MMcDonald 55 gal Build

i was wondering what connected to the pvc lines on the side they look awesome

 

Looks good but I would also second keeping the rock away from the glass for cleaning purposes.

 

nice looking set up MMcDonald
how many attempts at setting up the rockwork?

Steve

 

Some answers to the questions.

Valve manifold on the side is connected to the return pump by a flex hose. It was just easier to have the valves on the side for me. That and it allowed me expansion room for diverting flow, etc.

Rock stacking... Only once. Let me try to describe. I was concerned about dead spots in the flow behind the rocks. So I built effectively a lattice out of 1/2" PVC. Picture a tic-tac-toe of PVC tubing. I then capped all but two ends on the top left and top right corners. Those uncapped corners are the inputs from my return pump. I drilled holes in the tubing every few inches as the outlets into the tank. Thus, I have flow coming in from all around the back wall of the tank pushing against and threw the live rock. I figured that would enhance the effectiveness of the live rock. No basis for that, just a guess. Secondly, the lattice work of the PVC doubles as a structural "ladder" to support the LR. It made stacking it easy. Make sense?? Don't know if that's a good idea since I hadn't seen anyone else do it, but it made sense to me so I figured I'd give it a try. Feedback appreciated.

Mark

 

Curious to see what folks think of my latest editions. I was having trouble with bubbles coming in to the skimmer section of my sump from the overflow lines. LOTS. So much so that bubbles were getting into the pump section and causing me micro-bubble problems in the DT. I played around with vents and really don't have the roomsince the space under my tank is so cramped.

I ended up deciding to add a 'splash box'. It worked out pretty cool... at least I think. I bought a arcylic spagetti container 10 1/2" tall, 4" wide and 6" deep. Drilled a bunch of holes in the bottom, filled it with some old bioballs, and some FUVAL media that I had. Put some filter pad on top and effectively created a mini-wet/dry filter combo splash box. It immediately eliminated my bubbles problem. (Although, I'd still like to get the overflow quieter).

From a wet-dry filter point of view, I wanted to ask some questions. I've read about bioballs being "bad"... building up nitrates if they are not cleaned occassionally or something. What is the story on wet-dry filters? I also read about putting LR in there. How often do I clean the LR and how?? I have read about Phosphate-sponges and carbon. This would seem a natural place to put something like that.

I bought an RO-DI but it arrived broken. I am engaged in fixing that situation now. Thus I have started with conditioned tap water. I've learned that was a "bad idea" but that is where I am. I also started with 2 damsels which I also learned was a bad idea... I'll move those to the refugium.

So... how should I configure this DIY wet dry?? GAC?? Phos-sponge?? LR?? Bioballs?? Filter pad on top for mechanical filtration seems like a good start. Effectively a filter sock. I would welcome your opinions.

Thanks
Mark

 

BTW -- I'll post some pics tomorrow. One of my friends in the machine shop is cutting a piece of arcylic for me to fit it around my skimmer and such in the sump to reduce evaporation. I should be getting it tomorrow.

I'll post updated pics then.

Mark

 

looking good

 

So bare with the NASA Geek here... My life at NASA is countdowns, checklists, procedures and such so I can't resist applying that thought process here.

Tank Maintenance Checklist
Water
1) 7 gal water change each week (10-15%)
2) Water test params each week
3) Refill ATO tank if required each week

Filters
1) Clean Overflow and Splash box filter sponges each week
2) Clean Skimmer Cup each week
3) Adjust skimmer if required
4) Change out GAC/GFO media every 6 weeks
5) Clean out splash box live rock, every 3 months ???

Dosing
1) Check to see if two-part solutions need refilling
2) Adjust dosing amount if required
3) Add other additives if required

Lighting
1) Change out light bulbs every 9 months

Feeding
1) Refill auto fish feed if required
2) Replace fish feeder batteries every 6 months

Other
1) Trim Chateo in refugium if required
2) Clean DT glass
3) Clean Refugium/Sump glass
4) Clean tank lids
5) Turkey baister cleaning of LR
6) Check Overflow Lift pump filter and operation, monthly

Questions ---

What am I missing??
Sand?? Do I need to do anything to the sand in the DT or the Refugium any??
Heaters?? Do people run two heaters?? It seems like I should check them once and a while.
Return Pumps?? Redundant return pumps??
Powerheads/Wavemaker??
Live stock?? Restocking CUC if required?

Basically, I want to end up with a comprehensive list of everything that needs to be done.

Please add to the list.

Thanks
Mark

 

Sounds like a good beginning of a list. I think you will probably find you'll need to be flexible on some things and potentially change the schedules on some things but you'll find out what works for your system over time.

You might want to clean your skimmer cup more often, I think once a week is on the low end. Every skimmer is a little bit different and based on your bioload and all the specifics you'll probably find out what schedule works best for your system, be flexible and pay attention to it. A lot of skimmers are most efficient directly after a few hour break in period and then will skim efficiently for a few days and then it will taper off in my understanding.

I think running 2 heaters is best, whenever you can have redundancy it's ideal. I thought about having multiple return pumps and I might do it on my next system but I think if you just remove and clean your return pump every couple of months you'll probably be OK. I like the idea of having 2 identical return pumps and just swapping between them every 6 months or so, then you can clean one and not have your filtration interrupted as well as having a backup in case one dies suddenly.

I would remove and clean every powerhead and pump every few months even if it doesn't look like they need it, twice a year at least. Make sure you disassemble them completely and check out the drive shaft and make sure calcium carbonate is not building up too much, a vinegar soak is good regular maintenance on them.

You should clean your light's splash shield or bulbs/reflectors regularly, every week or two I think at least.

You'll want to periodically clean out your dosing lines, in particular the alk part as it can build up deposits, especially the part closest to the tank.

Unless you have a deep sand bed (3"+) I would periodically stir up portions of the sand bed, not the entire thing at once, to try and prevent stuff from building up in the sand, get it into the water column to get filtered out. It might be a good idea to do that the day or so before you change your filters so you get that stuff out.

Just some more ideas for ya.

 

That is pricless. To someone that is a bit OCD, I thought is was amusing.

I operate a plant, I get home and have to check trends and take readings. I'm not knocking you.

As for your questions, you don't need to do anything to your sand, just get some Nassarius snails to keep it turned over. Worms will eventually populate it and they take care of the cleaning.