Aqueon Modular ProFlex Sump Filtration

[EuroDriver]

Certainly will. Just finished building my external overflow and bonded it to the tank this weekend. Now it's off to the garage for curing. Looking forward to setting it up in the next couple of weekends with the new sump. Will post pics when it's installed.

 

[Huachinango]

Certainly will. Just finished building my external overflow and bonded it to the tank this weekend. Now it's off to the garage for curing. Looking forward to setting it up in the next couple of weekends with the new sump. Will post pics when it's installed.

Curious if you got this setup yet? I'm looking into the Model 1 since i have limited space as well- tank is a 46 bowfront with a remora (which i may replace with anything that may fit in that space-hopefully I can get a good in-sump skimmer for it). Let us know the status

 

[EuroDriver]

I have been rather busy with work, and have been slowly progressing on this, but I have not set it up yet. I'm hoping to be able to set it up in about a week or so. I haven't done anything to the sump, although I'm planning a couple of minor mods on it. Here's what I have done so far:

Picked up some scrap acrylic at the local plastics shop for the overflow box build:

Completed box with mockup of overflow plumbing (BeanAnimal's Silent and Failsafe Overflow):

Slotting the tank for weir:

Best tool for the job:

Prepping tank to bond box on it:

Box bonded on and left curing:

Finished:

Seems like I'm thread-jacking, but I promise I'll bring this back around to the sump. During the week, I'm going to drill the top of the sump lid to install bulkhead fittings for the emergency overflow drain tubes into the socks - still debating whether I'm going to drop a pump in the third chamber or put a bulkhead fitting on it. I'm also going to see if my Remora will hang in the third chamber. Otherwise, I'm getting an external skimmer.

To be continued...

 

[MrGoodbar]

EuroDriver you got quite the project there. Its good you show detail how your setting up your tank with the sump installed to give people an idea how they can do your style of overflow with the proflex. Mine is just straight forward as easy as you can go. I may be redoing my plumbing as i am learning more about how reefs work and plumbing in reactors etc. Good stuff man. Keep up the good work.

 

[EuroDriver]

Thanks, I hope it helps people out. I'm planning on running a carbon reactor on it. I was hedging on whether to get a calcium reactor, but I came to the conclusion that will mean I have to dose the other minerals, so in that respect I'll keep it stupid simple and keep dosing B-ionic on a daily basis (might het the doser for that instead). The jury is still out whether I'll use GFO in the reactor, since I'm planning on having the second chamber as a fuge - don't want to deprive the algae too much.

 

[EuroDriver]

Proflex Model 1 Mods

Proflex Model 1 Mods

It's been an extremely hectic past couple of weeks at work, and not much time for play at all. Nevertheless, a promise is a debt so here ya go...

Finally got the power tools close to the sump. I went ahead and drilled it for a bulkhead fitting for the return. Found this cool fitting at a marine hardware store:

Here's the other side of it:

On the first chamber, installed a gate valve for the main overflow, and bulkhead fittings for the two emergency drain hoses. Note the pvc pipes that go into the socks - they should be at least 1" below the water line to maintain silence. I'm going to attach flex hose to all three.

Lateral View:

Another lateral view showing the return drain:

I'm putting an Aqueon Pro 200w heater in the 1st chamber, behind the socks. Also picked up the Coralife mini fixture for the fuge section. Tomorrow I should be getting my Tunze DOC 9006 in the mail, which will occupy about half of the third chamber.

Stay Tuned - To be continued...

 

[lacosta28]

Has anyone noticed anything that they don't like about their Aqueon sump? I have had 2 problems with the sump so far. Salt creep is an ongoing issue. It isn't all that bad but I do have to clean it every few days. The next issue is the most annoying one of all. The filter socks get clogged way too fast. For a while my SG kept dropping significantly over the span of a week or so. I couldn't figure out how this was happening since I do have an ATO setup. After some research and tearing things apart I realized what was happening. The filter socks would start to get clogged which would cause more water to be held in the first chamber. This would lead to less water being in the last chamber where my sensors are for my ATO. So even though the water volume was the same my ATO would pour unnecessary water into my system.

I had two ways to fix it. Either clean the socks daily or take them out entirely. I did not want to do daily maintenance so I took them out and now my SG stays the same.

 

[EuroDriver]

I haven't set mine up yet but I have heard about thisproblem although people report having to change the socks every three to four days. I'm still debating whether to use them or not. Just curious-what type of overflow are you using? Wonder if it affects how much detritus gets into the socks...

 

[EuroDriver]

I'm also debating the idea of making a slit on each sock - it would allow them to catch a good amount of detritus, while not clogging up. Any thoughts?

 

[MrGoodbar]

I havent had any problems with SG that i have noticed. I clean my socks about 1 time every 2 weeks or so. When the water starts to rise above the socks in the first chamber i use that as a indicator to clean them. I haven't had any problems with salt creep. The only spot where the salt kinda started to build up was behind the first chamber on the top little lid that comes out right before the big lid. But i dont have an ato and fill the water daily and when i do this i remove the little piece to pour water into the first chamber and when i do this the water that is on the little black lid drips back into the sump so i never get salt creep build up anymore. EuroDriver what are you doing with the emergency lines that come into the top of the sump?

 

[EuroDriver]

EuroDriver what are you doing with the emergency lines that come into the top of the sump?

It's an overflow "failsafe" system that was apparently adapted from the Herbie system (which I never could understand the concept) and developed by BeanAnimal. The theory behind it is that you run your overflow drain just slightly slower than your return flow, causing a little bit of overflow to go down the second drain - which creates a completely silent overflow. It also acts as an emergency drain in case your primary drain gets clogged. The third drain tube is an emergency backup in case both your primary and secondary drains get clogged. It is designed to be noisy in order to alert you of a serious problem while preventing a flood. You can check it out here:
http://beananimal.com/projects/silent-and-fail-safe-aquarium-overflow-system.aspx

If you noticed the pictures of my overflow box, it has three drain tubes, which is the method described by BeanAnimal (see link, above). the secondary drain and the emergency drain are going into those lines.

 

[MrGoodbar]

It's an overflow "failsafe" system that was apparently adapted from the Herbie system (which I never could understand the concept) and developed by BeanAnimal. The theory behind it is that you run your overflow drain just slightly slower than your return flow, causing a little bit of overflow to go down the second drain - which creates a completely silent overflow. It also acts as an emergency drain in case your primary drain gets clogged. The third drain tube is an emergency backup in case both your primary and secondary drains get clogged. It is designed to be noisy in order to alert you of a serious problem while preventing a flood. You can check it out here:
http://beananimal.com/projects/silent-and-fail-safe-aquarium-overflow-system.aspx

If you noticed the pictures of my overflow box, it has three drain tubes, which is the method described by BeanAnimal (see link, above). the secondary drain and the emergency drain are going into those lines.

Ah ok i totally forgot what kind of overflow you had. Interesting to see how it works when its set up.

 

[EuroDriver]

Finishing the Sump Install

Finishing the Sump Install

At the last minute, I was feeling uneasy about my cool strainer fitting I spent 20 bucks on, so I swapped it out for a trust, regular bulkhead fitting.

Also wanted to "hard plumb" the carbon reactor, but given the limited space, I modded the return tube to secure it to the strainer

and it attaches like this:

Here's the mockup of the whole kit-n-kaboodle:

Sump is now installed:

Everything is now in:

The piece of eggcrate ended up serving two purposes: It keeps the chaeto from going into the third chamber and as a bonus, it keeps the lid from the first chamber from falling down. An in all, this setup turned out quite nice and amazingly quiet. As crowded as the stand compartment is, I'm very pleased how it all turned out.

And here's what my new DT looks like.

 

[MrGoodbar]

Looks great. I have noticed at about 3 months running with the proflex sump I am getting tiny micro bubbles everywhere. So I have been messing around with the sump to fix it. One thing I found to make a big difference was the third chamber water has to be lower than I had it so the water goes through the blue sponge. Before I had the water higher than the divider so it would just flow over the sponge and into the third chamber and not into the sponge and through the bottom then to the third chamber. I had to adjust my skimmer because now it only sits in about 5in of water. I also adjusted my skimmer return so it goes into the blue sponge so the bubbles go right into it.

 

[EuroDriver]

Thanks for pointing that out - I was just looking at things this morning and thinking I had a few inches to spare for more water volume. Based on your experience, I guess I'll just leave it alone.

 

[STEELERFAN747]

I dont know if anyone mentioned this as I may have missed it but does anyone have a hob skimmer attached to their system. Due to size restrictions, I am currently looking at the model 1 which does not allow for a large skimmer anyway. I was thinking of using the small area (4 3/4" x 9 7/8") as a fuge and use a descent hob skimmer or skip the fuge all together and go with a tunze or a marine pro skimmer. I do not have nor will I be able to incorporate an auto top off so I cannot put the skimmer in the return area.
The system is a 46g that will be changed to a fowlr and maybe some softies (any help from you guys would be greatly appreciated and I would ask thet you be as descriptive as possible as I am at work and not able to see pictures)

Thanks

 

[EuroDriver]

I dont know if anyone mentioned this as I may have missed it but does anyone have a hob skimmer attached to their system. Due to size restrictions, I am currently looking at the model 1 which does not allow for a large skimmer anyway. I was thinking of using the small area (4 3/4" x 9 7/8") as a fuge and use a descent hob skimmer or skip the fuge all together and go with a tunze or a marine pro skimmer. I do not have nor will I be able to incorporate an auto top off so I cannot put the skimmer in the return area.
The system is a 46g that will be changed to a fowlr and maybe some softies (any help from you guys would be greatly appreciated and I would ask thet you be as descriptive as possible as I am at work and not able to see pictures)

Thanks

Take a look at the pics I posted above. I'm using the center chamber as a fuge and running a Tunze 9006 in the third chamber - works like a charm and although tight, I'm plainning on fitting an ATO system in there as well. You just need to make sure and use the sump kit with the Tunze skimmer. Depending on the size of your tank, you can go with the Tunze 9002 skimmer, or there are others by Oceanic, etc. which will give you a little extra room for an ATO system.

 

[STEELERFAN747]

Take a look at the pics I posted above. I'm using the center chamber as a fuge and running a Tunze 9006 in the third chamber - works like a charm and although tight, I'm plainning on fitting an ATO system in there as well. You just need to make sure and use the sump kit with the Tunze skimmer. Depending on the size of your tank, you can go with the Tunze 9002 skimmer, or there are others by Oceanic, etc. which will give you a little extra room for an ATO system.

Thanks for the input Euro but as I mentioned due to space restrictions I cannot go with an auto top off as it will not fit in the stand and my wife is not a big fan of having equipment out in the open as it does not fit with the decor. If I even mention this, she would probably :deadhorse: , you know what I'm saying

 

[EuroDriver]

As I mentioned earlier, I haven't set up my auto top-off yet, but I have measured and I definitely have room for the ATO float next to the 9006 skimmer. As for the top-off water container, I left about a foot of room behind my stand, where I'll fit a jug between the back of the stand and the wall. That room is also shared with my carbon reactor and soon-to-be-installed calcium reactor as well. They can't be seen unless you look into the back from the side of the tank, which someone would have to go out of their way to do so. A final alternative is, as many people running a fuge do - is to go skimmerless. Hope this helps in you planning.

 

[MARLANDO]

Here is my set up, Model 1 with a BM NAC 3.5 Skimmer

39G Cadlight tank