Roberts Upgrade!!! 45 to 150 Thread

Yea im picking put 20lbs of Fiji Liverock tomorrow from my LFS.Just to seed The old rock.:DWell im almost done filling the tank with water.:Cheers:
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Those are just the Actinics too.No leaks and my seams are holding up great.(Knock on Wood)
 
My sump:Cheers:.I think later ill be taking the skimmer out and modify it.Then im puttung in a Refugium.
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The reason i built the shelf is for extra storage,but mostly somewere to place the ballast's.I dont want my cat peaing all over them like Biffs dog did.:D

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Does my skimmer seem to be running right?Or does it have to break in to start foaming?
 
I bought the exact same lights as yours. You're probably the one that e-mailed me wondering if they were ok or not. Just wanted to comment...the tank is looking great. You'll definitely want a refugium. You might even want to do that right away since everything's so new. I also just got that RODI unit on Ebay. So far so good. My levels are coming out at 20ppm after filtration. That might be because I'm in FL and water here sucks. Anyhow, looks great, can't wait to see the live rock. You should let everything get covered with Coraline growth.
 
Everything looks great.Good job on the silicone and not getting any leaks.
It can take up to two weeks before a skimmer start pulling out gunk,thats the usual break in period.It also looks like your only using one side for the sump.Plenty of room to add a refugium which I highly recommend.
 
How could i add a Refugium?Get another tank ,Overflow box And return pump?Use that as a refugium?I will if someone can tell me how and what to do.I really wanted one to begin with.
 
It would of been easier to use one larger tank for a sump and incorporate a fuge in it.If you use a second tank then it needs to be drilled so water can drain back to the sump return area.You wouldn't need another overflow box-just a pump to feed water to the fuge.
 
You might be able to Finagle' one using the tank you've got. You need three sections so redesigning the sump you have could be an option. the first section will have both the intakes from your tank and your protein skimmer. the middle section will be your refugium and the third section will be your return. you only need the first and third sections big enough for you equipment and that's it. you'll want as much refugium as possible. just put a heftly layer of sand in there, some live rock rubble and some green stuff, oh, and you can get some pod starter stuff too. you'll have to ask around for that. Ebay has plenty of Macro and pods to get you seeded.
 
My overflow doesnt seem that powerful?I had to run out and get a control valve for my retun pump.Would it help if i cut the overflow pipes up above the water line in the sump?It feels restricted.Any suggestions?
 
I didn't pay attention to this earlier.It would be better to have the overflow box in the middle since this is a large tank.Good call in adding a ball valve on the return.Everyone should use one.Having the drain underwater or not won't change the flow speed.I keep mine underwater otherwise its too much swashing and splashing going on.The drain from the overflow needs to be straight down or angled toward the sump.Any horizontal turns will restrict the drain,slowing down the gravity effect and even cause added noise.
 
Use at 1/4" per running foot fall in your (horizontal) pipe and there should be no appeciable loss in your water flow or much increase noise. Much more than that and your noise problem will come back. Less than that and you will definately have decreased flow. If you can swing the difference in price always use gate valves for regulating flows and use ball valves for shutting off flows. Ball valves are more restrictive than gate valves and gates valves are much easier to dial in precise flows. Gate valves can be as much as twice the price as ball valves and even higher differences with large ones, and less availability for PVC large gate valves. Well worth the difference though, especially on things like input feeds to protein skimmers.
 
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Can anyone help me with my sump?First thing my overflow is weak,untill i turn my pump up.then my water in the return section gets empty to quick.But my oveflow is good.Its driving me crazy.Dis i do something wrong?
 
Your return pump is too strong. Add a ball valve in the return line or build a T with ball valves to redirect some of the water back to the sump.
 
I Fixed it!!!:bounce:I just lowered the overflow in the tank,and now my water is Flowing like crazy.I even turned my pump up,its almost on max.The Circulation is good know.:DI feel better.Biff i thought my pump was to strong too,But i also knew my overflow wasnt getting the right amount it should.I got it as a kit so i figured my overflow box and pump would work good together.
 

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