700 gallon tank, or how i spent my daughters inheritance

[Dante_JoseCuerv]

Cool idea on the berghia culture in the big rubbermaid. I'm doing something like that this summer with white shrimp so I can keep my fish well fed, especially my cowfish.

Hope to see more pics! I'm loving this thread!

 

[bjg]

WHAT A BEAUTIFUL TANK!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Reefski's]

I have connected the surge to the tank.

i am loving it but there are a lot of bubbles. how bad is it? the fish aren't too happy.

The overflow is sucking a lot of air in.


The cycle is about 3 minutes total. 2 to fill and 1 to empty. There are a "few" bubbles.

I like the flow though.






Some of the corals were sliming. The fish swam and hide when it went off.

The air is sucked in from the overflow in the toilet overflow. When I blocked it the flapper slammed shut and went part way into the pipe and got stuck.

It is going to be fantastic with a bit more fine tuning.

What can I do to stop the bubbles?

 

[mockery]

First off great thread! I just spent all day going through it. That surge flow device is neat. As for the bubble problem. Couldn't you get some elbows and direct it so that it is pulling in water and not air?

 

[Reefski's]

thanks for making my thread your first post.

i tried that today by putting a couple of elbows on the overflow of the pipe but when it was near empty the flapper slammed shut before any air was sucked in. unfortunately the force was so strong it sucked the flapper into the pipe right off it's hinge. that took a while to fish out.

failure.

so i spent the day rebuilding it with various permutations of the Carlson surge device until finally success.

it is working great now with way less bubbles, just a few at the beginning and end.

no photos yet. maybe tomorrow.a

the corals are happy. i am happy. the fish will be happy. they still aren't sure what to make of it. they still kind of go in the rocks when it goes off and then go back to their normal behavior.

Carl

 

[Reefski's]

i was wrong about the height. it is about 5' from flapper to tank.

i tried to put a loop ala CSD on the overflow that was sucking in air all during the flush. it was to suck in air only at the finish. it was a failure. before air got sucked in the flapper slammed shut and was ripped off the hinge and into the pipe.

on the test the drop was only about a foot from the p trap to the tank. i think the 5' just was too much for the flapper.

on my next tank i will plan to have it just a little above the tank.

so i spent the day fiddling with the Carlson Surge Device layout and got it working with minimal bubbles.

it would not fire at first. i think the p trap may be contibuting to that. the water has to rise above the air siphon break a couple of inches before the surge will start. at first the main pipe was too high and the water level rose to the emergengy overflow with the surge firing. i lowered the main pipe and now it is firing reliably.

i am loving the flow so far. my wife loves it too. (very important) there is some noise at peak flow for a few seconds with the water into the pipes in the overflow. i can switch it off during TV time or just turn up the TV louder.

interestingly some of the corals have contracted their polyps tighter, notably the stylopora, birdsnest and a couple others. the acros seem to be longer more full.

i can see that in strong flow that the pnuematocysts must be powerful to catch anything.

the sugar fine sand i have is moving around a bit. the sandbed already looks cleaner.

 

[melev]

I can't wait to see this in person.

 

[Reefski's]

Marc-

i can't wait either. should be fun!

maybe i shouldn't post any pictures until i see you so you can be surprised by something.

Carl

 

[rEd86]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14646029#post14646029 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Reefski's
Marc-

i can't wait either. should be fun!

maybe i shouldn't post any pictures until i see you so you can be surprised by something.

HEY! What about the rest of us?!?

--Ed

 

[karm40]

yes, think of the fans...

 

[melev]

You are ALL invited! Come on, this is going to be fun. I hear Carl has a nice big liquor cabinet, heavily stocked with unused vodka.

 

[karm40]

you have to get passed the dog, but if you can, there are cookies

 

[lilmonster]

Oh,Oh,Oh, count me in! :wave:

Dogs? no problem, I can bring some friends for them too.

you have an awesome tank.

here's a thought, and i'm probably wrong, but it looks like the flapper is waiting till almost all the water is out before closing.
what if you attached a tiny weight to the flapper to help pull it closed a little earlier, before the air gets near the flap.
Does that make sense?

 

[Reefski's]

ok, ok. i'll get some pictures. in just a minute. post later. i couldn't really wait for Marc either.

hey Marc, how about you just don't look at the thread until i see you in person? lol

Karm40, you know you can always get PAST the dog. the cookies are all gone though.

the flapper is gone too,

the air intakefrom the overflow is under the flapper so as soon as it opened the force of the water sucked air in for the duration of the flush.

now there is only a bit of air at the beginning and more at the end of the cycle.

i'll go take some pictures.
Carl

 

[melev]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14646766#post14646766 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Reefski's
hey Marc, how about you just don't look at the thread until i see you in person? lol

Is that even legal? :lol:

 

[Reefski's]

Marc- if you want it to be legal. i thought you made the rules on RC.

no surge photos yet.

koi show this weekend in Gardena. one of the biggest in the US. and a small reef tank tour later today too.

the Nassarius snails are happy. they must be doing this in the rockwork also. i have read that they don't multiply in tanks. hmmm...

i'm not sure if this guy is happy or maybe he is really happy. he is usually at the other end of the tank. there are two of them and the surge has got them moving around the tank. maybe lots of stuff stirred up has them out looking for a meal.

the surge is cool. the Mag 24 pump is in the tank overflow and is noisy. i may wind up replacing it with a smaller, quieter one so the surges would be less frequent.

or i could plumb the sump return into the surge tank. hmmm...

or i have a second return pump already plumbed into the tank as backup in the garage that is not being used. hmmm...

the Mag 24 draws about 150 watts. the Hammerhead about 250 watts.

Carl

 

[Reefski's]

Karm- do you think you can make it past this guy and get a cookie?



here is the new iteration.


in the bottom of the surge tank i will put the rubble rock and some LR to see it. although some life has already made it into the tank. a couple of snails, mini brittle stars, and an aiptasia. all still alive and well.

 

[crsandoval]

Good luck with your aiptasia... I know you want to rid your system of it.

 

[karm40]

getting past him passed the point of being passe if there aren't any cookies...

 

[matt & pam]

Wonder if you could use an airlift to move water up to the surge? It would likely be much less expensive in the long run than a large mag pump. I use one on my eco-wheel and it has been an effective way to move a lot of water.