Mike's 150g SC Aquarium Build

[Tweaked]

Those reactors are not getting the best of reviews actually. You need a bigger area with the type of light Mike or I have. Basically allot of the red spectrum. I also told him to dial it back. 5 gallons every two weeks holy cow :fun5:

 

[BfishLpond78]

Good numbers and you could probably raise no3 to detectable levels by trimming it back some. I'm dumping 100 ml of vinegar in my system and am having a hard time keeping it under 30ppm. You should borrow Warren's arid and see if he got a dud or there is something up with his water.

I decided to conduct a little experiement with the chaeto...I trimmed it back to almost nothing...maybe the size of a softball. Too see how my system reacts. I can only assume that nutrients will rise but i'm curious to know how it affects my system (since everyones system is different). I've noticed some corals looking a little pale. So I'm curious to see with the skimmer pulling out gunk and the chaeto growing at such a massive rate are corals not getting what they need.

What's your feed schedule look like?

What kind of rock did you start with?

100ml's of vinegar seems like quiet a lot.

 

[BfishLpond78]

Just a quick updated photo

 

[pecan2phat]

There's a white stick in there

 

[BfishLpond78]

There's a white stick in there

That's a very unhappy tri-color...I don't imagine its getting too much light. I planned on moving it.

The SSC didn't make it though :headwalls:

 

[frankyrivera]

At least I grow mine out before I kill it jeez. Must be all that cheato you starved it lol

 

[BfishLpond78]

Once you've had a basement sump...you always want a basement sump...

Currently my sump is underneath the tank, while its not too terrible to work on as there is room. I hate the fact that I have to break out a garbage can and make water in the living room, shut down half the system in order to do a water change which makes it less desirable to do a water change.

So, I'm toying with the notion of plumbing into the basement. The reason I didn't do this in the first place was due to the tank location. It currently sits in the living room, which was once the garage, so no real basement access unless i run some pipes around the corner then through a wall. I'll attach a picture to show you what I mean.

My first thoughts would be to use the spa flex tubing as it will require a few unique bends and turns. Anyone have any experience with this type of tubing, what are the pros and cons?

Remember, its a just a thought and like the build, it would probably take along time for this to actually happen, lol.

 

[BfishLpond78]

Forgot the picture.

I envision pipes going around that corner through the wall...unless there is room between the wall and the chimney that's behind it.

 

[frankyrivera]

Is that an exterior wall prone to freezing temps that may affect the water going thru that tubing???????

 

[BfishLpond78]

Lol no, not an exterior wall...That wall divides our new living room from the old living room. If you remember my house Franky, there is a step up from the living room to the kitchen If i was to drill directly through that step, i would end up in the basement. So if you look at that bottom wood trim that's where I would go through. I didn't realize that till we removed some panels in the basement for reworking some baseboard heating pipes.

 

[Useful_Idiot]

Sorry Mike I missed your question. 100 mls is a lot but I started with all dry rock and it needs to catch up bacteria wise.

The cons of spaflex are cost and it doesn't look as neat. If it's just water changes your concerned with the liter meter can pump 25ft head. You could use that for automatic water changes and only have to pipe 2 1/4 lines from the basement. While the space and silence of the basement sump are nice I don't miss the extra electric cost from the pump and heaters running nonstop.

 

[BfishLpond78]

Sorry Mike I missed your question. 100 mls is a lot but I started with all dry rock and it needs to catch up bacteria wise.

The cons of spaflex are cost and it doesn't look as neat. If it's just water changes your concerned with the liter meter can pump 25ft head. You could use that for automatic water changes and only have to pipe 2 1/4 lines from the basement. While the space and silence of the basement sump are nice I don't miss the extra electric cost from the pump and heaters running nonstop.

I guess there's a lot of extra things I would like to have again from my old system. Remote refugium, frag tanks and ease of doing maintenance. It's also a good for when I spill water on the floor and having to keep barrels in the living room for water changes. My RO unit is in the 1/2 bath and it drives the boss nuts cause there is always a 5 gallon RO tote on top of the dryer, lol.

In terms of it not being as neat, from where everyone sits in the living room, no one would be able to see it. I'm sure I could find something to cover it to make it look nice.

 

[Masedaddy]

If you went through the baseboard area, you should have no problem getting into the basement. Spa Flex can be used just for the specific twists and turns. Then connect with an Union Fitting to regular PVC. The chimney is not going to be right up against the drywall. There should be six inches or so to slide pipes through. If you already have pipe work going through that area then your golden because you know it can be done. You would just have to find a bay in the wall that had room to slide the Spa Flex through with the piping already there. Ca1ore (Simon) has Spa Flex on his tank. He likes it as far as I know.

 

[BfishLpond78]

I posted this long winded thread somewhere else...was hoping some of you kids might know too..

I’d like to plumb my current tank into the basement, I’ve had a basement sump before and loved every aspect of it. I wish I had taken more time and done it on the current setup but I didn’t realize I could make it into the basement from where the tank was (actually still a little unsure if it possible).

Current tank sits in the living room, which was converted to a garage, no access to basement through floor. The wall behind the tank is the chimney which is made up of masonry block and then, studs and drywall (no access there). Around the corner from my tank is a little cubby where my current equipment cabinet sits. Through the molding on the bottom if I were to cut holes I would be in the basement (Didn’t realize this until some work was being done in the basement, silly me). I’ll show a picture of what I mean.

My current house was built in the 60’s by a mason, loooooved concrete and was fearful of wars and bombings apparently, because he built some sort of “Bomb Shelter” it’s about 150 sqft room that’s 1 foot thick concrete all four walls, ceiling and floor. We currently use it for storage and totes (basically all her crap). I was thinking about turning this room into my fish room, sump and all of our wildest dreams. However, I’m concerned about moisture. We do have a dehumidifier down there with a pump, but it’s in the main basement area (very old, will upgrade). My initial thought would be to add an exhaust fan to that room using an existing 12 inch diameter hole to pull out air from the fish room, into the main basement area and let the dehumidifier do its thing.

Anyone see any issues with that idea?

 

[Masedaddy]

A bomb shelter?? That's Awesome!!

 

[BfishLpond78]

You can see the entrance on the left and where it ends down on the right...excuse the mess.

 

[Masedaddy]

You could put a fan in to pull the humid air out into the main basement... Is there a way to exhaust outside? It seems counterproductive to use a fan to pull it into the main basement then use a dehumidifier then pump the water out...

 

[Masedaddy]

You could just rent a concrete drill and a concrete hole bit. Drill out the appropriate size hole. Have Patrick (Usefulidiot) come over and install the appropriate exhaust fan...

 

[BfishLpond78]

You could put a fan in to pull the humid air out into the main basement... Is there a way to exhaust outside? It seems counterproductive to use a fan to pull it into the main basement then use a dehumidifier then pump the water out...

I suppose I could add something like a dryer vent out to one of the basement windows, but that's about 10-12 feet away, not sure how that would work.

 

[Masedaddy]

Oh it's not attached to an outside wall...? I thought it was.... I was just trying to think of a way that you could have saved some electricity and eliminating something else that could fail.