ReefyCane's 30g Showcase Showdown!!

R

ReefyCane

SuperNewbie
Hi All!

My sump came in today and I picked up my tank tonite. It is a 30g Oceanic Premier Cube that has been drilled. I have taken some pretty bad pics! I also picked up a 150W Rena SmartHeater (what do I need to set it at?), a Rio 14 Hyper Flow pump (840 GPH), and an ASM G-1 protein skimmer.

I am cleaning out the tank tonite and will probably try to put my substrate, live rock, and water in Saturday and start my cycle. This is really exciting for me!

Thanks for reading. Also, any tips advice along the way is greatly appreciated.

~RC

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Also, what is the white bag in my sump for?

Can I place carbon in this or other water conditioners?

Also, my protein skimmer didn't come with a manual. Where should I place it in my sump?

Thanks,
RC
 
Nice tank.
Set the temperature to two-three degrees below where you want the temp.I set mine at 75 to keep it at 77-78.You can increase if necessary.

I guess the white bag is a filter sock-use to catch larger debris and quiet the sound of the water draining.I suppose you could put carbon in it but it won't be very effective.Water will find the easiest route which is around and not through the media.The first chamber is the best place for the skimmer,the water is raw and unfiltered.
 
Place your filter sock (the white bag) on the hose that takes the water from your tank into the sump. you can attach it with a zip tie or get a "T-junction" piece of pvc pipe at home depot for $.68 and screw it into the end of the hose so it will tie on. I do place my carbon and phosguard in the media bag. It seems to work for me.

do set your temp lower than desired, as your lights will create some heat. check every two or three hours to see how the temp goes and target 78-82 degrees.

-Doc
 
reeffreak said:
Nice tank.
Set the temperature to two-three degrees below where you want the temp.I set mine at 75 to keep it at 77-78.You can increase if necessary.

I guess the white bag is a filter sock-use to catch larger debris and quiet the sound of the water draining.I suppose you could put carbon in it but it won't be very effective.Water will find the easiest route which is around and not through the media.The first chamber is the best place for the skimmer,the water is raw and unfiltered.
Click to expand...

I don't have any chambers...it is just an open tank!

Do I need to make chambers or should the LFS do that?
 
you can add your own baffles. it is not hard. silicone sheets of plexiglass the width of your sump and set them in the width you want. there are thread posts on the forum that outline how to build your own. If Biff can do it, you will have no problem

-Doc
 
f.y.I. when you post pics you can't use html code in forums. there is a different format. most picture hosting sites will give you the link that works. it would be something like this-
keep the pics coming as you update your setup and welcome to the forum!
 
___I liked drilled tanks___Your skimmer should ideally be fed with raw water straight from your tank, before any carbon or phosban etc. The bag if used to catch gunk entering sump should be cleaned daily or at least every other day. You can clean it with plain tap water. The bag will collect organics and will become a bacteriological filter just like bio balls if not kept clean, therefore releasing nitrates if not kept washed free of organics. The pumps is a little large but you will not get a return of 840 gallons per hour out of it due to normal pipe and fittings friction losses and head losses. You will, however, probably get around 750 gallons per hour out of it at a pretty high velocity. If it were me I would split the single return line to two returns lines with a "T" fitting. I would first try it split to two returns lines the same size as your pump discharge size and if you want a little more velocity (force) drop down to the next smaller pipe just before entering tank or use a smaller nozzle size (LocLine etc.). Typically people with reef tanks run a circulation rate of 10 to 20 times tank volume per hour. You will be running 25 times turnover which would make even the most demanding SPS coral happy. If you use plastic dividers in your tank and make them tight you do not need them to be sealed with silicone. Without them being sealed in place you can move them as needed for different equipment you might purchase or replace. Doc, Biffer is a very intelligent woman, I definately do not doubt her capabilities, so I take it that comment was/is a joke. I missed it, I guess.
 
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So I just wanted to make sure I was plumbing this things correctly.

The overflow will be attached to some PVV pipe in the sump that empties into the white bag.

Then my skimmer just sits in the sump and the pump in the skimmer sucks up the water and skims and shoots the "skimmed" water back into the sump where my rio hyper flow will take the water back into the tank via the return line...so my rio hyper flow will be connected to the return line, right?

I cleaned the tank up last night with just plain tap water and I need to run to Lowes or Home Depot to pick up some hose clamps so I insure that all my connections are good and tight.

Also, Doc you mentioned that you do put your carbon and phosguard in the media bag....I am assuming you do this before your water is skimmed? I thought this would be a good place to put carbon or phosguard or ChemiPure, but will the skimmer strip the water of the treatment you just gave it?

Thanks,
RC
 
Your right in regards to the the PVC pipe, bag, sump, skimmer and Pump. The charcoal and phosban should be in contact with the water after the skimmer and before the pump. The skimmer is most efficient at removing dissolved organic compounds, you do not want to fill the pores of your charcoal with organics that can be removed by skimming. Leave the charcoal to removing what it can that the skimmer does not remove. Both will work best that way and at the least expense. Same goes for your phosphate remover. After the skimmer before your pump. Put them in seperate bags as they have different life spans. Iron based phosphate removers will not leach phosphates back into the water when full so can stay in the tank longer than quickly clogging charcoal. Typically carbon is not run continously but as needed or for a few days once a month. Charcoal is known for leaching phosphates into tank water so use small amounts. Something in the line of 3-4 tablespoons per fifty gallons is plenty. It is often used more when/if you have macro algae and large fish loads. Try to find plastic hose clamps instead of stainless steel.
 
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So I am kind of confused, what is the purpose of the white bag where my overflow connects other than removing large particles of waste?

Also, since I have no compartments where do I place the skimmer and pump?

Also, do I just thow bags of phosguard and carbon in the sump? Do they just sit on the bottom?

Thanks,
RC
 
well you don't necissarily want to throw them in the bottom of the sump. there should be direct flow of water flowing through it.
 
That is all the bag (filter sock) is for, trapping detritus (junk), that and cutting down the sound of the water caused by its velocity, it will also remove micro bubbles caused by the falling water. Higher the tank the higher the velocity, generally. They sell fancy brackets and holders for them but they are not needed.
Have your sump inlet at one end of your sump tank, the skimmer in the middle and the pump at the other end. Put bags with your charcoal and phosban between the pump and the skimmer discharge. You do not need to use large amounts spread it out in your bags and just the water coming in contact with it (flowing over and around it) -passively- will be good enough. If you need them bad enough that you need to worry about maximum efficiency you have problems that need to be dealt with or you will become dependant on the charcoal and phosban, which is not good husbandry. You want to use them as kickers not as a primary filtering method. Baffles are really nice in a sump and increase its functionality. Not necessary, unless you have micro bubble problems from your skimmer, but it does make it a lot easier to observe/maintain proper water levels which have to be watched due to evaporation which will raise your salinity levels. You can also put your heater in your sump so you do not have to look at it in your display tank. :Cheers: If you reach the point of needing a Phosban Reactor or a fluidized bed filter for your charcoal you are definitely flowing your water through your media and belong to a group of aquarists I would not care to be a part of. That is a club of either uninformed or just bad ........... never mind.
 
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Well Biff, you do have numb nuts, or what ever his name is. You can do the thinking and maybe he can do the doing. I guess. As long as you always remember money goes into tank, money into tank, money into tank . . . money into tank! My 120 gallon tank maybe half the size as yours , but it has over three times the holes, for what ever that is worth. I can drain my tank faster in case of fire! Well maybe something else is more special about a lot of holes. It could leak more, and faster. You would not believe how big three inch holes in a tank look. Really big!
 
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