450 Gallon Peninsula Display

I am now an official member of the Deltec club. The model of skimmer that I purchased is an AP902. I ordered it and set it up the same weekend I moved my live rock to the display. I am still trying to adjust it to make it the efficient skimming machine that I paid dearly for. Hopefully it was money well spent. Right now it seems to be running fine but I am not getting a dark skimmate but more of a very watered brown tea. I do not have a heavy fish load which I know is part of the problem. I only have 5 fish in the tank right now. Last night the skimmer went nuts when I fed my fish and pumped out about 2-3 gallons of lightly colored tan skimmate. I guess I will read/post some more on the Deltec forum.

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<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8509221#post8509221 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mcrist
Yeah, it was more than what I wanted to spend too. I spent about 2-3 months looking around to find cheap aragonite sand but couldn't find it or when I did the cost of freighting 1100 pounds of sand matched or exceeded what I would spend at That Pet Place. I didn't want to delay my tank any further so I had to open my wallet again.
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Understandable,I may end up doing the same thing if i cant find any.where did you find some where you needed to freight it in?
 
With this tank I wanted to make sure I had the ability to have whatever flow I would need to go through the sump. So I had three 2 inch drains drilled to accommodate whatever flow I would need in the future. Right now I have all three drains hooked up but only two of them are actually taking any water. Two of the drains are fitted with a custom Durso overflows and the third just has a union and a strainer that sits higher than the other two. This way it can be used in an emergency but otherwise it stays bone dry. All three drains go to the sump except one has a ball valve and a T’s that allows all water to go to my skimmer. I wish the skimmer allowed a larger fitting than one inch but I guess it will do. The return line is out of 1” PVC which is feed with an Iwaki MD100RLT that I estimate is pumping at about 1500 gph. I went the easy/inexpensive route and used a 150 gallon Rubbermaid poly tank for my sump. I still have 2 more 100 gallon poly tanks that I used to house my fish during this entire move experience. They survived about 5 months in those 2 tanks.

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<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8510283#post8510283 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 46bfinGA
Understandable,I may end up doing the same thing if i cant find any.where did you find some where you needed to freight it in?
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The only place I found was http://www.safesand.com/ but they were twice the cost.
 
yeh those prices on the sand are way high.your sump setup looks good!what is that grey stuff around the poles in front of the sump?is that just a mat or sometype of flooring epoxy?
 
mcrist, wow, your setup is really nice. I noticed that you live in Allentown, I'm in Reading. I purchased my tank at TFP.

Even though I have not updated my thread in a long time, here it is: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/s...rpage=25&highlight=image intense&pagenumber=1

I also just purchased the Deltec 902, you'll love it!

Did you have good experience with Envision Acrylics? Are they close to us?

I'm in the process of building a new facility for my company. I want a peninsula tank in my lobby. You are giving me some great ideas!
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8512640#post8512640 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 46bfinGA
yeh those prices on the sand are way high.your sump setup looks good!what is that grey stuff around the poles in front of the sump?is that just a mat or sometype of flooring epoxy?
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That grey stuff is actually a 4ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢x4ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ Ã"šÃ‚½ thick steal plate panted gray. My idea was to help distribute the weight from the two posts on the concrete. I was afraid to just have that much weight/pressure on a small square that the concrete would crack. Moving the plate downstairs was really difficult since it weight over 300 pounds. I took four of us to safely move it to the basement. I never realized that Ã"šÃ‚½ steal weighed that much. :eek:
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8513292#post8513292 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Aliie
When I get ready to build my dream tank can I call you?
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Sure, I love talking fish...:D
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8513787#post8513787 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Briankook
mcrist, wow, your setup is really nice. I noticed that you live in Allentown, I'm in Reading. I purchased my tank at TFP.

Even though I have not updated my thread in a long time, here it is: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/s...rpage=25&highlight=image intense&pagenumber=1

I also just purchased the Deltec 902, you'll love it!

Did you have good experience with Envision Acrylics? Are they close to us?

I'm in the process of building a new facility for my company. I want a peninsula tank in my lobby. You are giving me some great ideas!
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I actually live in Breinigsville but nobody would ever know where that is but everyone heard of Allentown (thanks Billy Joel). I work in Reading/Wyomissing so I am in your area everyday. Man do I hate 222. :mad2:

I love That Pet Place; you canââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t beat their prices anywhere. I buy all my salt there.

I am having a hard time with my new Deltec. It just seems to go crazy every once and a while and pump out barely colored water. Tonight I had a flood when it did it again and drained 20 gallons.

I had a great experience with Envision Acrylics, I would highly recommend James. Unfortunately he is not local, he is actually from Oregon. Yes, it did cost a lot to freight it but it was worth it.

You may gladly come see my tank if you are in the area.
 
This is exacty what I am looking to do with my next tank project in the future, although my tank will be bigger. Probebly 10'x5'x3'.

Keep the pics coming!!! :thumbsup:
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8519060#post8519060 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Briankook
mcrist, thanks for the reply. Can you explain in more detail what is wrong with your Deltec? Maybe I can help.
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The problem I am having with my new Deltec 902 skimmer is that it produces some skimmate then all of a sudden it starts to produce a lot of white skimmate that floods the collection cup and fills my waste container. Nothing changes in the tank when this surge happens. The skimmer is gravity fed and I have the water level set to just below the bayonet. I am guessing I have between 500 to 750 gph going through the skimmer. In order for me to get the water level to the bayonet I needed to partially close the exit valve, maybe a quarter turn. I also have the air valves set to about the 2 oclock position. I don’t think I can close the air valves any more since it makes the Eheim pumps rattle. I believe I have it setup according to directions.
 
System looks great. I have a question about the pipes right before they enter the sump, you seem to have a T setup, what are they for?
I might also have a idea for your skimmer feed. I have four 1 1/2" drain going into a 3" pipe. The skimmer is then T'ed off with a ball valve. It's hard to tell how yours is setup. Here's a pics to see the piping by the skimmer.
IMG_1549.jpg
 
Hey mcrist.

Love the tank, you did a fine job! :thumbsup:

Another AP902 via Gravity feed user here.
A couple things you might want to check on:

For starters, Unplug your eheim pumps and remove the collection cup, leave everything else running as normal. Watch the water level inside the skimmer body for several minutes and see if your getting any surge from your drain line (water level going up and down). If your drain is sucking air it can cause surging once and awile, that could cause random overflows of the cup.

How long is the run from your skimmer drain line and is it uphill at all?
Much back pressure could also cause overflows.

If all else fails you might want to try reducing the water input slightly?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8538418#post8538418 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tony13
System looks great. I have a question about the pipes right before they enter the sump, you seem to have a T setup, what are they for?
I might also have a idea for your skimmer feed. I have four 1 1/2" drain going into a 3" pipe. The skimmer is then T'ed off with a ball valve. It's hard to tell how yours is setup. Here's a pics to see the piping by the skimmer.
IMG_1549.jpg
Click to expand...

The T idea I got from marino420td. Itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s supposed to help micro bubble in the sump. It isnââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t complete but it is doing an ok job right now and I wanted to stop changing things for awhile so I can finally enjoy my tank a little.

Below is a photo of my protein skimmer feed. I believe it is similar to your design except I used all hard plumbing. Their is a ball valve on the 1 inch feed but it is close to the skimmer and you canââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t see it in the photo. Currently the one ball valve is completely shut and all the water from the one 2 inch drain is going into the protein skimmer.

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<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8554688#post8554688 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Treg
Hey mcrist.

Love the tank, you did a fine job! :thumbsup:

Another AP902 via Gravity feed user here.
A couple things you might want to check on:

For starters, Unplug your eheim pumps and remove the collection cup, leave everything else running as normal. Watch the water level inside the skimmer body for several minutes and see if your getting any surge from your drain line (water level going up and down). If your drain is sucking air it can cause surging once and awile, that could cause random overflows of the cup.

How long is the run from your skimmer drain line and is it uphill at all?
Much back pressure could also cause overflows.

If all else fails you might want to try reducing the water input slightly?
Click to expand...
Thanks for compliments. I am not happy with it yet but I will continue to improve on what I already have.

I did notice that I occasionally a get a small surge from my overflow or at least I think that is where I am getting it. I will try your idea tonight so I can determine where it is coming from.

The skimmer drain line is about 2 to 3 feet long and it does not go uphill at all.

I am hesitant to reduce the water input because I already feel that I have less than the recommend 800gph going through my skimmer.
 
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