135 Gallon Build - FINALLY PICS

[Krazykarl]

ok so as the topic suggests i finally decided it was time to take some pics as i keep asking questions and without pictures i guess i can't get the help im looking for. these pictures were took only minutes after the lights came on so the corals aren't opened yet. don't worry they are all open just fine after a while. everything in the tank is healthy. getting a minor cycle as im getting a bit of diatoms on the sand and glass but nothing bad....and the sump DOES NOT have baffles yet so i know what you are going to say.....if i lose siphon blah blah blah i know i have to get the glass cut and drain the sump and silicone in still i just haven't had time and since the tank is running i needed some filtration. i been so busy with work and trying to get the plumbing for the return lines done and the overflows are giving me a headache so...here it is.....be gentle lol....its still rough

 

[pulpfiction1]

looks like you off to a good start

 

[crazybizzle]

Ur suppose to thank me for helping u know. Pics are great dont do it justice until u see it in person.

 

[Krazykarl]

Lol much love to crazy Bizzle for helping with the build n cleaning n moving tanks. Couldn't have been done without ya....

 

[teebone110]

Awesome, now you are an official veteran reefer!

 

[Krazykarl]

Blob, as you can see in the pictures, the clear overflow is a DIY. The drain tubes are 1.5" each and drops down to a 1.25" into the sump. The water trickes into the tubes so slowly. I know it could handle 1900 gph easily but the piece used for the syphon can't keep up and the water in the dt raises faster than it can suck. Only option was adding the second overflow. However, when I opened full throttle on the return line I still can't keep up. So I introduced another u tube but I was getting  bubbles in the u tubes. What do I do? I have room to add those u tubes to the DIY overflow box, so I tried but still wasn't able to keep up.... Help... I would love to be able to run the pump at it's best and still maintain a full syphon ...

 

[Blob-79]

think I might see your problem. the two black tubes "down tubes" how much lower are they then the desired water level in the display tank? and how much higher are they from the intake(display tank side) of the black siphon U shape thingy ?

also with 2 downtubes your bottle neck isnt where I imagined it. When you get down to running 1 overflow, you may find it alot quieter if you take each of your 2 drains straight to the sump, instead of linking them together(with 1 1/2" tube all the way.)

Also if you were to take a cross section of that U tube you would get a rectangular shape..what would be the dimensions of that rectangle? Length and width?

 

[Blob-79]

btw..when I first looked thru the pictures, I couldnt tell that overflow was DIY...that means good job

 

[Blob-79]

So I introduced another u tube but I was getting  bubbles in the u tubes.

lol chain posts
where are these bubbles coming from? is the water rushing into the overflow box so fast?

wish I lived closer. lol

actually im gonna pm you my phone number, would be alot easier to troubleshoot over the phone

 

[Krazykarl]

Ok well I can't take credit for the overflow box I bought it off crazybizzle who got it off a friend. After reading your posts I began examining the overflow. The two black overflow downpipes are actually even in height with the dt tank water. That would explain the lack in drainage. However I do not know what the u tube or rectangle tube lol u could say is rated for. It's about 4" wide and about 1/4" ID....as far as the two tubes collecting was done by someone else. It running good tho. Good flow in the sump and tank...

 

[Blob-79]

that would explain why your water level increases so much when you open up your return pump. The more flow required to go down your downtubes=water level rises..because its gravity feed. By all rights the down tubes should be lower then your display water line. To maximise flow your want the downtubes to be as low as possible without going lower then the siphon tube on the display side. If you go even with or below your siphon tube, siphon will break on power outage. Just an estimation but those 2 downtubes if they were plumbed indevidually they would be on the verge of not being able to run quiet. So im thinking your not going to be able to acheive quiet opperation they way it is plumbed right now.

if your not able to shorten the two downtubes you have other options..just they are a little more complcated to explain..let me know and ill drar up some pictures lol

Hello my name is Simon...I like to do DRARINGS!..hope at least some of you get that...

 

[Krazykarl]

Hahahaha huwwo Simon! Lol... Awesome! Ya now that I look at it it makes total sense. There is about an eighth of an inch of water above the down tubes. They are almost level with the display water. If I had a dremel I could cut the pipes down about an inch without a prob. Gonna have to locate one. As for quietness I already have noise. You can hear the trickle of water thru the drain line as it travels. I could pull it apart and redo the whole thing over into two separate lines but that just costs more and I run risk of damaging it all together. I tried fishing air tubing thru the downpipes to minimize noise but I can't manage to find the sweet spot. If u can draw up something I could do that could possibly eliminate the noise or help make this hob overflow more efficient that would be great! Thanks again!!!

 

[Blob-79]

any updates?

 

[Kleko]

Good job

 

[Krazykarl]

Hey, ya a few updates... I haven't been able to locate a tool that would allow me to cut the drain pipes any lower. I'm stuck now. As far as flow I'm able to achieve about a 1000 gph thru the overflow without a problem. I have the return line bypassed so any water being turned away from the tank drains back into the sump. Using ball valves. I pulled the sump apart and inserted baffles finally. Calculated my cubic inches in my dt from water level to very top of the tank before it would overflow and converted it to us gallons. Based on this calculation I was able to determine a safe return pump section in case of siphon loss. Will not spill over. And vice versa if power loss the tank will not overflow sump. Put in a new skimmer rated for 200 gallons. Having microbubble issues at the moment. Other than that all seems to be working rather well. Still getting coral growth. But dying to get a metal halide system running. The tank is too long for 48" fixtures to adaquAtely light it all. So ya... I'll post pics of the sump after work