How's the tank coming along?
Chris
Chris
270g Starphire build thread (pic intensive) (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter morty
- Start date
sorry to let you guys know but the tank was taken down.....
He Moved it into my apartment!
I wish.....gorgeous tank, i dont even think gorgeous cuts it...this setup has been thought over, and over, and over...how long did the planning for the tank setup take ya?
He Moved it into my apartment!
I wish.....gorgeous tank, i dont even think gorgeous cuts it...this setup has been thought over, and over, and over...how long did the planning for the tank setup take ya?
Wow! I'm not sure how I missed this thread the first tim.
Amazing work Morty! I live in Chan if you ever need a hand quick, I can't be more than a few miles from you.
And I'd love to see it in person when you are ready for tours.
Chris
Amazing work Morty! I live in Chan if you ever need a hand quick, I can't be more than a few miles from you.
And I'd love to see it in person when you are ready for tours.
Chris
:biglaugh2:
I wouldn't wish moving this tank on anyone! I had to move it around at least 3 times prior to placing it on the stand. It's a pig.
Well the tank has been filled with mixed SW for several days. The rock is not yet placed in it, but I hope to have that done sometime this week. A lot of the rock pieces I have are larger show-sized pieces. My plan is to first put down smaller fist-sized pieces, and then put the big chunks on top of them, straddling the return lines on the bottom of the tank. I want as little of the rock stack sitting directly on the bottom of the tank as possible. I want to be able to stir up the SSB, and I think a lot of detritus gets trapped under rocks that sit right on the bottom. I want to just gravity stack the rock as much as possible, but I may also build some wall sections and arches using pieces of fiberglas rod as described in David Grigor's aquascaping sticky. I was able to pick up some grey fiberglas rods at Fleet Farm, which may be easier to hide than the flourescent orange rods. (Thanks for the tip, wkjames!
) I will pour in CaribSea special grade aragonite sand after the rock is in place, to about 1" to 1-1/2".To test everything out, I have been running the lights, filters, etc. on a normal schedule. I am having bigger issues with heat than I thought I was going to have. The 1/4 hp chiller is not able to keep up with the heat generated by the metal halides. I put a clip-on fan blowing into the space under the lights, but I think it's just moving the air around under there and not drawing the heat away. At this point I am going to make a partition out of acrylic to seal off the area over the tank (the part that is visible in the rear photos) with a hole for a small square fan (~10") that will draw cool air through the front spaces between the canopy and hood and exhaust the heat thru the rear. Also, Prime makes a 1/3hp chiller in the same dimensions of the 1/4hp unit I have, so I ordered one (on sale from Pet Solutions!) and hopefully the changes will solve the problem. Anyone want to buy a barely used 1/4hp chiller, lmk. I am also considering other pump options than the Velocity pumps I am using for the O3 reactor and fuge/chiller loop. They're nice and quiet, but because they shed heat into the water, it's not helping.
I have moved the skimmer into place and I'll post some photos of it soon. It's an ASM G4x, and I recirc modded the Sedra 9000 needle wheel output. I also did the gate valve mod. An Ocean Runner 2500 is the feed pump. The OR2500 is on the bubble tower side of the skimmer chamber, and the skimmer outlet is on the opposite side to help minimize water reprocessing. There's not much to skim at this point so I don't have any gross photos of skimmate to show anyone.
But I'll post some soon as well as photos of the rockwork.skimmer
Here's some images of the skimmer I'm using. It's an ASM G4x, and I recirc modded its Sedra 9000 pump. Its feed pump is now an Ocean Runner 2500. I also did a gate valve mod of its outlet. It could possibly have a second Sedra 9000 NW recirc pump added if its performance isn't up to par after getting the tank fully populated.
This is a full view of the skimmer. The gallon paint can is for scale.
This is a view of the gate valve mod. The plug in the skimmer body is where I had the feed pump connected when it was skimming the water in the LR curing tub.
This is a closer view of the recirc pump outlet. I played around with different methods to reduce turbulence at the foam head as well as reduce microbubble escape from the skimmer, and this was most simple (but not perfect) solution. The pump discharge is thru a 1" PVC side outlet el that directs the pump's output at 45 degrees.
If I add a second recirc pump, the only way to make it fit in my sump's skimmer chamber is to mirror the installation of the first Sedra. So in this pic you'll have to kind of imagine a mirror image of the pump on the left side of the skimmer.
Here is a view inside the skimmer. The feed pump's outlet is the tee above the recirc outlet. To attach the feed pump to the skimmer, I drilled a 7/8" hole and used a 3/4" npt tap to thread it. A 3/4" hose/mpt el is screwed into the hole and connects the OR2500. There was enough thread of the el exposed inside the skimmer body to screw on a 3/4" fpt/slip coupler, and then 3/4" pvc connects the outlet tee. I think this tee cuts down on the turbulence of the feed pump water.
This shows the skimmer in the sump. Not much for it to skim at this point.
A couple other comments about the skimmer...
It slowly leaks from the twist-lock connection at the base of the cone. I guess they're known for this. Not a big deal, as it's an in-sump skimmer, but dried salt will make it look messy down the line. I may go to MN Rubber to see if they'll sample me an o-ring of the same size (but thicker) to see if that fixes it. I would not recommend an ASM skimmer for external installation. Also, from what I've read, the skimmer needs diy mods to make it worthwhile. (I may give the mesh mod a try sometime, too.) It sounds like other skimmers have come along to replace ASMs as a price/performance choice. But because I thought that upgrading my skimmer to a more expensive, but better, performer seems like an inevitablility sometime in the not too far future, I decided to start with this one and be able to take my time to choose its replacement, if/when that happens.
Here's some images of the skimmer I'm using. It's an ASM G4x, and I recirc modded its Sedra 9000 pump. Its feed pump is now an Ocean Runner 2500. I also did a gate valve mod of its outlet. It could possibly have a second Sedra 9000 NW recirc pump added if its performance isn't up to par after getting the tank fully populated.
This is a full view of the skimmer. The gallon paint can is for scale.
This is a view of the gate valve mod. The plug in the skimmer body is where I had the feed pump connected when it was skimming the water in the LR curing tub.
This is a closer view of the recirc pump outlet. I played around with different methods to reduce turbulence at the foam head as well as reduce microbubble escape from the skimmer, and this was most simple (but not perfect) solution. The pump discharge is thru a 1" PVC side outlet el that directs the pump's output at 45 degrees.
If I add a second recirc pump, the only way to make it fit in my sump's skimmer chamber is to mirror the installation of the first Sedra. So in this pic you'll have to kind of imagine a mirror image of the pump on the left side of the skimmer.
Here is a view inside the skimmer. The feed pump's outlet is the tee above the recirc outlet. To attach the feed pump to the skimmer, I drilled a 7/8" hole and used a 3/4" npt tap to thread it. A 3/4" hose/mpt el is screwed into the hole and connects the OR2500. There was enough thread of the el exposed inside the skimmer body to screw on a 3/4" fpt/slip coupler, and then 3/4" pvc connects the outlet tee. I think this tee cuts down on the turbulence of the feed pump water.
This shows the skimmer in the sump. Not much for it to skim at this point.
A couple other comments about the skimmer...
It slowly leaks from the twist-lock connection at the base of the cone. I guess they're known for this. Not a big deal, as it's an in-sump skimmer, but dried salt will make it look messy down the line. I may go to MN Rubber to see if they'll sample me an o-ring of the same size (but thicker) to see if that fixes it. I would not recommend an ASM skimmer for external installation. Also, from what I've read, the skimmer needs diy mods to make it worthwhile. (I may give the mesh mod a try sometime, too.) It sounds like other skimmers have come along to replace ASMs as a price/performance choice. But because I thought that upgrading my skimmer to a more expensive, but better, performer seems like an inevitablility sometime in the not too far future
, I decided to start with this one and be able to take my time to choose its replacement, if/when that happens.
Looks great wet!
you know someone is going to put a little comment on this one..and not the kind i am doing .... lol ....
latazyo
Senior Member
morty, you have some of the best looking cabinetry/bar area that Ive ever seen
I love the look
the tank looks perfect in that location and is well thought out
I love the look
the tank looks perfect in that location and is well thought out
Morty, I'm running the G3 and had the same problem. All I had to do was rub patrolum jelly on the seal.
Thanks latazyo, the wood is knotty alder, and I had the cabinet maker create a simple mission-style look in my home's cabinetry. I really like the rustic look of the all the knots in the wood.
gogregerson, I've heard it's a pretty common with the ASMs. On the one hand it's nice to be able to get access to the inside of the skimmer chamber (makes modding easy), but it's a fairly large opening to get to seal properly. I tried using silicon grease, but vasoline may work better. Thanks for the suggestion!
gogregerson, I've heard it's a pretty common with the ASMs. On the one hand it's nice to be able to get access to the inside of the skimmer chamber (makes modding easy), but it's a fairly large opening to get to seal properly. I tried using silicon grease, but vasoline may work better. Thanks for the suggestion!
Nice set up you have there. Your plumbing all looks very clean, symmetrical, and evenly spaced. I really appreciate the attention to detail on all of the craftsmanship! Looking forward to seeing it aquascaped.
He's addressed that issue already in this post.
This shows the return lines from the sump to the display. I decided to run the main return lines under the live rock. I thought this would help minimize detritus buildup under the LR and also keep the water more evenly mixed (because the water flows out at the top). The horizontal spray bar between the overflows adds a little more water movement, but is mainly there as a siphon-break. ▼
It is explained there, but is easier to understand in person. The return is plumbed up above the top of the tank, then turns downwards to feed the top and bottom spray bars. There will be no back-siphon problems at all.
I mean, come on, does it look like something he threw together in a weekend? Looking forward to the 'scape, Mike! :bow:
Cheers,
Marty
I mean, come on, does it look like something he threw together in a weekend?
Looking forward to the 'scape, Mike! :bow: Cheers,
Marty
Thanks Patrick -- I have to say that the tank draining issue you mentioned was definitely something that did not occur to me right away when I first started thinking about running the return lines under the rock! Then I had one of those "duh!" moments . If you look at the back view of the tank you can see the smaller 1" pvc pipe that runs up, left, and down, and then into a bulkhead. This is the return line, and this is how it makes the connection to the bottom spray bars. At the top of return line's run, one of its elbows has a side outlet that connects to the shorter spray bar that's in the pic Chris G posted above.
Originally this bulkhead was instead going to connect to one of the OMs outlets, and water was going to periodically 'blast' out the holes in the spraybars under the rock via the closed loop. And the return line was going to go to a couple of 36" spray bars at either end of the tank, at the top. But running one of the OMs outputs under the rock seemed like a waste -- closed loops are supposed to be about water column movement. I started to think about running the return water under the rock and I thought "why not" because it seemed to make sense in a few different ways -- the return water would be in closer contact with the rock, which is a source of filtration (also, it's flow would be across the part of the rock that doesn't get clogged up with coralline algae because it's shaded), it may help reduce detritus pockets under the rock, and it brings the return water in at the bottom, which then flows out at the top.
Downside is, I have to hope that the holes in the return line don't ever clog for some reason! Then I'd either have to tear the tank down to deal with it (unlikely) or just disconnect the bottom spray bars and convert the returns to normal tank-top spray bars (more likely)
. If you look at the back view of the tank you can see the smaller 1" pvc pipe that runs up, left, and down, and then into a bulkhead. This is the return line, and this is how it makes the connection to the bottom spray bars. At the top of return line's run, one of its elbows has a side outlet that connects to the shorter spray bar that's in the pic Chris G posted above.Originally this bulkhead was instead going to connect to one of the OMs outlets, and water was going to periodically 'blast' out the holes in the spraybars under the rock via the closed loop. And the return line was going to go to a couple of 36" spray bars at either end of the tank, at the top. But running one of the OMs outputs under the rock seemed like a waste -- closed loops are supposed to be about water column movement. I started to think about running the return water under the rock and I thought "why not" because it seemed to make sense in a few different ways -- the return water would be in closer contact with the rock, which is a source of filtration (also, it's flow would be across the part of the rock that doesn't get clogged up with coralline algae because it's shaded), it may help reduce detritus pockets under the rock, and it brings the return water in at the bottom, which then flows out at the top.
Downside is, I have to hope that the holes in the return line don't ever clog for some reason! Then I'd either have to tear the tank down to deal with it (unlikely) or just disconnect the bottom spray bars and convert the returns to normal tank-top spray bars (more likely)
Maybe I'll give that a try Mary, the only thing I'm wondering is if this will create a lof of microbubble output from the skimmer? Easy enough to check out!
It shouldn't if your gate valve is setup right the bubbles have a chance to break in the T that is what the open top is for
. I did it with mine, only I just used a regular elbow and pointed it 45 degrees down, and towards the wall of the skimmer. Superman showed me that trick and he had a g4x with the mods just like yours 
Morty it is not to late to turn the live rock spray bar into a closed loop spray bar/rock rack like I did on the 120. It worked awesome and would do it again.
Concealed.
Would work on a tank with a sand bed also. No worry about back siphoning either.
Concealed.
Would work on a tank with a sand bed also. No worry about back siphoning either.