You've Got Your Tank....what's Next?

[Aquascaper]

Exciting bit

Went out today and bought the sump tank and some lovely RO water to fill the tank with. Spent all day messing about with acrylic, a very sharp knife and silicone sealant.

Result:

• A lovely sump complete with baffles and ready to be plumbed in
• Half my thumb missing (seriously)

I don't know why but every time I buld a tank I manage to cut part of an appendage off
Anyway.....pictures:

Bare tanks

Salt added

15 minutes later

30 minutes later (Damn these Seio's are good!)

Baffles being siliconed in place using CD case as spacers

Baffles placed at an angle to allow more room for Live Rock in main chamber

More updates tomorrow

 

[Aquascaper]

Ok, sumps all siliconed and I have filled it from the main tank to test the integrity of the pipework. This has raised a few issues with the overflow, namely that if the flow is too high the overflow floods and airlocks. This results in big 'gulps' of air coming up the pipe which sounds awful, until the return pump is in place I won't know how much flow it will handle (i'm guessing it will be fine as I was adding the extra water with a bucket).

All I have to do now is wait for the water to reach ambient temperature and then re-check the SG.

Sump filled:

 

[Aquascaper]

Well i've hit a snag

When I connected my return pump off my main tank i've found out that's it's too powerful so i've connected another return pump that I had lying around which has a lower output but there's still problems. When the overflow is running it works perfect but every now and then it gets an airlock and back fills the overflow.

My question is this - if I put a valve in the top of the overflow pipe will this release the airlock and allow the overflow to run properly or is there something else I need to do? The down pipe is almost vertical, would this have an effect on the airlock and would angling it help solve the issue?

This is the first time i've had an issue with an overflow but it the first time i've tried a Durso type overflow so I anticipated problems.

 

[crazyelece]

I think the problem is that a duruso needs a hole in the top to allow air to mix with the water so as to not create a siphon. On a duruso you drill a hole just big enough to control the flow. Some people use a "T" on the bulk head to allow air to flow down with the water so not to create a siphon.

 

[Aquascaper]

See, I knew there was a reason I was posting this set-by-step

Thanks Crazyelece, I got the same reply form a few other sources so i'll drill the pipe when I get home tonight.

 

[Aquascaper]

Hole drilled and problem solved....only to create another

My 2400lph return pump is too powerful and doesn't like being restricted with a tap so i'll have to look at splitting the output to reduce the flow to a more acceptable rate. The plus side is that the overspill from the split can be pumped back into the main chamber to help circulate the water around the Live Rock. I guess a flow rate of around 1500lph is more likely which doesn't worry me too much as there is an external Eheim running on the main tank too and plenty of powerheads in the tank and sump.

The only issue now is the fact i've been told by the doctor that I can't mess about with the tank until my thumb heals

 

[crazyelece]

I think every project I have ever done has some of my blood on it somewhere! I feel your pain.

But hey - chicks dig scars

 

[Aquascaper]

lol

Yeah, but at the moment I have a mummified thumb

 

[Aquascaper]

Well my thumb is healing but is still an open wound so not dipping it in tank water for now

I've managed to get the Halide mounted and switched on so at least it looks a little more like a tank now. Just need to do a little fine adjustment to the height, etc. and it'll be sorted:

Next on the list is to sort out the return pump as it's too powerful so I need to add a 'T' piece in the sump to regulate the flow a little. Once the sump return is sorted I can start to move rock and sand over.

 

[Aquascaper]

Ok, sump's all sorted and the 'T' piece is in place:

The second outlet dumps water back into the pump chamber and has a tap adjuster on the end to control the water flow up to the main tank - the more water flows through the second outlet the less flows up to the main tank, easy

Now that the sump's running I can start to move sand and rock across from the larger tank. I took a mixture of sand from the sump and the main tank off the existing setup to get a good mix of bugs and beasties. The rock will have to be moved carfully as there is a lot of coral frags, etc. attached to it and also a fair number of Aptasia and Mojanoes At the moment the system is to move a piece of rock, inject the pest anenomes with vinegar and leave it in the larger tank till it dies then move the piece of rock. Hopefully this will reduce the number in the new tank down to a level where my natural methods will contain it (Peppermint Shrimps & Cowrie)

Not going to do anymore as it's gone midnight but I have a day off tomorrow so hopefully i'll get a load done then, and yes that is a chinese rice bowl floating in the tank - it's got some red fan worms I rescued from the sump and want to attach to the Live Rock when in place

 

[Matthew5664]

hey aquascaper Looking good!

Don't know if I missed the post, why are you downgrading?

"Now that the sump's running I can start to move sand and rock across from the larger tank"

Or did I miss something?? the larger tank being a holding/curing tank of some sort??

 

[Aquascaper]

I will be moving house a lot in the near future as i'm going into the property developing business and it's impractical to keep moving a 160g setup so I got rid of the fiancees goldfish and stole her tank

Well it's taken about 5 hours and a fair bit of mental power to slot it all in but I've got as much of my Live Rock into the smaller tank as I can possibly fit (have to leave room for the odd fish )

It will be a while before everything is in its final place as I need to adjust flow and light and move rock around to make areas for corals but at leastit's looking like a reef tank

 

[Aquascaper]

Ok, a bit less live rock in the main tank (the excess is in the sump) but still needs sorting out into a shape i'm happy with:

Still nothing in the tank apart from corals that have hitched a lift as it makes it easier to move the rock around if its empty of stock. Here's a couple of pics of the mushies that have made it across:

From the front:

From the top:

 

[Aquascaper]

Almost 2 hours later and I think i'm nearly there:

Left:

Centre:

Right:

Full Tank:

Top Right (Showing Hidden Powerhead):

Top Left (Showing Hidden Powerhead):

Tank Top (You get a better idea of the amount of live rock from this):

Suggestions? Critisisms?

 

[Matthew5664]

Thats alota rock my man how mush does all that weigh??