ok dinally got the water circulating

[skwirl]

i had a hard time with this tank.
i didnt know (neither did my friends) how heavy it really was until it was too late lol. it took us all day saturday to get it in my house. then i wanted a background, but was too poor to afford one so i painted the back. then i got up sunday at about 10:30, and started putting things in thier places, but realized my skimmer wouldnt fit in the sump unless i cut the pipe comming out of the gate valve, so i called don, and went to his house to use a saw, and cut it. i got that done went home, put it all together with the plumbing, filled it up with water, and was avbout 20g shy if enough water to run it. the water level was just right at the top of the overflows but not enough to pour over, much less fill up the sumps, and overflows. so.......... yep i called don yet again to see if he had any already made, and he did, so i went out there, got it, and went home.
now.....
by this time its 6 or so in the evening, and im just beat.
i get there fill up the overflows, and sumps, turn it on, and its running like a charm. it was quiet... then i looked down..........WATER!!!!!!!!!
the bulkheads were leaking...
i turned it off and sat there for a minute pouting, called don to give him the bad news. he told me what to do, so i took the pipes out of the overflows, cleaned them, and put a little silicone on the seals and put them back in. by then it was 11:00 and i had to be at work at 7:30 the next morning, so i went to bed and let it dry overnight. went to work, came home, turned it on, and no leaks..... so it all worked out. everything seems fine

it makes my 57" tv look tiny it is huge, especially in my little bitty house

 

[ReefRacer]

Sounds familiar. It took me a long time to get my tank stable and reliable. Problems I had:
1.quiet one pumps would stop or fail to restart-I didn't make them easy to disconnect either (I got a mag and use it as a submersible with hose instead of PVC-so much better and no heat problems)
2.top off float switch clogged with kalk all the time (and hard to get to) only use Kent float now
3.Lights kept tripping GFCI and bulb failed (got magnetic ballast)
4.RODI wastewater never shut off and ran my water bill to $206 (put valve on wastewater line)
5.Garbage can full of water decided to start leaking for no reason
(bought a new one)
Ok I'll stop
I haven't had to fool with the tank much for the last 2 months except water changes and to refill Kalk topoff. It's nice now.
Mike

 

[EvilMel]

Hey, I thought you were getting water from Art?

 

[imsqueak]

I don't know if skwirl running out of money or running into money would be worse for me :mixed: Either way, he'll be calling for help with something he wants or needs to do. :eek1:

Actually it's been a pleasure to help someone with so much enthusiasm.

Glad to hear it's up and running. House still smelling funky?

 

[skwirl]

mel..
i got an ro/di so i thought i wouldnt need water, but i was in a hurry, and i dont have internet at home now, so i can only read posts while im at work, thats why i hav'nt been around like i was before. Art's # was in my pms, and me and don have been back and forth with this setup.

and here's the news...

I FLOODED MY FLOOR.........................................TWICE

im at work, but when i get a chance, i will elaborate... don may be able to tell ya about it.
i called him in my moment of madness

 

[ct_vol]

I flooded my floor twice also... Once was because of the pump return siphoning back and water poured out the sump, and the other, the overflow stopped, so the tank poured over... Thats when I decided it was a good time to strip the carpet and go back to the hardwood... Only problem is, I only have half the living room done... But I figure its ok, I spend more time on that half watching the tank, than I do on the other watching tv...

 

[RCS]

Geez Chris, what have you been doing to my tank!! :eek1:

Let me know if you have any questions I can help with as well. The bulkheads shouldn't leak unless they're not tightened on there all the way (don't overtighten them though, the last thing you want is to crack the glass!). The T-4s are amazingly quiet pumps, aren't they?

 

[skwirl]

i got the bulkhead problem fixed... it was just sand on the o ring

the t-4s are completely silent.. but they were clogged, so i was going to clean em out, thats how i flooded the floor... i did what ct-vol did. the water siphoned back through the loc line and out the pump, and i thought it was comming out of the bulkhead in the sump. i was in a panic and couldnt find where the water was comming from, so it had a full pour for about 20 seconds.... hopefully everything will be ok (praying for no warped floors.. i used a shop vac the vacuum as much as i could, but you know how it goes.
i think don is comming over today, and we will probably try to get it back up and running... if i can get online i will let you all know how it goes.

 

[RCS]

Been there, done that.

They underside of the wye on the Loc-line is drilled, so all you need to do to break siphon on the pump is to raise it out of the water a tad.

Easiest way I've found to adjust plumbing in the sump is to drain a few gallons from the main tank then pump it up from the sump. Repeat until you can pump most of the water out so that it's not enough to overflow the main tank but the sump is nearly empty.

 

[skwirl]

ok its back up and running. hopefully everything will be ok... we'll see. (fingers crossed)

 

[Runner]

Boy, I am glad I am not the only one who has these troubles. Now, try having a wife do what you had to do while screaming at you over the phone. That happened to me about two months ago when there was a power failure and my siphon holes had too much growth over them to break. She was yelling at me over the phone and asking what to do and I was trying to explain to a technically challenged non-aquarist how to stop the water. Fortunately I had built my stand to contain spills and was able to get her to stop the siphoning before it overtopped the stand and ruined the carpet.

Then, before the power came back on, I had to explain to her how to remove the air from the U-tubes she had frantically pulled out... Two mouthfuls of water later (and a few curses), she had the job done. What a trooper. I didn't hear the end of that one for days, though...