wontonflip's 125g build
- Thread starter wontonflip
- Start date
wontonflip
Reef expert
- Location
- VA USA
Hrm...dunno if this will work :shock:
Transferred the miracle mud from the 45g (drip acclimating the firefish and pistol now for the move to the 125...gonna risk having the 2 firefish together and blame the hubby if it fails :mrgreen: )
Anyway, got it all plumbed and running. IT WORKS. Unfortunately.....bubbles. Tried to add a plastic mesh to the end of the PVC in the tank, and still bubbles. I tired to put a LONG ass PVC that reached near the bottom...it was ok, but it still has bubbles, albeit, not a lot.
How bad is having some bubbles in the tank? The long pvc won't do, because it's an eye sore. HELP! Should I just do it as planned, and not worry too much about the bubbles? I'll post a video of it in action.
Transferred the miracle mud from the 45g (drip acclimating the firefish and pistol now for the move to the 125...gonna risk having the 2 firefish together and blame the hubby if it fails :mrgreen: )
Anyway, got it all plumbed and running. IT WORKS. Unfortunately.....bubbles. Tried to add a plastic mesh to the end of the PVC in the tank, and still bubbles. I tired to put a LONG ass PVC that reached near the bottom...it was ok, but it still has bubbles, albeit, not a lot.
How bad is having some bubbles in the tank? The long pvc won't do, because it's an eye sore. HELP! Should I just do it as planned, and not worry too much about the bubbles? I'll post a video of it in action.
wontonflip
Reef expert
- Location
- VA USA
Ok, video of my problem.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmtJSwkOap8[/ame]
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmtJSwkOap8[/ame]
I am not very familiar with your set up... Is that a shot of the return line from the fuge into the display? Is it gravity fed or pump fed? Your problem is not the outlet, you need to address the inlet. If it's gravity fed, then it may just be as simple as lowering the other end of that pipe in the fuge. If it's a pump, then you probably need to add some baffling.
wontonflip
Reef expert
- Location
- VA USA
The part inside the tank is gravity fed. Basically, there's a small powerhead pump (it's old, and I forget the brand) that's pumping water from the sump up to the fuge above the tank, which in turn spills over into the main.
I managed to cut down the bubbles a lot by using a 45 degree bend into the water, adding a T at the bottom just above the water, and a 90 degree in the water...that way it significantly slows down the water flow so there's less bubbles. I'm still getting a few big bubbles, but most of them are drifting to the overflow anyway. I'll probably still be playing with it for a while.
I managed to cut down the bubbles a lot by using a 45 degree bend into the water, adding a T at the bottom just above the water, and a 90 degree in the water...that way it significantly slows down the water flow so there's less bubbles. I'm still getting a few big bubbles, but most of them are drifting to the overflow anyway. I'll probably still be playing with it for a while.
wontonflip
Reef expert
- Location
- VA USA
A picture of my fuge w/ the lights on, plus a picture of the newly relocated pistol shrimp under his rock (I took the pic from under the tank, since he dug all the way down). He's already dug quite a few holes under a few rocks. A video, too!
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rc9ugJ5Sgx0[/ame]
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rc9ugJ5Sgx0[/ame]
Navarchus
Reefing newb
- Location
- Boston, MA USA
Woah! That is some cool pistol shrimp footage. You should send that to National Geographic.
wontonflip
Reef expert
- Location
- VA USA
Thanks Nav :)
Good thing I checked on my fuge!!! I noticed the return pipe into the tank stopped making bubbles...well DUH!! It wasn't pumping out water! Apparently, my old small pump wasn't working....I rested my hand on the flex tubing that goes up into the fuge, and felt a tingling. Got my husband's volt meter, and found out that my pump was shorted out! I unplugged it, and no more stray voltage. Allt he fish seem fine. It probably helped that the pump was in the intake, and the water in there had a long way to travel before it hits back into the main tank.
So far, I've just seen my pistol shrimp under the rock. No sign yet of suspect # 2, but he's probably still pissed off about the move again. I won't worry until a few days.
Good thing I checked on my fuge!!! I noticed the return pipe into the tank stopped making bubbles...well DUH!! It wasn't pumping out water! Apparently, my old small pump wasn't working....I rested my hand on the flex tubing that goes up into the fuge, and felt a tingling. Got my husband's volt meter, and found out that my pump was shorted out! I unplugged it, and no more stray voltage. Allt he fish seem fine. It probably helped that the pump was in the intake, and the water in there had a long way to travel before it hits back into the main tank.
So far, I've just seen my pistol shrimp under the rock. No sign yet of suspect # 2, but he's probably still pissed off about the move again. I won't worry until a few days.
wontonflip
Reef expert
- Location
- VA USA
Yeah, I don't see him down there now, so I'm glad I caught him on film before he moved elsewhere. DOOD has dug SO many tunnels....at least one under every rock :)
dcantucson
Reef pro
Very cool Wonton; thanks for posting it. Kinda reminded me of an ant farm! :lol:
wontonflip
Reef expert
- Location
- VA USA
Yeah, that's what I was thinking about, too :) It was always intriguing to see inside the antfarm's tunnels :)
wontonflip
Reef expert
- Location
- VA USA
Here goes attempt # 2 at the fuge. Since the maxijet crapped out, I am now using my other old-as-dirt pump to get the water up to the fuge. It's got just enough power to get up there and make small ripples. As usual, here's my video :) Let's hope this sticks!!
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yC42wTY3RPY[/ame]
And this is my FINAL (hopefully) setup. All I need left is a skimmer. I will be using my old berlin skimmer temporarily until I get a better one (either octopus or eshoppe)
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yC42wTY3RPY[/ame]
And this is my FINAL (hopefully) setup. All I need left is a skimmer. I will be using my old berlin skimmer temporarily until I get a better one (either octopus or eshoppe)
dcantucson
Reef pro
Looks like you've solved your problem Wonton. It looks good too. Did you do all that plumbing or did your hubby help?
wontonflip
Reef expert
- Location
- VA USA
Thanks! Yeah, it seems to be still running :) We both did it. Usually, when i start fiddling with the plumbing he'll start sniffing around (he's a big diy'er). I was playing wiith a layout for which way the pipes would run best, and he offered tweaks. He glued it up for me. I think the best idea was to bolt the piping to the house w/ brackets.
wontonflip
Reef expert
- Location
- VA USA
DIY Float Switch for ATO. For X'mas, my husband ordered 3 float switches (cost him a total of $8 or something). We're just now getting around to putting it together.
He took an extension cord, exposed the wires, hooked it up to the switch, sealed it, and put electric tape just as added protection, even though it was already sealed.
To give the switch a smooth water surface, we took a spare PVC pipe (4" diameter", drilled a big hole to let water in, and attached an acrylic base to help steady it. Hopefully the water inside will keep it stable that I don't have to anchor it to the side of the sump.
Then, we cut slits at the top of the PVC, slid another piece of acrylic that will hold the float switch in place.
The idea, of course, is to give the float switch a smooth water level because the water in the sump is turbulent from all the water flow.
It will be hooked up to the dosing pump, which will of course pull water from my rodi water reserve, and into the intake part of the sump.
That's the idea LOL I'm waiting for the silicone to dry & cure overnight, then I can test it. It's not the prettiest, but who cares....no one but me will see it, and it was dirt cheap! :mrgreen: Total cost, including the dose pump, probably $20-25 in parts.
A shot of it before we siliconed it together. The hole, of course, is to allow the water to enter. The slit on top is where we put in the piece of acrylic that will hold the float switch. You see the float switch on the tabletop next to it.
A view from the top...testing to make sure everything fits. See how the acrylic was slid into the slits.
Waiting for the silicone to dry at the base :) The PVC and acrylic base are the only things siliconed in. The float switch and its acrylic at the top are removable.
He took an extension cord, exposed the wires, hooked it up to the switch, sealed it, and put electric tape just as added protection, even though it was already sealed.
To give the switch a smooth water surface, we took a spare PVC pipe (4" diameter", drilled a big hole to let water in, and attached an acrylic base to help steady it. Hopefully the water inside will keep it stable that I don't have to anchor it to the side of the sump.
Then, we cut slits at the top of the PVC, slid another piece of acrylic that will hold the float switch in place.
The idea, of course, is to give the float switch a smooth water level because the water in the sump is turbulent from all the water flow.
It will be hooked up to the dosing pump, which will of course pull water from my rodi water reserve, and into the intake part of the sump.
That's the idea LOL I'm waiting for the silicone to dry & cure overnight, then I can test it. It's not the prettiest, but who cares....no one but me will see it, and it was dirt cheap! :mrgreen: Total cost, including the dose pump, probably $20-25 in parts.
A shot of it before we siliconed it together. The hole, of course, is to allow the water to enter. The slit on top is where we put in the piece of acrylic that will hold the float switch. You see the float switch on the tabletop next to it.
A view from the top...testing to make sure everything fits. See how the acrylic was slid into the slits.
Waiting for the silicone to dry at the base :) The PVC and acrylic base are the only things siliconed in. The float switch and its acrylic at the top are removable.
wontonflip
Reef expert
- Location
- VA USA
It'll be more exciting if it works LOL I have a 3 day trip coming up, and I was hoping to not need the petsitter to care for the fish. I was just going to feed them on friday morning, skip saturday, then feed them when I get home on Sunday. The only thing I would have needed someone to take care of was topping off. At least I have almost 3 months to have it run to test it.
dcantucson
Reef pro
Hopefully you won't have to cancel you trip! :mrgreen:
wontonflip
Reef expert
- Location
- VA USA
LOL I can't cancel :) I'm in a wedding...so this HAS to work.
We just did a trial run in buckets, and it worked great! The real test will be seeing how it does over a month period. If it fails, I have another month to come up with something else.
We just did a trial run in buckets, and it worked great! The real test will be seeing how it does over a month period. If it fails, I have another month to come up with something else.