Johan Susanto
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Hi Glassreef
have u on the 2 skimmer?
have u on the 2 skimmer?
Building My 375gal Glass Reef
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Glass -
This thread is truly amazing!
I am surprised I had enough time to read it let alone do one of your many projects that you have plastered all throughout this thread.
Hands down one of the cleanest set up's I have ever seen!!!
Don't let us down! You started this thing we want to see it till the end!
This thread is truly amazing!
I am surprised I had enough time to read it let alone do one of your many projects that you have plastered all throughout this thread.
Hands down one of the cleanest set up's I have ever seen!!!
Don't let us down! You started this thing we want to see it till the end!
Kaiden - thank you for the compliments. I have a few pics I could show.
I finally installed the pipes that will carry saltwater back and forth between the sump and the fuge and frag tanks:
The overflow (from the tanks to the sump) is 2". The return is 1 1/2". I used 45s in the corners - I though maybe there would be less resistance:
I bought the pipe clamps from Savko.com. These things are great! You just press the pipe against the clamp and it automatically locks around the pipe. A huge help when you are working alone:
I've completed laying all the pipe where attachment to a wall was necessary. I still need a manifold over the sump, and the actual connections to the fuge and frag tanks.
I finally installed the pipes that will carry saltwater back and forth between the sump and the fuge and frag tanks:
The overflow (from the tanks to the sump) is 2". The return is 1 1/2". I used 45s in the corners - I though maybe there would be less resistance:
I bought the pipe clamps from Savko.com. These things are great! You just press the pipe against the clamp and it automatically locks around the pipe. A huge help when you are working alone:
I've completed laying all the pipe where attachment to a wall was necessary. I still need a manifold over the sump, and the actual connections to the fuge and frag tanks.
The fish room is getting pretty crowded. You might remember that it's only 7ft deep.
This pic was taken looking into the room from the entrance door:
The wall above the shelf is empty because that's where the light rack goes when it's pulled away from the display tank.
There will be a work surface (like a kitchen counter) below the shelf. It'll be 8ft long and provide space for a quarantine tank, etc. It's next on the list.
I installed a shelf to hold a lot of misc stuff:
I've been testing like crazy
while the tank has been cycling. I must say I'm beginning to prefer the LaMotte kits:
This pic was taken looking into the room from the entrance door:
The wall above the shelf is empty because that's where the light rack goes when it's pulled away from the display tank.
There will be a work surface (like a kitchen counter) below the shelf. It'll be 8ft long and provide space for a quarantine tank, etc. It's next on the list.
I installed a shelf to hold a lot of misc stuff:
I've been testing like crazy
while the tank has been cycling. I must say I'm beginning to prefer the LaMotte kits:
I've been thinking a lot about water changes. I'd like to automate the process as much as possible. The question is how to do it in a manner that does not put the system at risk. I very much like the idea of doing a reasonably small water change every day.
So I bought a surgical irrigation pump off eBay. It's a peristaltic pump with variable speed drive - it's used to irrigate organs during surgery. You have to assume it's well made and this thing is brand new!
It uses Cole-Parmer L-S pump heads. I tested it with 2 heads attached - I pumped saltwater for 2 hours. At medium speed, it came out to about 8 gallons each pump. The interesting (and most important) thing is there was only about a 6 ounce (3/4 cup) difference between the 2 heads! Pretty accurate!
So, I'm thinking - if I:
1. pump water from where the display tank's overflow enters the sump and discard it through the drain
2. pump water from my saltwater holding tank and run it to the return area of the sump
and do that every day for 2 hours (controlled by a timer): I've got an automated water change of approx. 56 gals (10% of the system's volume) a week. Assuming the difference in the water pumped between the two heads averages the 6 ounces I measured, that's a 42 ounce error a week. Nothing to worry about in my 550gal system - I'd just have to adjust the salinity every once and a while.
I would turn off the timer anytime I'm not at home for more than 24 hours. A problem would occur if water was being pumped out of the system but not in - the saltwater tank -> sump line is out. The result would be too much RO water entering the tank to replace the missing tank water. Considering the size of my system, 8 gallons of excess RO water are not going to cause a huge problem.
If the timer should stick on, I'd just have a BIG water change.
Anyone see any errors in my musings? I'd very much appreciate any thoughts on this you might have.
Here are a few extra pics of the pump. The control panel:
Here are the dual heads from the side (the pump is actually rated for 6 heads):
Extra heads:
Here's a pic of my high tech connection to the saltwater holding tank.
There's a 1/2" PVC pipe affixed to the tank on the inside that guides the RO hose to the bottom:
So I bought a surgical irrigation pump off eBay. It's a peristaltic pump with variable speed drive - it's used to irrigate organs during surgery. You have to assume it's well made and this thing is brand new!
It uses Cole-Parmer L-S pump heads. I tested it with 2 heads attached - I pumped saltwater for 2 hours. At medium speed, it came out to about 8 gallons each pump. The interesting (and most important) thing is there was only about a 6 ounce (3/4 cup) difference between the 2 heads! Pretty accurate!
So, I'm thinking - if I:
1. pump water from where the display tank's overflow enters the sump and discard it through the drain
2. pump water from my saltwater holding tank and run it to the return area of the sump
and do that every day for 2 hours (controlled by a timer): I've got an automated water change of approx. 56 gals (10% of the system's volume) a week. Assuming the difference in the water pumped between the two heads averages the 6 ounces I measured, that's a 42 ounce error a week. Nothing to worry about in my 550gal system - I'd just have to adjust the salinity every once and a while.
I would turn off the timer anytime I'm not at home for more than 24 hours. A problem would occur if water was being pumped out of the system but not in - the saltwater tank -> sump line is out. The result would be too much RO water entering the tank to replace the missing tank water. Considering the size of my system, 8 gallons of excess RO water are not going to cause a huge problem.
If the timer should stick on, I'd just have a BIG water change.
Anyone see any errors in my musings? I'd very much appreciate any thoughts on this you might have.
Here are a few extra pics of the pump. The control panel:
Here are the dual heads from the side (the pump is actually rated for 6 heads):
Extra heads:
Here's a pic of my high tech connection to the saltwater holding tank.
There's a 1/2" PVC pipe affixed to the tank on the inside that guides the RO hose to the bottom:
I picked up a Mettler scales off eBay. Very cheap and it has an accuracy of 1/1000 gram!!!!! Only problem is, it's huge!
But it's nice to have, I already used it to concoct a specific gravity standard to calibrate my refractometer. Worked perfectly.
I also upgraded my RO/DI panel. I added a second DI cartridge. Very easy to do:
But it's nice to have, I already used it to concoct a specific gravity standard to calibrate my refractometer. Worked perfectly.
I also upgraded my RO/DI panel. I added a second DI cartridge. Very easy to do:
Last edited:
The pump and 1 head are new. I've had the rest of the heads for a while.<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14332051#post14332051 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jnarowe
rated for 6 heads? sweet. you could add alkalinity as well!
Also, you should be able to calibrate the pumps heads to get them exactly the same.
And it is new? That's a strange buy man. Very cool though.
Assuming the difference in the water pumped between the two heads averages the 6 ounces I measured, that's a 42 ounce error a week. Nothing to worry about in my 550gal system - I'd just have to adjust the salinity every once and a while.
if they do end up slightly mismatched, i'd suggest hooking the faster one up to the saltwater rather than the ro. the additional saltwater may nicely offset the salinity lost via your skimming.
I used 45s in the corners - I though maybe there would be less resistance:
i'm no plumber, but my understanding is that two 45's actually restricts flow more than one 90. i wouldn't imagine it's a big deal in your case but thought i'd throw it out there..
the fish room really looks awesome tom. great work..
if they do end up slightly mismatched, i'd suggest hooking the faster one up to the saltwater rather than the ro. the additional saltwater may nicely offset the salinity lost via your skimming.
I used 45s in the corners - I though maybe there would be less resistance:
i'm no plumber, but my understanding is that two 45's actually restricts flow more than one 90. i wouldn't imagine it's a big deal in your case but thought i'd throw it out there..
the fish room really looks awesome tom. great work..
JRaquatics
New member
Tom what was your reasoning for adding an additional Di container?
mikelaubach
New member
And is it in series or parallel? In parallel would make sense to me (less restrictive outputs), but series would confuse me since 0 tds into the second "stage" won't have anything else removed from it.
I've been following for a while, and it is just amazing what some of you folks do. Absolutely bea-u-ti-ful. I love the OCD nature of the room.
Tom.. Great looking fish room!! Very clean, organized and well stock!! You probably have extras of everything. I wish I had as much room as you do.
Also, love the clips from Savko. A good deal of my plumbing is held up by the clips.
Looks like you use the clear primer, I would never go back to the purple stuff. Can I see more pics your sump, fuge and frag tanks?
I have a local reefer that is actually running a dialysis machine for a continuous water change. Great idea, but you run into the issue of dilution. You will remove more nutrients if you do a weekly water change but with larger volume. JMO.
Also, love the clips from Savko. A good deal of my plumbing is held up by the clips.
Looks like you use the clear primer, I would never go back to the purple stuff. Can I see more pics your sump, fuge and frag tanks?
I have a local reefer that is actually running a dialysis machine for a continuous water change. Great idea, but you run into the issue of dilution. You will remove more nutrients if you do a weekly water change but with larger volume. JMO.
I don't like the fact that I don't know when the DI resin is exhausted until it's already happened. With the extra DI cartridge, I can monitor the TDS after the first and before the second. As soon as the first shows more than zero, I replace the it with the second and refill the first, which then becomes the second. That way I will always have RO water with zero TDS. Make sense?
EDIT: see Jonathan, great minds think alike ...
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