Newbie about to pour in the water. How's it look?

speedracer68 · 07/15/2006, 01:07 PM

While I'm new to a decent size tank I am not new to a reef tank. The wife and I have managed to keep alive a pair of 12 gallon nanocubes and have decided to build a 50g bowfront. Well, unless I missed something I'm ready to fill it with water to check for leaks. Other then the filter screen not in the sump do you see anything wrong? Like something major I missed? I plan to look into lighting during the time it's cycling with life rock.

The skimmer is a Euro-Reef CS80 and the pump is a Rio 12HF... I know I know.. Why did I buy a Rio!!! lol!

AquaReeferMan · 07/15/2006, 01:35 PM

Everything is looking good. Congrats on the upgrade. Keep me updated.

speedracer68 · 07/15/2006, 01:39 PM

Thanks! Is there any magic spot to put the drain screen? I bought a 6" long drain filter from marinedepot and I'm not sure at what height I should put it in the overflow.

pnosko · 07/15/2006, 01:43 PM

I'm wondering if the returns are too close to the overflow.

speedracer68 · 07/15/2006, 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by pnosko
I'm wondering if the returns are too close to the overflow.

I thought about that too. I had thought the water would shoot out far enough and with 2 powerheads I plan to run it would not just re-circulate in the same spot. Fingers crossed.

I think the returns are about 3" below the slots on the overflow.

pnosko · 07/15/2006, 01:47 PM

I also wonder if a filter screen in the overflow is less than ideal. It would be bad if your pump started to outpace the drain because of a clogged filter there. I'd prefer a durso there, and the filtering media (if even needed) in the sump.

What kind of substrate are you considering?

AquaReeferMan · 07/15/2006, 01:49 PM

I figured there would be something connecting to them placing the return water through out the tank. Have some ball socket tubing with some flare nozzles. (G and B on link)
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...&N=2004+113794

pnosko · 07/15/2006, 01:52 PM

Yes, something like the ball socket tubing so that the flow between the return and overflow don't cross.

speedracer68 · 07/15/2006, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by pnosko
I also wonder if a filter screen in the overflow is less than ideal. It would be bad if your pump started to outpace the drain because of a clogged filter there. I'd prefer a durso there, and the filtering media (if even needed) in the sump.

What kind of substrate are you considering?

The screen or filter does not have a fine mesh screen. It's just dozens of fairly large slots all around. My thought was the water level would only rise part way up. If there was a clog the water level would just rise up to the next row of slots. Like I said, that was my thought. I'm new and open all ideas. What is a durso?

I was also wanting to use a pair of those rotating hydor water spinner thinga ma jobbers. I have then in our Nanocubes and have had great luck with them and they make a decent wave motion.

speedracer68 · 07/15/2006, 02:06 PM

Oh we are using Natureâ€™s OceanÂ® Bio-Activ Liveâ„¢ Aragonite and plan to just buy more and use what we have in the two nanocubes we have.

http://www.naturesocean.com/live_sand.htm

pnosko · 07/15/2006, 03:29 PM

Durso Standpipe

It would be difficult for me to accept/purchase any product that makes the following claim.

speedracer68 · 07/15/2006, 07:42 PM

Well, I know better then to just add fish. We will go throught the entire live rock cycle.

That standoff looks like it might work. I'm off to home depot for parts.

Thanks for the link.

speedracer68 · 07/15/2006, 09:43 PM

Well, I did the Durso drain and I just can't get it to work right. If I cap the top the level goes up high, starts a siphon, drains quickly down to the level of the 90 elbow and levels out making the very loud sucking sound.

If I remove the cap the water level rises just above the top of the T and a little spills in there as well. All while making lots and lots of noise. The only way I can calm the noise down and make it work o.k. but still not quite is to close the ball valve on the return line to reduce the flow by about 50%

Am I running to small a drain? The pump flows about 750 gallons at 1 foot and I think 650 at 3 feet where I have it. That's about a 13 time per hour turn over of water.

I was told the 1" drain was the right size by LFS that sold us the tank.

Nano Chris · 07/15/2006, 11:54 PM

That setup looks good to me

speedracer68 · 07/16/2006, 12:59 AM

Sorry, that's not my setup but the one I copied. It make SOOOO much noise it's not funny. My guess is my drain is too small.

a4twenty · 07/16/2006, 05:28 AM

mine has holes drilled in the side to allow air in, how big is the vent hole on top?

pnosko · 07/16/2006, 09:00 AM

No, there are modifications that will help you tune the drain speed. Hang on, gotta do a search for an old post.

pnosko · 07/16/2006, 09:30 AM

speedracer68, I'm giving you the long answer.

Richard posted some popular modifications on his website. He used frames, so I don't have a direct URL to paste. Go back to his main page using the link in my previous post and then follow the Durso Standpipe link. The menu at the top has some popular modifications including one of my own, which I no longer recommend.

I recommend one by mgk65 (not posted on Richard's pages). This link is directly to his post in my thread.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...816#post642816

This is similar to the Air Valve Modification posted on Richard's pages, but the valve is placed on the far end instead of being glued to the cap so that it doesn't accumulate salt. The tubing in the cap end will collect salt, and must be cleaned routinely.

speedracer68 · 07/16/2006, 12:10 PM

Very nice! It's amazing what a small hole will do. It works great! I will go look for a small valve and a hose this weekend to prevent salt from clogging the hole.

Now, the bulk of the noise is from the water draining into the sock in the sump and the water pump. It's not too bad but hope to work that out some time.
Now, I need to figure out what the water level should be in my sump for our Eruro-Reef CS80 skimmer. Right now it's 7" deep in a 16" tall sump and does not rise much when turn off the pump.

I also put a check valve on the return lines to keep the tank from siphoning itself back into the sump during a power outage.

pnosko · 07/16/2006, 12:51 PM

You won't likely be able to prevent salt from clogging the hole. The valve is to fine tune the flow of water down the drain. Weekly cleansing ought to do.

Remember that it's better to miminize anything in the "circuit" to prevent a clog. A snail or two up against that check valve can be problematic. Instead, a higher return point means the tank can only drain that far before air breaks the syphon.

speedracer68 · 07/16/2006, 01:14 PM

Thanks again for the help! After I finished my drain with the small hole I installed this 6" long strainer pointing down. I don't think I need to worry about it for a while?

pnosko · 07/16/2006, 01:41 PM

As far as it clogging? I don't think so. Just don't forget about it.

speedracer68 · 07/16/2006, 03:13 PM

It's threaded so I could put in on a calendar and clean it a few times a year. I'm more afraid of a large snail or something like that clogging it.

Now, it's off to find lighting. Being a bowfront I'm sure that wont be as easy is it were rectangular.

Thanks again everyone for the help!

itz frank · 07/16/2006, 03:52 PM

how funny. it's like you made a larger version of you nanocubes.

Blutowski · 07/16/2006, 03:57 PM

Is that a pool table the cat's stiing on in front of the tank? Man you had better keep the ball on the table. Sober pool from now on.

Very clean setup BTW.

07/15/2006, 01:07 PM	#1
speedracer68 Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Southern California Posts: 59	Newbie about to pour in the water. How's it look? While I'm new to a decent size tank I am not new to a reef tank. The wife and I have managed to keep alive a pair of 12 gallon nanocubes and have decided to build a 50g bowfront. Well, unless I missed something I'm ready to fill it with water to check for leaks. Other then the filter screen not in the sump do you see anything wrong? Like something major I missed? I plan to look into lighting during the time it's cycling with life rock. The skimmer is a Euro-Reef CS80 and the pump is a Rio 12HF... I know I know.. Why did I buy a Rio!!! lol!

07/15/2006, 01:35 PM	#2
AquaReeferMan Got Reef? Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Under the Sea, Pa Posts: 4,593	Everything is looking good. Congrats on the upgrade. Keep me updated. __________________ Couple SPS/Zoanthid tanks and a couple of FW planted tanks. Current Tank Info: 5 pieces of glass with some silicone and plastic frames holding them together

07/15/2006, 01:39 PM	#3
speedracer68 Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Southern California Posts: 59	Thanks! Is there any magic spot to put the drain screen? I bought a 6" long drain filter from marinedepot and I'm not sure at what height I should put it in the overflow. __________________ 1 Clown, 1 Six Line Wrasse, 1 Purple Fire Fish, 2 Redhead Gobies, 2 Blue Green Chromis, Turbo's, Nassarius, Pepermint Shrimp, Margarita's, Brittle Star e.t.c. Current Tank Info: 50g glass bowfront

07/15/2006, 01:43 PM	#4
pnosko Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Germantown, MD Posts: 3,584	I'm wondering if the returns are too close to the overflow. __________________ Looking for perfection in an imperfect world. Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened. ~ Anatole France (1844-1924) Current Tank Info: Dusty 110g, 55g & 29g tanks

07/15/2006, 01:47 PM	#6
pnosko Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Germantown, MD Posts: 3,584	I also wonder if a filter screen in the overflow is less than ideal. It would be bad if your pump started to outpace the drain because of a clogged filter there. I'd prefer a durso there, and the filtering media (if even needed) in the sump. What kind of substrate are you considering? __________________ Looking for perfection in an imperfect world. Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened. ~ Anatole France (1844-1924) Current Tank Info: Dusty 110g, 55g & 29g tanks

07/15/2006, 01:49 PM	#7
AquaReeferMan Got Reef? Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Under the Sea, Pa Posts: 4,593	I figured there would be something connecting to them placing the return water through out the tank. Have some ball socket tubing with some flare nozzles. (G and B on link) http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...&N=2004+113794 __________________ Couple SPS/Zoanthid tanks and a couple of FW planted tanks. Current Tank Info: 5 pieces of glass with some silicone and plastic frames holding them together

07/15/2006, 01:52 PM	#8
pnosko Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Germantown, MD Posts: 3,584	Yes, something like the ball socket tubing so that the flow between the return and overflow don't cross. __________________ Looking for perfection in an imperfect world. Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened. ~ Anatole France (1844-1924) Current Tank Info: Dusty 110g, 55g & 29g tanks

07/15/2006, 02:06 PM	#10
speedracer68 Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Southern California Posts: 59	Oh we are using Natureâ€™s OceanÂ® Bio-Activ Liveâ„¢ Aragonite and plan to just buy more and use what we have in the two nanocubes we have. http://www.naturesocean.com/live_sand.htm __________________ 1 Clown, 1 Six Line Wrasse, 1 Purple Fire Fish, 2 Redhead Gobies, 2 Blue Green Chromis, Turbo's, Nassarius, Pepermint Shrimp, Margarita's, Brittle Star e.t.c. Current Tank Info: 50g glass bowfront

07/15/2006, 03:29 PM	#11
pnosko Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Germantown, MD Posts: 3,584	Durso Standpipe It would be difficult for me to accept/purchase any product that makes the following claim. __________________ Looking for perfection in an imperfect world. Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened. ~ Anatole France (1844-1924) Current Tank Info: Dusty 110g, 55g & 29g tanks

07/15/2006, 07:42 PM	#12
speedracer68 Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Southern California Posts: 59	Well, I know better then to just add fish. We will go throught the entire live rock cycle. That standoff looks like it might work. I'm off to home depot for parts. Thanks for the link. __________________ 1 Clown, 1 Six Line Wrasse, 1 Purple Fire Fish, 2 Redhead Gobies, 2 Blue Green Chromis, Turbo's, Nassarius, Pepermint Shrimp, Margarita's, Brittle Star e.t.c. Current Tank Info: 50g glass bowfront

07/15/2006, 09:43 PM	#13
speedracer68 Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Southern California Posts: 59	Very loud!!!! Well, I did the Durso drain and I just can't get it to work right. If I cap the top the level goes up high, starts a siphon, drains quickly down to the level of the 90 elbow and levels out making the very loud sucking sound. If I remove the cap the water level rises just above the top of the T and a little spills in there as well. All while making lots and lots of noise. The only way I can calm the noise down and make it work o.k. but still not quite is to close the ball valve on the return line to reduce the flow by about 50% Am I running to small a drain? The pump flows about 750 gallons at 1 foot and I think 650 at 3 feet where I have it. That's about a 13 time per hour turn over of water. I was told the 1" drain was the right size by LFS that sold us the tank.

07/15/2006, 11:54 PM	#14
Nano Chris Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Baltimore, MD Posts: 2,758	That setup looks good to me __________________ Chris ------- 34 Gallon Red Sea Max 130! Setup (Just got back into the hobby) Current Tank Info: 34 Gallon RedSeaMax!

07/16/2006, 12:59 AM	#15
speedracer68 Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Southern California Posts: 59	Sorry, that's not my setup but the one I copied. It make SOOOO much noise it's not funny. My guess is my drain is too small. __________________ 1 Clown, 1 Six Line Wrasse, 1 Purple Fire Fish, 2 Redhead Gobies, 2 Blue Green Chromis, Turbo's, Nassarius, Pepermint Shrimp, Margarita's, Brittle Star e.t.c. Current Tank Info: 50g glass bowfront

07/16/2006, 05:28 AM	#16
a4twenty Premium Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 2,603	mine has holes drilled in the side to allow air in, how big is the vent hole on top?

07/16/2006, 09:00 AM	#17
pnosko Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Germantown, MD Posts: 3,584	No, there are modifications that will help you tune the drain speed. Hang on, gotta do a search for an old post. __________________ Looking for perfection in an imperfect world. Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened. ~ Anatole France (1844-1924) Current Tank Info: Dusty 110g, 55g & 29g tanks

07/16/2006, 09:30 AM	#18
pnosko Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Germantown, MD Posts: 3,584	speedracer68, I'm giving you the long answer. Richard posted some popular modifications on his website. He used frames, so I don't have a direct URL to paste. Go back to his main page using the link in my previous post and then follow the Durso Standpipe link. The menu at the top has some popular modifications including one of my own, which I no longer recommend. I recommend one by mgk65 (not posted on Richard's pages). This link is directly to his post in my thread. http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...816#post642816 This is similar to the Air Valve Modification posted on Richard's pages, but the valve is placed on the far end instead of being glued to the cap so that it doesn't accumulate salt. The tubing in the cap end will collect salt, and must be cleaned routinely. __________________ Looking for perfection in an imperfect world. Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened. ~ Anatole France (1844-1924) Current Tank Info: Dusty 110g, 55g & 29g tanks

07/16/2006, 12:10 PM	#19
speedracer68 Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Southern California Posts: 59	Very nice! It's amazing what a small hole will do. It works great! I will go look for a small valve and a hose this weekend to prevent salt from clogging the hole. Now, the bulk of the noise is from the water draining into the sock in the sump and the water pump. It's not too bad but hope to work that out some time. Now, I need to figure out what the water level should be in my sump for our Eruro-Reef CS80 skimmer. Right now it's 7" deep in a 16" tall sump and does not rise much when turn off the pump. I also put a check valve on the return lines to keep the tank from siphoning itself back into the sump during a power outage.

07/16/2006, 12:51 PM	#20
pnosko Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Germantown, MD Posts: 3,584	You won't likely be able to prevent salt from clogging the hole. The valve is to fine tune the flow of water down the drain. Weekly cleansing ought to do. Remember that it's better to miminize anything in the "circuit" to prevent a clog. A snail or two up against that check valve can be problematic. Instead, a higher return point means the tank can only drain that far before air breaks the syphon. __________________ Looking for perfection in an imperfect world. Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened. ~ Anatole France (1844-1924) Current Tank Info: Dusty 110g, 55g & 29g tanks

07/16/2006, 01:14 PM	#21
speedracer68 Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Southern California Posts: 59	Thanks again for the help! After I finished my drain with the small hole I installed this 6" long strainer pointing down. I don't think I need to worry about it for a while?

07/16/2006, 01:41 PM	#22
pnosko Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Germantown, MD Posts: 3,584	As far as it clogging? I don't think so. Just don't forget about it. __________________ Looking for perfection in an imperfect world. Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened. ~ Anatole France (1844-1924) Current Tank Info: Dusty 110g, 55g & 29g tanks

07/16/2006, 03:13 PM	#23
speedracer68 Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Southern California Posts: 59	It's threaded so I could put in on a calendar and clean it a few times a year. I'm more afraid of a large snail or something like that clogging it. Now, it's off to find lighting. Being a bowfront I'm sure that wont be as easy is it were rectangular. Thanks again everyone for the help! __________________ 1 Clown, 1 Six Line Wrasse, 1 Purple Fire Fish, 2 Redhead Gobies, 2 Blue Green Chromis, Turbo's, Nassarius, Pepermint Shrimp, Margarita's, Brittle Star e.t.c. Current Tank Info: 50g glass bowfront

07/16/2006, 03:52 PM	#24
itz frank Gives Bad Advice. Join Date: May 2006 Location: Ft Lauderdale, FL Posts: 2,168	how funny. it's like you made a larger version of you nanocubes.

07/16/2006, 03:57 PM	#25
Blutowski Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Memphis Posts: 69	Is that a pool table the cat's stiing on in front of the tank? Man you had better keep the ball on the table. Sober pool from now on. Very clean setup BTW.