Daves 200 gallon DD tank build

[Darryl_V]

I see.  Do you have two 1.5" drains but in separate corners right?  Not sure what I would do in this situation....probably make sure the stand pipe is the best it can be and than maybe try slowing down the return or getting a smaller pump.  That is unless you need the return flow for something.

Wait ....the slower one makes more noise?

 

[teebone110]

SWEET!!

Looks great Dave, nice gear!

 

[davesolo29]

heres the problem... its a stupid design on marinelands part. 
yes it has two cornerflos.
the standpipe is 1.5 but the bulkead is only 1 inch.
im thinking if i just swap out the standpipe to 1 inch it will be better.  right now it allows too much water into the pipe than can go thru the bulkhead.  so it gushes.
not sure how to really explain it.
the sad part is, i had one of these tanks before.  the 90 gallon with a single cornerflo.  it had the same gurgling problem due to the bulkhead size.  I told myself when i picked this new tank up that i was going to drill the holes bigger for a 1.5 bulkhead and do it right.  i completely forgot until i had it running again.

 

[spyd]

Looks great so far! Are you going to run bio-pellets? You could probably do away with a good amount of live rock if that was the case. Moving some in the sump works as well. The stand is awesome and that skimmer is a beast! What return pump are you running?

The gurgling stand pipe, I would assume anyways, is the one running faster. If it is syphoning, it is probably waiting for more water to fill the overflow. Not too sure how to rectify the situation. There is all ways Herbie overflow? Use both holes on each side as drains and go up the back and over the top with the return line. It would push your system off the wall a couple inches though. Still a very nice setup!!!

 

[Royal Aquariums]

heres the problem... its a stupid design on marinelands part. 
yes it has two cornerflos.
the standpipe is 1.5 but the bulkead is only 1 inch.
im thinking if i just swap out the standpipe to 1 inch it will be better.  right now it allows too much water into the pipe than can go thru the bulkhead.  so it gushes.
not sure how to really explain it.
the sad part is, i had one of these tanks before.  the 90 gallon with a single cornerflo.  it had the same gurgling problem due to the bulkhead size.  I told myself when i picked this new tank up that i was going to drill the holes bigger for a 1.5 bulkhead and do it right.  i completely forgot until i had it running again.

If you drill a hole in the top of the durso elbow, and put a 12" piece or so of 1/4" poly tube down inside, it will get rid of the gurgling in the overflow. I have the exact same setup on my tank.

 

[davesolo29]

i have tried adjusting the pump flow..  no luck there. 
i will try making the airline go down the standpipe a bit further to see if that helps.

added some trochus and astrea snails today.  i have a bit of an algae bloom already.  lights are only on for about 6 hours a day to try and get some coraline to spread.

 

[BIGSHOW]

Looking good Dave.

I think you will really love the 36" depth.  The Vertex skimmers are also amazing.

Your stand is VERY nice, very clean looking setup, well done!

 

[davesolo29]

so... the hair algae is wayyyyyy out of control.  have been looking for some mexican turbo snails but with no luck. 
picked up a sea hare today.  hopefully it will do the trick.
apparently 6 hours of light is too much when there is nothing in the tank.  Im gonna try keeping it dark until i start adding coral.
between darkness and the sea hare i assume it will only be about a week or so for it to be clean.

 

[spyd]

Are you running bio-pellets on your tank? Also, is the live rock from your old setup?

 

[davesolo29]

no bio pellets yet.
rock is not from my old tank.

 

[spyd]

Get those bio-pellets running ASAP! The sooner the better. Also, I would start running some GFO if you have not started yet.

 

[dale]

ya phosphate remover,., as far as i know, anything eating algae doesnt remove the phosphates, you have to physically remove phosphates .,. takeing algae out is the most effective., i use phos guard and it works great., gfo,., and algae scrubbers work very well as ive been told.,.,  jst my 2 cents.  very nice tank by the way..

 

[davesolo29]

Time for an update.
The sea hare has pretty much removed all the hair algae.  I cant find him anywhere now.  Hopefully he didnt explode.

I changed the return plumbing in the cornerflow.  It is now just 1" pipe instead of 1.5" thru a 1" bulkhead.  much quieter.  no gushing of water escaping anymore.  The problem now is, i have my return pump restricted so much that im worried it will burn out.  So, time to change the pump to a smaller one.

Next issue.  Skimming.  I know, i always seem to have skimmer issues.  Maybe im doing something wrong but skimmers never seem to work for me.
My alpha cone 250 is not/ has not been performing properly for me.  I cant seem to find a happy spot for it.  it either runs low or overflows.  I had purchased this used so when i first set it up i had self diagnosed the problem as a split air line from the pump.  So, after a week of searching for the correct diameter of hose i replaced that only to find it didnt help.
I then checked the vertex aquaristik website and discovered that the bubble plate was installed incorrectly.  So i fixed that and it seemed to work better.  But still not enough.
While fixing the cornerflo i let a bunch of extra water into my sump, which of course rose the level, and all of a sudden my skimmer started working properly.
So i checked the website again and apparently my skimmer should be in 10 inches of water.  Only problem is, my baffles are set at 9 inches.  So now i have to have an extension made for my baffle to get this to work better.
grrrr.

 

[davesolo29]

Well,  Im sure some of you have heard,  I will be tearing my tank down and starting again soon.  Due to a tragedy in our family we now have two more children to love.  This means moving again as our house now is just way too small for 6 kids, 2 possibly 3 dogs, 2 cats, 2 adults and 200 gallons of reef.  But.. oh well.  what do you do?
Anyways.. just as i was ready to start adding a few corals.... probably best that i didnt.
If im lucky i can find a new place that will allow me to build a basement sump.  And i will take the time while it is empty to modify the overflows so that they work more to my liking.  Have to figure out a way to drill a 1 inch bulkhead into a 2 inch bulkhead while still keeping it wet so that the bit doesnt shatter the glass.  Or i will just plug the existing holes and drill for bean animal.  Decisions decisions.

 

[spyd]

Wow Dave! I am sorry to hear about your family tragedy! If there is anything I can do to help just let me know. You are one heck of a guy to assume all that responsibility and I wish your entire family all the best!

As for the corner overflows, what about just running a Herbie style? Use all the lines in your corner overflows as drains and go over the top of the tank with the return lines?

 

[davesolo29]

I found my new house.  Got the keys a couple days ago.  Going to take advantage of the rain days this week to do most of my moving.
Not sure when i will be moving my tank yet.  Likely closer to the end of the move so i can focus on it more.
I wish i hadnt sold my 120 gallon tank now.  It would have helped to give me more time to properly plan my basement sump build.

 

[Darryl_V]

Crazy Dave.  I wish you he best that is for sure.  6 kids is one heck of a responsibility.....but there is nothing more important or special than children and family.

 

[davesolo29]

Yep... kids are great.. as much as they drive you crazy on a regular basis, they have a way of making the trials of the day go away in an instant.

 

[davesolo29]

picked up a frag tank today.  it is about a 100 gallons.  cant remember the exact dimensions off hand.  it is approximately 4'x4'x14"
gonna use it to house all my rock and fish during the move then im going to incorporate it into my basement sump build.

 

[davesolo29]

been a couple months with no updates. 

since my tank was all torn down to move, i decided to make several changes.  didnt like the cornerflo/megaflow overflows and durso return, so i cut out the overflows, drilled for bean animal, and am making a coast to coast weir overflow.
im leaving one of the bottom drilled holes with a standpipe and a valve for quick drain for waterchanges..  plumbed right to the floor drain...  gonna roll a peice of 1" pvc with silicone all over it in some rock rubble so it doesnt become a huge eyesore.  kind of blend it in with the rockwork.

i also picked up an apex controller.  dont want anymore heater malfunctions.
made a new water change system out of two 75 gallon tanks.  one for ro/di and one for mixing.
plumbed the frag tank in with my system. 
set up a 60 gallon cube for qt.

I will take a few pics shortly and put them up