Woo Hoo! It's happening now!

Well that explains it! :) I didn't notice that the fixture was a 24. I have that exact same problem with my 30" fixture, it lights up the inside of my overflow box, but its black and generally only about 1" of water in it so it pretty much acts like an algae scrubber. It does shade about 6" x 3" of the back right hand side of my tank. Believe it or not the coralline loves this area for some reason.


Now I'm wondering if the low flow is the reason why you said it was noisy....maybe too much air?


Also, If you are in / around Norwalk, I can hook you up with some chaeto, as I really need to prune. If you didn't already have a source...
 
Thanks a mil' Joe! Very kind of you to offer. But I think I'm covered on the chaeto.

As for the noise... I'm not sure. I was bothered about the noise in the tubing (not gurgling exactly, more like water flowing sounds). So today I replaced the 1" with 1/2" flex tubing, just as an experiment. That noise from the water flowing sounds dissapeared immediately. But OMG! The gurgling sound was terrible!

And you may have seen that I've got a Hofer Gurgle Buster. And I farted around with that for a good half hour before I concluded...

The gurgling sound happens when the water flow is constricted enough that water remains in your return tubing. But when the tubing is large enough that the water is just zipping through it, the gurgling goes away. You are just left with that soothing, but a great deal quieter, sound of running water. ;)
 
Put in a Tunze Osmolator today. WOW! Was that ever necessary. This little sump only barley made it a day without a manual topoff. And I mean only barely.

One day of forgetting, much less traveling on work and depending on the kids to do that and it would have been burned out return pump for sure. And, of course, all the other nasty things that happen after that.

I was planning on an ATO of some form - preferably something a little cheaper, more DIY. But I'm leaving town for a few weeks while the tank (with pretty much only rock and sand) settles in. Having this handle my ATO for me will make a big difference in my level of anxiety while away. Nice little piece of hardware! :)
 
Good to see you got the noise issue solved. I did notice the stockman-like standpipe, very nice.

As for ATO - on my 29, I do about 1/3 to 1/2 gallon per day. Right now I do manual, but will get the new ATO float switch kit for the Reefkeeper controller when I switch to the 75. Which reminds me I need to create my own build thread :)

Does the Tunze hook up directly to your ro/di? I myself am trying to figure out what I want to do for a top off reservoir.
 
Joe - the diagrams on the Osmolator in the Tunze marketing materials don't really explain it well enough - IMO. But it's really simple...

1) Put two sensors in your sump. One light sensitive that will detect when water's not touching it anymore. Another - less sophisticated - float switch higher up. It needs to be high enough that snails can't get to it, and be above the water line at it's highest point (like with your return off). That keeps it clear of gunk.

2) Create an RO/DI reservoir. I used an orange 5g Home Depot bucket, drilled a couple of holes in the top - one higher than the other. In one hole I installed a Kent float switch, and connected that to my RO/DI unit. So it stays full automatically.

3) Put the Osmolator's pump in the reservoir. That pump has two lines attached - a power line and a water line. I ran those out the higher of the two holes in the bucket. I also dropped a small heater into the bucket. ;)

4) Run the waterline from the pump to a place on your tank higher than the highest water level in the reservoir. Prevents freshwater siphoning into the tank. I attached mine to the top of my overflow box.

4) Hook up the Osmolator controller. The two sensors in your sump are permanently wired to it. So just connect it to the powercord of the reservoir pump. Then connect the Osmolater to it's power supply, and plug it in.

5) Watch it work. When the light sensor detects too little water, it turns on the reservior's pump, and supplies fresh water until it detects that the level is right. Just in case of problems, it will never run more than 3 minutes at a time. And if the float switch ever is floating (excess water in your sump), it won't pump at all.

Easy as pie.


PS - the noise problem is not solved. I just figured out that a smaller diameter pipe only made the overall noise worse.
 
That solution sounds pretty bulletproof. As it should be with that price tag. You always get what you pay for, so I'm sure it will be problem free. I like how it only runs for a set time, much safer. I'll have to remember to try and configure my controller like that.

As for the noise, I don't think that there is much you can do. I was just looking at glass-holes for my tank and watching the video, which they claim to be silent, I still heard the rushing water sound.

Maybe some of the other guys can comment on that, as I, like you are pretty new to the hobby.

btw, I don't get that sound with my current low flow setup (1/2" hose siphon direct from overflow box into sump) but my AquaC Remora Nano is a banshee. Can't wait to get that in a cabinet. Then again, I'm sure I'll justify the cost of a new in sump skimmer anyway...
 
Live rock from ReefSciences - yes. All cured, thanks! Went through what looked like a mini-cycle from shipping - lasted less than a week - before I put it in the tank. So it's in the tank and critters are visibly growing back. Last night I was watching a mollusk, but there are lots of little polyps, tube worms, and macroalgaes growing too. It's fun to watch.

The Fiji Signature dry rock I got from MarcoRocks came totally cured. So some of that's in the tanks too. But I also got some identical looking dry stuff from an LFS that's loaded with phosphates and various types of die-off. That's been curing for a couple of months now, with no sign finishing any time soon. Fortunately that was purchased for my 180g, which I'm not planning on setting up for a year or more.
 
Nothin' to see Seth. Rocks. White rock. Purple rocks with red spots. And if I had a REALLY good macro lens - which I don't - there'd be rocks with polyps, fan worms of some variety, and little tiny tufts of hair and lovely red macro algae. And a snail. And a little tiny white worm.

But I don't have that lens. So it's just rocks. ;)

It IS worth noting that I destroyed the pristine beauty of my beloved nano-sump by drilling some holes underneath the teeth of the overflow from the fuge to the return section. I had to lower the volume of water of the "large" fuge section 'cuz when I cut the return pump it always overflowed, or came darn close too it. Drilling the holes to lower the fuge level gave me the slack volume that I really needed to not worry about overflows.

Kinda' like the first scratch on a new car... it's almost a blessing, 'cuz you can stop stressing over it once it happens. So now it's officially a reef tank - having acquired the first battle scar that all reef tanks plumbing seem to have all have. They may start out pristine, but it never lasts. :)
 
Thanks pal. I'm not sure I would call it "nice", though it's kind of you to say so. ;)

Right now it's mostly rocks that don't match with a few isolated corals. Now comes the hard part... the waiting. :)
 
Trust me, it is nice, for me the beauty is not about having it jam packed with corals for me but rather seeing a system that has been thought out and operates as it should. And by the sound of your other thread this tank will be totm material in no time at all.
 
Whoo hooo! Don't I wish! ;)

But the fact is that this gonna be a learning tank, and that's gonna mean compromises that will keep it from ever being a showpiece. For example, IMO the two different types of rock are just not visually pleasing... it doesn't blend well.

And I'll be moving coral all around as a part of the learning process. For example, when I hear that coral XYZ does not like more than moderate flow... as a newbie I'll be experimenting with different locations - 'cuz I don't really have a good feel yet for what "moderate" means. Bottom line - I'll be experimenting, and that will keep my corals from ever looking their best.

I've even engaging in "technical compromises". For instance, I desperately need 4 more switched outlets to my Aquacontroller Jr. I could buy more outlets, but I've got timers laying around. And since I've ALREADY got an AC III with 20 outlets on my 180, I'm not gonna shell out unnecessary do-ray-me on this little 29g. So technically it'll be a compromise too... partially controlled by the AC Jr, partially by plain ole' timers. Not exactly TOTM.

But it's kind of you to say so anyway! Thanks.
 
Got a chance to see the tank today and she is a beauty. Gotta love the auto water change system, its very easy to let that go longer than it should and that helps take most of that problem out of the equation.
 
Thanks pal! I suppose it's easy to may anything start out nice though. The real challenge is going to have it grow out successfully, and improve over time. ;)

And yes, I do love that auto w/c. Been setting them up for years, and haven't had a major incident yet (one small one though.)

It's worth the risk for me... and it's also just one more agument for many small auto w/c's vs. less frequent large ones. If any thing DOES go wrong, it's not gonna be a lot of water. I'm changing about 1/2 gallon a day now. So if it goes belly up... how bad could it be? I've kicked over buckets and had much worse problems than that!
 
I love the auto top off. but am still too nervous to do auto water changes. You can be my test case for when you move into the 180g. On your smaller test tank it sounds realatively easy, Im curious to hear how it goes for a larger tank. Ive read threads of guys doing it well, but you will be the first person I know doing it.

pretty cool
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15452011#post15452011 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Wheel of Time
I love the auto top off. but am still too nervous to do auto water changes. You can be my test case for when you move into the 180g. On your smaller test tank it sounds realatively easy, Im curious to hear how it goes for a larger tank. Ive read threads of guys doing it well, but you will be the first person I know doing it.

pretty cool
Click to expand...
Oh ye of little faith! Seth, I do AWC in my 180 now. Have been for years. But I do much larger volumes 'cuz of my discus than anyone would do in a reef tank. I do what totals to 50% every 3 days. Work like a charm. All it takes is multiple forms of level control (should one fail), and a system designed such that if any single component fails, you're still OK. I'll show you. You'll be in the AWC club in no time. ;)
 
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