450 Gallon Peninsula Display

[mcrist]

Originally posted by Briankook
mcrist, wow, your setup is really nice. I noticed that you live in Allentown, I'm in Reading. I purchased my tank at TFP.

Even though I have not updated my thread in a long time, here it is: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...e&pagenumber=1

I also just purchased the Deltec 902, you'll love it!

Did you have good experience with Envision Acrylics? Are they close to us?

I'm in the process of building a new facility for my company. I want a peninsula tank in my lobby. You are giving me some great ideas!

I actually live in Breinigsville but nobody would ever know where that is but everyone heard of Allentown (thanks Billy Joel). I work in Reading/Wyomissing so I am in your area everyday. Man do I hate 222.

I love That Pet Place; you can’t beat their prices anywhere. I buy all my salt there.

I am having a hard time with my new Deltec. It just seems to go crazy every once and a while and pump out barely colored water. Tonight I had a flood when it did it again and drained 20 gallons.

I had a great experience with Envision Acrylics, I would highly recommend James. Unfortunately he is not local, he is actually from Oregon. Yes, it did cost a lot to freight it but it was worth it.

You may gladly come see my tank if you are in the area.

[SunnyX]

This is exacty what I am looking to do with my next tank project in the future, although my tank will be bigger. Probebly 10'x5'x3'.

Keep the pics coming!!!

[Briankook]

mcrist, thanks for the reply. Can you explain in more detail what is wrong with your Deltec? Maybe I can help.

[mcrist]

Originally posted by Briankook
mcrist, thanks for the reply. Can you explain in more detail what is wrong with your Deltec? Maybe I can help.

The problem I am having with my new Deltec 902 skimmer is that it produces some skimmate then all of a sudden it starts to produce a lot of white skimmate that floods the collection cup and fills my waste container. Nothing changes in the tank when this surge happens. The skimmer is gravity fed and I have the water level set to just below the bayonet. I am guessing I have between 500 to 750 gph going through the skimmer. In order for me to get the water level to the bayonet I needed to partially close the exit valve, maybe a quarter turn. I also have the air valves set to about the 2 oclock position. I don’t think I can close the air valves any more since it makes the Eheim pumps rattle. I believe I have it setup according to directions.

[Briankook]

I had that happen when I first set it up a few months back: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...ight=briankook

It has not acted up since then. I also have my return partially closed, although Doug does not recommend this. I have my air valves open all the way.

How long has it been running? Are you still having the same problem?

The only difference is that your setup is gravity fed & mine is pump fed. hmmm

[mcrist]

Two new photos taken on 11-08-2006.

[tony13]

System looks great. I have a question about the pipes right before they enter the sump, you seem to have a T setup, what are they for?
I might also have a idea for your skimmer feed. I have four 1 1/2" drain going into a 3" pipe. The skimmer is then T'ed off with a ball valve. It's hard to tell how yours is setup. Here's a pics to see the piping by the skimmer.

[Treg]

Hey mcrist.

Love the tank, you did a fine job!

Another AP902 via Gravity feed user here.
A couple things you might want to check on:

For starters, Unplug your eheim pumps and remove the collection cup, leave everything else running as normal. Watch the water level inside the skimmer body for several minutes and see if your getting any surge from your drain line (water level going up and down). If your drain is sucking air it can cause surging once and awile, that could cause random overflows of the cup.

How long is the run from your skimmer drain line and is it uphill at all?
Much back pressure could also cause overflows.

If all else fails you might want to try reducing the water input slightly?

[mcrist]

Originally posted by tony13
System looks great. I have a question about the pipes right before they enter the sump, you seem to have a T setup, what are they for?
I might also have a idea for your skimmer feed. I have four 1 1/2" drain going into a 3" pipe. The skimmer is then T'ed off with a ball valve. It's hard to tell how yours is setup. Here's a pics to see the piping by the skimmer.

The T idea I got from marino420td. It’s supposed to help micro bubble in the sump. It isn’t complete but it is doing an ok job right now and I wanted to stop changing things for awhile so I can finally enjoy my tank a little.

Below is a photo of my protein skimmer feed. I believe it is similar to your design except I used all hard plumbing. Their is a ball valve on the 1 inch feed but it is close to the skimmer and you can’t see it in the photo. Currently the one ball valve is completely shut and all the water from the one 2 inch drain is going into the protein skimmer.

[mcrist]

Originally posted by Treg
Hey mcrist.

Love the tank, you did a fine job!

Another AP902 via Gravity feed user here.
A couple things you might want to check on:

For starters, Unplug your eheim pumps and remove the collection cup, leave everything else running as normal. Watch the water level inside the skimmer body for several minutes and see if your getting any surge from your drain line (water level going up and down). If your drain is sucking air it can cause surging once and awile, that could cause random overflows of the cup.

How long is the run from your skimmer drain line and is it uphill at all?
Much back pressure could also cause overflows.

If all else fails you might want to try reducing the water input slightly?

Thanks for compliments. I am not happy with it yet but I will continue to improve on what I already have.

I did notice that I occasionally a get a small surge from my overflow or at least I think that is where I am getting it. I will try your idea tonight so I can determine where it is coming from.

The skimmer drain line is about 2 to 3 feet long and it does not go uphill at all.

I am hesitant to reduce the water input because I already feel that I have less than the recommend 800gph going through my skimmer.

[mcrist]

I noticed this on Deltec's website the other day.

Use of a Deltec Skimmer on a New Aquarium Setup.

Excessive Bubble Syndrome

We get many calls and emails from people new to the hobby or to Deltec skimmers about high levels of foaming or micro bubbles that are returning to their aquariums from their new Deltec skimmer.

This can be quite normal and is a result of the salt water that they have produced not as yet being mature enough for the high performance of the Deltec skimmers.

Many brands of salt used for aquarium water are made up from component parts to reproduce the elements found in natural sea water.

One of the additives introduced to many salts is a conditioning agent which is put in to react with heavy metals and toxins in the water and neutralise their negative effect.

The down side of these additives is that they can increase the surface tension of the water and enable bubbles to hold their form much longer than would be natural with mature salt water.

This effect obviously disappears as the water stabilises and reacts with waste in the system but until it does it causes many people concern which results in a call or an email to us.

To convince yourself of this fact just look at the bubbles in the skimmer cup. They effervesce like when you open a bottle of fizzy pop, which is not how mature water reacts in a skimmer. The bubbles also smell very clean and when you watch them in the tank you will see that they do not burst for an unusually long period of time.

Once the water has matured or the conditioners have been skimmed out then the problem will go away.

Problems reported are:

- My skimmer is producing excessive foam and filling the cup with a clear liquid

- Lots of small bubbles are returning to my aquarium.

These comments are most often reported on the MC500 and MCE600 models, probably as these are more often bought by people new to Deltec Skimmers or with new tank setups however both of these issues are indicative of the water maturation issue detailed above.

This problem is uncommon on many basic skimmers and is indicative of the incredible amount of air produced by the Deltec units.

What can you do?

The only solution to this issue is to until the water matures so that the surface tension drops and the bubbles disappear.This process can take from a few days to a number of weeks to clear completely but can be accelerated by observing the following tips.

- If the water is very new and there are excessive bubbles which continue to fill the cup with a clear liquid then the best initial course of action may be to switch the unit off for a week or so and then try it again. Most people having bought a nice new skimmer are reluctant to do this however during the initial stages there is little in the

water to skim and the waste helps greatly to react with the salt compounds and mature the water faster.

If the cup is overfilling with bubbles try smearing a little Vaseline around the top of the cup and air vent to burst the bubbles and to run the clear liquid back into the skimmer.

- If the problem is not as acute than this and it is only excessive small bubbles returning to the tank then either live with it for a while whilst the water matures or again switch the skimmer off or only run it on a night when you can not see the bubbles.

Please note that the pumps on the MC500 and MCE 600 either pump water, when the air tap is closed, or an air water mix when the tap is open. Many people when they start seeing bubbles appearing in their tank instinctively close down the air supply which reduces the air intake but also increases the water flow and washes the everlasting bubbles out of the skimmer and into the tank.

- In both cases feeding the tank reasonably heavily will add waste products for the sterile salt solution to react with - even if there are no fish or creatures in the tank.

- Do not carry out large, (if any), water changes at this point as you are just adding to the problem by introducing more of the conditioning agents.

And finally

Of all of the people that we have explained this to - none have come back to us after 2-3 weeks and said that it had not gone away.

This sounds like the problem I am having. I am at the end of my third week so I will see if it made any difference.

[tony13]

mcrist if the problem continues the only thing I would try different would be to change your "Y" to a "T" having the water flow go straight down towards the skimmer and the excess overflowing to the sump. There's a good schematic of the plumbing design on the Deltec forum under gravity feeding skimmers.

[mcrist]

Originally posted by Treg
Hey mcrist.

Love the tank, you did a fine job!

Another AP902 via Gravity feed user here.
A couple things you might want to check on:

For starters, Unplug your eheim pumps and remove the collection cup, leave everything else running as normal. Watch the water level inside the skimmer body for several minutes and see if your getting any surge from your drain line (water level going up and down). If your drain is sucking air it can cause surging once and awile, that could cause random overflows of the cup.

How long is the run from your skimmer drain line and is it uphill at all?
Much back pressure could also cause overflows.

If all else fails you might want to try reducing the water input slightly?

I unplugged the two Eheim pumps and I did get some surges from the drain line in the protein skimmer. I tried a couple of modifications to the overflow but nothing stopped the surges. Any suggestions?

[scarletknight06]

you need a ball valve or gate valve after the TEE on the return line and before the input into the skimmer. that way the input to the skimmer is always constant and the surges and other water flow get directed in the other direction of the TEE

[mcrist]

Originally posted by scarletknight06
you need a ball valve or gate valve after the TEE on the return line and before the input into the skimmer. that way the input to the skimmer is always constant and the surges and other water flow get directed in the other direction of the TEE

That's exactly how I have it set up but I have the ball valve all the way open. I guess I will try adjusting it to see if I can get it the way I want. My concern was that I wouldn't get enough water through a 1 inch PVC to allow for 800 GPH for the protein skimmer. So I had the one ball valve going to the sump completely shut and the other one going to the protein skimmer completely open.

[scarletknight06]

you need to allow for more flow through the drain than the amount you want through the skimmer, so you can have the amount you want through the skimmer, and the excess and surging going to the sump.

I would replumb the drain line that I see you have feeding the skimmer. get rid of the 45 degree elbow at the top and put the Tee there with the ball/gate valve on the bottom, then have this part feed the skimmer. have the water going at 90 degrees from the drain line go into the sump. you dont need a valve on that line unless you really want one. This should allow for a constant water flow to the skimmer.
HTH

[mcrist]

I was thinking that I might need to do that. Bummer, I hate plumbing.

[scarletknight06]

I know what you mean. I had the same problem and had to replumb last time I set up my tank, however on a much smaller scale.

[hatfielj]

Very nice tank. I really like how you left the tank open on top. My wife wants me to do this with our new 120 I'm setting up in a few months. She really likes the look of no canopy with a light fixture hanging from the ceiling. The only draw back to it is the glare from the light when you're sitting down looking at the tank. But, I think I can live with that.

[mcrist]

Originally posted by hatfielj
Very nice tank. I really like how you left the tank open on top. My wife wants me to do this with our new 120 I'm setting up in a few months. She really likes the look of no canopy with a light fixture hanging from the ceiling. The only draw back to it is the glare from the light when you're sitting down looking at the tank. But, I think I can live with that.

I don't have any glare from my tank because of the 4' width. I also have less light than what most people want.

[Treg]

You can try slowing down your drain some. Then, if needed, close the ball valve on the skimmer exit to raise the water level inside the skimmer.

[thor32766]

thats a beautiful tank for sure.

[thor32766]

thats a beautiful tank for sure.

[tcmfish]

you said before that you have two of the three drain pipes open maybe in the overflow make the one operating the skimmer the lowest so it gets as much flow as possible and then have the other one your using pick up the extra and the third still be a backup that way you have more flow in the pipe leading to the skimmer with more pressure. also make the valve as close to the skimmer as possible to build up some pressure in the line to keep the flow consistent. i suggest this because i think one 2'' drain could handle your 1500 gph and that way you would have more flow going through the pipe so all the flow from that pipe wouldn't lead to the skimmer

[tcmfish]

i also must say i love the tank i really like the nice large corals