Diary of a Newbie's 46g Tank. What to do Next?

Thanks Spuds and Freeskier.

I have been wrestling with just how to get the pump and overflow to work. I quizzed a number of peopl about how I can use more of the pump's capacity. This weekend I am going to be opening those gate valves all the way in an effort to get more water flowing.

Even if I can get the valves open all the way should I still do a return? In this scenario the pump would be going from 1" to 3/4".

Sending the water right back into the sump is a good idea, infact I have an extra inlet hole in the Oceanic Reef II sump. I could send the return right back into there. Heck PVC is cheap :)

I will have to buy a plug so My sump dosnt drain while I plumb :) Here here for a 1 week vacation :)
 
robilium said:
been wrestling with just how to get the pump and overflow to work. I quizzed a number of peopl about how I can use more of the pump's capacity. This weekend I am going to be opening those gate valves all the way in an effort to get more water flowing.

Even if I can get the valves open all the way should I still do a return? In this scenario the pump would be going from 1" to 3/4".

Sending the water right back into the sump is a good idea, infact I have an extra inlet hole in the Oceanic Reef II sump. I could send the return right back into there. Heck PVC is cheap :)
Click to expand...

Most pumps have a higher flow then what their outlet piping can handle, so its possible you still might be restricting flow. The amount it is restricting on the outlet is small since the the piping discharge is so close to the pump housing-- friction in fluid is a function of piping length, diameter, and number of elbows. If this was my set up.

Step up to 1 1/4 or 1 1/2" (I would try to find out the recommended piping size for that pump) right as you leave the pump-- tee this-- then reduce down to the 3/4" you have running up to the tank-- run the other line to your sump (you could even go in the top just submerge the end)-- put a valve on this line. If you wanted to tee off this line to feed a fuge, then put another tee off this to feed your fuge (valve the line to your sump and the line to your fuge after the tee)-- you may not want too much flow through your fuge.

If you haven't yet, check out Melev's reef site (google: melev reef) and check out his sump pages and set ups... his are mostly under tanks but pretty much everything I've learned about plumbing in sumps and how to set up are from his site. I do have more regular plumbing/pump/piping experience then most.

Good luck.
 
Thats awesome. Thanks Spuds. I will do a little rengineering this weekend.

The Iwaki has a 1" outlet, so I will do a 1" tee off of the pumpthen reduce that to 3/4" for whats going upstairs and expand it to 1 1/4 and a gate valve so it will return to my sump for now.

When I upgrade my tank I will use my 46bf as a fuge. At that point I will divert the pipe from the sump to the fuge :)

Good thing I used PVC unions on the pump, easy to take off and change :)
 
ya good luck w/ the light-i had the same prob- but i found out before ordering- i went w/ vho for now w/ some t5 to give the dawn and dusk simulation-you could if you don't sell the mh put it over a prop tank( rubbermaid horse trough) - jus a thought- wish i knew more about plumb. but it seems these guys are steering you straight
what will you use for a canopy if you use one at all
 
robilium said:
Thats awesome. Thanks Spuds. I will do a little rengineering this weekend.

The Iwaki has a 1" outlet, so I will do a 1" tee off of the pumpthen reduce that to 3/4" for whats going upstairs and expand it to 1 1/4 and a gate valve so it will return to my sump for now.

When I upgrade my tank I will use my 46bf as a fuge. At that point I will divert the pipe from the sump to the fuge :)

Good thing I used PVC unions on the pump, easy to take off and change :)
Click to expand...

No problem on the help--

One last thing after you set this up, if you have the valve on your line going to the tank, start off with this throttled shut like you have now and the bypass line back to your sump fully open-- I am just a little concerned about how much flow you still might get to your tank if this bypass is not diverting enough flow and I don't want you to overwhelm your overflow-- it should be ok but just to be safe--

After you get the pump going, open the valve going to your tank and watch your flows (for all I know, the bypass back to the sump will take all the flow and you won't have any flow). Then throttle down your bypass back to your sump to set your flow.

And one last thing, you have a 46 Bow front right. I have a 72 g bowfront (4 years old) black with black stand and I did spill some water a while ago. The front base of the tank at the bottom did warp a little-- I didn't notice until I was opening the right door and it rubbed on the bottom-- the front foot of the tank is sort of curved up a bit which is the side where I spilled.

I'm just giving you a little heads up if you have spilled or do spill any water.

Good luck with everything.

Spuds
 
Stumped on how the PM Bullet works

Stumped on how the PM Bullet works

Hey guys.

Trying to get the PM Bullet 1 to work.
I have it paired with a SEN 900 from Marine Depot.
It is sitting in the sump with a water level 1" below the top of the gray box.

Here is my issue, I cannot seem to get the water level in the cylinder to where the image says it is supposed to be. When I turn the pump on, the water level rises about 6" too high in the riser tube.

The directions say that I should raise the Drain Elbow to set the water level. When I raise it - even up out of the water in the sump, the water level even seems to rise a little bit.

The end result of all this is toooo wet of foam which is basically useless. I also let the skimmer run for 24 hours to let it "break in" I just put the waste hose base into the sump.
PM Instructions
PMBullet1.jpg


Oh! The used light was a disaster! The Glass UV sheild shattered in shipping and the ballast broke. I will post pics. I sure hope the shipper purchased insurance for FEDEX. No way I am paying for a trashed light.

Tommorow I am going to try and do the pump plumbing mods too.
 
Doesnt this just break your heart?

Doesnt this just break your heart?

Oh man,

I am just not having god luck with equipment lately!

My RO/DI's pressure gauge was cracked and I needed a new flow restrictor.

My Protein skimmer's air valve broke off during assembly and I had to find a new nipple valve (PM is mailing me a real one).

Now I opened the MH fixture I bought off the For Sale forums and I saw this:

DCP_1629.jpg


Break your heart!
I hope it was insured, I will contact the seller today :(
 
Moddin baby

Moddin baby

I would like to dedicate this post to Spuds :)

Welcome to the plumbers mod!

Here you can see the new 1" return from the Iwaki pump on the right. It is about halfway closed and sending just the right amount of water up to the tank. If/when I upgrade to a larger tank this pipe will be removed and turn into a new overflow feed. Then 100% of the pump water will be returned to the tank.
DCP_1648.jpg



It took me a few minutes of pondering how to pipe this T in the simplest manner. It is a bit of a pain due to the slighlty off 90degree angle the return is set at. If you look in the sump you can see the massive draw this pump takes when going full bore like it is now - just look at the water motion. The chamber where the pump gets its water from is a full 1" below the rest of the sump.
DCP_1649.jpg


You can also notice the missing skimmer :) I have removed it to fine tune - I cant get foam. Mike at Precision Marine said that I will have to raise up the skimmer because my sump water level is too high. I see PM now sells a nice acrylic riser I wonder where I can purchase it?

Oh!!
So I put in for a claim from FEDEX for the busted light :( In the mean time I purchased a JEBO/Oddysea 192w from "fishman" on Ebay for 102$ I figure it will last me til I figure out exactly what I want to do with MH. I cant run a single MH due to the Crossbar support in my 46 BF. It would cause a huge shadow.
 
Those pics aren't coming up for me right now but thanks for the acknowledgement for the help--- just passing along some of the info I've picked up on here.

I bought my lights form the same guy off ebay -- 260 W set up. One of my moonlights didn't work and he sent me a replacement right away. Those (Oddysea) lights aren't of the highest quality-- my only real complaint is the fan is kind of loud-- but it lights the tank just fine and looks pretty good.

Have you considered building your own riser for your skimmer??

They sell plexiglass at home depot/lowes and I don't see why you couldn't get them to cut it for you if you don't have access to a table saw-- whatever is cheaper.

Good luck with all that.

I'll check this thread out later to see if the pics come up later--- I tried copying pasting the image location on my browser and had no luck either.

Spuds
 
Ya doh!

I am currently undergoing system maintanence :)

I am an engineer and I traded a rebuild of a friends old Dell for the 46bf and stand. So I had hijacked my server's power, monitor, keyboard, and mouse to do the work. Will be back up soon!
 
Server back up!

Also - here is what you can get for the cost of a skimmer $329 shipped. It is a 8x6 green house! This was my other project this week, supposed to be vacation but I cant stop fiddling with things.

DCP_1643.jpg


Oh ya - back to the tank. He is a tank shot. I am waiting on TBS to send the second shipment. I realize I havent posted new tank test parameters for awhile, its because they havent changed.

They have hovered here for days now:
Amonia: < .25
Nitrate: .5
Nitrite: 5
Salinity: 1.0225
Temp 79

I havent done a water change yet since the amonia never went above .25. Should I? The wife and I also have diffuclty deciding what the values are in the Salifert test kit. The colors are so faint with the low levels its hard to be sure.

I will have some temp issues. got to buy a small clip on fan to cool down my sump. Got to love cool new england basements! I am gonna have to keep my tank at 79 and let it raise to 81.

DCP_1656.jpg
 
Click Click Click ....

Oh boy is it a Mantis or a Pistol Shrimp?

I keep hearing random single clicks. I rarely hear two back to back. I have been searching for signs of anything but cant find a darn thing.

Any ideas?
 
Hmmm I'm not sure-- I just checked melev's reef site and he uses acrylic this stuff called AcryLite to be exact which can be heated and bent to a shape and he uses this weldon stuff that chemicaly melts and bonds the acrylic.

According to this page http://www.melevsreef.com/acrylics/overflow.html

He uses this stuff to build sumps and stuff

According to his page, plexiglass can yellow and crack-- I've been using it for a divider in my sump for a couple of months without a problem. So its up to you....

You could maybe heat and bend it (make 2 bends to make a stand)-- I would watch for fumes or "glue" it with some 100% silicone-- silicone will need to cure for at least a day.

Your pics come up fine now.

That page for that stand you linked to didn't have any prices???

Good luck.
 
Ok so I just saw some hairy crab legs!

I need to do some research on how to find and trap the gorilla crabs and the Mantis shrimps!
 
A few new critters

A few new critters

So a few more interesting observations. What looked to be a sponge may not be!
Newbie ID Thread

I also noticed a very small white crab wearing a peice of shell on his back eating algae off of a snail or hermit crab.

Talked to TBS today. Out of rock!! I will join the waiting club :confused: :eek2: :(

Still on the hunt for a skimmer stand so I can get it running. They sell AcryLite at www.usplastics.com also in a nearby town I may check out. Then I would follow melevsreef strategy for bending it.

Anyone ever buy one? I cant imagine I am the only one who haqs ever had to raise a skimmer in the sump?

Thanks all and happy reefing!!
 
Yeah, don't pay way too much money for a stand that PM made for your skimmer.

Go buy a $10 sheet of .222" of AcryLite at Home Depot (or Lowes) and then call around to find a plastic shop that carries Weld-On 3 or 4. Cut your acrylic to the right size and then go to the plastic shop and they can show you the best way to glue it (you'll want a needle applicator too). It'll be like $20 to do. With the Weld-On you'll have to "capillary" glue it because its extruded, not cast so it has a dry time of 20 seconds, which isn't that bad.

HTH
 
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