DSA 105 Gallon; Our Small Slice of Ocean

[rosslonghorns]

We have been successful with our Oceanic 30 gallon for over a year now and decided to jump into the deep end. I picked up a used DSA 105 gallon today.

Our boys are extremely excited as they have been wanting something larger to expand the fish population. The wife wasn't completely thrilled. I was non-specific on the size difference mentioning only "slightly larger than our 30 gallon"; better to ask for forgiveness instead of permission!

A significant amount of cleaning ahead among planning.

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[jolt]

I mean, it really is only slightly larger (just 3x, and 3 is a small number, right?)

[rosslonghorns]

I mean, it really is only slightly larger (just 3x, and 3 is a small number, right?)

I tried to explain but when she gets that look all logic is gone!

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[rosslonghorns]

It is becoming a bit overwhelming looking at all the dirty pieces everywhere. The goal is to get a bottle of vinegar and razor blade and go to town on the tank / sump this evening.

My intent for the tank is to keep simplistic approach we took with the 30 gallon. Our goal isn't to purchase the best of best nor full blown SPS. We want to achieve a balanced "slice of ocean" with a simplistic focus on value and keeping mixed, hardy specimens. I want to focus on adequate lighting, circulation and skimmer with monthly 25% water change schedule; want to limit pieces of equipment.

We will see how it progresses!

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[Sascha D.]

Congrats on the new system!

You don't need a razorblade. Fill the tank up with water to just below the weir, add all of that plumbing, add 6 cups of vinegar and run a pump inside of the tank for a few days. Everything will come off, including the coralline algae. No need to use filtered water, just drop a hose in it.

[Chad and Belinda]

I have a 105 rimless that I got from RCA over two years ago. By far my favorite tank. Nice clean look and great footprint. I did add something (can't remember what since I'm not by the tank right now) to raise the tank height from where it sits on the stand and then added footing on the stand to raise the tank and stand.

[rosslonghorns]

Congrats on the new system!

You don't need a razorblade. Fill the tank up with water to just below the weir, add all of that plumbing, add 6 cups of vinegar and run a pump inside of the tank for a few days. Everything will come off, including the coralline algae. No need to use filtered water, just drop a hose in it.

Well I didn't read this until after all the scraper elbow grease!

[rosslonghorns]

I have a 105 rimless that I got from RCA over two years ago. By far my favorite tank. Nice clean look and great footprint. I did add something (can't remember what since I'm not by the tank right now) to raise the tank height from where it sits on the stand and then added footing on the stand to raise the tank and stand.

From what I can see, it looks to be a well built tank and stand. I do agree it is a short stand but I do like the ability to look down over the aquarium.

[rosslonghorns]

As I start to piece things together, the first item to figure out is this overflow / sump setup. It currently has four holes in the overflow. It was setup with two drains (durso) and two returns.

The first decision is bulkheads - I feel better to replace these now. I've read a few threads and it looks like two options exist: schedule 40 (standard) and schedule 80 (beefier version). From what I can tell, the outside diameters of 40 vs 80 piping is the same, the inside diameter is different. So the piping will work with either fitting however given the schedule 80 bulkheads are made of more, thicker plastic they require larger holes. So I guess given the holes are already drilled I have to stick with schedule 40 bulkheads or go down one size diameter to fit schedule 80 bulkheads...is that right?

[rosslonghorns]

Dug a little deeper - I measured the exact holes. (2) - 1.5" holes that translate to 3/4" schedule 40 bulkhead and (2) - 1.75" holes that translate to 1" schedule 40 bulkhead. It looks like the drilled hole for a schedule 80 bulkhead requires another 0.2"; so the same size schedule 80 bulkheads would not fit. Also moving a size down also doesn't look like an option as it would be too small for the drilled hole. It looks like verdict is stick with schedule 40 bulkheads and DON'T overtighten or overuse sealant tape!

With that solved, next step is what overflow to use...it was setup with two durso standpipes with both plumbed underneath to a single pipe and then into the sump. In my research, I'm leaning towards a herbie setup...but it looks to require both drains to be plumbed separate down to the sump, 1" below water line. What is everyone else running that has two drain holes in overflow? Pros / Cons from your experience?

[Sascha D.]

There are three reasons to install two drains: higher flow through the sump, silencing the drain and safety. Some people have been running 20x or more through the sump to prevent detritus and other things from settling there. These are mostly bare bottom tanks and equipment only sumps. Herbie and BeanAnimal style drains are manipulated Durso drains that control flow and air to silence the standpipes. I've run all three drains before and the former two are quieter than the Durso. You would need to order a PVC gate valve to install on the full drain line. I've tried to save money using a ball valve and it doesn't work. Lastly, if you have two drains, and one gets clogged with a snail or a fish, then the other will prevent a flood.

It's dangerous to connect two drain lines together. Merging two lines to one drain reduces the overall capacity of the drain and eliminates the safety of having two drains. Why voluntarily sabotage half of the benefit of having two lines?

[rosslonghorns]

There are three reasons to install two drains: higher flow through the sump, silencing the drain and safety. Some people have been running 20x or more through the sump to prevent detritus and other things from settling there. These are mostly bare bottom tanks and equipment only sumps. Herbie and BeanAnimal style drains are manipulated Durso drains that control flow and air to silence the standpipes. I've run all three drains before and the former two are quieter than the Durso. You would need to order a PVC gate valve to install on the full drain line. I've tried to save money using a ball valve and it doesn't work. Lastly, if you have two drains, and one gets clogged with a snail or a fish, then the other will prevent a flood.

It's dangerous to connect two drain lines together. Merging two lines to one drain reduces the overall capacity of the drain and eliminates the safety of having two drains. Why voluntarily sabotage half of the benefit of having two lines?

Makes sense. I plan to ditch the durso and plumb the two 1" drains as a herbie setup. I found the below link that is very informative that I will use as a guide.

http://gmacreef.com/herbie-overflow-reef-tank-plumbing-method-basics/

[rosslonghorns]

Shifting gears to sump; I'm trying to figure out the design. Is the skimmer supposed to go in the middle section or with the overflow water / first chamber? The middle section isn't very wide so thinking it may be designed for refugium?

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[Waderaid]

Put the pump in the right chamber in the top photo and the skimmer in the left so the bubble trap will get rid of as many bubbles as possible. The fuge should be in the middle. Looking great so far I am jelly

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[Waderaid]

Put the skimmer in the left so the bubble trap will get rid of as many bubbles as possible. The fuge should be in the middle. Looking great so far I am jelly

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[jolt]

Either that picture is inverted or the sump is an unusual one. The sock holder being on the right instead of the left would indicate water flowing right to left in this sump. Anyway, if it were me, I would put the refugium in the right chamber (as shown in the photo, the one with the sock holder), and I would put the skimmer in the middle, and the pump on the left. If the picture is actually inverted (i.e., the sock holder is really on the left) I would flip the above arrangement.

[Sascha D.]

I agree with Jolt. The sock holder indicates the intake chamber where the overflow pipe would enter the sump. The middle chamber should house the protein skimmer and the left chamber should have the return pump. The baffles are there to prevent air bubbles from entering the return pump and being shot back into the display. IMO the right and middle chamber are interchangeable because of the slots in the first divider. You could put the skimmer, reactor, or refugium in either chamber depending on what style of system you want. Some people say it's best to put the refugium first so that it gets the most nutrient water and others say to put the skimmer first so that the microfauna don't get skimmed out of the water. I'm positive it doesn't matter either way. The last baffle in the series is too tall and you may get air bubbles as water evaporates from the system. If that happens then you can either increase the height of your float switch or add a sponge to diffuse the impact.

[rosslonghorns]

OK, this is what I was thinking but always good to get other inputs.

The right side, where a single sock holder is, would be where the overflow water from tank would arrive in this first chamber. The single divider has holes through out it so the height would be the same in both chambers. So you could technically put skimmer in middle or right (input) chamber. The water then travels through the bubble trap (three dividers) into the last chamber where the return pump would be. It has a spot for two float valves, where I assume the bottom one would be the trigger for ATO to refill and the top one is a safety one in case ATO fails and overfills sump?

So as water evaporates, the only chamber that will fluctuate water level is the final, return chamber (in this case far left in picture) to trigger float valve.

[jolt]

That sounds fine to me

[rosslonghorns]

OK, I do better with pictures however I have no skills related to doing it digitally. So I pulled out the ole pen and paper.

I do have a couple questions to get inputs from those that may have previous experience:

(1). I did some additional reading on the herbie & bean animal style overflow - given the existing holes I can support either. It sounds like the bean animal is the preferred. I incorporated this in the sketch. Anyone with experience with either?

(2). For the full siphon, main drain pipe, does it need a curved top or can it just be a straight pipe like emergency drain?

(3). What is the preference on bulkheads - slip/slip or thread/thread?

(4). For the drain pipes in overflow, do you cement them into the bulk head?

[Sascha D.]

Your assessment of the sump design sounds right to me.

Slip and thread refer to the connection style on the two sides of the bulkhead. A slip connection means that the pipe slips in and you cement it. A thread connection means you screw the bulkhead and the pipe together. The thread style is more likely to leak than the slip connection, but you can take the pieces a part if you need to.

The BeanAnimal style drain has three pipes; full siphon, durso, and emergency pipe. A full siphon means there is no air inside of the tube. As the water rises, the full siphon and the durso will begin to fill with water. The pipe with the hose connection will have more pressure than the one without and water will take the path of least resistance to create the full siphon drain. The gate valve on the full siphon dials the siphon back to match the return flow and allows the durso to pick up the rest. The durso should only have a small amount of water sliding down the inside of the pipe.

This image is from the BeanAnimal website. It shows the parts to make the durso drain. The full siphon is made the same way, but without the tubing threaded into the cap. The picture shows a ball valve, but you're going to want a gate valve instead. I have a ball valve on mine and it's horrible!

[jolt]

You might consider moving the emergency drain to be just right of the return so you can have less pipes crossing. I would probably do it (left to right): return, emergency, full siphon, secondary

[rosslonghorns]

You might consider moving the emergency drain to be just right of the return so you can have less pipes crossing. I would probably do it (left to right): return, emergency, full siphon, secondary

This is a good idea. If would shift the secondary drain to a 3/4" bulkhead but given the extent of usage, this should be fine plus as you stated, it would make the piping underneath much cleaner.

[rosslonghorns]

OK, turning attention to hardware between skimmer, circulation pumps and return pump.

Skimmer - I've narrowed down to three options: Vertex Omega 180i, Super Reef Octopus SRO-2000INT or Skimz Oval SV203.

Return Pump - expect flow throughput is ~525-840, so narrowed down to three options: Syncra Silent 4.0 Pump, Reef Octopus - VariosS-4 Pump or Eheim 1262 Pump.

Circulation Pumps - I've narrowed down to two options based on my 20x-40x rate (2100gph to 4200gph): Tunze or Gyre.

I can re-use my current Tunze Nanostream 6040 and purchase (1) 6040 and (2) 6095. This would let me put 6095 on each side and the two 6040 on the back pointing to front. This should give enough mixed distribution as all are controllable and on average give ~3700gph assuming everything at 50%.

The other option is go with two Maxspect Gyre XF230 on each end. This would give ~2300 assuming 50% but would run them between 50% to 100%.

Both options are very similar priced given I'm reusing one Tunze I already have but I don't have any experience with the Gyre.

My goal for all pieces of hardware is silence and reliability. Another have experience with various pumps and overall satisfaction to date?

[Reburn]

I've been very happy with my 150 gyres. My 130 moves significantly less water for similar dollars. I would rather run the 150 at 10% then my somewhat noisy 130 at 70%.