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View Full Version : NOT SO TOTM TANK TOUR... help me update my equipment (pics included)


giller
03/27/2008, 09:25 AM
These are pictures of the nuts and bolts of my filtration system. The system is a 6' 135 that has been set up since I got into this hobby six years ago. The cabunet dimensions are 72x18x27. As you will see the filtration is somewhat a patchwork of equipment from when I knew nothing in my early days that I am constantly fighting with to keep my levels in check. If there is anything that offends you know that you are only making the system better. Tough love can be tolerated in this forum. I just want to make things as good as I invisioned them being when I got into the hobby.

What I am striving for in my system is a really clean, "crisp" to use a word I like to use, FOWLR. Basically coralline algae, really clean, clear water, pretty much a modern reef without the corals. Corals have never done much for me and I would rather not add an extra variable at this time that I will not appreciate. Plus I like butterflys and angels too much. The system will be stocked on the heavier side with smaller fish (wrasses, gobies, cardinals, pygmys, etc).

After trading out once small fish that had become huge I am left with this current fish list...

-Powder Blue Tang
-Semi BF
-percula clown (will be finding a mate)
-3 huge blue/green chromis
-1 yellowtail damsel
-1 diamond sandsifter goby

SO here is the system...

http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk73/dgiller/IMG_1902.jpg

This first picture is the left side of the cabinet. The sump is a tiny little wet/dry. The first bulkhead is the main inlet from the over flow (white flex hose). Right nest to it is the main return powered by a Pentair "Quiet One" pump, not sur eof the rating as this was a hand me down. The bulkhead to the far right is an inlet for the closed loop. I think you can see it at the top of the photo and the sand is getting changed out to a finer grain (very slow process). The red/grey valve is the valve for the skimmer. Bags ont eh bottom are carbon and nitrate sponge. There are an abundance of sponges and I still have bioballs which I thin could be contributing to my consistant nitrate problems. I am thinking of making my own sump to create and actualy bubble trap that doesnt produce lots of nitrate, suggestions on size and blueprint are welcome.

http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk73/dgiller/IMG_1901.jpg

This is the right side of the cabinet. Right bulkhead is another inlet of the closed loop and the left bulkhead is the return. So green tubing is in and brown tubing is out. The return is an Iwaki 30RLT. The canister filter has the standard filter that come with it and carbon in the middle. UV is a corallife turbo twist which will probably be gotten rid of as I am not sure of the flow rate through it to actually have it do something and I havent done matinence on it in a long while. I believe I need to increase the flow in my tank the main retun off of the "quiet one" the closed loop 30RLT and a seio 1500 powerhead (again hand me down) is the only flow in the tank

http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk73/dgiller/IMG_1903.jpg

Final picture is the skimmer PM Bullet 2. Opinions on the skimmer good/bad/more capacity for bioload are also appreciated.

I feel like I have just given everyone a tour of my dirty laundry but improvements must be made. Thanks to anyone who decides to help out, it is really appreciated

- Dave

giller
03/27/2008, 02:07 PM
^

drstupid
03/27/2008, 02:49 PM
i had the same W/D on my first system! it's still in my basement for nostalgia's sake.

things you can do tonight: ditch the bioballs and the drip tray, stick a piece of 1" pvc in the other side of the BH from where it enters down below the level of the water in the sump so the noise doesn't drive you nuts. it maybe a threaded BH and require a MPTxslip fitting, i can't remember.

all that floss and all those sponges are definitely nitrate sinks and you should get rid of every one you don't feel you need to control microbubbles or prevent damage to your pump.

doesn't that big U in your drain line cause all sorts of surging?

giller
03/27/2008, 07:02 PM
suprisingly no, but I do have ANOTHER sponge in that top trey to stop that hehe. AND another cylinder sponge in the overflow that looks like the one in the first picture. You should see how much fish crap I deal with doing maintence.

Would I be better served to use a filter sock on that PVC that will be going dowm into the sump you suggested?


Thanks for your reply.

- Dave

The0wn4g3
03/27/2008, 08:56 PM
Hmm, plumbing's pretty good with all that going on!
I would first recommend removing all the sponges that don't have water being forced directly through them.
Any pictures of the tank? What does it look like?
The bioballs will be perfectly fine if you want to leave them in, but if you do remove them do it slowly, maybe a handful each day.
I don't know much at all about the ocean encounters canister filter, but if it's anything like other canister filters I would remove it. You can achieve that type of filtration in other simpler and easier ways.
PM makes good skimmers. Unless you just have some money burning your pocket, I'd keep it.
Filter socks >>> sponges =)

Personally, I would say a refugium as big as you can fit under there (which would be pretty dang big) would be the easiest and most effective means of filtration for that type of tank.

Don't be so ashamed of the setup, I've seen a lot worse! Have some pride in your stuff man! hahaha

Dustin1300
03/27/2008, 09:21 PM
Agreed with TheOwn4g3! Mine is much worse, have not even got a refugium built! I'd also like to even own the RC and a bigger tank...hopefully within the next year!

DarG
03/27/2008, 09:26 PM
Just my opinion ...

get rid of anything that is meant to stop microbubble or trap particulate matter ... filter pads, floss, sponges and ocean clear filter. Let your drain dump directly into a 100 micron filter sock. Let your skimmer dum into the same one if possible or a second one IF you get microbubbles from the skimmer return.
Those filter socks will keep your sump 100% clean and trap virtually all microbubbles.

Placing powerhead or two behind rock work shooting across tank works great for keeping detritus and food from settling behind the rocks. Good circulation in rest of the tank will keep detrius and food particles suspended in water column as well and ultimately picked up by the overflow and trapped by the 100 micron sock.

Change filter sock atleast twice per week or when they are ready to overflow, whichever comes first. The socks last for a long time, they can be cleaned and re-used over and over.

Doing the above will help you drop your nitrates or help prevent them from becoming an issue at some point.

I would remove the bioballs a little bit at a time over the course of a few weeks. Actually, I would just remove them all at once if you have a bunch of live rock but I wont suggest you do it "just in case". Nitrifying bacteria doesnt choose bioballs instead of live rock and sand bed to colonize so you should have plenty in the LR and substrate. But just in case, remove them in bits.

Of course I dont expect you to do this. Old school filtration can be hard to leave behind. But I had similiar filtration a good while back now ... filter pads, sponges, cansiter filter (including ocean clear at one point) and I am so glad I removed all of that mess. I kept them pretty clean but what a relief to not have to maintain that stuff any more and it was great when I accepted and realized the fact that I didnt need it, period.

Good Luck.

The0wn4g3
03/27/2008, 09:42 PM
Hey DarG, thanks for posting in my fulham v icecap thread. I talked to the guys that you mentioned and found out exactly what I needed =)

And just as an example, simplicity is the best!
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y117/The0wnage/Filtration001.jpg

DarG
03/28/2008, 07:56 AM
Youre welcome. Dont know if my memory of the issue was close or not but glad that i could help you get the info you wanted.

giller
03/28/2008, 09:10 AM
DarG, couldnt agree more, cleaning that canister sucks it always take 5 or 6 tries to get a good seal when skrewing the top back on. I always have a tarp and PT as there is always a miny flood, makes me cring just thinking about it.


I think the filter sock will be a good idea as all of the gunk will be localized and I just have to clean one really dirty thing alot than a bunch of things a little bit.


Thanks everybody for your help. Anyone else is free to chime in. I think this thread is pretty good for helping people move to the next level in the hobby and helping them, as DarG said, part with out equipment that is a hassle.

drstupid
03/28/2008, 10:06 AM
save the cannister filter, it's good for "polishing" the water when you do periodic major maintenance (like blasting your rocks with a powerhead, or topping off your sandbed). and it's good for running carbon in if you run into a situation where you think you've got some sort of contamination or toxin in the water.

i wouldn't keep it on all the time though and definitely empty it out and clean it when its not in use.

when you use it for the occasional polishing, if you stick it in a bucket you can highly localize potential messes. i run my mag 350 in a bucket when it's used for these purposes.

giller
03/28/2008, 10:43 AM
so you wold connect and disconnect it from the entire closed loop? I dont know how I wold do this since it is directly in line. Would running it without the fanlike circular filter in the middle and just carbon bags be better than that fan thing that looks like an oil filter? that thing can definately be a nitrate factory (ie brown slime)

drstupid
03/28/2008, 11:00 AM
yes, i'd remove it from the closed loop. if it doesn't have its own pump, then it may not be useful for occasional polishing since it'll be such a pain to incorporate it back into the circulation system.

DarG
03/28/2008, 11:22 AM
I'd just get rid of it. The 100 Micron filter sock will take care of everything all the time. Buy 10 or a dozen of them, you can wash them in the wasing machine with hot water and some bleach.
If you devise a system that makes it easy to install and remove the socks then it isnt a chore at all.

I have a 20 gallon sump. Basic old school type with drip tray and section for bioballs with a dividing wall to contain the bioballs. I removed the slide out drip tray. I cut a sheet of acrylic the same size and cut two large holes in it to hold two large filter socks. I cut a sheet for the top cover of the sump and cut holes for my overflow drain hoses and my skimmer return hose. The holes were cut to hold PVC fittings that fit my drain hoses and my skimmer return hose. Female threaded fittings on top set up tp hold the hoses and male PVC fittings underneath to secure the fittings in the holes with O-rings to seal so no salt creep on top of the acrylic cover. These fittings are centered over the filter bags in the acrylic sheet underneath.

I then cut an opening in the dividing wall of the sump so I can just slide the filter sock drawer in and out to replace them with clean ones. My sump is only about 10" wide and I left I inch side edges and maybe 6 inches of a bottom strip of the acrylic to keep the sump rigid and prevent bowing. Works great. If I cut the entire wall off I think the sump would probably bow, the acrylic isnt very thick, maybe 1/8" or 3/16". So I just cut the passage through it. I also glued two narrow acrylic runners on the side walls of the sump so that the filter bag tray can slide out the entire length of the sump. That way, I never have to remove the acrylic top with the drain hoses to get the filter bags out.


I run carbon only occassionally so I made a reactor out of PVC. Used 2" PVC pipe with threaded caps. I use threaded hose barb fittings in the caps for in and out hosing connections. Sandwhich the carbon between some filter floss and run it with a small power head for a couple of days before water changes of when I think I need to. I just drop it in the sump. Easy to set up and then easy to clean.

I use GFO phosphate binding media in a TLF 150 phosphate reactor run with a small power head. I run it 24/7. The reactor hangs on the outside of the sump. I have two small bulkheads through the side wall of the sump so I run the plumbing of the reactor through wall. That way I take up as little room in the sump as needed and the tubing stays neat. Leaves the sump uncluttered and makes for easier removal and insallation of the filter socks with no hoses from the reactor to get in the way.

Sorry for the book but I just wanted to provide a few detailed examples of little DIY things that help make routine maintanence easier.

giller
03/28/2008, 11:48 AM
To make this thread more interesting a few fish pics and some others some are kinda washed out b/c of the flash...


Semi BF that Ive had for about 3 years
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk73/dgiller/DSC_0004.jpg

Powder Blue for 4 years
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk73/dgiller/DSC_0003.jpg

Threespot I had for about 2 years that got huge and was traded off unfortunately. had lots of personality
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk73/dgiller/DSC_0006.jpg

Pair of Potters that I unfortunately lost. The big guy died of flukes I believe judging from his last days and the tiny guy got bossed around by a make crosshatch and I could never get him out, really frustrating
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk73/dgiller/DSC_001413-24-54.jpg

Me doing what I love best besides fish tanks accompanied by a big old striper..actually I think this is the smallest one we caught all summer. Tuna season was real slow but these guys were all over the place.
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk73/dgiller/IMG_1331.jpg

Finally two of like 40 huge humpbacks that we would see everyday.
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk73/dgiller/IMG_1683.jpg

drstupid
03/28/2008, 01:14 PM
you may want to keep the bioballs in with those humpbacks.