My 75g build

[Robb in Austin]

I finally got started on setting up the 75g this month.

I acquired just about everything I needed in March-May, but I got into Texas Tech University Health Science Center Anita Thigpen Perry School of Nursing's(how's that for a mouth full?) RN-BSN program that started at the end of May so building it got put on hold until the break.

A little background for those who didn't read my blog.

We broke down a few FW tanks and got a new 75g from RCA. I had Dave(aka prof) drill it and build a Calfo style overflow for me. I plan on using BeanAnimal's Silent and Failsafe Overflow as outlined here: http://reefcentral.c...readid=1310585.

Pics of the 75:

Seeing how it will look

Calfo

Calfo different angle

After butchering a few pieces of acrylic I had Dave properly cut them and finally built my sump out of an old 30g I picked up off Craigslist.

Some before and after pics:

30g marked for baffle placement

Acrylic and plans

Sump ready to go

I cut the teeth for the fuge baffle after practicing on the butcher job scraps:

I plan to water test the sump in the am and start plumbing(if everything goes right) Tuesday.

I'll post updates/pics as things roll along.

Other equipment:

Tunze 9010 skimmer(on the 58g now)

Aquactinics TX5 with all ATI bulbs(Blue + x2, True Actinic x2, Aquablue)

Vortech MP40W

Koralia 2 or 3 if needed

Eheim 1260 for return

CF flood light, 6500K, from Lowes for fuge light

all plumbing is 1.25" on drain side

[offroadodge]

sweet!!!! cant wait 2 c the step play out

[JamesL]

Bring on the water!!

[chrisfowler99]

I've got an MP40 in a 75g...I can't turn it up all the way.

I'll be surprised if you need the korelias.

[Robb in Austin]

First water test of the sump=fail.

Water ran under the fuge baffle and under the first bubble trap baffle. I just applied more silicone and will try again tomorrow.

If it still fails, I might rip out the acrylic and get some glass baffles.

[chrisfowler99]

Glass baffles cost me under $30...didn't do teeth, though...

[+Eckreef]

Glass baffles cost me under $30...

Where did you get your glass baffles from?

[chrisfowler99]

Russel Glass in Georgetown

[Robb in Austin]

Well, this has update has taken some time to get to...but at least it's here now.

With TONS of help from CR Mike the plumbing is done! Thanks again Mike! You Rule!

This is it running with only minor tweaks needed. Hopefully I can make those final tweaks in the am and move it back in for final placement and begin filling with RODI!! Need to see Dave(Prof) for new rock too!

Here is the proof:

The bottom of the back side:

The overflow with water!

The sump full and running:

The front with water running!

[chrisfowler99]

Looks like you went BeanAnimal with your overflow. Like it?

I'm not seeing the siphon tube on the open channel drain, though. Am I just missing it?

[JamesL]

So serious pipe and sump design there... looks great!

[Robb in Austin]

@Chris; yes, it is the bean overflow. The siphon tube was not setup in that shot. We just wanted to get some water in it and see what happened regarding leaks. It would appear that the system would run just fine as it is in that pic though. It was very quiet and passed the powerfail/restart test beautifully.

@James; Thanks to Mike's expertise the pipework came out great.

[chrisfowler99]

Yeah...the system doesn't need the siphon tube to run. It's just a part of the failsafe mechanism to cause a secondary siphon to start up if the water level gets too high.

Looks great. Pretty sure that's what I'm going to go with in my new setup. The only thing giving me pause is the thoughts of possibly wanting a wave. Not sure how the siphon would handle that.

[Robb in Austin]

Have you read through the thread on RC? I'm fairly certain there are a number of questions regarding waves, might take some digging to find them though.

If you do go with it, I'd say stick with 1". I went with 1.25" and all that tubing weighs a ton, is costly, and finding some parts has been difficult(sanitary tees to be exact). I imagine you could get by with 3/4" just fine too.

[chrisfowler99]

I've been through the thread on RC several times.

Most of the opinions on waves are "maybe." Seems to pretty much depend on the wave size. Too large and you run the risk of breaking the siphon during the trough between the peaks.

I'll be plumbing a 180ish gallon tank with it, so I may need to go a little larger. It does look like the sanitary tee will be the hardest part to find, but I really haven't hunted yet. I think 1.25" parts are hard to find overall. I'm thinking 1.5". I can choke the siphon down if needed, but it gives me a wide range on the flow.

[Starsprinkle Rainbowsmile]

Tank looks real nice and clean Robb, good job.  Can't wait to see more of it.

[caferacermike]

How about some shots taken in the day instead of at 10:30 at night?

[Robb in Austin]

Ok.

Got a tap that will fit that 3/8" John Guest fitting? All the one's I've come across are tiny. Needs a 9/16" hole, which I can make, but no tap I have is big enough. From what I've gathered it's about 5/8" in reality.

[caferacermike]

It also needs to be NPT. Guess who has 1?

[Robb in Austin]

Can I swing by tonight for a drill and tap session?!

[caferacermike]

Yar is gewd. Czech your Pm box fer details.

[caferacermike]

Oh and Fowler, 1.5 is freaking crazy big. Are planning for a 400g tank? 1" will handle my Eheim 1262 with no problems through a standard Durso.

After looking at this "thingy" of Robb's, from a professional point of view, it's to much. Engineers come up with all kinds of wacky ideas, doesn't mean we should ever implement them. Yes it worked, it was just as noisy as my Durso. In fact it is a Durso, I don't care how much anyone wants to argue it. The main siphon is a Durso overflow. Then there is the second safety overflow, and then the 3rd safety overflow. He11 why not a fourth? Seriously, why not? I understand the want for a safety factor but this contraption was bit over the top. The 1 1/4" fittings take up so much room, I couldn't even imagine what it would look like in 1 1/2". And in the event that 1 pipe breaks siphon or gets clogged, how would you really know that they have switched? What if I clogged 1 and didn't tell you? Then the other clogged, and then the other. At what point do you ask yourself, "how many is enough"?

The single most important thing about your sump to tank issue is making sure you properly match your pump to the tank itself. To large, issues. To small, issues. Period. Can't argue that point. It is always a negative in my opinion to oversize your pump and then valve it shut. Your siphon lines should never have a valve to throttle it back either. The speed at which your tank refills or drains should rely solely upon the rate of the pump. You could run 2" pipe but if your pump is only 600gph it'll be fine. If you "feel" it's not right and need to throttle it back, something else is wrong. The only time I won't argue a valve on a siphon line is for people that want to kill their pump but not drain the main display while working on the sump.

Now I'm not trying to knock this system, I'm just saying that it is truly overkill and probably not necessary for most people. I'm also going to swear by the fact that if you right size your pump to your tank, you do not need huge drain lines. I will also say that if you right size your pump to your tank, your Durso will run silent and trouble free. If you feel the need to run 1 1/2" pipe for your drain, you better have a 3,000gph high pressure pump as your return.

[chrisfowler99]

Oh and Fowler, 1.5 is freaking crazy big. Are planning for a 400g tank? 1" will handle my Eheim 1262 with no problems through a standard Durso.

Oddly...the "standard" drawings he has use 1" for "drain" and 1.5" for the rest of it.

After looking at this "thingy" of Robb's, from a professional point of view, it's to much. Engineers come up with all kinds of wacky ideas, doesn't mean we should ever implement them. Yes it worked, it was just as noisy as my Durso. In fact it is a Durso, I don't care how much anyone wants to argue it. The main siphon is a Durso overflow. Then there is the second safety overflow, and then the 3rd safety overflow. He11 why not a fourth? Seriously, why not? I understand the want for a safety factor but this contraption was bit over the top. The 1 1/4" fittings take up so much room, I couldn't even imagine what it would look like in 1 1/2". And in the event that 1 pipe breaks siphon or gets clogged, how would you really know that they have switched? What if I clogged 1 and didn't tell you? Then the other clogged, and then the other. At what point do you ask yourself, "how many is enough"?

It's definitely based on the durso. The only difference between the main siphon and a typical durso is that it's meant to be a full siphon at all times, which should make it dead silent.

The second line is a true durso, but the amount of water flowing through it should be very minimal, which should result in it being silent as well. The more water you have going through it the more noise it's going to make.

The third line...yeah, probably overkill. It's for the "failsafe" claim which, if you have enough room in your tank to hold the volume of water that you can pump out of your sump, you should, technically, never need. (I know you harp on this one Mike. )

I have a regular durso standpipe in my 75g right now. It's not completely silent, but it's not terribly noisy. The main thing I don't like is that I've never managed to get the return pump and the drain completely matched. About once a day it flushes. More often if I don't keep the hole on top cleaned out.

If I was 100% sure I will never want to do a wave I'd definitely be going with this setup. It's not that difficult to setup on a new tank and should be pretty much dead silent, setup correctly.

But...with the thoughts about a wave I may end up with something different.

[Robb in Austin]

I went with it for the silent and failsafe part. I knew that SWMBO would not tolerate noise, or more importantly, spills.

I debated with myself for at least a month before deciding to use this system. In retrospect I would have gone with a standard factory overflow. That said, I'm pleased with how quiet it is as well as it's performance in the power outage scenario.

Today, whilst playing with it, I turned off the siphon completely and the open channel pipe handled all the flow, by itself, without a hiccup. It didnt even get close to the emergency pipe.

More pics to follow tomorrow.

[caferacermike]

I hear ya Chris, but now see my Durso has been set up and running for over 5 years on this tank. Only once in a very blue moon do I get enough salt creep to cover my inlet valve, yeah I use a valve to regulate my air flow (same as BeAn), into my Durso to cause it to "flush". I got tired of constantly trying to drill different sized holes until I gave up and installed the valve. I rinse the valve in hot water and reinstall. This happens about once every 4 months. My guess is that the hole in your cap is just a shade to small. Mine runs silent and trouble free.