Did I do it right? Rookie setting up 300g

[kimha]

Hello Big tank Gurus,

I just hook up the plumbing for my new 300g tank. As you can see, I don't have any plumbing experience so it looks pretty messy.

I removed the canopy and doors to show the inside plumbing. there is so much water flowing into the overflow box and into the sump. It sounds like I have a Jacuzzi and a waterfall in my living room now. There is only 1/2" before the water flow over the tank. I have just tab water in the tank right now to test the pumbing. I can not afford any flooding, as it would mean the end of my fish keeping hobby. Can you take a look and let me know if my plumbing looks okay?


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v343/beautyhorn/300internalview.jpg

This tank comes with 1 center overflow box. I bought it used so I am not sure if the previous owner had modified it or not. It has two 3/4" on the 2 sides which I connected 2 modular hoses to them. In the middle, there are two 1" bulkheads. The top one allows more water to be drained into the overflow box. I think the previous owner put it in to allow more water flow into the overflow box. The bottom bulkhead I am not sure what it is for so I connected it to my 1200gph external pump from the sump for additional flow.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v343/beautyhorn/overflowbox.jpg

Under the overflow box it has two 1" drains and two 3/4" returns.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v343/beautyhorn/undertheoverflowbox.jpg

I put a Tee on (the right side) the 1" drains to allow some of the water to go into the 40g breeder tank, to be used as a refugium. This 40g tank is drilled (with a 1" bulkhead) at the upper left corner to allow the water from the refugium to flow into the 30g sump.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v343/beautyhorn/40gbreederrefugium.jpg

The left side 1" drain goes to the 30g sump on the left. The water from the refugium and some of the water from the right drain also go to this sump. For return, I put a mag 18 inside the sump. I splitted the output into 2 (3/4") with a Tee, and they are connected to the two 3/4" returns under the overflow box. I also connected an external Dolphin pump 1200gph to an 3/4" hose. This hose runs behind the tank into the bottom 1" bulkhead that you see in the overflow box, which is used as an addition return.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v343/beautyhorn/30gtenecoresump.jpg

I built Durso pipes to reduce the noise, but there is just so much water flows into it, it sounds like a mini jacuzzi in there.



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v343/beautyhorn/dursodrainpipes.jpg


There is also so much water flowing into the sump, water splashing all over and sounds like I am standing next to Niagra Fall. I am still trying to come up with a solution to reduce the noise. Are my mag18 and dolphin pumps too much for this tank? Should I set up my plumbing differently? Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v343/beautyhorn/outputsplash.jpg

[Chaotic Reefer4u]

sweet...

[vair]

So does the sound come from your over flow or the sump?

[kimha]

The sound comes from both places. At the overflow box, every few seconds, the water gets suck down really fast like someone is flushing the toilet. Then it will stay quiet for a few seconds as water rise up slowly. The process repeats itself every few seconds.

At the sump, it sounds like a water fall due to so much water going down too fast I think. I am wondering how much water flow max can an 1" drain pipe supports? May be replacing the mag18 with a mag12 would help.

[DaveWC]

I'd start by turning off the Dolphin pump and seeing if the water level of the tank drops a bit. You've got a lot of flow for two 1" drains. Open the air valves on the dursos wider so more air gets in. The flushing sound comes from not enough air I believe. Lengthen the pipes going into the sump so the ends are submerged and that noise should lessen.

[Tremelle]

Are the pvc pipes of your plumbing supported in any way? I don't see any. If they are not supported you could be asking for problems down the road.

[kimha]

Thank you very much for your inputs. Now the noise is much less now with just mag18 running and the pvc pipes submerged under the sump water. I put in a small plastic plant at the bottom corner of the tank to check water movement. It looks water there isn't much water movement at the bottom of the tank. I am thinking about installing 2 Seio 1100 pumps/powerheads at the center overflow box and set the outputs facing the 2 sides of the tank. Is this the proper way to ensure enough water movement inside the tank? I was thinking about putting the 2 pumps on the 2 sides of the tank with the outputs facing the middle. But I want to hide the pumps from viewers.

[AcroSteve]

I would raise the water level in the overflow box. This will reduce some of the noise.

[Gisho]

Nice tank and good design/layout. Just a couple observations/recommendations:
1. I see a metal hose clamp in your overflow box connecting the return tubing. You may want to change that to a plastic clamp as the metal one will rust.
2. Where your pipes return into the sump and refugium, you may want to add some more piping so that they extend down into the sump and refugium a bit more (under the water line). Unless you are planning on adding filter socks, I imagine you would be experiencing quite a bit of splashing and salt creep which could eventually damage your stand.
3. Agree with Tremelle. You'll want to support the weight of those hanging pvc pipes, as the weight of them could cause them to break or cause the bulkheads to start leaking over time.
4. Purely aesthetic, but I would replace the clear vinyl tubing with black vinyl tubing now while it's still easy to do, as the clear vinyl tubing will become coated with green algae over time.

[Tigger240]

the flushing occurs because the air hole in the top cap is not big enough. i just went through this today as i put the finishing touches on my snapper replacing my mag 18.

fwiw - i replaced my 18 because it used 145 watts vs the 90 something that a snapper uses, and it flows up to 2500 gph. if your considering replacing your pump id consider doing something similar. consolidate your pump(s) into one energy efficent pump that performs better. after i did this i had to do major mods to my drains and there 1.5" x 2! i used a t with a cap and a 3/8" hole in the top and the other side i used a down turned elbow. i had to shave the t and the elbow because i have corner overflows on my 180. its pretty silent, im going to make an air intake silencer like they do for skimmers and see how that plays out.

also pm beananimal - hes got a way how to have a bubbless overflow thats dead silent. i dunno what it is, bc when i saw the thread i wasnt having noise issues. haha i got to look for it now.

[thor32766]

thats going to be an awesome tank, keep up the good work

[bryanth73]

a pan world 150 for the return (less heat in the tank) and put the dolphin on a closed loop for your flow that is alot of water going through the sump, also the dursos can be tuned by the air hose in the top cap. Also no check valves, I put one on and love it I just clean it every other month or so depending on how dirty it gets but it is great insurance. Also watch your plugs there is a lot of water splashing and your cords are next to it.

Looks good it will be fun

[kimha]

Thank you very much for all your suggestions. I have replaced all the metal clamps with plastic cable ties. the type that you put one end through the hole and pull it. It is cheap and quite effective. The PVC pipes have been secured with PVC plastic straps. I am ready to put in saltwater and begin my aquascaping now. Many thanks to all of you. I will continue posting pictures as soon as I have it setup and running.

Bryanth73 - What exactly is the check valve, what is it for and where should I place it?

[fe342185]

The toilet flushing effect comes from not enough air in your Durso. I did had a valve like yours on my 1.5" drain before also but i Ended up drilling 2 additional holes on the water go down smoothly. The valve is a great idea but in my opinion with that much water flow it is not enough air.

[kimha]

Thank you fe342185. I wanted to increase the air going into my Durso pipe. But for some reasons, I kept thinking about where to find a bigger air controller to fit a bigger hole. But never thought about creating multiple holes. I will drill a 2 more in each pipe to see what happen.

Thanks again for the idea.

[bryanth73]

check valve goes in the return side of your pump to prevent syphoning into the sump you dont need it on a closed loop only on the return pump

[kimha]

I didn't know about the check valve until yo explained it. When I first tested the setup, water got syphon into the sump and overflow all over my carpet. Had to spent a few hours vacumm up the water. I fixed it by drilling a hole into the return pipe inside the overflow box just above the water line. So when I turn off the pump, air would get suck into the pipe and stop the syphoning. But when the pump is on, I have a little bit of water leaking out at the small hole. But the water leak is not too bad and it goes right into the overflow box.

[NaH2Ofreak]

I would just go with the absolute bare minimum on your return pump. All the return pump needs to do is get water to and from your sump. All the in-tank circulation should come from closed loop and/or powerheads. I never really understood why people try to use huge return pumps for returns. Just creates more noise and possible flooding.

Dennis

[Cuervo]

Are those two holes on the front of the overflow box supposed to be the intake and return for a closed loop?

If you did use them, along with the dolphin pump for a CL, then you could pick quite a bit more flow without all that extra noise involved with going through the sump.

[kimha]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8451869#post8451869 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NaH2Ofreak
I would just go with the absolute bare minimum on your return pump. All the return pump needs to do is get water to and from your sump. All the in-tank circulation should come from closed loop and/or powerheads. I never really understood why people try to use huge return pumps for returns. Just creates more noise and possible flooding.

Dennis

NaH20freak - I do want to go with bare minimum on the return pump. From what I read from some "experts", I should have a minimum water flow rate of 6 to 10 times the total capacity. So with a 300g tank, minimum would be 1800gph. I am not sure if my information is accurate. I am leaning toward your in-tank circulation method. since I will have plenty of LR in the tank, the LR should take care of most of the biological filtration with good in-tank circulation.

[kimha]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8451886#post8451886 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Cuervo
Are those two holes on the front of the overflow box supposed to be the intake and return for a closed loop?

If you did use them, along with the dolphin pump for a CL, then you could pick quite a bit more flow without all that extra noise involved with going through the sump.

I bought this tank used so I am not sure what these 2 holes are for. But I think they were add-on by previous owner. Right now the top one is used to drain more water from the tank into the overflow box, then down to the sump. The bottom one is connected to the Dolphin pump to return the water from the sump back to the tank. May be they were meant for a close loop? I guess I can connect a pvc pipe from the top (drain) hole inside the overflow box, directly into the Dolphine pump and make it a close loop.

[cokemanmark]

looks good to me

[fe342185]

By the way, the small valve you attached on the Durso will create finer bubbles when it enters the sump which then acts like a mini protein skimmer. These small bubbles may find its way back into the tank. I drilled 1/8" holes on my durso which minimized the micro bubbles.

[jeffgp]

i know my tank is not a LARGE tank but i have a 2" down pipe and using 2-1" return lines . the best thing i can say is to make the incomming line go under water and try to advoid any splashing in the sump that will keep the noise down

[jay24k]

These are my suggestions which might of been stated already.

1. To stop flushing, drill another hole or make the other bigger. Each month remove the cap and clean it as it will clog and flushing begins anew

2. To stop the noise in the sump, do one of two things.
a. Have the pipe go under the level of the water by 1 inch.
b. Have it go under and angle backup.

Note: You can create a bubble tower which forces the bubbles UNDER a baffle which is made by glass/acrylic surrounding the pipe. Just an option.

These should help imo.

[paeSona]

everything looks good i would put live rock and sand in the refugium with some maidens hair and a low light

[kimha]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8461809#post8461809 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by paeSona
everything looks good i would put live rock and sand in the refugium with some maidens hair and a low light

Thank you very much for being gentle on the newbie. It was kinda embarassing showing my beginner's plumbing work: Hoses and pipes running all over the places.

I am in the process of filling up the tank with saltwater now. And will put in 400lbs of LR and 3 inches of sand. Since this will be FOWLR, I was told that I can set the Salinity as low as 1.020. I am wondering if this SG level would be okay for the refugium, which I plan to put in plants, Cheato, and grow/raise pods?

[jay24k]

I would honestly keep it at 1.025. It's not much more salt and if you do add something later, you won't have to worry. JMO.

[kimha]

thank you all for your valuable inputs. I managed to put in some LiveRocks and LiveSand today. This is what I have done since the last post.

1. fill up the tank with saltwater SG=1.025 and ran it empty for 1 week.

2. put in 300lbs of Live Rocks and 300lbs of Livesand today.

I started at 10am this morning and got everything done at 7pm. My arms were too short to do the aquascaping from outside so I dropped all the LRs into one corner of the tank, then put on my swimming trunk and jumped into the tank. With poor planning, the tank was full of water, so I can't moving around without completely submerged under the water. Even with a 300g tank, it is too small to swim in it. there is only enough room to craw around. But then I found out that as soon as I submerged my head under the water, my butt and legs would float up. There is something about saltwater that makes it hard to stay sunk at the bottom of the tank. At the end I ended up using one hand to push against the tank top ( center piece) and use the other hand to do the aquascaping. I only managed to move one piece of LR for each deep breath ( 15 seconds :D ). After 9 hours of completely marinated in synthetic salt water, this is what I ended up with:rollface:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v343/beautyhorn/300g2.jpg

here is a close up of the center aquascaping. I plan to have FOWLR, but want to have a few easy to keep soft corals around the center rocks. Something like green frogspawn, Mushroom, etc to make the fish feel more at home. What lighting would I need to keep basic softies? Would PC lights enough or do I need MH?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v343/beautyhorn/300gcenter.jpg

here is the left side with fake coral. The wife wanted to leave her mark too so she bought this huge white coral 24" wide, 30" tall for $300 bucks.



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v343/beautyhorn/300gleftside.jpg

Right now the tank has a few crabs, snails, and Star fishes. I plan to add butterfly fishes and a few angels. My favorites are Queen angels, Emporer angels, and majestic angels