Squirrel's 40g CAD, my dream build

[Reduck]

Looks nice..
Hopefully the new piece of seed rock you purchase is big. I like minimalist rock work myself but I think you need more. 15lbs isn't enough to adequately house enough bacteria for 30g + sump volume. I'd try for at least 10-15lbs more. If you don't want to clutter the DT, put it in the sump.

 

[LILBUDDHA]

Don't u just love it when u decide to take your time and " do it right " ..
I took a hiatus too, due to health reasons but have a small tank now . I see you caught the skimmer pump issue . On the RO and Vertex you have to get your hand wet to adjust the air intake on the volute . It would have been a pain to adjust it with the volute facing away from u . (good catch ) . I love it when the control equipment is in a dry area by itself . U can't get corrosion that way . U even stepped it up a notch so u can see most of it .
Just a few things I would think about . The Fiji pink is my favorite sand but it's too fine and will get blown around a bit . Pukani rock has a lot of pores in it . As a result it builds up and traps detritus pretty quick . It also leaches phos n such like a champ . Getting it cleaned up and wet with some lanthium chloride or a lot of gfo soaked in a bucket with circulation will help in the long run .
Great build and I look forward to seeing what you stock it with . Welcome Back !!

 

[masterbuilder]

Looks fantastic. I would however remove the entire portion of the shelf above the skimmer section or even better make the entire shelf easily removable. You wont be able to tip the sump with water in it and tipping the sump even without water in it is a bad idea overtime. Also the hassle of removing the skimmer will reduce the frequency skimmer maintenance you might want to do. Ease of sump maintenance is one of the keys to long term success. Looks great otherwise.

p.s. IMO..you have enough rock. I have less and its been working fine for a long long time.

 

[squirrelieygrrrl]

Nice clean build!

Thank you!!

Looks nice..
Hopefully the new piece of seed rock you purchase is big. I like minimalist rock work myself but I think you need more. 15lbs isn't enough to adequately house enough bacteria for 30g + sump volume. I'd try for at least 10-15lbs more. If you don't want to clutter the DT, put it in the sump.

I'll keep that in mind, depending on my bio load and nutrient export methods it may be necessary. I am planning on running a zeovit reactor which may make up for the lack in live rock.

Don't u just love it when u decide to take your time and " do it right " ..
I took a hiatus too, due to health reasons but have a small tank now . I see you caught the skimmer pump issue . On the RO and Vertex you have to get your hand wet to adjust the air intake on the volute . It would have been a pain to adjust it with the volute facing away from u . (good catch ) . I love it when the control equipment is in a dry area by itself . U can't get corrosion that way . U even stepped it up a notch so u can see most of it .
Just a few things I would think about . The Fiji pink is my favorite sand but it's too fine and will get blown around a bit . Pukani rock has a lot of pores in it . As a result it builds up and traps detritus pretty quick . It also leaches phos n such like a champ . Getting it cleaned up and wet with some lanthium chloride or a lot of gfo soaked in a bucket with circulation will help in the long run .
Great build and I look forward to seeing what you stock it with . Welcome Back !!

Thanks for all your kind words! I'm doing my best to "do it right" any way. It's all theoretical till I get water in the thing. Lol.

I still need to flip the feet over on the skimmer pump but yeah I realized it wasn't going to work facing the other way. Thanks so much for the compliments on my command center, I've dubbed it "Houston".

Thanks for your suggestions, I've used much finer sand in the past with little issues, but you may be right with the increased flow this time around with this one (This is my second build with this tank). I hadn't heard that about the pukani rock, do you have any links with that info? Or links to the lanthium chloride method?

Looks fantastic. I would however remove the entire portion of the shelf above the skimmer section or even better make the entire shelf easily removable. You wont be able to tip the sump with water in it and tipping the sump even without water in it is a bad idea overtime. Also the hassle of removing the skimmer will reduce the frequency skimmer maintenance you might want to do. Ease of sump maintenance is one of the keys to long term success. Looks great otherwise.

p.s. IMO..you have enough rock. I have less and its been working fine for a long long time.

Thank you! I think I've worked past my skimmer issue, I've widened the holes in the shelf ever so slightly so I can now remove it with the standpipe, cup and pump removed for servicing. Fingers crossed it will work in practice. I realized tipping the sump is neither ideal or feasible. Wish me luck that all of these little kinks get worked out!

 

[LILBUDDHA]

Thank you!!






Thanks for all your kind words! I'm doing my best to "do it right" any way. It's all theoretical till I get water in the thing. Lol.

I still need to flip the feet over on the skimmer pump but yeah I realized it wasn't going to work facing the other way. Thanks so much for the compliments on my command center, I've dubbed it "Houston".

Thanks for your suggestions, I've used much finer sand in the past with little issues, but you may be right with the increased flow this time around with this one (This is my second build with this tank). I hadn't heard that about the pukani rock, do you have any links with that info? Or links to the lanthium chloride method?


Pm me an email address. I will glady send the info your way .

 

[squirrelieygrrrl]

I think your response got deleted. Lol

Edit: never mind, I'm a dork and didn't expand.

 

[StikHedRon]

Very Nice, Coming along very well!

 

[squirrelieygrrrl]

Very Nice, Coming along very well!

Thanks! I'm paused for the moment while I cure that dry rock and get the hardwood flooring installed in the living room next week. It should finally be wet after the 16th.

 

[squirrelieygrrrl]

Getting there! Another week and I can put water in it!

 

[LILBUDDHA]

That is one pretty setup ..

 

[TaylorPilot]

This might end up being one of the nicest 40 gallon tanks I've ever seen. You have spared no expense or detail. Everything is top notch!

 

[squirrelieygrrrl]

Thanks guys! I'm super excited about how this whole thing is turning out.

 

[revhtree]

WOW what a beautiful set up! Well done!

 

[squirrelieygrrrl]

Alright guys, I could use a little help!

Finally got water in the thing yesterday, however I can not seem to get my drain to perform correctly. No matter what I do I'm getting too much air sucked down into the sump. Here's the details:

1" drain full 1" plumbing all the way down, gate valve closer to the tank. I've tried both the hoffer and a durso with little difference, trying various combinations of airline, no air line, different heights. Playing with how far my gate is open and closed (which I am not keen on anyway.

3/4 return all the way through, with a pump that does a maximum of 956 gph. I've tried choking it back to a point of there being very little turn over 500gph approx. Even still there is little difference. The amount of microbubbles and foam where the drain meets the sump is obscene. Any suggestions out there? I've pretty much exhausted google searches.

 

[Shep]

Someone from the [HASHTAG]#reefsquad[/HASHTAG] should be able to help you, I personally know next to nothing about tank plumbing

 

[143MPCo]

Flip the drain around so the water has to run under the 1-1/2" coupling and down the drain.
That will muffle the drain and reduce the amount of air being pulling in with the water...

 

[143MPCo]

same concept as image below...

 

[Quinn123]

have you start using the zoe vite reactor yet? i bought one for months now and have not put it to use, because i heard that is a pain

 

[squirrelieygrrrl]

Someone from the [HASHTAG]#reefsquad[/HASHTAG] should be able to help you, I personally know next to nothing about tank plumbing

Thanks for checking in Shep!

Flip the drain around so the water has to run on the 1-1/2" coupling and down the drain.
That will muffle the drain and reduce the amount of air being pulling in with the water...

I should have mentioned I tried that too, lol. Not much of a difference.

Right now it's performing right with the gate valve choked down, though that's a bit scary considering I have no emergency drain should that gate get clogged.

I suppose I could get the moisture sensor from apex and have it shut down the pump in case of a failure.

 

[squirrelieygrrrl]

have you start using the zoe vite reactor yet? i bought one for months now and have not put it to use, because i heard that is a pain

Not yet, I just got wet yesterday. Though I plan on implementing their 14 day cycle regemine