've had mine in place for nearly 10 years, cleaning it may 4-5 times now, and have never had a drop of water on the floor due to power failure.

Hope that helps,
Mike

 

[inktomi]

That's a good idea with the spraybar. Right now what I have works - I used loc-line and have the ends right at the water level, with a u shaped hump that goes up above the water before going down to the bulkhead for the return. In this way, I only get a little bit of backflow when the power is out, as the water level quickly drops to where it can't make it over the "hump".

Fragile, for sure - but I'm unlikely to bump the locline, and it's hard to bend that stuff anyway.. so I think I'm probably fine for now.

I'm still open to better ideas though =)

Think I should drill the locline just in case?

 

[cooter181]

A check valve is definitely the way to go, they have some really nice ones on bulkreefsupply.com, they are wye's so you don't even need the union to clean them out.

 

[inktomi]

I think I've herd too many stories of check valves failing to be willing to rely on them. That said, I could see using it as a primary with a good foolproof backup such as the locline setup I'm using.

 

[hillscp]

Nice build thread inktomi. Maybe I'll be as far along as you some day. Things move slowly here in NorCal. Besides, I'm waiting for Fall so I can wait till next summer to get the chiller.

Good stuff about the durso hight. i'm sure i'll be adjusting mine once I get a sump under the tank and turn on the pumps.

 

[inktomi]

Thank you for the comments. My tank has been in progress since May really (ordered in June). I'm interested to see how hot it runs over the winter once the lights are on their normal schedule - I hope to see it around 75/76 since I normally keep the house around 74. Then with a heater in the tank I can adjust up to 77 or 78 or whatever it is my Aquacontroller says the seasonly-adjusted temperature should be.

If that's the case, then that would mean that the tank ran 2 degrees warmer than the house, so in summer when I keep the house around 76-78 I could expect no higher than 80-ish.

So if it all works out well, no chiller for me and I'll just use a desk fan with my controller. If not, then I'm going to be buying a chiller sometime in the spring as well =\

On the other hand, I'm in love with the Tinker's Butterflyfish that Divers Den has from time to time. They're a deepwater fish, so if I went that route I'd need to keep my tank no warmer than 78 at any point - and I'd most certainly need a chiller to do that (and, probably, also I'd need to set my AC a bit cooler in the summer months since as I understand it a chiller can't cool below room temperature?).

I couldn't believe how loud my durso was. Not from the rushing water noise (which you adjust the hole size in the cap for), but from the water actually falling into the overflow. Raising it up that one fourth of an inch is the best use of 1.5" PVC pipe I've ever had. Now my skimmer is the loudest part heh

 

[inktomi]

I just ordered two Oynx Clownfish from Premium Aquatics (raised at Rod's Reef). According to PA they're going to be 1/4 to 1/2" in size - so they're very small.

I have flake, and cyclops-eez to feed. I imagine that they'll be large enough for the cyclops, and if I break up the flake I'm sure they'll eat that too. Is there anything else I should try? As adults, I feed fish flake, cyclops, and a variety of frozen foods (all of which I imagine will be a bit too big for these little clowns..).

Anyone have any tips on raising such small clownfish? I'm assuming that they're past the rotifer eating stage being at least 1/4" in length.

 

[goochesfish]

The lights do not get to hot even with my hood. I keep a 4 inch fan blowing across the tank's surface and the water goes from 78.6 at night to 80.4 when all bulbs are on. I feel like I got the chiller for nothing since it rarely turns on. Are you already using your aquacontroller? My next items are a controller and a calcium reactor.

 

[inktomi]

That's good to hear. With the vortech's for flow, the only things I have that are adding heat into the water are the skimmer's Sicce pump and the Panword 50px I've got that I'm using as a return pump.

I have the Aquacontroller 3 going in my 40 gallon tank, where it controls the temperature and lights using the season-chart that varies the temp and light by the day. With a heater and a fan it's able to keep the tank within the parameters nicely. The fan does run often though - stupid 250 watt metal halide =)

The only things I would like a chiller for would be to reduce the temperature in the tank down by about 5 degrees, so it'd be around 70 in the winter and 75 in the summer or so - and also to avoid having to top off as often as I do with a fan. The temperature reduction would let me get some of the deepwater fish that I like so much.. but I'm not sold on the $800 chiller and increased electric bill yet!

Which calcium reactor are you getting? I have outlets plumbed in my returns to feed 3 things in the long term - was thinking a reactor for carbon or phosban, a chiller, and a calcium reactor.

 

[goochesfish]

the mini cal will fit in my stand
http://www.marinetechnical.com/page13.html

 

[inktomi]

The thing I worry about getting a CA reactor is finding a local supply of CO2 when I need to refill my tank. I'm not sure where I'd even start looking for one heh