drummereef
Team RC
Thanks Brett! :thumbsup:
Thanks Pete. He told me it was pink but maybe it's red digi. I guess I'll find out sooner or later...
drummereef's 180g in-wall build
- Thread starter drummereef
- Start date
Thanks Brett! :thumbsup:
Thanks Pete. He told me it was pink but maybe it's red digi. I guess I'll find out sooner or later...
drummereef
Team RC
Random question... How many of you guys use filter socks on a regular basis?
110galreef
New member
I did for the first few months. Then stopped for a few months and now went back to them. The only draw back i find is pulling them and washing. If you get the mesh style, you can easily rinse and reuse many times before washing!
The use of the filter socks keeps the sump very nice and clean! I prefer them now ingeneral.
I have a collection of like 6 and just wash them all together. The felt seem to last me about 4-5 days before I need to replace with a fresh one. If I go with mesh I can rinse them out every 3-4 days and then just actually wash them once a month.
The use of the filter socks keeps the sump very nice and clean! I prefer them now ingeneral.
I have a collection of like 6 and just wash them all together. The felt seem to last me about 4-5 days before I need to replace with a fresh one. If I go with mesh I can rinse them out every 3-4 days and then just actually wash them once a month.
cromedogg33
Member
I use them all the time as well. I got in the habit of them when I was dosing lanthanum. It has it's pro's and con's IMO. They catch detritus which is good but in turn keeps my skimmer from working 24/7 for right now.
It cuts down on micro bubbles amazlingly well too.
They suck to take out every few days and I feel like I need to run my washer with nothing in it after I clean them because they stink so bad
It cuts down on micro bubbles amazlingly well too.
They suck to take out every few days and I feel like I need to run my washer with nothing in it after I clean them because they stink so bad
drummereef
Team RC
Great info, thanks!
When you put your sump together did you specifically design it for sock use? I'm pondering a way to incorporate them since my sump wasn't originally designed to use socks. I have an idea but it will take a bit of fabrication on my end. Any ideas?I use them all the time as well. I got in the habit of them when I was dosing lanthanum. It has it's pro's and con's IMO. They catch detritus which is good but in turn keeps my skimmer from working 24/7 for right now.
It cuts down on micro bubbles amazlingly well too.
They suck to take out every few days and I feel like I need to run my washer with nothing in it after I clean them because they stink so bad
:lol: Yeah I hear they can get funky. I'm getting quite a bit of detritus in the sump I'd like to be able to capture. Might make my skimmer a little more efficient or pull some thicker junk maybe.
Hey Daniel, the laminate is holding up great. If I had to do it over I wouldn't hesitate doing the same thing. Use the solvent based adhesive, not the water based stuff if you end up laminating your stand. It's better stuff IMO and will be less likely to break down in case it does get wet, especially from underneath. Make sure it's well ventilated where you are working, the stuff smells really bad.
drummereef
Team RC
UPDATE:
So I've wanted to plumb the bio pellet reactor directly to the skimmer for a while now. Before, I just routed the tubing from the reactor to terminate somewhere close to the volute inlet but it's not the most efficient method for the skimmer to catch the excess bacteria. I've seen a few guys mod some basic pvc fittings to create a custom fitting, so here's my take on the mod.
Stock Askoll 1500 with SWC volute
I started with a 1" Tee.
The I.D. of the 1" Tee was slightly larger than the O.D. of the volute inlet so I needed to add material to the Tee for it to fit snug around the volute inlet. So I glued a 1" piece of pvc to one end of the Tee.
I then cut off the excess with a pvc saw.
From there I used the drill press with a small drum sanding bit to machine the added 1" pipe to the proper I.D. for a snug fit onto the volute inlet.
After some trial and error the machining was complete. You can see the small "ring" of pvc that was left after using the drum sanding bit.
Continued... :fish1:
So I've wanted to plumb the bio pellet reactor directly to the skimmer for a while now. Before, I just routed the tubing from the reactor to terminate somewhere close to the volute inlet but it's not the most efficient method for the skimmer to catch the excess bacteria. I've seen a few guys mod some basic pvc fittings to create a custom fitting, so here's my take on the mod.
Stock Askoll 1500 with SWC volute
I started with a 1" Tee.
The I.D. of the 1" Tee was slightly larger than the O.D. of the volute inlet so I needed to add material to the Tee for it to fit snug around the volute inlet. So I glued a 1" piece of pvc to one end of the Tee.
I then cut off the excess with a pvc saw.
From there I used the drill press with a small drum sanding bit to machine the added 1" pipe to the proper I.D. for a snug fit onto the volute inlet.
After some trial and error the machining was complete. You can see the small "ring" of pvc that was left after using the drum sanding bit.
Continued... :fish1:
Last edited by a moderator:
drummereef
Team RC
I then glued a 1" slip x 3/4" threaded adapter to the opposite end of the Tee.
I added a 3/4" threaded x 5/8" tubing adapter so the tubing from the reactor will have a solid connection to the new fitting.
The final step was to add some Silicone grease to coat the inside of the machined side of the Tee so it will easily slide on and off the volute inlet for maintenance.
The final pellet adapter mod installed on the pump.
The new mod in action.
I added a 3/4" threaded x 5/8" tubing adapter so the tubing from the reactor will have a solid connection to the new fitting.
The final step was to add some Silicone grease to coat the inside of the machined side of the Tee so it will easily slide on and off the volute inlet for maintenance.
The final pellet adapter mod installed on the pump.
The new mod in action.
Last edited by a moderator:
cromedogg33
Member
Good mod Brett, I fortunately feed my external skimmer from an overflow....I essentially was able to achieve that same thing you did by just putting in T on my overflow line. It makes a big difference IMO. You should be able to tell the immediate difference.
psteeleb
Team RC
just randomly here, mainly to catch detritus. I'm too lazy to keep them clean so I don't use them that often.
drummereef
Team RC
Very cool. I've noticed a difference already in the color of skimmate I'm getting. Definitely a shade darker and looks somewhat mucous-y as gross as that sounds. :lol: Guessing it's just getting more bacteria now that it's plumbed inline.
Gotcha, for some reason I thought you used them 24/7. I might alternate between the felt and mesh if I need more/less mechanical filtration. Hopefully I can come up with an idea that will work for securing them in my sump... Next project.
Thank you! Seems to be working pretty well so far. On another note I think I'm going to place an order for more pellets. It's been a couple weeks and the pellets seem to be chugging along but I think I need more to keep bringing the NO3 down. I only have 400ml in the reactor which is less than half the recommended amount, if I remember correctly.
drummereef
Team RC
Ha! Thanks. I've definitely noticed a difference in the amount skimmate since the mod. Seems to be consistently pulling a slightly darker skimmate than before. I'll keep you posted.
cromedogg33
Member
So Brett....Is it time to start the "epoxy cures dino thread yet?"
drummereef
Team RC
So Brett....Is it time to start the "epoxy cures dino thread yet?"
:lol: No quite yet...
I ran out of my TLF Stone Gray epoxy a few days ago but I ordered another tube from PA, should be here today. I'm still dosing H202 consistently at a rate of about ~2ml/10g twice per day. I'm seeing traces of the Dinos returning again though not nearly as bad as before. I'm going to do another round of epoxy balls for the next few days and see if I see a difference using that vs the H202 over the weekend. I will stop dosing H202 during this period as well. I'll have more definitive evidence whether it's effective or not in a couple of days.
I also have another 400ml of the TLF Bioplastics coming in this order too. So I'll be adding those to the reactor as well. NO3 is still ~17-20ppm so we'll see if the added pellets brings that number down in the next couple weeks. At under 1/2 the recommended I'm currently using, I wasn't seeing drastic results but I kind of expected that.
prop-frags
SPS Slave
Tank is looking great, Brett. Good to see you back and glad to hear you are winning the war on dino's!
psteeleb
Team RC
I also have another 400ml of the TLF Bioplastics coming in this order too. So I'll be adding those to the reactor as well. NO3 is still ~17-20ppm so we'll see if the added pellets brings that number down in the next couple weeks. At under 1/2 the recommended I'm currently using, I wasn't seeing drastic results but I kind of expected that.
Brett
for what it's worth, my NO3 has now dropped to 1 ppm per the Red Sea test kit (Salifert shows less then 2) running my TLF biopellets at 75%. I'm going to hold here for a while and continue to monitor
drummereef
Team RC
Thanks Mike!
Thanks, good to know. Does TLF suggest the standard 500ml/100g water amount like other brands? Or do they have a different recommendation specific to their product?
psteeleb
Team RC
I had to go back and look
per the TLF instructions on the back: 100ml per 100L (or 100ml per 25g)
so 80% of what the standard indicate, or 400ml/100g
