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Unread 12/21/2017, 09:28 AM   #2508
ggdowski
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Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Brighton/Pittsford, NY
Posts: 494
I have the SCA 90. It is about 3yrs old and I bought it second hand. I like the triton method because it is founded on trying to keep the tank as stable as possible on a day to day basis. Unless you are changing water on a daily basis -- that goal is not the same. I think the decision is based on what level of "stability" you want and how important you believe that to be in reef-keeping. Neither approach is wrong. Neither is maintenance free.

If you pursue the triton method, here are the things to ponder about the SC 90.

I have two drains, one that was modified by the last owner. One is a 3/4" and the other is a 1". It is setup as a Herbie system. HOWEVER.... you will never get the 10x flow that triton wants with that 3/4" drain. I had to reverse the herbie and use the 3/4" as the emergency and the 1" as the primary. That poses risk in overflowing the tank. I mitigated that risk by putting a level sensor on the tank so that the Apex system I have can shut down the return pump if the water level flows high. Neptune sets up those sensors so that the default turns off the pump (ie. if the sensor gets unplugged). It also sends me an email if it experiences an issue. Not entirely fail safe -- but tolerable.

I also feel that the walls of the area used to create the drain --- are TOO HIGH and they are glass. That makes the water level in my tank only about 3/4" from the top of the tank. That makes me very nervous when I'm trying to achieve return pump rates of about 1000G/hr.

If I had to do it all over again, I would ask Steve to create a coast to coast drain system with at least 2 1" drains but would probably even go as high as 1.25" drains.


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