[64Ivy]

As many of you know, for years I've been living with a woefully inadequate sump. This is because it was originally designed for the 'LPS/Softie' system I had planned to maintain. But as my interests shifted more toward 'the sticks' (nearly 7 years ago), it soon became apparent that the demands I was placing on it, such as increased flow and a steady influx of auxiliary equipment, was asking far too much. The water volume was pathetic and also, it began to look a might messy.




With well over 6000g an hour pouring through a single filter sock, I had also relegated myself to the life of a reef slave as it had to be changed a minimum of every two days or it would fill up and kick back water into the sump. This would cause a massive amount of micro bubbles which, in turn, would cause many of the corals to slime copiously, thereby setting forth a very annoying cycle that only my constant intervention (read: sock washing) could resolve. Try explaining THAT to a seven year old with a Frisbee in her hand.

So by the fall of last year, I had had enough. I contacted Brent Barr of Barr Aquatic Systems and explained my list of somewhat unique needs: I needed a sump that would have to stay within a certain footprint as it not only had to fit in the room, it also had to fit through the door, be able to handle a tremendous volume of water without causing microbubbles, and, if possible, give me an inclusive refugium area so I could get rid of my current remote 'fuge. I kind of expected him to hang up on me. But Brent must like a challenge because after a few weeks of going back and forth, he finally came up with this:




The first thing you'll notice is that now instead of one filter sock, the sump can utilize as many as FOUR! This is to minimize the bubble problem by spreading the volume of incoming water through twice as many intakes as I had before (two going into the one sock). Then, in the series of baffles, I have room to add a couple filter sponges if need be, again to cut down on any stray bubbles. Doubtful that I'll need these though.

I realize, by the way, that the use of ANY socks at all is becoming more and more controversial in terms of their propensity to add unwanted nutrients to the tank. But in this case, their employ is mainly to cut down on the microbubbles and as such, they'll still be changed at regular intervals. However, if I should find I don't need them anymore, I now have the option of discontinuing them without the worry of coming down to a nearly opaque tank every now and then.

So I gave Brent the go ahead, but also told him he could take his time as winter was approaching and the last thing I needed was a 200lb sump delivered in the middle of a snowstorm. It WAS during this time that yet another problem began to rear its head though: The venturis on my skimmer (it has four) were getting clogged much more frequently. Not sure why but even after we'd take the thing apart and soak it in vinegar there weren't too many days when at least one of the vernturis weren't clogged thereby severely reducing the unit's effectiveness. Perhaps it was simply getting old (an educated guess on my part as the clogging seems strangely familiar). Anyway, as fellow hobbyists have been touting the virtues of Beckett skimmers for some time now, I started to really look into them and, once convinced, I gave Andy at Myreef Creations a call. I told him that I was a fan of overfeeding which is why I'm also a fan of 'overskimming'. With a tank the size of mine, I needed a monster. And before long, he came up with this:



This is the MRC-MR-7. It is a dual Beckett model rated at over 1500g and hour and, when driven with a Sequence 4300, it might possibly double as my household air cleaner. Bottom line, so far so good.

When spring came, so did the sump. Here it is, in my garage, being water tested.




And here is a close-up of the four intakes .



These flow directly into four filter socks underneath. By the way, the lower drawer does slide out, giving easy access when changing the socks.

[64Ivy]

A little while later the work begins in earnest. First, we drill the holes for the bulkheads.




Moving right to left, these are for the two returns to the tank, the UV intake, and the skimmer intake. This very nervous time for me. All beer was temporarily removed for the premises (well actually it wasn't, but only I knew where it was). What is not shown is how many times we measured and re-measured everything to make sure at this juncture that nobody goes 'oops'. I hate it when people go 'oops'. Especially in regards to reeftanks at this juncture.

Next, dry fitting of the skimmer.




Placement of the skimmer and UV pumps. Obviously, they have to be raised a bit. This is on purpose. Not an 'oops'.



After more remeasuring (and concealment of beer), it was time to finalize dry fitting. The bulkheads were glued in. Point of no return.



By the way, to those who think using glue in an enclosed area causes brain damage, I can testify that we worked this way for hours and we're all k.o.


A couple days before the swap. Because of the increased volume of water in the system (approx 130 real gallons) and also to hold the water we had to drain from the old sump, we employed these containers, which we had to set up in the family room.



Needless to say, wife was not happy. Posititive feng-shui attempt at explanation of swirling waters juxtaposed with wooden table and soft couch failed miserably. Offering of credit card worked much better. Told the guys, no more gluing in enclosed places.

[64Ivy]

Morning of the swap. First, there was the small matter of disconnecting everything, cleaning out the workroom, and removing the old sump.




This took two of us about 2 1/2 hours.




Of course, we had to store the stuff SOMEWHERE so what better place than the screened-in porch my wife and her friends were relegated to when we chased them out of the family room! Pictured here is the old sump and 'kalk doser'.



Not pictured here is the couch slept on that night by yours truly.


As the room is cleaned and tank is disconnected, save for one 'closed loop' system, which fortunately goes through the chiller, it was time to plumb.




Even after a couple hours, there didn't seem to be any stresses in the tank. A huge air stone (seen left) was thrown in just in case.




Two Maxi-Jet 901s provided extra water movement, though including a picture of one of them here seems kind of stupid.




Anyhow, once the plumbing was done, it was now time to physically move the sump from the garage down to the fishroom. This necessitated going out around the house because it wouldn't fit going through it. By the way, did I mention it was in the 90s that day? That's why there's condensation in the sump. It is also why the wife so gleefully took these pictures.




That's me on the right rear. The little object you see in the sump is the cup holder through which effluent from the calcium reactor gets measured before dripping back into the sump.


We were really concerned about this part; getting it through the fishroom door. But luckily, as a testament to what beerless preplanning can do, it went in without a problem.

[64Ivy]

Putting it in place though was another story.





Again, we had measured it correctly, but neglected to work out how the human being who'd have to lower the back right side would either fit in, or get out. It was eventually suggested that he would simply have to sacrifice his life for the cause and forever be entombed with the sump (after all, with a slight modification, the skimmer could probably deal with any unpleasantries). But after an embarrassing amount of whining during attempts to get the short straw game going, we decided it'd be more prudent to lower it in as best we could without the ... collateral damage.


It is also what caused our first major setback!





On our first attempt to lower it into place, we snapped off one of the 2 1/2" bulkheads. Now, for those of you familiar with Moye's Law, you know that whatever you do NOT bring a spare of, will most assuredly break. So you can guess what no one brought a spare of. This is an 'oops'. And, believe it or not, a 2 1/2" bulkhead fitting is not the easiest thing to find around the Greenwich, CT area. In fact, when I called the local hardware store and asked for one, the employee in return, asked me, "What are you going to use it for?" Of course, I'm thinking if I wanted to wear it as a hat, this shouldn't determine whether you have one or not. But as a slight bit of panic is beginning to rise inside me, I truthfully answered that it was for an aquarium sump. You could feel the imbecility coming back before it got there.

"Oh then, you gotta go to a pet store for those".

"Ah, of course. Thank you".

This, folks, is Greenwich. Fine Chablis, no problem. A polo pony, take your pick.
Hardware?....What are you going to use it for?

And no, the LFS's weren't of any help.

So while the clock ticked, we frantically began checking around. The tank still looked fine but we knew we didn't have time to order one over the net. Finally, after about 45 minutes, we located some in Stamford, the next town over. They were schedule 80s, as opposed to the 40 that broke, but it still fit. We got a few of them. AND, while one of us had gone to pick them up, the rest of us actually moved the sump into place!





Once the bulkheads were back, the remaining gluing was completely non-eventful (if you don't count the Hendrix music).


In another half hour or so, we were finished and ready for water. By the way, the Brute trashcan with the red lid there is the new kalk doser.




New sump in place. Skimmer kickin' serious booty. Beers all around!!!





Old skimmer ready to be recycled.




And that's the saga. Before closing, I'd like to thank Reed and Billy from Reef and Fin in Stamford for their invaluable help in accomplishing this long awaited goal, as well as Ray Bennett from House of Fins in Greenwich for all of his help, not just in planning but execution. Oh, and in worrying...let's not forget worrying.

I'd also like to again thank Brent at Barr Aquatics and Andy at Myreef Creations for their help and guidance throughout this project. Amazing customer service, both. USE 'EM!

And, finally, thank you to all for your suggestions along the way. Whether you knowing gave them or not, quite a few ideas that have been bandied about have been incorporated here so again, thanks. Have a beer...or some glue or whatever, on me.

Just kidding, of course…especially about the ‘on me’ part anyway.

Need rest now. See you later.

[Poseidon]

WOW! Thank you for the entertaining read! It was a like an epic saga! Looks like a lot of hard work, and a lot of good planning! Much better then my moving attempt! Great work, and keep up posted on how much better this one works!

[gqsmoothster]

Good golly, what a project!

[vtec si]

I thought My up grades were a lot of work!

Martin

[Reefland]

Michael,

That looks like the massive undertaking but a job well done in the end! The room looks much more organized now.

For those that have never seen it, here is a link of 64Ivy's feature on Reefland.com:
Featured Member Series May 2004