SCA 150 GALLON STARFIRE PNP SYSTEM, thinking about pulling the trigger on this

[Big E]

I bought my Helio heater from Premium Aquatics............BRS will charge tax and also can have higher prices.

The controller with standard plugs is a good deal paired with Finnex Heating elements
$54 Premium Aq---- BRS $60

 

[Gato 1]

Hello everyone

Here is an update pic where were at so far, will work on wire management later.

 

[jmichaelh7]

Hello everyone

Here is an update pic where were at so far, will work on wire management later.

I like that canopy

 

[Gato 1]

Hanford, I was station in NAS Lemore for 4 years, loved it. I am from Anaheim Ca, now in San Luis Arizona. go figure. I have a koi pond in my front yard that I thought would take away the itch for a tank. I can say it did not. SO HERE WE ARE STARTING A SCA 150-gal build. only thing I like about the canopy is the Angel Hat. we will frame the light fixture.

 

[homer1475]

That sump is tiny for the tank size. Can it handle the draindown in a power failure?

The center tower alone is like 5G in my SCA 80G cube.

 

[Gato 1]

yes, already did the power outage, and it handles the water flow just fine. I did not want to waste space in the stand. i would like a refugium. but need a custom sump for the mat roller

 

[homer1475]

On the draindown, did you pull your overflow pipes so the tower drains down too? Unless you glued the overflow pipes in place(Never do this), they will leak a bit and eventually drain the entire overflow over time.

Sorry to harp on it, but that sump level just doesn't look like it can handle the complete draindown.

Only word of caution I would have, the SCA skimmers are junk!

They work great, but the pumps are complete garbage. Replacing the pump can be a PITA as they are kind of hard to find, and anything else just doesn't fit right.

I've owned 2 SCA skimmers, and they both died just about 2 years old.

 

[ryshark]

On the draindown, did you pull your overflow pipes so the tower drains down too? Unless you glued the overflow pipes in place(Never do this), they will leak a bit and eventually drain the entire overflow over time.

Sorry to harp on it, but that sump level just doesn't look like it can handle the complete draindown.

Only word of caution I would have, the SCA skimmers are junk!

They work great, but the pumps are complete garbage. Replacing the pump can be a PITA as they are kind of hard to find, and anything else just doesn't fit right.

I've owned 2 SCA skimmers, and they both died just about 2 years old.

I've never checked if my sump can handle no power AND also the entire overflow box. I'm assuming it could handle that, but have never tested it. I wonder how long it would take for the non-glued stand pipes to leak that much water. I'd imagine several days, which in time I'd take water out of the sump before letting it overflow.

 

[homer1475]

I've had power outages that have lasted many hours, to many days at a time. Mine will completely drain down in about 2 hours. Suppose every tank is different, but it is a concern if you loose power and can't get home for a few hours.

 

[ryshark]

I've had power outages that have lasted many hours, to many days at a time. Mine will completely drain down in about 2 hours. Suppose every tank is different, but it is a concern if you loose power and can't get home for a few hours.

2-hours could definitely be an issue. I feel like my stand-pipes are press-fit, too tight for that, but worth looking into on my next water change.

 

[homer1475]

I've let my tank go for about 5 hours with nothing running. After 4 hours I need to fire up the genny.

I've had losses after 5 hours. I usually loose power in the winter, and the tank will get too cold after 5 hours, and I would assume oxygen would be getting low with my bioload after that.

Only reason I know. LOL

 

[Big E]

I've always just drilled a small hole in all my returns so that when it shuts down air is sucked in that breaks the siphon.

The holes on the return are tiny..................make sure the hole is submerged so salt creep doesn't close it up.

This gives you a lot of extra sump space to handle the overflow trickle.

 

[coco.puff]

the picture was when the tank first started. To the right is the micron filter sock that the drain goes into. Then the refugium where macro algae lives. The red light is the Kessil H380 light that is pink / red. It grows chaeto to pull all nitrates and phosphates at the time. It was on 24/7 but now i have it at 12 hours a day, opposite to the display lights. If you haven't read on it, please do. A refugium is a must for my aquariums.. a must.

Other things you see is the activated carbon reactor to the right. Skimmer in the middle. Co2 scrubber. Currently i have a 80 watt Aqua ultra violet uv sterilzer hanging on the back but i noticed it isn't in the picture here. This is another piece of equipment i highly recommend. Another topic that has many threads on this website.

I need to get a better picture of the aquarium... it looked so messy. I have custom made magnet doors that latch on to the stainless steel stand. But i just wanted to show you how i'm still using an SCA 150 till this day :)

Where did you get the stainless steel stand? I am currently looking at the SCA 150.