High Flow/ Deep Water Sump/Refugium(updated pics)

Discussion in 'I made this!' started by SPINNER, Oct 20, 2011.

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  1. SPINNER

    SPINNER Fire Shrimp

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    Aug 21, 2011
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    Kern County
    Dazed and confused

    Yes my kids all grown gave me a 4' x 4' Led Zepplin high quality picture for the wall behind my sump. The wall is 8' long and my reacters will be (1) 36" & (1) 20" x 8" on each side of picture and the 4" run under and along the picture. The reacters set on a 16" x 14" wall with cutouts under each reacters so i can have LED lights run under them shinning up as the reacters all have a clear base. Yes i am 54 Led Zepplins my band:)
    You may be right i will have to see if a stand alone is needed. I believe in THE POWER of Micro Fana so much that i patent the design and brought refugiums to our hobby at MACNA X in Long Beach.
    Albert Thiel told me there that it was going to be part of our hobbies future but a few years away. I left the hobby after that for family reasons and just started back 6 months ago when i started this build. In 1998 i took down my 750 gallon reef + 150 gallon refugium and 100 gallon sump that i had been doing R&D for many years thats what helped me design refugiums.
    To me there is only one way to tell if you refugium is really working and that is by your fish. If they live and play around your tank inlets then it's working if not it doesn't matter how many pods you have in your refugium it's not feeding your DT.
     
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  3. Powerman

    Powerman Giant Squid

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    Well anything with Zep involved is already destined for greatness.

    So then since you are no rookie.. what is it you need in "bio-media" reactors. I'm not getting that one.
     
  4. SPINNER

    SPINNER Fire Shrimp

    Joined:
    Aug 21, 2011
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    Location:
    Kern County
    I am a sucker for gear:) wise man once said

    First i want to say Powerman that i have great respect for hobbiest like you that not only DIY their builds but openly share what you do how you do it and where you recieved your information(help,ideas, ect...). Second i wish to do the same because without people like Albert Thiel, John Tullock, Bob Goemans, Dana Riddle and others i would of never been able to build what i built or did what i was able to do with regard to our hobby.
    OK why do i need bio media reactors well i don't but how else would i be able to tinker with them and learn? What do i want to learn? Only tinkering time will tell:) In our hobby only once in awhile does someone invent something new 98% of the time we take an idea change one or two things and call it new, well it's not really new it just looks different than what we have seen before. This is how it works i will use skimmers to prove my point.
    Many years ago a company called ETSS came out with a downdraft skimmers wow did they look SI-FI and i had never seen some much bubbles. Around the same time Euro Reef came out with their skimmer and i had the booth next to them. Very few people talked to Euro Reef as all eyes where on the ETSS skimmer because no one had seen anything like that and everybody wanted one. This was something new to our hobby and i sure they were rewarded well those first few years.
    Now let's move to today and what skimmer is HOT.... BashSea why because it looks cool and has something not seen in our hobby a STATIC MIXER in lieu of bio ball chamber. Did BashSea make a new skimmer? No he just changed things around and added something that has given it a cool look. If you take his skimmer apart piece by piece you will see parts of several different skimmers that have been on the market for years. What he did through R&D was create a FRANKENSTEIN skimmer.
    That's all i did with refugiums with out R&D these products would never be invented.
    Now please let me say at this time i am not saying anything bad about BashSea don't even know them but i know they build quality products and have read that they/he is great to work with when buying their products.
    I too am a sucker for gear and the evolution of our hobby i would get board just looking at my reef tank so my reactors are to play with.
    I already know how to build and keep a pristine reef and you don't need floating bed filters, GFO, Bio media, Bio pellets and so on but they are products that do have a place in our hobby.
    In closing i would like to say that in my time there wasn't places like 3reef to share and learn from and that's why i am here to share and learn. This build i will be setting up with all dry rock have never done that before and wasn't sure how or about the process this i am learning from 3reef and other forums. So even an old dog can learn new things.
    Thank you again Powerman for sharing!!!!!
     
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  5. Powerman

    Powerman Giant Squid

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    Ramble On

    Well how cool is that... awesome. In my short time in this hobby I have seen the latest greatest come around... but I'm not new to latest greatest or hobbies and know full well they have come and gone and come again... but yes.. I have always been a sucker for gear. And I would be lying if I said I was not as fascinated with the life support system as much as the life.

    I will most definitely be keeping an eye on your progress. I had my system... changed priorities, yet now have this dream of getting back in one day. I never wanted a super huge tank, but have a thought of a 4x4x2. I want a minimalist tank with not a lot of rock and a lot of small fish... SPS... but then have been thinking about the support system in the fish room.

    Well as much as I seem to have a rep with skimmers, and as much as I like them... I have actually been thinking of how "natural" can I go? Lots of LR, fuge or ATS, perhaps a benthic tank... no light for the LR... I don't know, it intrigues me... to have an abundant micro fauna eco systm, with algae driven nutrient export. Not sure if the light needed would be less efficient than say skimmer and bio pellets... that probably uses less power. So I don't know, gyre flow cube with a LR tub and algae scrubber or attached fuge with a nice frag tank???? No time soon though, so I will stay here and watch others.
     
  6. SPINNER

    SPINNER Fire Shrimp

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    Location:
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    Finished valves and pump return

    [​IMG]


    Well finished painting and installing valves today i must say i am getting pretty good with masking and painting with KRYLON FUSION. Have used this product for years in my builds and it works well both inside and outside the DT. I am trying someting that i have not done and that's painting vinyl hose using three pieces as a sample each with different coat count. The key i have found with painting is light coats let dry well after each one and leave alone for the full 7 days when your finished and you will have a strong finish.
    Now sump looks like a blanket of many colors but there is a reason for this and once reacters are installed it will make better since:) Now that this part is finished i can go back to working on reacters with the hopes of a start up(cycle) with at least this part soon.
    [​IMG]
     
  7. Ducksmasher

    Ducksmasher Purple Spiny Lobster

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    what are the odds you will be installing lava lamps?
     
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  9. SPINNER

    SPINNER Fire Shrimp

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    Location:
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    Nice idea

    I think two bubble towers will do it thank you for the idea anyway.
     
  10. norg.

    norg. Kole Tang

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    Your sump looks like a piece of art. The color coordination will help a ton Im sure with how much equipment it sounds like you will be running. Very nice. Keep us posted with your progress on this monster!
     
  11. SPINNER

    SPINNER Fire Shrimp

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    Thank You

    Thank you Norg, yes trying to make it fun to look at too. Will post updated pics. for sure::)
     
  12. thedog12

    thedog12 Astrea Snail

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    Feb 18, 2011
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    i would love to see this whole thing work that is a lot of inlets into your sump