new tank. need thoughts on setup

[skinnyjoe1976]

i started a new tank to get my mind off larger ones for now. he's what i got so far

20 gallon long custom with dual overflows with 1" drains
20 gallon tall oceanic sump
little giant 4 for return pump going through a sqwd with 4 1/2 outlets
2 koralia 1 rated at 400 gph on wavemaker
aquaC remora hanging on the sump
auto top of via float swith and rodi unit
aquabee250 calcium reator with pinpoint controller
8 watt uv sterlizer feed of the pump
70 watt hqi 20k halide with 2 65 watt pc actinic in custom pendant with 2 4.75" coralife fans
30 lbs of fiji live rock with 50lbs of livesand

wanting to get a aqua controller jr for lighting pumps etc.

right now i'm have a micro bubble issue. done everything i can think of. thoughts would be good thanks

 

[InLimbo87]

I think your problem lies in the fact that you are relying too heavily for water flow from your return system. Doesn't the little giant pump put out somewhere between 700-800gph at a 4 or 5 foot head. This would mean that you are having a 40x turnover from your return alone. That alone is way more than enough to cause a huge microbubble issue. I suggest going with a smaller pump for your return... should definitely solve your problem and still leave you plenty of flow for your sps only tank.

 

[skinnyjoe1976]

the pump feeds the skimmer, 300 gph. uv 200 gph and the reactor 50gph or so.

i wanted to go with 1 pump with the highest head and gph for the least amount of energy cost. i always have a backup pump and the powerheads in the tank incase of a pump failure. using the flow calc in rc with the wayover board plumbing i should be returning 550 or so. flfirefighter13 told me about the problems he had with the sqwd trapping bubbles and i'm thinking about putting a check valve on the retun to the tank which will also reduce flow. thanks for the input. i have a little giant 2 setting around and if the check valve dosn't fix i'll plumb in and see if that does the trick.

 

[chrisstie]

If you were anything but SPS in that tank you'd probably feel like you were in a tornado or hurricane with so much flow ;p

 

[skinnyjoe1976]

we do live in florida. bring the hurricanes on.

 

[rdmpe]

Since you have two drain holes you might be able to do something like the setup I use. It is completely silent and bubble free.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=344892&perpage=25&pagenumber=1

 

[cjgalante]

I would bet money your problem is with the sqwd. I had one and I had the same problem. I then bought some flexable pvc and used a heat gun to warm it up then tighted the hose clamp! problem went away.

Chris

 

[skinnyjoe1976]

the sqwd is where i'm thinking too. flfirefighter commented on the same thing yesterday and i let the system run and the bubbles seem to be reduced. i'm going to take the sqwd out of line when i get home today and see if that helps. for the prevoius comment. the drains cant be modified due to the lack of space. it's a 20 gallon and i'm using a 1'tee with 1" cap like a reverse durso. will post pics when brandon teaches me how to. thanks for the inputs

 

[ben&bobbi]

you mean post a picture like this?
oh, this isn't yours anymore!!

upload the pic in your gallery, open the picture in your gallery, copy the http link from the bottom.

go back to the thread, click post reply - not the quick reply box! click the IMG button there in the middle and paste the http link - hit OK!

and it will look like this!

i figured you would have stuff in that thing by now!

 

[skinnyjoe1976]

thanks for the info ben. i did post that but the pictures come out so small. thats the problem i'm having. and the 125 in the pick i sold to chrisse

 

[ben&bobbi]

oh, then you need a photobucket dot com account!

 

[skinnyjoe1976]

update. i took the sqwd out of line after work today and still have bubbles. i guess i will redo the plumbing and see what happens

 

[chrisstie]

i like imageshack.us for hosting photos- just dont tell it to resize and they can stay large

and yeah that bad boy is all mine and i have plans for it mwuahahaha

 

[skinnyjoe1976]

early morning update. bubbles are gone. replumbed my suction side of the pump and no more bubbles. now on the the important stuff. i will post pics tonight

 

[gwrench]

skinnyjoe you are certainly a fanatic when it comes to flow.......lol

 

[sytanek]

I definately agree! lol

 

[skinnyjoe1976]

flow baby flow. hey george do you tink we could get anchors and put xenia on them to hold down the stonies so the won't get blown away????????????????

 

[skinnyjoe1976]

and don't forget about the 10 watts a gallon