[Samper]

Ok... I've been planning to upgrade for a little while now and I've finally done it.
5 days ago I started mixing some ASW.
The first thing I added was a 20 gallon sump.
This sump contains an 8" deep sand bed
my skimmer
my carbon filter
and a mag 18

I know I know A MAG 18...WHAT?
well I started with a mag 7 and it wasn't what I was wanting so I went back to the shop and the guy traded me straight up for a mag 18. Things are flowing now as I'm sure you can imagine. It would have been too much flow but I fixed that problem without limiting what the pump was pushing out.
Above the pump I put a T with a ball valve on the each of the remaining 2 ends. One goes directly back into the sump and the other goes up to the display. For a return into the display I came up and over the back side with a t on that end also. I put 2 90 degree elbows on that t and didn't glue them on so I can aim the flow. When I was first getting this all hooked up I forgot to drill a hole below the water line to prevent the sump from overflowing in case the power went out. Scott I know you told me to do it but I just plain forgot. When I turned the power off for the first time the sump started overflowing like crazy. Luckily I got it cleaned up before the authorities found out. I've left enough room in the sump to be able to handle the small amount of extra water that will drain if the power does go out.

The overflow I have has 3 chambers that I will put rubble in. It drains through a 1" bulkhead. I haven't build my durso yet but will do so in the morning. It's pretty loud right now and I can't deal with it. I researched both Durso and stockman standpipes and I think the durso will work better. Since I have the room that's what I'm gonna build. The bulkhead was leaking in the overflow at first but I fixed that by tightening it a bit and running some aquarium sealant around the fittings. No more leaks. I ran the drain line so that it empties right beside where my skimmer takes water in. Hopefully this will help to pull more crap out.

I took a rubbermaid and drilled holes all in it to set my pump in. This way it doesn't suck sand. I put a plastic screen above the pump so that it wouldn't suck any macro algae in. I don't know how much flow macro algaes can handle but I may not be able to put any in this sump since it's flowing pretty good. If I add a divider it may work. I've read that chaeto needs to tumble and it will definately tumble right now but....I don't know.
Here are some pics. They are a little cloudy after firing that pump up a few times but things are clearing up by the minute. I'll update once more tonight and then again tomorrow after I build my Durso.

[Samper]

and the rest of them...sorry for the duplicates

[Samper]

asdfasdf

[Reefland]

Awesome! That this has got to be flowing in the tank, bet the corals will love it! Did you end up drilling holes after all or is it that the outputs are high enough that it will not overflow the sump now? What about coral growth and the potential for them being exposed during an outage?

Also, I guess I'll take all the sand in here:
Attachment 5977




Where should I Paypal the $1 to?

[Poseidon]

Wow! You are really moving water now! I am surprised your overflow can keep up with that 18. (Even if it is valved down some, it still moves a TON) I have a similar output configuration on my 90, but I took it one step further. I used a heat gun to SMUSH the ends of the 90 degree elbows so the exit is oval instead of round. THis causes an increase in velocity without adding to much back pressure. I wanted a little more turbulance at the surface, and that worked like a charm....

[Samper]

Scott, I was gonna route the outputs to the bottom of the tank but without redoing my aquascape it's not possible. The outputs are about 4" down but the hole I drilled is right underneath the waterline and it breaks siphon really quick when the power goes out. I'm not too worried about the corals being exposed if the power goes out simply because the power will be out . But really my water line will actually stay higher now no matter what due to the way I placed my overflow box.

Poseidon, thanks for the advice on smashing the outlets. I'll get around to doing that sometime today cause it sounds like a good idea.

Gonna go down and take a few new pics.

[Samper]

im not sure if you meant overexposure to air or light but neither are possible the way I set it up.

I can't figure out why I'm having problems with my durso.

With the cap off it's fairly quiet and the water level stays pretty high.
With the cap just sitting on top not snugged down it's pretty quiet but still makes some noise.
With the cap snug on the top the water drains really quick but makes horrible noise again. I drilled the hole in the cap like the website said but don't know what's up with it.
Here are a few pics.
The first one is the cap just sitting on top
The second one is with the cap snug on the top of it notice the difference in water level....this way makes a ton of sound
The water level is about the same as the first pic without the cap on.

[Reefland]

Put a second hole or make the first one slightly larger, it's not getting enough air.

[Samper]

Will do
To prevent too much evaporation could I put a lid on this or would the benefit of added surface area be worth the extra evap?

[Reefland]

I would not cover it and doubt that your gonna have a noticeable difference in evaporation (outside of adding an additional 20 gallons of water in the sump).

[Samper]

Here's my latest upgrade...
That's right it's a Euro Reef 8-2.

I didn't want two large pumps working at the same time due to the heat that might build up so I put the skimmer on a timer and it will only run a couple of days out of the week and only at night when it does run.

I figure some of the sps that I know should be different colors will change a bit with the addition of this monster.

Anyone see an issue with what I've done?
Possibly stripping the water too much...maybe the need for more frequent water changes due to the trace elements that may be removed?

[Reefland]

I see no issues at all except that your corals will love you more for it.