New 125 On The Block - Watch The Process! *Pictures Inside*

[Reef Junkie]

You're really getting a lot of noise from your durso pipes? I made mine and they work well. A very slight hollow gurgle is all I hear.
There are people here with a lot of experience with them. I've only made about 5 of them myself.
As far as the fuge is concerned, have you tried using baffles? I even saw a very cool raceway refugium setup by a member here JB NY. That might be an alternative for you?
Bill

 

[deforestusa]

I really wouldnt mind a slight gurrgle sound from the drains...its the billions of bubbles that are driving me crazy and the fact that I cant open the valves all the way to get the full potential from the return pump with out turning the fuge into a protien skimmer.
I have installed multiple bubble traps (baffles) on each end of the fuge but the bubbles are so thick that they go right on thru and over the baffles. I really think it has something to do with the fuge being in the basment ( about a 5 foot drop and then 10 -12 foot horizontal with a very slight drop). Speaking of baffles...thats what I am is baffled...

 

[TJcop]

Deforestusa: These are the Durso's that I made.

Maybe I should've used 1 1/4" pipe reduced to a 1" fitting into the bulkhead, then continue with 1" pipe from there. I thought I saw something somewhere that you have to use 1 1/4" pipe then reduce it to get rid of the noise. Can anyone verify this?

Also, I have the durso intake about 2" below the top of the overflow. I assume this is a good height. Pictures to follow...

 

[TJcop]

Here's some pics, hope this helps

Here's some pics, hope this helps

Here's a few pics of the setup, maybe this will help.

First are two pics of the durso pipes.

Here's a pic of the sump in the basement. The two pipes on the left are the return lines. Hot tube time, baby!:eek2:

 

[deforestusa]

Yes..you need to make the lower part of the drain pipe out of 1 1/4 pvc. Here's a link to the Durso website. read the first section which talks about this very thing. Let me know how it goes, Brian

http://www.rl180reef.com/pages/standpipe/standpipe_frame.htm

 

[TJcop]

Deforestusa: Thanks, I knew I saw that somewhere. I'm going to take out the Durso's today, then put some 1 1/4" ones tomorrow. I'll post the details.

 

[TJcop]

I'VE DONE IT!!!!

I'VE DONE IT!!!!

First...let's do the happy dance! :dance:
Ok...I'm soooo stupid, the fix was easy...
I went back and read Durso's website, when I got to part of: 1 overflow does about 600gph. Well, I have 2 so I should be able to put ~1200gph, right? Ring-a-ding-ding :idea:
Let's see how much I'm trying to put through: Main pump 1560gph, SCWD 900gph for a total of 2460gph!!!! Duh.
Solution: run the main pump full blast and put the stupid SCWD on a closed loop! Arrrgh! I should've listed to people earlier about the closed loop....
Now, all is right in the world....cats living with dogs, elephants and mice happy at last. And, as a bonus, since I moved my SCWD pump under my tank, it now runs around 1100gph.
Well, now that I've figured that out, I will post some picks of the hood I'm working on. At least that is going much smoother.

 

[TJcop]

Here's some hood pics.

Here's some hood pics.

Here's the hood so far. Need to add the lid and stain it. I was lucky enough to find a 72" hinge at Home Cheapo, so it should look great when finished. Still looking at lights, and I'm still leaning towards the 72" aquaspacelight with 3 250w MH, etc, etc...

 

[minfinger]

Looks good. Is the Angle part the front of the hood?

 

[TJcop]

Minifinger: Thanks for the nice comment. Yup, the angle part is the front. The middle picture in the above post shows the hood in the correct position.

 

[TJcop]

Well, as you can see in one of my other posts (here) you can see that I ordered my lighting.
I also contacted Reefermadness about rock, and I'll be ordering from them. I decided to go with 90lbs Fiji Premium, 45lbs Fiji Ultra and 88lbs Tonga Kaelini.
Hope this rock looks great. I couldn't go wrong with the price. It came out to about $4.60lb for all the rock, overnight shipping included. This is a great price, since el-crapo rock here in Wisc. is $8.00lb.
The tank is running very quiet, and if it wasn't for a small leak in the protein skimmer, all would be great! Tank is clearing up too, even though nothing is in it.

 

[ReefWraith]

Hello T.J.

Looks like you're coming along nicely. I have the same tank... only a bit older as it's been up and running before. I tore it down to move a while back and am now committed to getting it back up and reef'n again. I'm in the process of making a large (46") base stand with cabinets and drawers as well as a DIY canopy. Therefore I was interested in seeing yours!
Let us all know how the LR looks when your order arrives. I'm in the market for live rock and sand.... and all positive input/experience is appreciated when we have so many choices out there with each claiming to be the "best!" I guess I shouldn't complain... as we still have choices at least! :^) Keep us posted!


Reef on!

 

[TJcop]

Thanks ReefWraith!
I'll definately be posting pics of the rocks when they arrive. I ordered them today, and they are scheduled to be delivered next Thursday morning. It's gonna be a long week...patience is the key to this hobby.

 

[jnb]

aga 65

aga 65

I booted up my 65 gallon megaflow aga 65 last night and tested their hole in elbow - I must have drained less than 1/2 gallon back into the sump - really less

I do have a question - without putting a piece of foam over one of the four 1/4 holes drilled in aga megaflow standpipe i get way too much gurgle sound - even at a relatively slow gph rate - any thoughts?

Speaking strickly from my experience, my tank drains to the bottom of the returns when the return pump stops(approximately 3" of tank volume). I have the AGA megaflow kits on my 125. I'm not talking about the overflows, I'm talking about the return lines from the sump to the tank.

 

[TJcop]

Updated Pics & Status

Updated Pics & Status

Things are coming along swimingly! My LR from ReeferMadness should be arriving Wednesday morning. I'm not sure what's going on with my SLS lighting system. I can't seem to get a response from Premium Aquatics about my order . It seems other units have already shipped to other RC members. Oh, well...on to the pics!

Here's the almost completed stand/hood. The stand is done, but I have to put the handles and trim pieces on the hood. Oh, and install the lights.

Here's the opened hood.

And now a look across the tank with shots of left, center and right. The powerheads are on a wavemaker powerstrip that are adjustable from 20sec to 3min intervals. The center two outputs are hooked to the SCWD.

Here's what's under the stand. Not much, since everything else is in the basement. This is the ~1000gph Dolphin pump for the CL SCWD and the wavemaker powerstrip.

Here's the sump & refugium in the basment, along with all the rest of the equipment. Yes, that's a 6ft tall skimmer on the right.

No skimmate yet, but there's only sand in the tank. I'm excited to see if this friggin' thing works once the rock goes in. I'm running two TetraTec deepwater air pumps. I was running 4 airstones, but I seem to get the same amount of bubbles with 2. We shall see.

I'll post pics of the LR when it gets here. And the lighting too.

 

[TJcop]

UPDATE: Cory from Prem. Aquatics just advised that my order shipped Friday, and should arrive Wednesday. Same day as the rock. THANKS Prem Aquatics!!!!! Looks like I'll have a busy Wed morning!

 

[Todd March]

Hey T.J.... Great Post.... That 120AGA with the dual Megaflows is one sexy tank... Looks great... I am considering the Dolphin submersible for my system as wellââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬ÂHow is it in terms of power, sound, heat...?

Thanks

Todd

 

[TJcop]

Thanks for the comments Todd

I am running 2 Dolphins. The one under the tank is the 1200 and it runs the SCWD. It does have a little vibration to it, but nothing unbearable. The second Dolphin is in the sump. That one is very quiet and is running against a ~10ft head.
As far as power, I'm not sure yet. I haven't gotten a new energy bill. I think if you check them out at MarineDepot.com they have a chart with energy consumption.
Regarding the heat, I haven't seen a problem. I have two EboJager 17" heaters in the sump next to the pump and they both go on to maintain the 79-80 degree temp. Remember that I have my sump in the basement where it is about 64 degrees. But I don't think that makes too much of a difference.
Hope this helps!

 

[jgleach]

TJcop...Nice setup! I couldn't help notice in your pics that your sump level is quite high. Is that your operating level? If so, how do you keep from flooding when the pumps are off?

 

[TJcop]

Thanks jgleach. Yes, that is my operating level. I have to keep it that high for the overflow box to the sump. I guess I could lower the box some, but I also need the water height to cover the huge 17" heaters.
If the power goes out I have holes drilled just below the waterline in the tank. The overflow will then drain to the sump waterline into the refuge.