90 Gallon Build Thread

If by this statment you mean that by maintaining a higher water level with in the sump you keep the pump cooler ?

You really don't belive this do you ? I could see how it could happen and even prolong pump life through heat transfer if the sump was setting stagnate with no water coming and and going out But if its moving through then thie water amount with in the sump had diddly to do with a pumps operating tempature .. And there is a reason I'd run mine with far less depth.

 

Sparky if the sound is the reason then that fine But there is a greater reason why I keep my levels lower to just under the outlet stubs .. The sound is greater but this allows the bubbles to push out the CO'2s and replace them with 0'2 and just makes for a more stable and little higher ph for those who watch ph.
And it allows for far better gas exchange and skimmer efficiency And there are some options for the reactor also if you want to get it with in the stand its self.. And it will help with lowering NO3 a bit. Thats why all holding ponds for any water treatment sprays water into the air about center of the holding ponds . But I understand how the sound can get to you and when I had my sump under the tank before it all went to the basement I always lined my cabinets with acoustical ceiling tiles and a fan for fresh air under there

What little extra water there is is not worth the cost of the skimmer not being able to pick up the oils in the water from lack of mixing in the sump. The skimmer is as efficient as a HOB if you think about it ,and for myself and all who started with sumps it was for more skimmer efficiency not water volume.

 

I'm not sure I follow the part above I outlined. Please explain, Tangster?

 

The U on the bottom has a stub up toward the waters surface with these submerged they will run a little more quietly But there is not much surface agitation as it does not allow for the water to balloon out and bubble like a fountain then there is less air to water reaction. Then the water level being high in the sump also then is not mixing as well and therefore the oils and such in the water can get back on top and be missed by the skimmer still waters run deep Thats why I always run my sumps with about 5 inches of depth so that the water will bubble and swirl and keep mixed. Thats was how it started then people somewhere where spazing about a few bubbles and then came the baffles to stop the addition of oxygen and to ward off micro bubbles and then they started to put refugiums in them and with ever upgrade the water level rose .. But its like sumps have morphed into a 10 or 20 gal display tank now days from what they started out as.

I myself run a 30 or a 40 breeder for out sump here on this 180 and It runs at about 4 to 5 inches deep. I have a 2 inch drain from tank to the sump 35 ft away with a U just as you have and I have filled it with base rocks to the water like to cause the water to bubble and eddy to mix with oxygen.

Its nothing written anywhere that you have to allow for water mixing in the sumps do but there is a reason I run mine shallow that trying all the newer ideas as they came along I found it just works better for me .

 

I'm a bit confused. If the U's are being used to cut down on noise and bubbles, and to prevent the agitation and chaos from the cascading water into the sump, then why circumvent the design by allowing the water to "fountain" up when it comes into the sump?

I incorporated the U's to cut down on surface agitation and noise. In my mind, placing the top of the U above the sump's water level is defeating the purpose. If chaos, agitation, and churning was the purpose, why utilize a U shaped outlet to minimize these things?

 

No I told you that I always use them so that the water entering the tank will push up wards and all the bubble would be on top of the waters surface .. And I'd put stubs into the U cut long enough to be just above the normal running water level of the sump. And that to me a baffle was a waste of time as once you put the bubbles on top they tend to stay there unless you have drain pipe just pushing directly down on the vertical into the sump as you had that first time there where 99% of the people run into bubble problems. I told otty to cut down in the pulsing motions of the water to just increase the stub to a larger pipe size to allow for expansion room of the water. I mentioned the water levels the other day and you said it made for less sounds , Thats fine and deep water level is not really hurting anything it just reduces the amount of mixing and allows for some stratification in the sump as in the main tank

 

So I've got some new carbon and phosphate removing media in the phos reactor. The skimmer is doing its thing and the water is very clean. Here are some new shots. My xenia hasn't opened for a few days, but I suspect the water is too pristine. All parameters are good. Ammo, nitr. and nitrites are zero. dKh is 11, pH is 8.3, calcium is 490, mag. is 1290. Salinity is 1.025.

Oh yeah, I bought a new trumpet coral and bubble coral. I also got a nice yellow coris wrasse.

Here goes.

 

Lookin Sweeeeeet!!!!!!!!

 

Starting to look great Sparky! This has been a great step by step build/thread to show the progress. Great work buddy. Luna