Reef noob_
New member
I can send a pic of my return tomorrow, it's a 90 elbow but could Give you some ideas.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
Choss' 96 Gallon Reef Savvy Tank Build
- Thread starter choss
- Start date
THEUNION1
New member
How did that not get flagged! :lmao:
choss
New member
Yes I thought about a small hole in the side but when I look at the pipe, I am not sure that a hole would make a difference. The entire pipe is slightly below the water line, horizontal. So to break the siphon, the water level drops just below the top of the pipe opening. I need to play around with it a bit. My short term solution is to lower the water level by an inch in the return pump section, so that now, if the check valve fails again, the water level will be just below the top of the sump. The other thing I decided to do is turn off my return pump weekly as this allows the check valve to close keeping it from getting stuck as easily.
choss
New member
Update with pics
Update with pics
Tank is doing well. Here are a few photos to share. Thanks for following:
Clown Closeup
clown closeup by choerenz, on Flickr
Brain
brain late night better version by choerenz, on Flickr
Trumpet Coral
trumpet closeup by choerenz, on Flickr
Clown coming at ya
clown coming at ya by choerenz, on Flickr
Urchin on glass
urchin on glass by choerenz, on Flickr
Halloween Hermit
halloween hermit better pic by choerenz, on Flickr
Branching Hammer - newest addition
Hammer pic 2 by choerenz, on Flickr
branching hammer by choerenz, on Flickr
Acans
left acan best pic by choerenz, on Flickr
Update with pics
Tank is doing well. Here are a few photos to share. Thanks for following:
Clown Closeup
clown closeup by choerenz, on FlickrBrain
brain late night better version by choerenz, on FlickrTrumpet Coral
trumpet closeup by choerenz, on FlickrClown coming at ya
clown coming at ya by choerenz, on FlickrUrchin on glass
urchin on glass by choerenz, on FlickrHalloween Hermit
halloween hermit better pic by choerenz, on FlickrBranching Hammer - newest addition
Hammer pic 2 by choerenz, on Flickrbranching hammer by choerenz, on FlickrAcans
left acan best pic by choerenz, on Flickr
lpsouth1978
New member
The tank is looking fantastic. Are you positive that is a hammer coral? It looks more like Frog Spawn to me, I don't see the hammer shape at the ends that is characteristic of the Hammer coral.
npierce1015
New member
Looking really good and clean
Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
choss
New member
Love the brain! And yeah... that's frog spawn.
D2 - glad you have popped in on the build. There are definitely a few D2mini influences here (and maybe a few more to come). Wish I had your photography skills. I just got a version of lightroom so I'll start playing around a bit and see if I can improve things.
choss
New member
Update - water mixing station
Update - water mixing station
I have been taking things slowly so not much has changed in the main display. I am amazed that the display has shown virtually no signs of any nuisance algae. My refugium on the other hand is a mess of slimy green stuff, clinging to the walls of the fuge (although not on the live rock I have in there) and in a small chaeto basket I have suspended in the fuge. So far so good.
Full tank shot may 28 2018 by choerenz, on Flickr
I have also had the tank up and running for a few months now and have done virtually no water changes! This is not on purpose, but I have been working on setting up my salt mixing station for automatic water changes. I'm almost there.
I covered this in an early post but the system works like this:
Water goes from the RODI unit on the wall, directly into a 35 gallon fresh water tank that sits about 6' off the floor on a stand above my frag tank (20 long).
fresh water tank by choerenz, on Flickr
This tank serves 3 purposes. First, it supplies the display with RODI top off water. I put the tank as close to the ceiling as I could and the small Tunze pump can push the water about 6' up into the sump located directly above this room. The water enters the sump via a Kalk dispenser container that is located in the refugium section of my sump.
Second, it supplies the 20 gallon frag tank directly beneath it with RODI top off, delivered via a float switch. And finally, I can turn a ball valve and fill my salt water mixing tank, or fill small containers via another ball valve attachment to the plumbing leading to the mixing station.
water refill area by choerenz, on Flickr
From the bulkhead of the 35 gallon fresh water water tank, the plumbing runs to a spout just above the first of the two tanks on the left side of the room.
water storage tanks by choerenz, on Flickr
The tank on the left is a 25 gallon tank for mixing salt. I can then fill the tank on the right (55 gallon capacity) which will supply the display upstairs with salt water at about 1.5 gallons per day. I wanted to be able to mix water without affecting the stable source feeding the tank. I can add 25 gallons quickly from the RODI 35 gallon tank, leaving 10 gallons in the tank to ensure that the fresh water supply for frag and display remain unaffected.
Once I hook up the AWC via the litermeter 3, I will use the water I drain from the display to add to the frag tank. The frag tank has a nano overflow so that the water entering the 20 gallon will displace about 1.4 gallons into the sink per day. The frag tank is mainly for quarantining new frags and my hope is that the water chemistry will stay very close to the main display. This should make transfers easier once I have dipped and observed corals for some period of time.
I also set up a small fragging shelf in the room. Its a tight fit as the fish room is a small utility room off my garage, but I love that I no longer need to do any maintenance or testing in my display room. I can now test water as it it drawn down via the AWC, cut frags, etc.
fragging station by choerenz, on Flickr
Update - water mixing station
I have been taking things slowly so not much has changed in the main display. I am amazed that the display has shown virtually no signs of any nuisance algae. My refugium on the other hand is a mess of slimy green stuff, clinging to the walls of the fuge (although not on the live rock I have in there) and in a small chaeto basket I have suspended in the fuge. So far so good.
Full tank shot may 28 2018 by choerenz, on FlickrI have also had the tank up and running for a few months now and have done virtually no water changes! This is not on purpose, but I have been working on setting up my salt mixing station for automatic water changes. I'm almost there.
I covered this in an early post but the system works like this:
Water goes from the RODI unit on the wall, directly into a 35 gallon fresh water tank that sits about 6' off the floor on a stand above my frag tank (20 long).
fresh water tank by choerenz, on FlickrThis tank serves 3 purposes. First, it supplies the display with RODI top off water. I put the tank as close to the ceiling as I could and the small Tunze pump can push the water about 6' up into the sump located directly above this room. The water enters the sump via a Kalk dispenser container that is located in the refugium section of my sump.
Second, it supplies the 20 gallon frag tank directly beneath it with RODI top off, delivered via a float switch. And finally, I can turn a ball valve and fill my salt water mixing tank, or fill small containers via another ball valve attachment to the plumbing leading to the mixing station.
water refill area by choerenz, on FlickrFrom the bulkhead of the 35 gallon fresh water water tank, the plumbing runs to a spout just above the first of the two tanks on the left side of the room.
water storage tanks by choerenz, on FlickrThe tank on the left is a 25 gallon tank for mixing salt. I can then fill the tank on the right (55 gallon capacity) which will supply the display upstairs with salt water at about 1.5 gallons per day. I wanted to be able to mix water without affecting the stable source feeding the tank. I can add 25 gallons quickly from the RODI 35 gallon tank, leaving 10 gallons in the tank to ensure that the fresh water supply for frag and display remain unaffected.
Once I hook up the AWC via the litermeter 3, I will use the water I drain from the display to add to the frag tank. The frag tank has a nano overflow so that the water entering the 20 gallon will displace about 1.4 gallons into the sink per day. The frag tank is mainly for quarantining new frags and my hope is that the water chemistry will stay very close to the main display. This should make transfers easier once I have dipped and observed corals for some period of time.
I also set up a small fragging shelf in the room. Its a tight fit as the fish room is a small utility room off my garage, but I love that I no longer need to do any maintenance or testing in my display room. I can now test water as it it drawn down via the AWC, cut frags, etc.
fragging station by choerenz, on Flickr
choss
New member
Quick Update
Quick Update
This past weekend I hooked up the Litermeter 3 for automatic water changes. Programming the unit is simple. First you run the pumps to prime them. Then you fill a 500 ml container to determine the flow rate of each pump. Next step, I determined I wanted to change about 10% water volume per day. Based on the approximate volume of my system I targeted 1.6 gallons a day or approximately 6 liters. Then I plug in the value "6" for flow in the Litermeter 3 and start the pumps. It then makes small additions 150 times a day (about every 8 minutes)
So far its worked like clockwork. I couldn't be happier with this system. Super simple and seems dead on reliable. Here is a chart of my conductivity readings.
Conductivity by choerenz, on Flickr
Quick Update
This past weekend I hooked up the Litermeter 3 for automatic water changes. Programming the unit is simple. First you run the pumps to prime them. Then you fill a 500 ml container to determine the flow rate of each pump. Next step, I determined I wanted to change about 10% water volume per day. Based on the approximate volume of my system I targeted 1.6 gallons a day or approximately 6 liters. Then I plug in the value "6" for flow in the Litermeter 3 and start the pumps. It then makes small additions 150 times a day (about every 8 minutes)
So far its worked like clockwork. I couldn't be happier with this system. Super simple and seems dead on reliable. Here is a chart of my conductivity readings.
Conductivity by choerenz, on Flickr
Arkayology
Active member
Nice mixing station. I would love to be able to do automatic water changes.
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