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150g Indio-Pacific Biome


Sascha D.

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Thank you Planeden and Bio for helping me work out the plumbing. I got a chance to monitor it over the weekend and got everything on track. Below is how I did it.

  1. I raised the level of the standpipe in the overflow in order to reduce the waterfall volume. Success!
  2. I found a thread talking about the drain line having large bubbles in it that sounded like a spa. Bio suggested encasing the return pipe in a larger pvc pipe and so I tried this strategy. I took my 1" flexible tube and put it inside a 1.5" rigid pvc pipe and set it vertically in the sump. I then took a piece of LR and put it under the rigid to hold it off the bottom of the sump. Now I don't have any more gurggle. Success!
  3. The loud gushing sound coming from the siphon break in my return line was driving me crazy! Instead of replacing the line, I used some silicone left over from installing the baffles and filled the hole. I then calculated how much water my sump could hold by dividing the height by the total volume and got 2.5g for each inch of vertical space. The sump is about half full so I estimate it can hold 15-20g. I did the same for my DT and got about 5g per inch of vertical space. I then set my my return line to 2.5" below the water's surface to create a natural siphon break. I simulated a power outage and the reverse siphon filled my sump to about 85% capacity. Success!
  4. Lastly came the flow issue in the sump. I estimated that the problem was the pump was too strong for the flow rate of the sump. I tested it by raising the water level of the sump while the return pump was on full throttle. The DT water level stayed constant and the sump return section also stayed constant. Over the weekend the return section dropped by 0.5-1" per day consistant with evaporation rates. The water levels in the sump should stay level once the ATO is hooked up. Success!
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no problem. glad you got it fixed up.

We are pro's!!

LOL glad you got it working bud smile.png Keep the build rolling

"We" may be a bit of a stretch. i haven't exactly figured out what he did to fix it :).

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no problem. glad you got it fixed up.

We are pro's!!

LOL glad you got it working bud smile.png Keep the build rolling

"We" may be a bit of a stretch. i haven't exactly figured out what he did to fix it smile.png.

Haha you're silly!

Here's what I did to fix the return issue. First I maked the water line in the display tank and the first and second chamber of the sump. Then I removed the restriction of the return pump. As I said before, the water level in the return section immediately lowered by about 2 inches, which is about 1 or 2 gallons. I checked the water level against my markings and found that they were all level. I then increased the water level of the sump and waited to see if it would drop again. It didn't, which means that the drain line is meeting or exceeding the output of the return pump. The "missing" water likely increased my DT by such a small amount that it wasn't measurable or increased the water level of the overflow box (which wasn't measured). Two gallons in a 170g system is 1%, which would raise my water level by 0.85cm.

I monitored the water levels for 2 days and the return section dropped by a small amount each day, which is normal because evaporation will only show in the return section of the sump. Once I install the ATO, the return section will stay the same as long as there is water in the bucket.

Hope that clears things up smile.png

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Water parameters have been stable for the past week.

Projects this weekend:

  • ATO!!!

I have a gravity fed float valve. There is about 10" of room left next to the sump, in the stand. I have a 10g glass tank, a 5g bucket, possibly a 5g water container and I can drill through the wall and install a 22g brute in the closet. I don't think the bucket will fit so I might try the 10g glass tank first.

  • Aquascape!

I have decided to add more LR and rework the aquascape to support the extra weight. ARC First Friday sale is tomorrow and Stinky's has a good amount of LR to choose from at a good price. I think I'll pick up around 20 pounds or so between the two.

  • Bags of rubble in the sump

I'm on the hunt for mesh bags to fill full of rubble. I plan to put these in the sump instead of loose LR. It will make cleaning the sump easier and I can periodocally shake off the pods in the DT.

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I stopped by Stinky's Fish Mart on Thursday and picked up some more LR. The baby was being fussy last night and I couldn't sleep. Inbetween tending to her, I was able to aquascape the aquarium. I love it!

Front view

post-2552-0-85504100-1375542907_thumb.jp

Front view

post-2552-0-94794900-1375542920_thumb.jp

Side View

post-2552-0-39036000-1375542932_thumb.jp

Back View

post-2552-0-38546200-1375542945_thumb.jp

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are you worried about it toppling over at all?

I'm not worried right now. The tank is 24" wide and the rocks are about 16" at the base and 10" at the top. It just looks smaller than it is in the pictures. I pushed it a few times while I was building it to make sure it wasn't going anywhere. The rock wall itself is about 17" high. It's 10" from the top and the sand is 3-4" high in a 31" tall tank.

Before redoing the rock work I had been trying out different techniques of making a solid structure. First, I got some JB Water-weld and tried to join 2 rocks to each other to make a cave. After using half the stick I couldn't get it to hold any weight. I still use the stuff to attach frags though. Next, I tried hydraulic cement and ended up making a giant mess! The first time I tried to mix about a cup of cement and it came out too thick and seized up. The second time I tried to mix a cup of cement and it was much too runny and after adding more cement it became hard. The third time I got a good oatmeal consistency but it never warmed up in my hands. I applied it anyway and 24 hours later it just crumbled off the rocks. Lastly, I tried to use 1/8" plastic rods to give the rocks some structure. It worked well, but one thing I didn't consider is that most of my rocks are pretty holey and it became hard to hide the rods after the rock was drilled. Most of the rock structures I had made had visible rods on at least two angles. If I tried it again I would use clean acrylic instead of white plastic, but what's what I had to experiment with and I'm not sure if it would solve the problem.

Excellent job on the scape! I love it!

Thank you! I love it too!

Digging the aquascape. Everything is looking good Sascha.

Thanks Travis! There's about 7 rocks in there from Stinky's LOL.

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The tank has been up about 3 weeks now. All the sand and LR that I want has been installed. Time for week 3 tests!

  • Salinity - 1.024
  • PH - 8.4
  • Ammonia - 0
  • Nitrites - 0
  • Nitrates - 5 ppm

I did a 10% water change and everything looks good!

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Laundry bags from the dollar store. Also, mesh stuff sacks at garden ridge, or walgreens.

Projects this weekend:

  • ATO!!!

I have a gravity fed float valve. There is about 10" of room left next to the sump, in the stand. I have a 10g glass tank, a 5g bucket, possibly a 5g water container and I can drill through the wall and install a 22g brute in the closet. I don't think the bucket will fit so I might try the 10g glass tank first.

  • Aquascape!

I have decided to add more LR and rework the aquascape to support the extra weight. ARC First Friday sale is tomorrow and Stinky's has a good amount of LR to choose from at a good price. I think I'll pick up around 20 pounds or so between the two.

  • Bags of rubble in the sump

I'm on the hunt for mesh bags to fill full of rubble. I plan to put these in the sump instead of loose LR. It will make cleaning the sump easier and I can periodocally shake off the pods in the DT.

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Looks good. Love those mollies.

They've gotten about 20% bigger since I converted them three weeks ago. They graze on algae almost all day and follow anyone that walks up to the tank. I actually like them a lot more than I thought I would and they were cheap.

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Going into week 4. Time to decide on a stocking plan!

For corals, my wife and I decided to upgrade the lights to LED and try a mixed reef. We're leaning more heavily towards LPS, a Devil's Hand, some zoa and random polyps. For SPS we might try a monti or birdsnest and go from there. grin.png

Centerpiece Fish (1-3)

Desjardin Tang (Indian Ocean Sailfin Tang)

Emperor Angel - Gets too big. May eat the corals.

Moorish Idol - May be too hard to feed. Eats softies and LPS.

Yellow Belly Regal Blue Tang - Dori is too common haha.

Japanese Swallowtail Angel x2

OneSpot Foxface

Convict Tang

Yellow Tang

Yellow-eye Kole Tang

Active Swimmers (5-15)

Despair Anthias x3-5

Lyretail Anthias x3-5

Carpenter Flasher Wrasse

Lyretail Mollies x5 in system for 3 weeks.

Blue/Green Chromis x9-12

Utility Fish(1-3)

Six-line Wrasse -

Royal Gramma

Banded Sleeper Goby

Diamond Watchman Goby

Two-Line Monocle Bream (Scolopsis Bilineatus) - Too large. May decimate sandbed inverts.

Chrimstmas Wrasse (Wife's pick)


Aquarium Staples (3)

Ocellaris Clown Fish x2 on order with Stinky's

Firefish

Fish I’d love to try

Red Mandarin Dragonet

Pearly Jawfish - Decided it was too hard to feed in a large tank.

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Week 4 tests came back all good. .


  • Salinity - 1.024

  • PH - 8.4

  • Ammonia - 0

  • Nitrites - 0

  • Nitrates - 5 ppm

This week I got a $5 frag from RCA.


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I also got a little piece of Devil's Hand. Thanks Dshel1217!


post-2552-0-69619200-1376146728_thumb.jp



I need to figure out how to take better pictures with this camera! LOL!


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I made a visit to Patrick at Aquaculture Ranch on Saturday. I'll have to say that I had a great time and his tanks look incredible in person. I couldn't leave without buying a few things for the tank, so I got a couple of kits and some LR. I removed the chaeto from my refugium and added half of the macro I got to the DT and the other half in the refugium. It's amazing how much life a little macro added to the tank. Although, despite everything in there my wife is most fascinated by the snails.doh.gif

Caulerpa Prolifera

post-2552-0-20961100-1376237121_thumb.jp

Yellow Polyps

post-2552-0-41909800-1376237130_thumb.jp

Gracilaria Hayi

post-2552-0-60004400-1376237154_thumb.jp

Ulva

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Gracilaria and some beautiful LR that I bought

post-2552-0-40845900-1376237141_thumb.jp

Lastly, is a very colorful rock that I already had in the tank. It's covered with some sort of sponges and looks great in person.

post-2552-0-02689100-1376237177_thumb.jp

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Bad News Tuesday...

My goby decided to try and swim up the return pipe and got stuck. By the time I woke up this morning he was a goner and there were pieces of fish floating around everywhere.

I sent a return package this morning with a few items that didn't work out.

  • Aquatic Gardener - Tongs with scissor and grip attachments. The grip hand only opens up 1.5" so I couldn't grab and move anything in the tank except the smallest rubble rocks or coral frags. It's also quite a hassle to change the attachments.
  • Hydor Slim Heater - Not adjustable. The instructions say that you have to unplug the heater when it reaches the temp you want and plug it back in when the water gets cold. Seriously? LOL!
  • ATI Termometer - This "movable" thermometer stopped working the second I touched it.
  • Coralife Digital Power Center - The automatic light timer worked well after I figured it out. It takes 24 hours to take effect once you set the timer. Everytime the power goes out all of the timer settings get wiped and have to be reentered. Then it takes 24 hours to take effect. The description says that it has 2 daytime settings and 2 nighttime settings. What it doesn't tell you is that only one setting can be on at a time. So you can't set the daylight and actinics on different timers to come on at different times.
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