Dugaru's 45g + 10g sump Build Thread!

[Dugaru]

Hey guys,

This is my first tank, so be gentle :hideeyes:

I'll keep an updated FTS in the first post and all updates in subsequent posts. Thanks for lookin!

FTS (Updated 1/10/12):
Front:
http://imgur.com/El9BG.jpg
Side:
http://i.imgur.com/RwdqO.jpg.jpg

[Dugaru]

Alright, got the tank and stand from Esco Reef (thanks, man!). Sanded and painted the stand gloss black to for looks and ease of cleanup.

Last night I did the majority of the plumbing using Flex PVC.

Full album here (taken with cell phone.. terrible quality): http://imgur.com/a/b6U24

Individual pics here:

Full back view: Two middle are drains, two outside are returns
http://i.imgur.com/7THAl.jpg

Full front view: You can see one of the drains feeds the skimmer chamber through a filter sock
http://i.imgur.com/3f44W.jpg

Another back view: All drains and returns have separate ball valves for individual flow adjustment
http://i.imgur.com/VssKY.jpg

Close up back view: Return comes out of pump into a Y and to the feeds, one drain to refugium, one to filter sock and skimmer
http://i.imgur.com/2jfex.jpg

Close up front view:
http://i.imgur.com/aIa72.jpg

[Esco reef]

Wow looking good !!!!

Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk 2

[fresh2120]

It looks good what type of tank r u going for , sps softies LPS?

[alexwbush]

snakes... why'd it have to be snakes.

Looks like you've done quite a bit. What kind of drain are you running? You could run a SCWD with that return if you wanted.

[fresh2120]

What kind of light r u going to run on that bad boy

[slicktoppomp]

Great start man!

[Dugaru]

It looks good what type of tank r u going for , sps softies LPS?

I will be going for softies - I like the 'flowing, live' look of them instead of the more rigid look of SPS.

[Dugaru]

What kind of light r u going to run on that bad boy

I will be wiring up DIY CREE LED from rapidled.com unless I find a rockin deal on a pre-built. The advantage of DIY is that I can get four channels instead of the commonly two on the prefab ones. Regardless, it will likely be a suspended light. I plan on having a glass cover made as opposed to doing a hood, but those plans could change.

Fug light will be DIY with likely 1x Red, 1x Red-Orange, 1x Blue and 1x White on chaeto.

[Dugaru]

Looks like you've done quite a bit. What kind of drain are you running? You could run a SCWD with that return if you wanted.

The drains are plumbed near the top. They have 90 elbow brackets on them with a screen to keep LS from getting flushed, hehe (let me know if that's not what you were referring too). I'll post better pics of the inside later today. Going to run vinegar water through the system this evening to test flow rates and clean everything out.

Interesting idea on the SCWD, may prevent me from having to keep koralias inside the display... I may look into that at some point.

[Dugaru]

Just realized I did not put check valves on the returns to prevent siphoning when I shut off the pump.. TO HOME DEPOT!!!

[Esco reef]

Just realized I did not put check valves on the returns to prevent siphoning when I shut off the pump.. TO HOME DEPOT!!!

Lol I did the same thing !

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[50 cube]

Check valves fail, why not just drill a small hole in the bottom of one of the loc lines just under the water level. When the water level drops to the level of the hole it will break the siphon.

[Dugaru]

Here is a pic of the inside back of the tank: http://imgur.com/6U8Kz

Are you saying I would adjust the lock lines to angle up before pointing them where I want them, thereby raising the minimum level of the water?

[Esco reef]

Here is a pic of the inside back of the tank: http://imgur.com/6U8Kz

Are you saying I would adjust the lock lines to angle up before pointing them where I want them, thereby raising the minimum level of the water?

Looks clean brotha !!!!

Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk 2

[50 cube]

No, I'm saying that where the loc line Meets the wall of the tank, drill a very small hole(1/16 in) in the bottom of the line. From the pic they may be too far below the surface.

[Dugaru]

Looks clean brotha !!!!

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Thanks, man! I took out the weir to clean it up a bit. I am really happy with how it's looking right now.

[50 cube]

Here is a pic of the inside back of the tank: http://imgur.com/6U8Kz

Are you saying I would adjust the lock lines to angle up before pointing them where I want them, thereby raising the minimum level of the water?
You could do that, drill the hole at the highest point of the line

[Dugaru]

Well, turns out the returns were just too low in general and I can't soak up that much space. I am going to switch the drains and returns so that the returns are on the middle two holes (which are higher up) and the drains are on the outer two. Going to extend the drains a bit so that they are higher up and will raise the minimum water level. Sadly, since Custom Aquatic is not open today, that means I will not be doing rock work and adding saltwater today.

[50 cube]

PM sent

[alexwbush]

The drains are plumbed near the top. They have 90 elbow brackets on them with a screen to keep LS from getting flushed, hehe (let me know if that's not what you were referring too). I'll post better pics of the inside later today. Going to run vinegar water through the system this evening to test flow rates and clean everything out.

Interesting idea on the SCWD, may prevent me from having to keep koralias inside the display... I may look into that at some point.

Nope, that's what I was referring to. Aren't you worried that it's going to be loud without any kind of standpipe? I think the valves on the drains might not be the best idea, but I see people do it. Why would you want to restrict your drain? I am not too sure.

[50 cube]

If you look at the pics there is no overflow box ti install a standpipe, the drain lines come out the back and straight down to the sump.

[Dugaru]

The valves on the drain are to force them to 'back up' just enough to prevent the 'toilet-flushing' sound. You just close them enough to stop that and you're good.

Here is what I am going to do to fix all my issues - the drains are going to have effectively a standpipe added so that behind the tank, there is an air inlet above the waterline.

To prevent siphon in the event of a power outage, I am going to put an up-and-over on the back of the two returns (again, behind the tank) which go above the waterline. At the top of these, I will drill and put small lines in which will attach to the top inside of the tank. This will act as my siphon break.

Work to be completed likely by Wednesday, I'll post pics when I get there.

[unbereefable]

Why not adjust the returns, placing them high enough, so little water backflows back to tank? I see you have locline which means you could make it so returns are just under the water's surface. This whole thing with check valves and anti-siphon holes is nice, but only when they work. Anti-siphon holes clock quickly. Hole clogged = water on floor. Same thing with check valve. Check valve clogged = water on floor. Best way to not have an accident, is to make sure your sump can handle the back flow. Which might be hard with your small sump. With my 180, when power is cut, I lose <15gal of water. I bet if you have the returns positioned just right, you'd probably loose <4gal of water. Just something to think about. We all have a first tank. Don't want you to expirence your first flood too. Is there anyway a bigger sump will fit?

[Dugaru]

Unfortunately the holes are pre-drilled in the tank (it's used) so I don't have a choice in how high they are placed (I lose about 6-7 gallons if they hit the bottom of the returns, I have 5 gallons spare in my sump). While these may seem like a pain, this is what I have to work with (as this is what I had budget for). I am aware of the dangers of clogged siphon break holes (BTW, the check valve plan has been scrapped altogether) and intend on paying attention to them as part of my maintenance regimen. A bigger sump would be awesome, however using a tank I already had is too good of a deal to pass up :-)

I certainly appreciate all the help and advice I've been getting from everyone. Presuming this tank goes well and I enjoy the hobby as much as I think I will, I intend on doing everything 'right' from the get-go and planning things to what I want as opposed to what I can get a good deal on.

[unbereefable]

What I meant was angle the locline so it's just under the surface of the water. Hole placement doesnt matter so much as to where the line will be first interduced to air. If you can contort the locline and make run just a hair under the surface, you'll loose hardley any water. But if your run the locline too close to service it can some time create a vortex and you get a sucking noise. It's a fine balance. It's much better to run it this way. Some call me paranoid, I'll call myself prepared.

[50 cube]

Just extend your loc line, it'll be the easiest, quickest way. I've used siphon holes forever and as long as the hole is under the water level it won't clog as there will be a small stream of water out of the hole. Lots of good ideas but I firmly believe in keeping it simple!

[unbereefable]

That's what I left out... Make locline longer if it needs it. Defintily no small hoses connected to anti-siphon holes. I've seen those hoses come detached and water squirt out. it happened to somebody on the boards here. Can't remember who.

[Dugaru]

I've got enough loc-line right now to make one longer feed - I will play with it this evening and see what I can make out of it to see if that will work. I'm all for KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid).

[Dugaru]

Ok, 2x longer loc-lines, both with siphon holes at the highest point for redundancy. Drain pseudo-standpipe installed as well. The issues I am working with now are:

If I put my hand in the display tank, the drains will surge and splash water everywhere

If I reduce the flow through the drains (to cut down on 'toilet flushing' sound) they will surge and splash water everywhere

I forgot to get a cap to drill for the standpipe.. my fault :-)

Any thoughts on the others?

Returns and drains (2 of each) are all 3/4 inch PVC, pump is AquaTop 740 GPH, currently reduced through ball valves to about half.

[Dugaru]

Alrighty! Both drains swapped for 1" - learned my lesson there. Since returns work with a pump, they are pressurized to much higher than what gravity pressurizes the drains. Tanks been running overnight with tap water + vinegar. This week i'll drain that concoction, do the aquascaping and fill with my first batch of salt water. Hooray! Pics to come later this week after that is completed.

[unbereefable]

Glad you got the drains situated. I didn't see the problem you had posted til now. A 1" pipe that is an air/water mix can handle a max of about 6-700 GPH. But realistically it will handle 2-400 GPH quietly. Since you have 2 drains, I would see about using the "herbie method". It one drain that's operated on siphon, no air in pipe, and the other drain is used as an emergency and it kept dry. Depending on the length of vertical fall you have to reach the sump, 3/4" could hand around 4-600 GPH with 1' of drop. 1" can handle >1000gph at 1' of drop. Just something else to think about. Having a siphon drain will be compely quiet. No gurgle, splashing, or toilet flushing noises.

[50 cube]

Glad you got ot worked out! It was nice to meet you & I'm sure all will go well. What happened with your battery?

[Dugaru]

Alrighty, lots of progress!

Plumbing was done and tested, rock had been curing for probably a good 3 months. I made the salt water so I could finally put it in place and fill it.

In place with sand and rock:
http://imgur.com/eJhBV.jpg

Side view:
http://imgur.com/GjKbx.jpg

Added salt water using my skimmer pump (sans Venturi):
http://imgur.com/jetjm.jpg

Ran that over a few days and made sure that levels stayed steady.

Lights are dual T5HO, one daylight one actinic

Picked up 10 bumblebee snails and 10 red hermits. I got convinced into a blue and yellow damsel too, haha. My niece named it 'Lila'. Anyways that's my update!

FTS:
http://imgur.com/DGol8.jpg

[Dugaru]

Time for a bit of an update (though no FTS). Picked up another handful of hermits at Aquatica. Also got an RBTA with tomato clown. The clown was already hosting the nem and so I just had to take them as a pair :-)

So far no aggression issues with the damsel. They checked each other out, but for the most part, the clown hangs around the nem and the damsel goes, well, anywhere else!

This was about 15 minutes after putting them in the tank, the anemone was still de-stressing from travel/handling.
http://i.imgur.com/gq7Ft.jpg

Another shot before I went to bed. The nem is coloring up nicely. He has since moved into a little crevice and the clown was sleeping in him, but it was too dark to take a pic this morning.
http://i.imgur.com/3pbCy.jpg

[Esco reef]

Looks bad a$$ !!!!

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[Dugaru]

Got another great deal and haven't posted a new FTS since I got the clown/nem, so here we go! Picked up the 'island' deal from Carlos which included an awesome piece with long-stalk xenia and a group of zoas, plus a couple rocks with striped mushrooms, and a rock with a fuzzy mushroom and orange mushroom.

The 'spire' with xenia/zoa:
http://i.imgur.com/9EpRS.jpg

The fuzzy and orange mushrooms right next to were the nem decided to park - the clown is never far away:
http://i.imgur.com/gZ0G4.jpg

and FTS Updates (front and side since that is how it is important to view my tank!):
http://i.imgur.com/pBJxQ.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/yT0Rr.jpg

Oh, and she told me that the tank is stupid... Here is the wife voluntarily cleaning hair algae off the lock-line. She also happily volunteered to help me organize all the rock and I see her checking on the tank often... hmmm :rock:
http://i.imgur.com/Zk8F9.jpg

[Esco reef]

Wow looks awesome !

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[Dugaru]

Well, after the great tomato clown + damsel disaster I went about a week without any fish in my tank (so sad!). Stopped by Aquatica yesterday to get some advice on getting rid of aiptasia (got about 8 popped up so far..). The wife has been eyeing their diamond watchman gobies because they sift the sand and keep it very clean. She had puppy-dog eyes (she swears the tank is all mine and she has no interest :lol:) and so we now have a juvi! She named it 'Satine' after the main girl in 'Moulin Rouge' based on their use of the song 'Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend.'

He ate really well last night and has already dug himself two caves under the LR. Yay!

http://i.imgur.com/OBNrG.jpg

[Dugaru]

OK.. so it's been a while, so time to update! The diamond goby went carpet surfing (wife blames herself for naming it 'Sateen' after the character in Moulin Rouge, who is destined to die, haha)..

I picked up a fire shrimp who is a giant chicken - this is the best pic I've gotten so far:
http://imgur.com/iQ6cC.jpg

Then, on black friday I replaced the diamond goby and added an ocellaris clown:
http://imgur.com/e9UGE.jpg

I also picked up my new 'prize' piece, a sebae blue-tip anemone (this was about 30 min after drip acclimating him, so he was still a bit 'put off' from the move - he already looked way better than in the store from having more light):
http://imgur.com/j61UN.jpg
(you can also see in the corner my super happy RBTA!

Overall I am very, very happy with my tank. I've had a blast so far with the hobby and I still enjoy learning stuff every day!

Updated FTS front:
http://imgur.com/DHq92.jpg

side:
http://imgur.com/rvEZt.jpg

[Dugaru]

VERY IMPORTANT UPDATE!!!

After losing 2x Diamond Goby jumpers, I HAVE A SCREEN!!!! WOOHOO :thrasher:

http://imgur.com/aOEaq.jpg

[Dugaru]

Ok then.. it's been a while, so here we go..

Both nems are basically just surviving - not really thriving. Latest theory on that is light. On that note, my order from StevesLEDs.com should arrive tomorrow. 28x LuxeonES 3W LED with 45d optics. I will be controlling this using an Arduino to simulate full sunrise-sunset. Ought to take care of my light issues :-)

I also added an ATO and started using kalkwasser. I am LOVING not topping off every day.

Updated stock list:
Carpenter's Wrasse
2x Ocellaris Clown
Sleeper Goby
Diamond Goby
Fire shrimp

RBTA
Blue-Tip Sebae Anemone

Long stalk xenia
Blue Tubs zoa
Radioactive Dragon's Eye zoa
Green Apple zoa
Green mushroom
Green fuzzy mushroom
Orange mushroom

And updated shots:

Front:
http://imgur.com/El9BG.jpg

Side:
http://i.imgur.com/RwdqO.jpg

[Dugaru]

Holy crap it has been a while since I updated.. I will post pics tomorrow, but..

Both nems are long since dead, carpenter's wrasse fought with the sleeper goby killing both of them. I also haven't finished my LED build due to various frustrations with the build.

Now that I listed all the bad...

I am looking at building a whole new stand, adding a hood and building a new sump. This would fix a lot of issues. My livestock consists of a pair of ocellaris clowns, green mandarin dragonet, firefish, fire shrimp, peppermint shrimp, tiger goby, and my latest addition (and favorite in my tank) dragon face pipefish. I also have added a few different kinds of zoas as well as some ORA pulsing Xenia.

Overall, tank is doing well - definitely need to update pics tomorrow.