Bubba's SPS Journey

[drawman]

Seems like you have enough space on either side to go bigger. Gotta maximize the room right?

 

[bubbaque]

We have water!

Last time I had to run multiple fans to keep the tank cool. This time I wanted to try and keep as many pumps out of the tank as possible so I went with an external pump this time. Curious to see how that helps with temps.

The previous sump was too tall and was a pain to get my skimmer out to clean. I built a new one that’s much shorter but a little wider to hold the same water.

Tonight I’m gonna work on the rock work and try and get that finished over the next couple days. Gonna try something a little different and go with the negative space rock work that Ryan at BRS has been showing off on his FB.

 

[DivingTheWorld]

Looks good. I'm curious on how easy it will be to clean out that pump though. Have you considered putting a valve before and after (at least after) so you can close the piping and remove the pump for cleaning? The rest of the time you could just leave them wide open. External pumps freak me out with the possibility of leaking but I'm an over thinker. I do feel it would definitely help with heat.

 

[drawman]

Are you doing all new rock?

 

[Wrangy]

In the infamous words of an Australian icon Big Kev, I'm excited!!

 

[bubbaque]

Are you doing all new rock?

No I’m using my old rock. When I removed it from the tank I pressure washed each piece. Besides putty here and there they look pretty clean.

 

[bubbaque]

Looks good. I'm curious on how easy it will be to clean out that pump though. Have you considered putting a valve before and after (at least after) so you can close the piping and remove the pump for cleaning? The rest of the time you could just leave them wide open. External pumps freak me out with the possibility of leaking but I'm an over thinker. I do feel it would definitely help with heat.

Yes I did think about putting a valve before and after the pump but the “rule” is you are not suppose to put elbows, tees or valves on the intake of a pump as it can cause cavitation. Since I had to put an elbow I didn’t want to push it more with a valve. Instead I have it where I can put a capped pvc in the inlet of the bulkhead to block water flow if I have to take the pump off. I’ll still have to deal with a little bit of the water in the pipe before the pump but shouldn’t be too big of a deal.

 

[Janci]

We have water!
Last time I had to run multiple fans to keep the tank cool. This time I wanted to try and keep as many pumps out of the tank as possible so I went with an external pump this time. Curious to see how that helps with temps.

The previous sump was too tall and was a pain to get my skimmer out to clean. I built a new one that’s much shorter but a little wider to hold the same water.

Tonight I’m gonna work on the rock work and try and get that finished over the next couple days. Gonna try something a little different and go with the negative space rock work that Ryan at BRS has been showing off on his FB.

That pump looks so tiny besides the sump and in cabinet.
Good idea to keep things out of the sump if you have the space for it.

 

[Maxx]

Its a dedicated tank room. Gonna add a comfy chair with a side table so I can sit down and enjoy it.

It was changed from laminate to tile as I knew the water would just destroy the laminate.

I’m excited to get the build going. A few things I’m gonna change this time as I learned what I didn’t like before.

What didnt you like before?

 

[Maxx]

Yes I did think about putting a valve before and after the pump but the “rule” is you are not suppose to put elbows, tees or valves on the intake of a pump as it can cause cavitation. Since I had to put an elbow I didn’t want to push it more with a valve. Instead I have it where I can put a capped pvc in the inlet of the bulkhead to block water flow if I have to take the pump off. I’ll still have to deal with a little bit of the water in the pipe before the pump but shouldn’t be too big of a deal.

I've only used external pumps prior to my current tank. I'd never heard of the "the rule" and always run the intake over the wall of the sump which necessitated elbows and I'd always add Tru Union ball valves to be able to shut water off and pull the pump for service or replacement. I never had cavitation.

I was using AC pumps (Iwaki 40 RLT's initially, and then went to Pan World 100PX-X's).
Would the Vectra being DC make a difference in that regard?

Do DC pumps really add that much heat? I know AC pumps can, but I thought DC ran significantly cooler?

 

[Janci]

Yes I did think about putting a valve before and after the pump but the “rule” is you are not suppose to put elbows, tees or valves on the intake of a pump as it can cause cavitation. Since I had to put an elbow I didn’t want to push it more with a valve. Instead I have it where I can put a capped pvc in the inlet of the bulkhead to block water flow if I have to take the pump off. I’ll still have to deal with a little bit of the water in the pipe before the pump but shouldn’t be too big of a deal.

Yes, you can put a valve in the suction line, just make sure that there is not reduction in pipe diameter.
For maintenance purposes valves are 100% safe.

 

[SeaDweller]

I've only used external pumps prior to my current tank. I'd never heard of the "the rule" and always run the intake over the wall of the sump which necessitated elbows and I'd always add Tru Union ball valves to be able to shut water off and pull the pump for service or replacement. I never had cavitation.

I was using AC pumps (Iwaki 40 RLT's initially, and then went to Pan World 100PX-X's).
Would the Vectra being DC make a difference in that regard?

Do DC pumps really add that much heat? I know AC pumps can, but I thought DC ran significantly cooler?

I run AC pumps too (Iwaki) and I have ball valves before and after the pump for servicing as well. I think you only get cavitation when you start restricting the inflow with a ball valve, as you’re only supposed to adjust flow from the outlet side.

 

[DivingTheWorld]

Am I the only one getting excited for a restart on the Bubbaque acro photo paradise?? ;Woot

 

[bubbaque]

That pump looks so tiny besides the sump and in cabinet.
Good idea to keep things out of the sump if you have the space for it.

It does look tiny next to it but it’s funny when I first opened the box for the pump I was surprised how big the pump is. It’s the same size or bigger than my old Jebao 15,000.

What didnt you like before?

Mostly ease off maintenance or looks.

I hated my old sump as it was too tall and made it hard to do any maintenance on the skimmer. I didn’t like how my plumbing was. The plumbing got messy as I would add on stuff like a U.V. or reactors.

The jebao pump I was using added a ton of heat. Plus my controller for the pump wouldn’t save the power setting so any time I lost power the pump would turn up to 100% when the power turned back on. It would run my sump dry so to avoid that I had to run it on 100% all the time. I did see @Sabellafella complain about how much heat his Vecta L1 added to his tank and I believe he got rid of it.

 

[bubbaque]

Figured I’d throw in a pic of the tank with where I am with it so far.

 

[PSXerholic]

Figured I’d throw in a pic of the tank with where I am with it so far.

Congrats, love it !!! Looking forward to this new beast.

Q: I saw the pump, what pump is that and how much flow do you expect or plan to turnover through the sump, means tank/sump turnover factor per hour?
How big is the new tank?

-Andre

 

[bubbaque]

Congrats, love it !!! Looking forward to this new beast.

Q: I saw the pump, what pump is that and how much flow do you expect or plan to turnover through the sump, means tank/sump turnover factor per hour?
How big is the new tank?

-Andre

Thanks!

It’s the vectra L2. I believe it’s suppose to push 3,100 gph with 0 head pressure. I am running it at 90% and am hoping after my head pressure that I get around 2,000 gph. I will test later to see what flow I actually get. I use a U.V. sterilizer to help keep the water clear and it needs high flow to do so.

Tank is 8x3x2’ (360 gallons).

BTW love the pics you posted a few days ago.

 

[Skynyrd Fish]

This is gonna be sweet!

 

[TX_Punisher]

Looking good.

 

[DivingTheWorld]

What's that sand doing in there??!! Love the rockwork!