Ultimate 20G Setup Journal - Pic Intense

Thanks for the encouragement Cam/Speed/Wayne.

Wayne, feel free to borrow whatever ideas you like. That's what RC is all about. Hopefully you can build on what I've done and create an even better design. Drop me a PM once you start your thread. I'm looking forward to following along.
 
Well, the day ended slightly better than it began. Here's how things unfolded...

When I went to bed last night I was having trouble with my standpipe. It wasn't keeping up with the flow, which caused the secondary Durso to kick in. I was hoping that by enlarging the hole in the cap I could get more volume through the drain. Didn't work (duh). I finally realized that I had more flow than the single 1" could keep up with. Plans had to change. The second Durso is now in full operation. I lowered it to be even with the first Durso so that the two share the flow equally.

Next, I added salt to the system. This made the Urchin skimmer kick into high gear. It's creating very big bubbled wet foam. This is my first experience with a skimmer, so I'm not really sure what to expect. Is this normal? I'm having to empty the cup every few hours.

I'm also battling "THE GURGLE". I thought that the Durso's were supposed to handle this, and to a great degree they are. However, I've read about others who have whisper quiet setups. Is there anyone out there who has successfully beaten this problem? The wife sure would appreciate some help on this one ;)

Here's the Durso's in full action...

gettingwet4.jpg
 
Here's a couple pics of the foam. I may not have enough salt in the water. I've lost my hydrometer, so I'll have to wait until tomorrow before I can check my specific gravity.

skimmerhelp1.jpg


skimmerhelp2.jpg
 
Awesome work! Sucks about the gurgle though... Maybe put some areline tubing down the holes in the dursos, with a little venturi valve to control the noise? It'd keep you from drilling more holes. BTW, did you decide on T5 or PC for actinics?
 
Ling, I'm still up in the air on T5's or PC's. I went with a 14K bulb so that I'd have plenty of time to decide. T5's appear to be the better of the two options, but I'm afraid they will give me too much light when combined with the 150 DE MH. What's your thoughts?

Hey, thanks for reminding me about the airline tubing. I remember reading something about that a while ago. When you say venturi valve, do you mean those little plastic green ones that are used to control airflow in conjuction with airline tubing?
 
DSparks,

I don't know about T-5s but I have PC and I don't like the actnics of my PCs. I would try the T-5s. As to too much light I think that is almost impossible.

I still love your setup.

Good luck,
Chris
 
DSparks, what is that 90 degree elbow sticking out of the top of your Urchin skimmer? I have an old one and just wondering what it is.

Thanks,
-G
 
It's a drain valve. You can plumb it to a larger container that's holds more skimmate. Not sure if I'll end up using it yet, but I wanted the option so I went ahead and purchased the option.

Still planning on picking up some airline tubing and valves to battle the gurgle. Maybe I can get to the pet shop today at lunch. Also, the IceCap ballast is not due in until the third week of November. Guess I'll have to put my patience cap back on <sigh>.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8487775#post8487775 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DSparks
Ling, I'm still up in the air on T5's or PC's. I went with a 14K bulb so that I'd have plenty of time to decide. T5's appear to be the better of the two options, but I'm afraid they will give me too much light when combined with the 150 DE MH. What's your thoughts?

Hey, thanks for reminding me about the airline tubing. I remember reading something about that a while ago. When you say venturi valve, do you mean those little plastic green ones that are used to control airflow in conjuction with airline tubing?
Click to expand...

I just converted to full t-5's on my 75g and extremely please so far. Other than the great output, the color spectrims available are so varied you get almost any lighting color temp you want. There are multiple thread concerning t-5's but the most extensive is this one http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=679852&perpage=25&pagenumber=1 . the link is for the first page. But the thread has been split 3 times and has been going about a year.

If you are planning on supplementing your Metal Halide you could add 1-2 t-5's with reflectors. Since you are using 14k lamp go with 1 or 2 UVL Super Actinic.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8486041#post8486041 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DSparks


I'm also battling "THE GURGLE". I thought that the Durso's were supposed to handle this, and to a great degree they are. However, I've read about others who have whisper quiet setups. Is there anyone out there who has successfully beaten this problem? The wife sure would appreciate some help on this one ;)
Click to expand...


I noticed you have 2 durso standpipes at different levels. What is happening is you exceeding the maximum quiet flow (overloading the pipe) on the first pipe before the second pipe begins to flow. I have had same gurgle effect when I add water to fast or both arms in the tank quickly raising the amount of water over the overflow. Try both your standpipes at the same height and it should quiet down. It will also take a couple of months for the pipework to slime up and then it will be silent.

Good Luck
 
Thanks for the feedback Bandit. I've been through some of that T5 thread, but honestly it was a bit overwhelming with so many posts. I may start at the end and work backwards into it for more recent information. If I decide to add supplement lighting then I'll likely go with the T5's. Do you think that the super actinics combined with the 14K will become too blue?

You are correct about the maximum flow. I did lower the second durso and things become much more quiet. I'm still getting enough gurgling to bother the wife. Other's have mentioned trying the airline tubing trick. I'm going to give that a shot within the next few days to see if it fixes my problem. Keep your fingers crossed.
 
That's what I've read about others doing. I'm going to give it a shot to see what happens. It can't get worse, that's for sure...

Other bad news. The humidity has caused my hood to split open at two joints.

:( :( :(

Two steps forward, two steps back. Doh!!!
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8500086#post8500086 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DSparks
That's what I've read about others doing. I'm going to give it a shot to see what happens. It can't get worse, that's for sure...

Other bad news. The humidity has caused my hood to split open at two joints.

:( :( :(

Two steps forward, two steps back. Doh!!!
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear it, I will keep that in mind when I build mine, definetly going to include some fans in the back of it...
 
I have been watching this thread for a while, and I am glad to see water in the tank finally.

Some suggestions on quieting the durso is adjusting the depth which the drain pipe is at. I find that if the pipe goes well beneath the sump water level the noise is much louder. Try having it empty right above the water line. Also I found that when I put a filter sock on the drain the noise level went down too.

Good luck with the tank and let me know how that Oceanic salt works out for you I know a lot of people have had problems with it especially with the calcium levels.

Chris
 
Just ran across this tonight. Very nice job. Having been through a similar build for a tank of less that 8 gallons, I for one don't think you have wasted your time with such a small system. I have really enjoyed my nano. I have a 140 that is almost complete, but this little tank seems to get most of my attention. My other reefer friends think I am crazy.

As far as the lighting situation goes, I would also recommend going with the T5s. The T5 actinic bulbs blow the PCs out of the water. There was a major difference in the appearance of my corals under the T5s.

Also, I'm not sure if anyone else mentioned this, I might have missed it, but the SCWD is most likely causing some of your low flow problems. Although I currently have a SCWD on my nano, I will be removing it soon. This is the second one that has gone bad in six months. If you want to have something reliable and with less restriction on your water flow, take a look at the OceansMotions SuperSquirt Compact. Ok, it costs $225 but since I have two of the OM products, I can tell you they are worth every penny - even on that small system.

SuperSquirt Compact-$225
OM Squirt 2-Way - $165

I'll be tagging along on this one...
 
Last edited:
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8494952#post8494952 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DSparks
It's a drain valve. You can plumb it to a larger container that's holds more skimmate. Not sure if I'll end up using it yet, but I wanted the option so I went ahead and purchased the option.
<sigh>.
Click to expand...

I would really discourage this! I had a skimmate collection cup overflow all night one night, I estimated 5 gallons. Just because my skimmer wasn't fine tuned. If you're in-sump skimmer overflows, then it's just dumping the skimmate back into the sump. Kinda like ashes to ashes. But if you're skimmer decides to go crazy at 3 in the morning and overflows the collection cup, then it's a disaster. I'll never have a collection cup outside my sump again.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8496705#post8496705 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DSparks
Thanks for the feedback Bandit. I've been through some of that T5 thread, but honestly it was a bit overwhelming with so many posts. I may start at the end and work backwards into it for more recent information. If I decide to add supplement lighting then I'll likely go with the T5's. Do you think that the super actinics combined with the 14K will become too blue?
Click to expand...

The UVL Super Actinic is more of a Purple color and really makes the green and orange/red colors pop. Also the output is not as visible as would the ATI Blue +. And does not affect the overall color as much, but really brings out the fluorescants in the corals. And looks really cool all by itself.
 
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