drummereef's 180g in-wall build

[drummereef]

Tank is still cooking away. The ammonia level is still where it was from a couple days ago. Waiting... patiently...


Since I have some down time I thought I'd tinker around with the skimmer some. My sump is set up to run at ~ 9" water depth. It seemed to be running fairly wet at this depth unless I removed the intake tubing on the silencer and unrestricted the standpipe outlet all the way down to the Tee. So, I decided to build a 1" riser out of eggcrate that would help get the skimmer up to the appropriate depth. The 250A ranges from 6-8" for best performance. Some say the optimal depth is right at ~8" for this skimmer. I'm limited on how high I can go because of a brace in the stand that is directly above the skimmer, but I still have a little room to spare so I might add a piece of 1/4" pvc board to it so the overall height of the riser would be 1.25". That would bring the skimmer up to ~8" depth.

After getting the skimmer back in the sump I couldn't believe the difference 1" made as far as skimmate production was concerned. The foam started to dry up almost instantly! I was able to replace the silencer with almost no effect on the skimmate level in the neck. The true test will be to put an air meter on to see how much I'm pulling with all the different combinations. Hopefully someone in my neck of the woods has one I can borrow for a couple days.

I'll post some pics and possibly a vid of the skimmer riser and bubble production soon.

 

[Taqpol]

I just ordered a 250A, so I am glad to hear that it is working well! Can you take a measurement for me? I am curious as to the distance from the bottom of the skimmer to the bottom of the exit pipe, as i would like to route the exit pipe of the skimmer over a wall in my future sump so all the bubbles get dumped into the same bubble trap as my overflow pipes.

 

[drummereef]

I just ordered a 250A, so I am glad to hear that it is working well! Can you take a measurement for me? I am curious as to the distance from the bottom of the skimmer to the bottom of the exit pipe, as i would like to route the exit pipe of the skimmer over a wall in my future sump so all the bubbles get dumped into the same bubble trap as my overflow pipes.

Hey Alex, it's right at 8". Wish they packaged a couple extra pieces of pipe to customize the output to your sump. There's a variety of positions you can have the output that greatly affects the production of skimmate I've found. Obviously this wouldn't be much of a factor if it's in the proper water depth but for not so ideal conditions it would be helpful. It's also amazing how much air is reduced with the silencer. Still messing with it but really want to get my hands on a meter so I can accurately see what's going on.

 

[drummereef]

UPDATE:


Took a couple pics of the skimmer riser. I cut the pieces out of eggcrate and glued them together with Loctite Super Glue Gel. I took a palm sander and sanded all the rough edges and burrs from cutting the eggcrate. Didn't want the thing to scratch my pretty sump. Like I said, I have a little more room to experiment height wise so I might add a layer of pvc sheet / acrylic to raise the skimmer up a bit more. We'll see how it goes as the bio load continues to rise. Still not getting any real skimmate but that's to be expected since the bio load is so low at this point. Got a lot of pretty bubbles in the skimmer neck though. :lol:


Skimmer and pump riser.

Here you can see how I've positioned the outlet of the skimmer standpipe to flow over the drain baffle. The skimmer chamber is more clear than the pic shows. The lighting isn't ideal so these pics are a little hazy. After the water goes through the bubble traps it is crystal clear on the return side.

 

[Assassynation]

Subscribed.

Your attention to detail is inspiring.

 

[drummereef]

Subscribed.

Your attention to detail is inspiring.

Thank you Assassynation and...

<img src="/images/welcome.gif" width="500" height="62"><br><b><i><big><big>To Reef Central</b></i></big></big>

 

[Greenmaster]

He is AWESOME! Makes my build look like a four year old did it (and no I didn't get my daughter to build my stand)

 

[110galreef]

UPDATE:


I took a palm sander and sanded all the rough edges and burrs from cutting the eggcrate. Didn't want the thing to scratch my pretty sump.

This is when you know your got a screw .......:eek1:
or two loose!:wildone:

Great patients and attention to deatil! I love it:crazy1:

Excited to see this thing stocked & all Grown Up!

 

[drummereef]

This is when you know your got a screw .......:eek1:
or two loose!:wildone:

Great patients and attention to deatil! I love it:crazy1:

Excited to see this thing stocked & all Grown Up!

Ahhhahahaha! :lol: I've got more than a couple loose 110g. Yeah I can't wait till I can get the tang moved over. Hopefully in a week or so I'll see some major progress in the water chemistry.

 

[drummereef]

OK guys... I'm starting to look at a DSLR camera to replace my point and shoot piece of junk. I would prefer to buy used since the prices are somewhat better and it will be my first "real" camera. Any suggestions to what decent used DSLR cameras to look into would be?

 

[AJP]

You want nikon or canon?

You can pic up a rebel xt for pennies on the dollar nowadays and they take great pics if you get good glass for them. I just watched ebay and got mine for $250 shipped with the 18-55 lens, 4gb card, grip, remote switch, and a few other goodies.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Canon-EOS-Digit...ewItem&pt=Digital_Cameras&hash=item45f2ac8222

 

[Taqpol]

Canon, all the way. Do not let those crazy nikon people convince you about anything else!

I don't know how hard it would be to find one used since they are fairly new, but the Canon Digital Rebel T1i is the most bang for your buck camera on the market hands down. It retails for $600 (no lens), has enough megapixels you can see aberrations in your lens glass, works with any canon lens, shoots HD video, has the best high ISO noise reduction in its class (last time I checked), and is super fast.

It is the camera I shoot with and I love it!

 

[AJP]

I agree Canon all the way.

The body isnt the expensive part, it is the glass that will kill you.

 

[crvz]

I love my canon, also. If you don't want HD video (which is the defining difference in capabilities that the newer T1i and T2i offer), you can get an XS or XSi for cheap. I have the XSi and a handful of lenses (the 100mm macro is awesome).

 

[drummereef]

You want nikon or canon?

You can pic up a rebel xt for pennies on the dollar nowadays and they take great pics if you get good glass for them. I just watched ebay and got mine for $250 shipped with the 18-55 lens, 4gb card, grip, remote switch, and a few other goodies.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Canon-EOS-Digit...ewItem&pt=Digital_Cameras&hash=item45f2ac8222

Canon, all the way. Do not let those crazy nikon people convince you about anything else!

I don't know how hard it would be to find one used since they are fairly new, but the Canon Digital Rebel T1i is the most bang for your buck camera on the market hands down. It retails for $600 (no lens), has enough megapixels you can see aberrations in your lens glass, works with any canon lens, shoots HD video, has the best high ISO noise reduction in its class (last time I checked), and is super fast.

It is the camera I shoot with and I love it!

I agree Canon all the way.

The body isnt the expensive part, it is the glass that will kill you.

I love my canon, also. If you don't want HD video (which is the defining difference in capabilities that the newer T1i and T2i offer), you can get an XS or XSi for cheap. I have the XSi and a handful of lenses (the 100mm macro is awesome).

Well that was quick guys! :lol: THANKS! I've been leaning towards Canons but don't really know where to start. Thanks for the suggestions I'll look into those. I know the Rebel series is really good and there's a few out there in the $400 range right now. If you have any more suggestions as to why Canon is better let me know.

 

[Greenmaster]

I also like Canon I know a couple people who have one of the Rebel series and they say they will never go back to anything else.



________________
My 320g tank build http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1840581
If you don't like what you are looking at you are looking at it the wrong way.

 

[AJP]

I like the canon for the ease of use, good quality pictures, abundance of aftermarket goodies for it, long life.

I've never used a nikon so I can't say anything about them so I might be biased.

Hell go to best buy and play with them they have them all out for the touching. See what feels good and what you like. Then come home and hit ebay for a deal.

I'd say all in all the xt, xti, xs, and xsi are the same camera just more megapixels as you go up.

Unless I am totally wrong about all that

 

[crvz]

I'd say all in all the xt, xti, xs, and xsi are the same camera just more megapixels as you go up.

Unless I am totally wrong about all that

mostly true, but the XS line gives you live view (ability to take pictures from the screen in lieu of just the viewfinder).

 

[AJP]

I knew there was one big one.

I still think using the eyepiece is the best way to go with these though.

Poor Brett we have overwhelmed him with jabber.

 

[Taqpol]

My opinion is that they are both excellent camera brands, but Canon gives you the same quality as Nikon for a cheaper price with more options for expandability of lenses and aftermarket parts.

I also agree that the lens is the most important part, so if you want to keep costs down buy a nice lens and an XS or XSi body. Canon 100mm Macro is one of the better lenses money can buy for reef photography of any sort.