Justin's 150g upgrade

[ItzJustinN]

now that i got everything working i decided to make a build thread for my new setup. as some of you already know i did purchase nick's (reeferhead) 150dd cube a couple months back. when i first bought it i loved the idea that the sump fit in the stand, and was big enough for a frag rack in it, and could be run as a large all in one setup. after having a few people over to give me tips/ideas/estimates on the project, i decided to go a different route, do everything myself, and here is what followed:

the fun began one sunday afternoon, picking the tank up, and getting everything to my basement:

started cooking my rock:

playing with radions/ got it on the stand:

built a crude shelf for the sump in the adjacent room:

built additional shelving/stand for another tank and water barrel:

added panel to sump shelf and started running plumbing, look there is livestock now:

finished the plumbing, added electrical , and filled with water:

turns out my cleaning wasnt as good as i thought:

 

[ItzJustinN]

won this just in perfect time from the SLASH frag swap (members only raffle):

bought another goodie today:

i just need to get the apex setup, add salt and put my rock/sand in there :blown:

 

[Mr D smack]

Your off to a good start

 

[Nanook]

Looking good, Justin! Looking forward to your build.

 

[ItzJustinN]

one issue im having now, is the formation of a vortex, due to the return pump, and its causing micro bubbles in the display. obviously i can raise the water level in the sump, but im afraid of overflow. i have been toying with the idea of installing a bulkhead on the sump and creating emergency over flow drain. i also saw another thread which suggested vortex breakers.

thoughts/ideas?

 

[mpgrant77]

One way is to add to the inlet side. So that you spread out the intake of water to two or three inlets. Like adding a simple 3 way plumbing fitting to the inlet. This then splits the intake into two inlets. Same water flow but less draw at each inlet.

 

[South City]

If there's nothing that you change about the pump, I'd raise the water level and install an emergency overflow in your sump that leads to a drain. You do have the room for it there.

If that pump is controllable and can be turned down, you might try turning it down a bit if it wouldn't have too much of a negative impact on your flow rate to the tank. It seems to me that if the pump was pulling less water from the sump, that could possibly reduce the vortexes.(It's hard to see from your photo just how close the top of the pump intake is to the surface of the water)

As a final option, you could consider modifying the cage that surrounds the pump intake so that it's only pulling from the pump side closer to the bottom of the sump. Something like removing the cage that surrounds the intake and attach an elbow to the input that points downwards. You could then place a strainer at end of the elbow to protect any livestock that might find its way into the sump. You can buy strainers like the ones below at BRS.

 

[mpcart]

I have a 90 deg PVC fitting on my pumps that I twist to point to he bottom of the sump. Keeps a vortex from forming and keeps the pump primed if your water level gets too low.

-Mike

 

[Nanook]

I have a 90 deg PVC fitting on my pumps that I twist to point to he bottom of the sump. Keeps a vortex from forming and keeps the pump primed if your water level gets too low.

-Mike

Good idea and what I do as well on my big system. The T with two 90's facing down would would work too.

 

[Pife]

i have a 90 deg pvc fitting on my pumps that i twist to point to he bottom of the sump. Keeps a vortex from forming and keeps the pump primed if your water level gets too low.

-mike

+1

 

[ItzJustinN]

I have a 90 deg PVC fitting on my pumps that I twist to point to he bottom of the sump. Keeps a vortex from forming and keeps the pump primed if your water level gets too low.

-Mike

thanks, i did this, and no longer have a vortex.
the system has passed all my tests (leak, overflow, noise, etc)
looks like ill be adding salt tonite.
ill let it run for another 24hr before i add my rock. :beer:

 

[ItzJustinN]

so i dumped a bunch of salt in my tank yesterday after work,
and this morning its still really cloudy.
i used 2 different brands of salt, not sure if thats a problem
i had some cheaper offbrand stuff that i was using to cycle my rock.
i threw the rest of that in there and used IO to make up the difference.
salinity is at 1.026 right now.
i havnt added any filter media yet. im thinking about running some carbon.

maybe im just a noob because i havnt had such a big tank before,
but i recall the water in my nano tanks, and also my wc buckets to clear up within a couple hours, regardless of brand.

 

[mpcart]

When I started my tank I mixed the initial batch of salt in the tank (no sand or rock) and had the same problem. Tried it twice and the cloudiness never went away. Third time was fine and never had a problem since.

I only ever used IO.

-Mike

 

[Mr D smack]

I'd start with some filter media and see if the water clears up before jumping on the carbon wagon

 

[ItzJustinN]

its starting to clear up, im just going to have to be patient.
i got the apex all connected today, havnt played around with it though.

looks like ill need to procure some higher wattage heaters,
and id like to find a skimmer, rated about 300g, (preferable internal but not required.)
let me know if you have anything lying around.

 

[mpgrant77]

<a href="http://s292.photobucket.com/user/mpgrant77/media/Prob%20holder%20no%20magnet.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm37/mpgrant77/Prob%20holder%20no%20magnet.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo Prob holder no magnet.jpg"/></a>

Is this what you are looking for Justin?

 

[ItzJustinN]

is this what you are looking for justin?

that is perfect.

 

[mpcart]

looks like ill need to . . . find a skimmer, rated about 300g, (preferable internal but not required.)
let me know if you have anything lying around.

If you are man enough for it

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2524493

$200

-Mike

 

[mpgrant77]

that is perfect.

I will put it through my research and development team and have a first run prototype run off this afternoon by my production team.

 

[mpgrant77]

What color?