Wet run tank questions

[djslater]

Hey everyone,

I just set up my 90 gallon tank today with a 30 gallon sump.

This being my first saltwater tank, I wanted to do a "wet-run" with just fresh water, the protein skimmer, return pump, and heaters.

I am having a little trouble with some of the plumbing and wanted to see what everyone had to say.

First picture, the protein skimmer isn't producing any bubbles. Do I need to have saltwater in there to make bubbles? The air hose doesn't have a valve, because the guy I got it from misplaced it, and if I cover the hose with my finger it just raises the water height in the skimmer a little...but no bubbles.

Second picture, the 5/8" I.D. hose coming out of the water pump is connected to the 3/4" I.D. hose by pressure. Should I put some aquarium silicone on it to prevent leaking?

Last picture, the overflow 2 bulkheads on the bottom for the gravity feed into the sump, and the return pump. The gravity feed into the sump has a piece of pvc that comes all the way up into the top of the overflow, and has a 90(degree) elbow on it that feeds down into the water about an inch. The top of this pvc pipe is open. The problem I'm having is when I turn the return pump on the upper tank fills completely with water until the water comes over the top of this pvc pipe. It then starts to make a very loud gurgling noise. To temporarily fix the problem I've put a clean dish rage over it to act as a "sponge filter" and evenly distribute the water going down into the sump. What would be a more permanent solution to the problem? Is what I did an good solution for now? What would be the optimum level of water in the tank? And/or how do I stop that gurgling!!!

Thanks everyone for all your help!!!!!

[shifty51008]

the protien skimmer won't produce any bubbles until it is in saltwater.

is their a reason you just didn't run the 5/8" hose all the way to the top? otherwise you could look for some plastic clamps to hold them together.

sounds like your return pump is to powerful for your overflow. you can adjust the return pump by adding a ball valve on the output side and adjust the flow to work with your overflow.

but how much is your overflow rated for and also what kind of return pump do you have?

[Palting]

Kinda hard to see in your pics, but I'll give it a shot.

Pic3. Looks like you have a missing piece. The elbow should have an anti-siphon valve, then an extension, like the pic below..


You should be ablt to adjust the height of that tubing so it doesn't gurgle as much

Pic 2. Why have 2 different size tubes? The outlet for your pump should have the same OD as the bulkhead for the return. What size pump?

Pic1. I cant see it well, but check to see that the air line is not plugged by blowing through it.

[bluestarfish]

as previously stated, the skimmer wont work in fw. During the making of my diy skimmer I failed to consider that the composition of sw and fw vary. after about 30 mintue trying to figure out why my skimmer didnt work in the fw, I didn't want to mix sw, I finally tried it in one of my sw tanks and it works like a charm.

though you can use a valve on the return pump, I generally don't advise it. choking down your pump can cause it to run hot and shorten the life of the pump.

[shifty51008]

Originally Posted by bluestarfish

though you can use a valve on the return pump, I generally don't advise it. choking down your pump can cause it to run hot and shorten the life of the pump.

not if you turn down the output side of the pump. that will cause no damage to the pump and will actually make it last longer. now turning down the input side will cause damage to the pump.

[djslater]

Sorry for the poor quality of pics, I took them late last night on my phone...lol!

But, thank you sooooo much for all the help so far!

I am using an Eheim 1262 pump rated for about 900 gallons an hour or so. It is the same model pump the guy I purchased the set up was using. He kept his, and I bought the same pump because he recommended it. However, he did have a ball valved on the outlet of the pump, I think it went to a calcium reactor?!

Second, I used the two different size hoses because the outlet of the pump is a different sized fitting than the bulkhead...partially this was a pure mistake/luck that I got everything to fit!!!

And I figured the protein skimmer wouldn't work in fw....just wanted to double check!

Thanks everyone!!!