My new 120

[tgunn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7166540#post7166540 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Chrisrush
Alright, so anyone watching this thread, I've got a couple of questions. Right now I've got my setup like most peoples, skimmer --> return --> fuge (ca reactor).

I'm getting a pair of 6100s this week and so I wanted to re-do my plumbing and remove my mag 9.5 and switch my CL pump (gen-x pcx-55 pump) from a CL pump to my return pump. My sump has a 1" hole in the upper left side where the skimmer is. I was originally planning on installing a hook over the back of the sump so that I could get the water from the sump to the pump, but then I thought about using the 1" hole that is in the back of the sump. Anyone see anything wrong with this?

The only thing that I have a real question is regarding the pressure rated pump and the 2 other devices that I power with my return pump, namely the ca reactor and phosban reactor. Will hooking those up to the gen-x pressure pump be a problem?

While I am re-doing the sump pump, I thought about re-doing the sump as well. I have the fuge on the right hand side but there is no macro algae, just my ca reactor. Anyone think that pulling out the second baffle and just keeping the one up-and-over baffle and making the sump a 2 baffled sump a bad idea? This would give me more room for my skimmer, ca reactor, etc. I could also pull my phosban reactor into that section as well.

Thanks,
Chris
_________________

Hey Chris,
Time for some update pix!

So are you going to be removing the closed loop altogether? I'm sure the tunzes will give you some wicked flow and the power usage will definitely be something to smile about. I'm going to try building a modded powerhead with a propellor (aka poormans stream); if it works out I might build a few more and phase out my massive C/L pump.

So you're thinking to use the upper left hole to feed the closed loop I take it? Is it above or below the water level?

Just to make priming the pump easier you may want to stick a Tee with a valve on the outside so that you can pour water into the pump to get it started. But I can't see any reason why it wouldn't work just great. I run a spare PCX-40 on the floor beside my saltwater mix bin and the pipes just go up and over the side othe trash pail; no problems at all..

I can't see any reason why the Pcx-50 pressure pump would cause problems with your reactor, etc. It may actually help fight any backpressure in the reactors too, so no prob.

If you're not using the fuge area and it's not helping prevent microbubbles in some way I'd say remove it. More open space always makes things much easier to work with.

Tyler

 

[elephen]

Man that looks super nice!

 

[Chrisrush]

Thanks Elephen, hopefully once the frags start growing in it will look a little fuller.

Hey Chris,
Time for some update pix!

So are you going to be removing the closed loop altogether? I'm sure the tunzes will give you some wicked flow and the power usage will definitely be something to smile about. I'm going to try building a modded powerhead with a propellor (aka poormans stream); if it works out I might build a few more and phase out my massive C/L pump.

So you're thinking to use the upper left hole to feed the closed loop I take it? Is it above or below the water level?

Just to make priming the pump easier you may want to stick a Tee with a valve on the outside so that you can pour water into the pump to get it started. But I can't see any reason why it wouldn't work just great. I run a spare PCX-40 on the floor beside my saltwater mix bin and the pipes just go up and over the side othe trash pail; no problems at all..

I can't see any reason why the Pcx-50 pressure pump would cause problems with your reactor, etc. It may actually help fight any backpressure in the reactors too, so no prob.

If you're not using the fuge area and it's not helping prevent microbubbles in some way I'd say remove it. More open space always makes things much easier to work with.

Tyler

Tyler,
I'll get some pics after this weekend. I'm actually looking for a Christmas Wrasse to keep my AEFW at bay. Make sure you dip and qt all your incoming sps, those things are nasty.

I'm hoping those Tunzes work out really nice, I have a feeling they will based what everyone says. I think that I'll be gaining ~4500gph and using 30w less power this way, not a bad trade off huh? I'm going to sell my seio 1500 as well. It just takes up too much real estate. The main reason that I'm trying to get rid of the mag 9.5 is b/c I believe that it is adding too much heat to my system.

I've got one of those modded MJ powerheads and it does work good. I'm thinking about doing another one for the other side of the tank. But we will see how the flow pattern is when I re-do everything.

Yea, the upper hole in the sump will be used to feed the old CL pump and now new return pump. It is currently below the water level.

I was going to do that 't' part, but I wasn't sure that it was necessary if the hole was below the water level. I guess it wouldn't hurt. Water will stay in the pipes when the pump is off, right? It's too early for my brain I think.

Thanks for the input on the back pressure and removing the baffle. Right now I don't have any microbubbles, but I'm going to be increasing the turnover in the sump (mag 9.5 -> gen-x pump) so that might be an issue. The other good thing about re-doing my sump is that I can have the return and the skimmer outlet pour into one filter sock instead of using 2. Should make changing them out easier as well.

Thanks,
Chris

 

[burdundi]

Just saw this thread and I wanted to say the tank is looking good Chris. I just set up a 120 about 3 weeks ago (upgraded from a 58) and I am loving it. Keep up the good work!

-Andy

 

[Chrisrush]

Andy, that's the same upgrade that I did. Are you keeping the 58 for a sump?

Chris

 

[burdundi]

No, I wish. Long story short, the 58 had a very small leak. Luckily it was covered under warranty and my LFS let me trade in the new 58 for an upgrade credit. I went with an Oceanic model 2 sump. I think it holds around 30 gallons. I like it, but I am quickly running out of room. I need to go back and read the entire thread, but how's the 58 working out as a sump?

-Andy

 

[Chrisrush]

The 58 is working nicely. I would guess that I have it running at about 35-40 gallons so it holds quite a bit of water. It would have been nice if it was 4' long so that I could filled up the entire stand, but I didn't want to have to shell out for another tank.

That's nice to hear that the LFS gave you credit for the leaking 58.

Chris

 

[Chrisrush]

Alright, so I re-did my sump, return pump and installed my tunze 6100s over the weekend and I'm feeling it right now. I did have a few small issues last night when I was hooking up the gen-x pump on the return. I'll snap some pictures tonight and post them.

My one question is this: For those with a pressure rated pump on the return, how do you drill for your anti-siphon holes? On my old return, the water flowed up the returns through the overflows. I had the return high enough that when the return pump was turned off, it sucked air in a matter of seconds. So I drilled a couple of anti-siphon holes in the pvc that's coming over the back of the tank, but when I turn on the return pump, I was getting soaked. So I stuck a 1/4" tubing into the anti-siphon holes and ran that into the overflows. Now when I turn off the pump, the overflows dry out and then the airline tubing sucks air, therefore stopping the siphon. I'll snap some pictures tonight.

Another thing, how do I quiet the vibration that the pump is putting onto the sump? The return pump is pulling directly from a bulkhead on the back of the sump, but it is transferring some vibration noise to the sump itself.

Thanks,
Chris

 

[tgunn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7191822#post7191822 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Chrisrush
Alright, so I re-did my sump, return pump and installed my tunze 6100s over the weekend and I'm feeling it right now. I did have a few small issues last night when I was hooking up the gen-x pump on the return. I'll snap some pictures tonight and post them.

My one question is this: For those with a pressure rated pump on the return, how do you drill for your anti-siphon holes? On my old return, the water flowed up the returns through the overflows. I had the return high enough that when the return pump was turned off, it sucked air in a matter of seconds. So I drilled a couple of anti-siphon holes in the pvc that's coming over the back of the tank, but when I turn on the return pump, I was getting soaked. So I stuck a 1/4" tubing into the anti-siphon holes and ran that into the overflows. Now when I turn off the pump, the overflows dry out and then the airline tubing sucks air, therefore stopping the siphon. I'll snap some pictures tonight.

Another thing, how do I quiet the vibration that the pump is putting onto the sump? The return pump is pulling directly from a bulkhead on the back of the sump, but it is transferring some vibration noise to the sump itself.

Thanks,
Chris

I've found that siphon break holes have to be below the water line or they will act like venturis and suck in plenty of air. I found that our when I undid my sump return lines and drilled siphon breaks above the water level. They worked great to break the siphon but my tank turned into a jet-tub with all the bubbles.

I found that it helped to install a rubber coupling in line; you can get them from home depot in the plumbing section:

You can see it on the return portion of the plumbing at the top...
I dunno if you've got room for something like that though..
I also have the pump sitting on a bunch of soft rubber chunks..

But the coupling helped the most if I grab the pipe before it I can feel the vibrations quite strong; if I grab the pipe after the coupling it's considerably weakened.

Despite all my soundproofing the pump still likes to transmit some vibrations....

Tyler

 

[Chrisrush]

Thanks Tyler. I don't think that I have room for the couplers, but I wonder if wrapping them in some insulation would help. Did you just wrap the pipe with the coupler, or actually install it b/w the pipes?

That's what happens with mine when I turn back on the pump, it's not a big deal, since it's very brief, but it's better than it spraying water all over the wall, like yesterday.

I'm not sure I follow your explanation of your anti-siphon holes, do you happen to have a picture? I think that the real problem that I have are the penductors on the ends of the pump. Those things create a lot of back pressure.

Chris

 

[tgunn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7191923#post7191923 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Chrisrush
Thanks Tyler. I don't think that I have room for the couplers, but I wonder if wrapping them in some insulation would help. Did you just wrap the pipe with the coupler, or actually install it b/w the pipes?

That's what happens with mine when I turn back on the pump, it's not a big deal, since it's very brief, but it's better than it spraying water all over the wall, like yesterday.

I'm not sure I follow your explanation of your anti-siphon holes, do you happen to have a picture? I think that the real problem that I have are the penductors on the ends of the pump. Those things create a lot of back pressure.

Chris

I actually cut the pipe and left a 1/4" gap and used the rubber coupler to bridge the gap... I'm not sure if insulating the pipe would help but it's worth a shot.

I don't know if I have a picture of the antisiphon holes I did.
Here's a FTS where you can see the returns:

They're basically just PVC elbows; I drilled anti siphon holes just below where the tank water level sits on each return...

I see what you're saying about the spraying though with the penductors; running at a real pressure would definitely cause them to spray when starting up.

Sorry, I just re-read your description; I see what you did now with the overflow and the antisiphon lines.. I misread and thought your antisiphon lines were sucking the overflows dry.. Oops!

That's a great idea though...

Tyler

 

[Chrisrush]

Yea, I think that pictures would really help. I'll have to snap some tonight, I was a little tired yesterday to take any.

I did pick up a Christmas wrasse on Sat. though. Cool little fish. He's even picking at the rocks and stuff, so I've got high hopes that he starts out on the AEFW.

Chris

 

[Chrisrush]

Alright, I took some pictures today of my new plumbing, stand, tunze, and christmas wrasse.

Christmas Wrasse (hopefully he will take care of any AEFW that show up, plus he's got great color)

Stand

With doors on:

Doors open:

Front off (sides come off the same way):

New sump design (one large chamber with a larger return section):

Sump from end:

Return section:

More to follow.

Chris

 

[Chrisrush]

Return plumbing (I already had a 1" bulkhead drilled for the sump, but I wasn't using it. It is transferring some vibration to the sump, which I think that I can silence if I wrap the pipes):

New tunze:

Some Pm'd me asking about how I feed my skimmer. It's a little tough, but you might be able to see the 1" union that feeds the skimmer. There is a ball valve upstream that I can control the rate of flow in the skimmer.

This was the answer to one of my questions last night. How do you drill anti-siphon holes with a pressure rated pump and a pair of penductors on the ends. Well, I think that I figured it out, at least temporarily. I enlarged the holes to 1/4" and stuck some airline tubing into it. I then ran the airline tubing to the overflow and ziptied it to the overflow so that when the return pump is shut off, the airline tubing will suck air and stop the siphon. I'm sure that I'm loosing a little bit of flow this way, due to the airline tubing, but it can't be that great with 1/4" tubing.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a153/Rush2005/4-17-
06/returnantisiphonhole2.jpg

 

[Chrisrush]

A post wouldn't be finished if I didn't put in a full tank shot or two. I didn't get any close-ups of any of the corals, due to the increased flow in the tank, I'm getting more junk in the display, which will slow down as my skimmer cleans it up. I am going to shorten the loc-line from the return. I didn't have the right part and of course, Home Depot didn't have any either. I wish that the sLowes was closer to my house. I'll get the new part tomorrow.

Right side (I forgot about the left)

Thanks for looking,
Chris

 

[yoboyjdizz]

great tank sorry i havent been able to read the whole thread but had a question about you asm g4x how does it perform and do you recomend the mods u did?

 

[Chrisrush]

Yoboyjdizz,
I like the skimmer. It's a beast in terms of size. It is my first skimmer so I have nothing to compare it to, but I would like to try a comprable Deltec or H&S to see how they do against the ASM. I doubt it would be much of a fight, but I think that for the money, the ASM is a good skimmer.

Chris

 

[yoboyjdizz]

yes i was looking at a deltec i think ap701 or so and its like little over 1g and i can get a asmg4x for about 400... i hear good things about the deltec being one of the best but asm also pretty good as well.

 

[andiruleu]

wow thats some major coraline..

 

[Chrisrush]

yoboydizz,
I just looked at the deltec website and boy are those skimmers pricey. I would love to get one, but it sure would be hard to drop a grand on one right now. I guess we will see how the g4-x does for the next year.

Andiruleu,
Thanks. I tried to scrape some off the back overflow on the right, but it was a little harder then I thought. One of these days I'm going to clean it up and try to keep it that way.

Chris