JapanReef - 450 gallon In-Wall system
- Thread starter NexDog
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I have been told by many sources, including to electrician that I will save electricity by not using the full flow of my pump. I bought the barracuda sequence for my return. The dart just was a little too small, I was worried about the barracuda being too much, but my friends the electricians told me that by restricting the flow, I would use less electricity. I hope they are right 
Seems counter intuitive to me too.
Seems counter intuitive to me too.
bigeyetuna
Premium Member
Because I need to get a backup pump BEFORE something goes wrong, I may do that. I am also looking at the Ehien hobby pumps as a possible solution too.
I got the 9.5 because I knew I wanted to route some flow to the Refugium from the return pump and not knowing what head loss I would have from the return plumbing, I thought the 9.5 would be a better choice. I was also wanting the higher flow to help with the overall tank flow.
I do like the idea of less heat in the water!
If I could do it all over again, I would have drilled my 20gal sump and used an external pump. I want something as quiet and low heat as possible.
I got the 9.5 because I knew I wanted to route some flow to the Refugium from the return pump and not knowing what head loss I would have from the return plumbing, I thought the 9.5 would be a better choice. I was also wanting the higher flow to help with the overall tank flow.
I do like the idea of less heat in the water!
If I could do it all over again, I would have drilled my 20gal sump and used an external pump. I want something as quiet and low heat as possible.
Yep. hook an amp or watt meter to the pump, then dial back the flow, and you'll see it drop off. Not a huge difference, but a difference nonetheless.
You'd really have to restrict the flow to cause any heat issues.
Sorry for the hijack Laurence, just trying to save a buck when I can, even if its not my own
You'd really have to restrict the flow to cause any heat issues.
Sorry for the hijack Laurence, just trying to save a buck when I can, even if its not my own
It is my general recommendation to buy a pump that provides about 25% more flow that you need. Pump have there highest efficiency between 60% to 90% of full flow depending on the impellor design (every pump is a little different). The idea is to hit the system curve with the pump curve at the highest efficiency flow rate. Here is a quick link for those that need a visual...
Typical Pump Characteristic Curves
You can get some liquid electrical tape to insulate those exposed terminals. They will bite you eventually if you leave them exposed.... Just paint on the liquid electrical tape and that will provide enough insulation for incidental contact. Cover them with hard plastic if they are in an area that may see you drop something on it (like a pump or a water change bucket)...
Typical Pump Characteristic Curves
You can get some liquid electrical tape to insulate those exposed terminals. They will bite you eventually if you leave them exposed.... Just paint on the liquid electrical tape and that will provide enough insulation for incidental contact. Cover them with hard plastic if they are in an area that may see you drop something on it (like a pump or a water change bucket)...
I now have all the rock in the tank and started on the aquascaping today. Unfortunately I don't have enough rock so have ordered more from AquaPlanning in Okinawa. Left island is complete but the right island and center section are still too low. One more box of rock should do it.
Left side:
Middle so far:
Camera doesn't really show the detail but there's many place to attach corals on the sides of the islands and the space under the rack makes for nice havens for the fish. Looking forward to finishing it off the rock then adding a few hundreds astreas and nassarius and adding sand. Still waiting on the sand - just impossible to get marine type sand here at the moment and I've had some on order for a month.
Still hoping to get my first shipment of coral next month but we'll see. The tank's been wet about 10 weeks now so I don't think I'm doing too bad. Amazes me to see pics of some people's tanks a few months after setup and they looked fully stocked.
Got an order coming in from MarineDepot this week with bits and pieces I need including hose barb fittings for the CL in the frag section. Will hook up the drains to the skimmer this week which I hope will rid me of the microbubbles and then I'll be well onb my way.
Left side:
Middle so far:
Camera doesn't really show the detail but there's many place to attach corals on the sides of the islands and the space under the rack makes for nice havens for the fish. Looking forward to finishing it off the rock then adding a few hundreds astreas and nassarius and adding sand. Still waiting on the sand - just impossible to get marine type sand here at the moment and I've had some on order for a month.
Still hoping to get my first shipment of coral next month but we'll see. The tank's been wet about 10 weeks now so I don't think I'm doing too bad. Amazes me to see pics of some people's tanks a few months after setup and they looked fully stocked.
Got an order coming in from MarineDepot this week with bits and pieces I need including hose barb fittings for the CL in the frag section. Will hook up the drains to the skimmer this week which I hope will rid me of the microbubbles and then I'll be well onb my way.
Many thanks for your kind words. I'm still kind of uncertain about it and how it will turn out so it's nice to get some encouragement. I'm also somewhat limited in aquascaping possibilities due to those racks which in hindsight are a little bit too big really. Camera sucks and I really want to get something decent like a Rebel XT but damn, more expense. Not only do we spend thousands on these setups, we gotta spend thousands to share that enjoyment in the way of decent photos. 
Bax, I ended up ditching most of the bits I made myself as I wanted as much LR in there as possible to make the most of biological qualities. If you look closely you can see the bottom piece in from the left rack is the aragocrete. I only didn't remove that piece as I had already made that bit and aquascaping is not my favourite part of this hobby so anything to minimise time there. Also I kept the middle pieces as I realised by then that I wasn't going to have enough. But you won't be able to notice any of it and it's already blending in with some coraline growth.
Marc, that clam shell just came in with the LR order. I might embed it into the right island or middle section when I finish it off with the next shipment. Might be able to some kind of cool overhang with it or something.
I'm just building this with the final picture in mind which is two islands totally covered in SPS with some LPS in the sand and lower sections of the rock. Guess we'll see in 6-7 months if it works out.
Bax, I ended up ditching most of the bits I made myself as I wanted as much LR in there as possible to make the most of biological qualities. If you look closely you can see the bottom piece in from the left rack is the aragocrete. I only didn't remove that piece as I had already made that bit and aquascaping is not my favourite part of this hobby so anything to minimise time there.
Also I kept the middle pieces as I realised by then that I wasn't going to have enough. But you won't be able to notice any of it and it's already blending in with some coraline growth.Marc, that clam shell just came in with the LR order. I might embed it into the right island or middle section when I finish it off with the next shipment. Might be able to some kind of cool overhang with it or something.
I'm just building this with the final picture in mind which is two islands totally covered in SPS with some LPS in the sand and lower sections of the rock. Guess we'll see in 6-7 months if it works out.
By the way, I took the photos with just the power compacts on. Two broke already (cracked) so I ordered 6 more from Premium Aquatics just in case half didn't make it. Well, 2 did break in transit but I guess that's just the price I got to pay. Anyway, these new 96w PC's are totally different. The old ones were purple but these ones are more blue. I have 2 of each in there at the moment and the colour is so much brighter than before. The old purple ones look dull next to these. Is this kind of variation in PC's normal?
AFY stated 8 to 10 weeks and it took 15 weeks. I personally visited the shop on a Saturday morning to give him the plywood template for my custom 2" 11ga steel stand and my OM 1" flexible nozzles for the overflow boxes. Being proactive is key with most of these aquarium trade people.
However, when unwrapping the cellophane from the tank, I did find multiple external circular buffing scratches on the lower 1/4 of the front panel and the middle of the sides of my custom acrylic 225g tank. Mr. John Stevenson, Jr. had promised to send an independent contractor to finish his unfinished work and still has not. This weekend we communicated via email and I reminded him that I have been patient and he has been paid in full for several months. Furthermore, I reminded him that despite my proclivity to give my business to a family owned business and our cordial interaction, I am an attorney and will proceed with legal action if he does not rectify this lack of performance. I hate this crap. People should just take pride in their work and respond promptly when they screw-up. Keeping clients in the dark will only create animosity and lack of trust. As a physician I have always kept my patients abreast of any unforseen detours in care. I do not wait for them to contact me. It is unprofessional and simply inconsiderate.
Anyway, my final personal judgement on AFY is still pending and I certainly hope for their sake and mine, they live up to the gentleman-like impression they have given when we have interacted in person.
Hence, fax them, email them, visit them. Simply document your attempts to communicate your concern with the other party of your contract in case things go awry.
Good luck.
Dr. A.
melev
Well-known member
Power compact bulbs are rather brittle, and cheaper bulbs (on clearance) tend to last 6 months at best. I would think these vendors would pack your stuff extra well since it has to travel to Japan.
Btw, aren't cameras cheaper where you are located? It seems like many are built in your part of the world.
Btw, aren't cameras cheaper where you are located? It seems like many are built in your part of the world.
JayS
New member
Guys, I'm at my wits end. 
The drains are now hooked into the skimmer and I have minimal flow through the sump. 90% of the microbubbles in the sump are gone...
Yet I still have a cloud of microbubbles in the display. I turned off the CL through the bottom racks and it seemed to create even more bubbles. This is so disheartening.
The drains are now hooked into the skimmer and I have minimal flow through the sump. 90% of the microbubbles in the sump are gone...
Yet I still have a cloud of microbubbles in the display. I turned off the CL through the bottom racks and it seemed to create even more bubbles. This is so disheartening.
melev
Well-known member
Perhaps this isn't sump related at all, and rather a tiny leak in your return line somewhere.
If you have anti siphon holes, are they fully submerged? If you have locline, is it fully submerged? All all connections that are out of the water glued or taped with teflon tape on threaded connections?
If you have anti siphon holes, are they fully submerged? If you have locline, is it fully submerged? All all connections that are out of the water glued or taped with teflon tape on threaded connections?
Yea, everything threaded was done up with tape. When I redid the skimmer plumbing I went over all the PVC joints with excessive glue due to make sure. The only thing left to do is redo all the taped connections I guess.
Another thought though. I turned off the ereturn pump today and the big Sequence that powers the racks CL for about 2 hours. The microbubbles didn't disperse at all. With no flow in the tank they were just suspended there and not moving at all. No it is possible the microbubbles just haven't worked out of the system yet?
Another thought though. I turned off the ereturn pump today and the big Sequence that powers the racks CL for about 2 hours. The microbubbles didn't disperse at all. With no flow in the tank they were just suspended there and not moving at all. No it is possible the microbubbles just haven't worked out of the system yet?
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