Sinistard's 68.8 Acrylic Tank Journal [Photo Intense]
- Thread starter Sinistard
- Start date
Sinistard
New member
Thanks.
Unfortunately no real updates for now. I am still having problems with my Iwaki pump making a ton of noise. I tried the mouse pad thing, I actually used a mouse pad and one of those wrist pads made out of the same stuff just real thick, and it did not help at all. The pump is not vibrating the stand it's just vibrating itself and making a super loud humming noise. So until I can get this figured out I can't make any progress since I would go crazy if I had to listen to the pump the way it is. I may try the spaflex on the plumbing to stop it from vibrating. This may help but I don't think it will fix it.
I may send the pump back to Iwaki to make sure it's not something wrong with the pump. I'm not sure if there are any problems if it will be covered under warranty since I got it from a fellow reefer even though it is baiscaly new.
I made one other mistake. In my sump I should have made the higher baffles higher. Right now water almost runs over the high baffles when the pump is going and if I lower the water level I end up with a lot of bubbles in my return area. I think I need to stick a 90 facing down on the inlet bulkhead for my pump to stop it from sucking in air.
Well that's it for now, I don't know when I will get to add salt water to this thing it seems like I'm just having one problem after another. I guess I will just have to learn from my mistakes
Unfortunately no real updates for now. I am still having problems with my Iwaki pump making a ton of noise. I tried the mouse pad thing, I actually used a mouse pad and one of those wrist pads made out of the same stuff just real thick, and it did not help at all. The pump is not vibrating the stand it's just vibrating itself and making a super loud humming noise. So until I can get this figured out I can't make any progress since I would go crazy if I had to listen to the pump the way it is. I may try the spaflex on the plumbing to stop it from vibrating. This may help but I don't think it will fix it.
I may send the pump back to Iwaki to make sure it's not something wrong with the pump. I'm not sure if there are any problems if it will be covered under warranty since I got it from a fellow reefer even though it is baiscaly new.
I made one other mistake. In my sump I should have made the higher baffles higher. Right now water almost runs over the high baffles when the pump is going and if I lower the water level I end up with a lot of bubbles in my return area. I think I need to stick a 90 facing down on the inlet bulkhead for my pump to stop it from sucking in air.
Well that's it for now, I don't know when I will get to add salt water to this thing it seems like I'm just having one problem after another. I guess I will just have to learn from my mistakes
Sinistard
New member
Well I finally have some updates.
I finally got my Iwaki pump quieted down enough to make it usable. After taking some advice from melev and geo (thanks) I added some "soft" plumbing to the PVC between the sump and pump and the returns lines. It was amazing how much less noise it made with just a couple inches of Vinyl tubing added to the PVC. I would recommend that everyone add some soft plumbing to new set-ups of noisy set-ups, especially between the pump and sump, thats where I heard the most change. Here are a few pictures of the new plumbing. I also have the pump sitting on around 2 inches of "mouse pad" foam.
I also added a bubble tower to my sump to stop some of the bubbles caused from the drain into the sump. It's hard to tell in the second picture but it's around 1" off the bottom so the water will flow under and if it works out the bubbles will rise to the top. I was getting lots of micro bubbles and I hope this helps.
I also added two American DJ power strips to the side and plan to add two boxes with GFCI outlets which the American DJ strips will plug into. I'm going to build a shelf that will sit on the ground behind the stand and stick the boxes on the bottom side to keep out water. I will probably also add some kind of wall to keep water off the power strips and plan to have some type of UPS to protect against power outages.
That's it for now.
Next I am going to add lights above the fuge tank, finish the rest of the electrical and the finish up a couple things in the sump. Once I get all this done I will be able to stick the tank in place and add water.
Thanks again to everyone for the advice on quieting my pump.
I finally got my Iwaki pump quieted down enough to make it usable. After taking some advice from melev and geo (thanks) I added some "soft" plumbing to the PVC between the sump and pump and the returns lines. It was amazing how much less noise it made with just a couple inches of Vinyl tubing added to the PVC. I would recommend that everyone add some soft plumbing to new set-ups of noisy set-ups, especially between the pump and sump, thats where I heard the most change. Here are a few pictures of the new plumbing. I also have the pump sitting on around 2 inches of "mouse pad" foam.
I also added a bubble tower to my sump to stop some of the bubbles caused from the drain into the sump. It's hard to tell in the second picture but it's around 1" off the bottom so the water will flow under and if it works out the bubbles will rise to the top. I was getting lots of micro bubbles and I hope this helps.
I also added two American DJ power strips to the side and plan to add two boxes with GFCI outlets which the American DJ strips will plug into. I'm going to build a shelf that will sit on the ground behind the stand and stick the boxes on the bottom side to keep out water. I will probably also add some kind of wall to keep water off the power strips and plan to have some type of UPS to protect against power outages.
That's it for now.
Next I am going to add lights above the fuge tank, finish the rest of the electrical and the finish up a couple things in the sump. Once I get all this done I will be able to stick the tank in place and add water.
Thanks again to everyone for the advice on quieting my pump.
Lunchbucket
Premium Member
nice work! can't wait to see it up and running!
Lunchbucket
Lunchbucket
Lunchbucket
Premium Member
any estimation time on the start up??
Lunchbucket
Lunchbucket
tigerarmy40
New member
first off I have to say awesome job on the entire setup! the craftsmanship is unbeleiveable on the tank plumbing and cabinetry! I have a 150g acrylic that is drilled for a closed loop and by looking at your system i am def learning however I am wondering if now that you have it set up if you would do anything differently or if you have any suggestions on how to plumb my tank? here are some pics of it!!!(sorry for the temporary hijack)
<img src="http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a207/tigerarmy40/40greef167.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com">
<img src="http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a207/tigerarmy40/40greef165.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com">
<img src="http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a207/tigerarmy40/40greef150.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com">
<img src="http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a207/tigerarmy40/40greef167.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com">
<img src="http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a207/tigerarmy40/40greef165.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com">
<img src="http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a207/tigerarmy40/40greef150.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com">
Lunchbucket
Premium Member
big Greg - are those sched 40 bulkheads? if they are and if it was me i would only use sched 80. lots less hassle or worry about them. not sure is sinisterd used sched 40 or 80..i hope 80
Lunchbucket
Lunchbucket
tigerarmy40
New member
Im a rook when it comes to bulk heads! whats the differencebetween 40 and 80's?
rjwilson37
New member
You have just an awsome setup with all that plumbing and maybe that is something I will do with the next setup, but I do like to keep it simple. I agree with Lunchbucket and can't wait to see it up and running.
Here is a picture of my sump/refuge with just 1 overflow and 1 return. I do like that you don't have a bunch of power heads in your tanks though, but I tend to overlook mine when there are other nice things to look at in my tank. People at work think my Seio is an underwater camera and think I just may be taking this hobby a little to far.
Here is a picture of my sump/refuge with just 1 overflow and 1 return. I do like that you don't have a bunch of power heads in your tanks though, but I tend to overlook mine when there are other nice things to look at in my tank. People at work think my Seio is an underwater camera and think I just may be taking this hobby a little to far.
Sinistard
New member
Thanks everyone. I am very happy with the plumbing, I kept it inside of 4.5 inches from the back of the stand.
I hope to have water in the tank some time in the next few weeks. I will add some LR to get the cycle going at that point and finish up my lighting while the tank cycles. I do need to tweak the sump, my baffles are not high enough. I'm going to add an inch or so to the higher ones.
Very nice looking tank rjwilson37.
I hope to have water in the tank some time in the next few weeks. I will add some LR to get the cycle going at that point and finish up my lighting while the tank cycles. I do need to tweak the sump, my baffles are not high enough. I'm going to add an inch or so to the higher ones.
Very nice looking tank rjwilson37.
Sinistard
New member
tigerarmy40 said:
I think but am not sure the difference between schedule 40 and 80 bulkheads is just "beefyness". The 80 bulkheads are a lot more heavy duty and require a bigger hole. Mine are the light weight bulkheads on savko.com which I think are schedule 40. The guys at savko said these would be fine but to be carefull not to overtighten any fittings into the bulkheads or use to much teflon tape. I did use to much tape one one 3/4" bulkhead and cracked it but the rest seem fine and don't leak..
Sinistard
New member
tigerarmy40 said:
Thanks for the compliments. No problem on the hijack, I am more than happy to help and If I can't then maybe someone else can.
On your tank are all the bulkheads for your closed loop? I'm at work now once I get home I will take a closer look at your tank and go over my mistakes and what I would do different.
rjwilson37
New member
Thanks Sinistard, but I do envy you guys for having the patience to do such wonderful elaborate work with the closed loops and returns so no powerheads are sitting in the tank. If you look at my gallery or my website, you will see I have my fair share of equipment inside the tank to take away from some of it's beauty. I have a 2nd Seio coming on Monday which is another big thing to sit on the left side, but it will help for me to have some more flow.
Will you be using any Tunze kit's or will all your current be derived by the many returns you have in the bulkhead.
Will you be using any Tunze kit's or will all your current be derived by the many returns you have in the bulkhead.
tigerarmy40
New member
I have a total of twelve holes drilled in the back wall and I am thinking the two inch bulk heads will be the closed loop feeds, two of the top one inch bulk heads will be for extra return and the other eight for closed loop! I am not sure if I will use two of the holes for returns since I have a return drilled through the overflow! any help would be appreciated!
Sinistard
New member
I got a bit more done. I got a coralife 260w light fixture for cheap a while back and decided to use part of it as my fuge light and the other half will go in my hood.
I basically gutted the light and cut the reflector in half. I just took off the switches and fans and wired the power cord straight into the ballast since I will be able to turn them on and off using the American DJ power strip.
I stuck 2 of the 65w bulbs with half the reflector in the stand over the fuge and will use 6700k bulbs. The other 2 will go in the hood and be actinic. I am going mount the ballasts up in the stand and then get a piece of plexi and stick it over the lights and ballast to protect against water splashing. I don't think I will need any fans but if I do I will just add a couple 80mm fans to the open end.
This should be plenty of light to support the 10g fuge and maybe even some frags if I need a place to stick them.
I basically gutted the light and cut the reflector in half. I just took off the switches and fans and wired the power cord straight into the ballast since I will be able to turn them on and off using the American DJ power strip.
I stuck 2 of the 65w bulbs with half the reflector in the stand over the fuge and will use 6700k bulbs. The other 2 will go in the hood and be actinic. I am going mount the ballasts up in the stand and then get a piece of plexi and stick it over the lights and ballast to protect against water splashing. I don't think I will need any fans but if I do I will just add a couple 80mm fans to the open end.
This should be plenty of light to support the 10g fuge and maybe even some frags if I need a place to stick them.
Lunchbucket
Premium Member
sinistard - someone answered the difference between the 40 and 80. 80's are way better. i don't have any as my Oceanic can't fit them i dont' think. my next tank will ONLY have 80's
rjwilson37 - HOLY COWS!! that tank is nice. love all the different colors
Lunchbucket
rjwilson37 - HOLY COWS!! that tank is nice. love all the different colors
Lunchbucket
Sinistard
New member
tigerarmy40 said:
One thing I would suggest is not to use any of the holes in the back as returns due to the fact that they are fairly far from the top of the tank. If you have a power outage a lot of water could potentially drain out of the main tank into the sump causing an overflow in the sump.
For your closed loop do you plan on using any kind of switching device like the OM squirt or 4/8 way?
Now as far as what would I do different and what I learned now that I am done.
Here are my plumbing suggestions.
I cut and fit every piece before I glued anything and I think this helped a lot.
Make sure you measure each piece accurately. Measure the space between the fittings and then measure how far the PVC will push into the fitting. For most 1" fittings the PVC pushes in 1 1/8" so you will need to add 2 1/4" to the measurement between the fittings. There were a couple fittings that were deeper so be sure to measure.
When you "dry" fit every piece the PVC may be to tight to push all the way into the fitting so remember to take this into account.
I would suggest maybe practicing gluing a couple pieces of PVC to get the hang of it. The first piece I did I managed to screw something up.
When you stick on a union don't forget to slide the threaded part over the PVC. I think I forgot to do this like 3 times because I got in a hurry.
Stick on some soft plumbing especially between the sump and the return pump.
One think I might have done different is to use some flexible PVC for some of my lines. I did not really find out about it until I was mostly done. I think it would have made a few parts easier.
That's about it for now. I'm sure I will think of some other mistakes/suggestions later.
Sinistard
New member
Well I have water in the tank and am testing it for leaks and testing the sump. No leaks but I found that I am having a problem with micro bubbles.
Basically I am getting some very fine micro bubbles making it through the sump and back into the tank. I have tried several things including adding the bubble tower in the corner, adding the last baffle before the return and a sponge under the tank drain pipe and can not make them go away. I don't know if the flow is to high, my baffles are to close together, or it could be anything as far as I know. Most of the bubbles are being caused by the tank drain pipe and are making it through the bubble trap.
Here is a picture of the sump setup. If you see anything that could be changed or added to help please let me know. It's a 20g long tank and I would guess around 700-800 gph are flowing through it combined from both the tank and the fuge.
Basically I am getting some very fine micro bubbles making it through the sump and back into the tank. I have tried several things including adding the bubble tower in the corner, adding the last baffle before the return and a sponge under the tank drain pipe and can not make them go away. I don't know if the flow is to high, my baffles are to close together, or it could be anything as far as I know. Most of the bubbles are being caused by the tank drain pipe and are making it through the bubble trap.
Here is a picture of the sump setup. If you see anything that could be changed or added to help please let me know. It's a 20g long tank and I would guess around 700-800 gph are flowing through it combined from both the tank and the fuge.
