New Sump and Skimmer (pics)

I just got a new sump and skimmer for my 150. It was a heck of a chore putting it in but with the new larger skimmer I was able to go from 2 skimmers to 1. You'll see in the pics, the ghetto setup I had before and the one I have now. Tell me which is cleanest.

Ok here's my old setup with a coralife ss 125 and a custom (cheap crap) pacific coast knock off.



As you can see in the pics, I tied 2 small sumps together with bulkheads and pvc. It worked ok but it just looked like crap.

Here is my new skimmer. (new to me)It's the octopus NW 300 (I believe that's the number) I put it by the RC bucket for reference. It has an 8 inch body.



Here's the sump I got from one of my best friends in the world. He let me "borrow" it. It's 4 ft by 22 inches wide and 18 inches tall. (FREAKIN HUGE).



and here it is under my tank with skimmer running. So much cleaner looking.





and the little chaeto fuge

 

nice pick up I like the white sump look instead of the clear better lighting for the macro algea. and trust me I know what you mean by ghetto rigging lol I have to skimmers now lmao

 

the main reason I did the skimmer change is my vodka dosing. It seemed to have been bogging my skimmers down somehow. This one is already producing foam. I really like the white too

 

Looks alot better and cleaner, my skimmer seems to be pulling more out since i've been vodka dosing also, how much you up to on your dosing?

 

right now i'm ding 1.2 ml per day. .6ml 2x daily. I'm happy where I am. No nitrates to speak of and crystal clear water.

 

Nice job dude!
How did you get it under the cabinet? I am guessing you had to take our the center support? Also, dosing with Vodka? What does that do? I ask as I also have a 150.

 

Nice looking additions Daniel , a lot neater as you say


Steve

 

Great up-grade Daniel, that new sump is a little bigger than mine, awesome isnt it? I personaly like having it made out of glass so I can see through it.
As far as dosing Vodka, Someone who doesnt know how to should be VERY careful. You can cause total distruction of your tank. Research it before crossing that bridge. Out of curiousity, why are you dosing Vodka? Is it for No3? Once you have a well running refugium, you wont need to be dosing Vodka.


Luna

 

Luna, yeah it's awesome having a bigger sump. I would like to have had a clear acrylic but I couldn't beat the price of this one. FREE!;D It is really nice being able to run my ca reactor in sump so I don't have to be concerned with leaking. All in all i'm very happy with the upgrade. I have researched and researched the vodka thing and I think I've got a pretty good grip on the process. I am at a very low dose at this point and doint feel I will be going any higher. The biggest upside to dosing vodka, is the ablility to feed more and I like being able to keep my tangs fat=)

 

JBL, I had to take the end skirt off of my stand and slide it in that way. It was a royal pain. If you are still young to the hobby, I wouldn't worry about the vodka thing. Just stick to the basics for a while. It can be disasterous if not kept up properly. If you wanna do some reading about it, there is a ton of reading on RC about it.