New Tank

[CH]

To me, it looks like you could drop the run that exits underneath the catwalk slightly, and then when it turns to head to the sump, it could slope down slightly. Maybe not, it's hard to tell from the pictures. It wouldn't take much to get some positive flow though.
It even looks like at the beginning of the run under the catwalk, it could come up a bit.

 

[lvpd186]

The catwalk does pose kind of a problem. What if you moved the sump forward and brought the drain pipe down and put a bulk head for it to enter the sump. Having the drain go over the top of the sump is limiting how much slope you could add, but if you moved the drain to the side of the sump you could add a lot of slope. Also, since I can't remember, are your drain pipes vented? If not this could be causing some of the problems as well. With out any kind of vent, and a long horizontal distance, I can see how the water would slow down because it would create a syphon. Does that make sense?

 

[Goldleaf Reef]

Tom, I think you have a little room to angle the pipes, even a slight angle will help it drain better. Start from the end of the run and lower your pipe hangers down. I had to do this with my drain pipe from my basement bathroom pit, to get it to drain better into the main waste drainage system.

 

[Goldleaf Reef]

Tom My Set up will be similar to yours, do you have any pictures of your stand, I am trying to get Ideas.

 

[tom obrecht]

Well everyone thanks for the suggestions. The biggest factor I'm having is the height. The 3" drain is actually resting on the top edge of the sump and the top edge of the catwalkis almost against the bottom of the electrical outlets for the Sea Swirls ect. There is no room to adjust the drain up to slope for more drainage.

There is good news however. I installed another vent right before the end of the drain and it has solved the issue. I should be good to go now.

 

[tom obrecht]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9122654#post9122654 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Goldleaf Reef
Tom My Set up will be similar to yours, do you have any pictures of your stand, I am trying to get Ideas.

I don't have any pics but I can describe how it was engineered. There is a sheet of treated plywood on the bottom. There are 3 rows of 2x4's spaced about 6-8" apart running the length of the tank. Very similar to walls of your house. Then there is plywood running between the 2x4's in both directions for lateral strength. The outside was covered by plywood as well before the drywall went on. The top consisted of two sheets of 3/4" plywood on which I then placed a 1/2" piece of blue rigid insulation board. Hope this helps.

 

[Goldleaf Reef]

Yes thanks for the description. It seems today that everyone is moving away from wood stands and doing steel/ tube aluminum stands. So I am concerend about the stretngth of wood on a
8 X 37.5 X 36 glass tank. My buddie a contractor said wood should be ok with the right supports and should last forever.

 

[tom obrecht]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9123823#post9123823 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Goldleaf Reef
Yes thanks for the description. It seems today that everyone is moving away from wood stands and doing steel/ tube aluminum stands. So I am concerend about the stretngth of wood on a
8 X 37.5 X 36 glass tank. My buddie a contractor said wood should be ok with the right supports and should last forever.

Well if it makes you feel more secure I had an engineer design the stand. The 260 I had before this tank also sat on a stand just like this one and it was rock solid!

 

[lvpd186]

There is good news however. I installed another vent right before the end of the drain and it has solved the issue. I should be good to go now.

Tom, thats great news! I'm glad it worked out, re-plumbing that would have been a nightmare! Now lets see some saltwater life already! :rollface:

 

[Michael Mota]

Just found this thread, looks awesome!!

 

[tom obrecht]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9125350#post9125350 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by lvpd186
Now lets see some saltwater life already! :rollface:

This has been the hardest part of this whole build...seeing livestock advertised that I've had my eye on and watching other threads of people stocking their systems. :rolleye1:

 

[huskerreef]

I would love to harass you on how Brad got his tank up before you and that he has to scrape coraline algae off the glass every week now because it is so established .... but you've been through so much with this project I won't go there:lol: :lol:

 

[huskerreef]

On a serious note, good to see your winning the battle with the issues. does this mean no pump or closed loop changes? I like the way you have it set up and it should be killer for sps. Keep us all posted we are waiting in anticipation to see aquascaping. Any ideas on good LR? the stuff we get doesn't have half the life and goodies the rock you had in your old tank had.

 

[tom obrecht]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9129337#post9129337 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by huskerreef
I would love to harass you on how Brad got his tank up before you and that he has to scrape coraline algae off the glass every week now because it is so established .... but you've been through so much with this project I won't go there:lol: :lol:

Well if you remember correctly I stated on his thread that he was going to get up and running before me. I knew he would. Heck, I spent close to 6 weeks fiddling with the water issues alone. Now tell me, why do I enjoy this hobby so much? I appreciate your restraint of no heckling!

 

[tom obrecht]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9129396#post9129396 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by huskerreef
On a serious note, good to see your winning the battle with the issues. does this mean no pump or closed loop changes? I like the way you have it set up and it should be killer for sps. Keep us all posted we are waiting in anticipation to see aquascaping. Any ideas on good LR? the stuff we get doesn't have half the life and goodies the rock you had in your old tank had.

The closed loop will remain...however I'm going to remove the 3 Gen X pumps and go with another Dolphin pump to replace the 3. This will actually cut the noise issue close to zero since the Dolphin will sit on the floor and give me more current down lower in the tank if I need it. At least that is the way I picture it in my head. The pump should be here next week so I'll update some pictures when it gets installed.

As far as live rock I'll probably head that Chicago store for that. The couple of times I've stopped there they have always have nice pieces. Of course there is no comparison to the rock in my old tank for that had a 2 year head start of goodies growing on it. However in time I think it should work out. I hope to aquascape in a way to keep a much more open look for water water mov't and maintenace.

 

[tom obrecht]

In case anyone cares here's a pic of the new ro system. I'm not sure what all the parts are yet and of course they didn't send any diagrams of the set up of which I requested them to do so I'll have to make another phone call I guess.:rolleye1:

[/IMG]

 

[garvin90]

Fold tab A into slot B, tabs C and....*instructions continued in french*

 

[tom obrecht]

I knew I could count on you Ray!

 

[lvpd186]

Looks like it will be a good unit, bummer on the directions. It almost sounds like the company you are working with doesn't have very good customer service (ie: long wait, unanswered calls and then when they do ship you a unit they don't give you any detail on how to set it up!) btw, did you need the booster pump because you are on well-water?

 

[garvin90]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9147877#post9147877 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tom obrecht
I knew I could count on you Ray!

No prob, Im always doing my part to help out the fellow hobbyist !

Speaking of helping out and since you declined my previous suggestions... What about a 420gal mollie tank? They will live in the freshwater coursing through its lines and then you can have saltwater mollies eventually too! If you need more color then... guppies!!!! Im sure you could fit about 8-900 of em in there . I can picture it now... guppies/mollies swimming through acro branches...