My Confession - Page 4

KodiakBear · 04-07-2007, 10:17 AM

Keeping it going is going to be the easy part. I just realized that I completely forgot to put in the evolution of my sump. Also forgot to add a picture of Jaques:

He hasn't been happy since the fish moved to QT.

KodiakBear · 04-07-2007, 10:29 AM

The sump has been a story in itself. Though there are not as many pictures of its progress, I'll give you what I have.
Early in the game my Fluval 304 met all my filtration needs,

with just one little Penguin power head to aid in the flow.
Then I read about the Berlin system sump. Sounded like a great idea, adds water volume to the system. This gets me thinking... More water = more fish! Which leads to thinking of a Mandarin Goby

a flame angel,

those clowns!

So, in search of a suitable sump I went!

KodiakBear · 04-07-2007, 10:33 AM

Didn't take long before my wife, God bless her, came home with a 20g that a friend from her work gave her!
Okay, it was a terrarium originally, but a glass box is a glass box right? Plus, once you rip off the tag that says "do not fill with water" it's like it was never there, right?
I was sceptical, but after letting it set in my yard full of water with no leaks for 3 days, I was convinced that warning didn't matter! (I should take the time now to inform you that all of this was months before I had any idea RS existed)

KodiakBear · 04-07-2007, 10:54 AM

Off to LOWES! One of my favorite stores in the world! I bought a couple sheets of Plexiglass, and some Aquarium Grade Silicon Adhesive and some PVC...
The design:

I didn't want to have to buy a new big pump, so I just spent $15 on a little pump to act as a booster for the suction on my fluval, which was connected in series.

InLimbo87 · 04-07-2007, 10:55 AM

Nice setup. Love to see the progression. One day when I get brave I'll post my newbie pictures. :Shudder's and goes to hide:

KodiakBear · 04-07-2007, 10:59 AM

I had it running for about a week before I was out to sea again.

a month or so underway we finally got some mail! Letters from home are more valuable than gold when you're out to sea. My letter even had a CD-R with photos in it!

Well, that picture had me freaked out. Filter floss over the return, and my chess board over the fuge?! Of course the letter had no explanation about either!

KodiakBear · 04-07-2007, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by InLimbo87

Nice setup. Love to see the progression. One day when I get brave I'll post my newbie pictures. :Shudder's and goes to hide:

Come on out! It's fun!

KodiakBear · 04-07-2007, 11:03 AM

A couple weeks later we got to shoot off some e-mails, and the picture of the sump was 2nd on my list of questions about home (the first being about Hurrican Katrina since this was the same time period and we don't get a lot of current news underway. For some reason we just can't seem to get the newspaper delivered!)

KodiakBear · 04-07-2007, 11:06 AM

Turns out my 3 cats thought the salty, fishy water tasted pretty good! So after one practically fell into the sump, the Mrs grabbed whatever was nearby to cover it. i.e. A chess board and the filter floss.
When I got home, I made my own custom cover out of a trash bag and duct tape!

I also moved the skimmer into the return section.
It's crude, I know. But the cat's were distraught for days trying to get in!

saltwaterfarm · 04-07-2007, 11:12 AM

I am really loving this thread... Maybe I've got Karma back...

KodiakBear · 04-07-2007, 11:13 AM

It was about this time that I found RS, and found dozens of threads about DIY sump/fuge set ups. So, strike one: Move the skimmer to the overflow side of the sump. Strike two: move the sand to where the return is, and put the return in the middle. Strike three: what good is a fuge without macro in it?

Macro needs light, so I used the fixture that came with the tank originally. Just a standard fluorescent
I still wasn't getting as much flow through the fluval as I wanted. The booster pump just wasn't passing enough water. So, recalling a piece of equipment on the ship that uses a venturi to gain extra volumetric flow, I designed an eductor of my own:

KodiakBear · 04-07-2007, 11:18 AM

So there it is, Skimmer on the left, return in the middle, and fuge with cheato on the right.
Forgot to mention the adding of 15 pounds of live sand when I made the conversion. I rinsed it 3 times and thought for sure that would be enough.

I'm wrong a lot. I'm just used to it now.

It did clear up, eventually. Took 3 filter socks to get it clear though.

KodiakBear · 04-07-2007, 11:24 AM

Here I am, all impressed with myself. I finally had a sump that would work. My cheato was rolling around, pods were in my tank, etc etc. I'm just sitting there, watching the tank.

WTF?!! That snail ain't a snail at all!!! Neither is that one!!! Nor that one!!! They're all hermit crabs!

I'd been laughing at the Crabs Are Evil Society... serves me right I guess.
All this time I'd been thinking my hermit crabs were dying off, when in reality, they just killed nearly all my snails and upgraded shells!
To the sump they go!

As evil as they are, I had to give them something to climb on. My newest rock

KodiakBear · 04-07-2007, 11:29 AM

Of course, this meant another trip to Ocean Wonders! Had to get some more snails to make up for the losses!

KodiakBear · 04-07-2007, 11:43 AM

Walking through Lowe's one day I have an epiphany for a new fuge light!

A flourescent twist bulb boasting 6700K! Add a little clip lamp and boom! Instant Fuge light for under $20

04-07-2007, 10:17 AM	#46 (permalink)
KodiakBear Plate Coral Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Woodbine, GA Posts: 790 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: My Confession Keeping it going is going to be the easy part. I just realized that I completely forgot to put in the evolution of my sump. Also forgot to add a picture of Jaques: He hasn't been happy since the fish moved to QT. __________________ Isaiah 6:8 I once prayed God would grant me patience. The next day I was starting a reef aquarium. My Confession

04-07-2007, 10:29 AM	#47 (permalink)
KodiakBear Plate Coral Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Woodbine, GA Posts: 790 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: My Confession The sump has been a story in itself. Though there are not as many pictures of its progress, I'll give you what I have. Early in the game my Fluval 304 met all my filtration needs, with just one little Penguin power head to aid in the flow. Then I read about the Berlin system sump. Sounded like a great idea, adds water volume to the system. This gets me thinking... More water = more fish! Which leads to thinking of a Mandarin Goby a flame angel, those clowns! So, in search of a suitable sump I went! __________________ Isaiah 6:8 I once prayed God would grant me patience. The next day I was starting a reef aquarium. My Confession

04-07-2007, 10:33 AM	#48 (permalink)
KodiakBear Plate Coral Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Woodbine, GA Posts: 790 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: My Confession Didn't take long before my wife, God bless her, came home with a 20g that a friend from her work gave her! Okay, it was a terrarium originally, but a glass box is a glass box right? Plus, once you rip off the tag that says "do not fill with water" it's like it was never there, right? I was sceptical, but after letting it set in my yard full of water with no leaks for 3 days, I was convinced that warning didn't matter! (I should take the time now to inform you that all of this was months before I had any idea RS existed) __________________ Isaiah 6:8 I once prayed God would grant me patience. The next day I was starting a reef aquarium. My Confession

04-07-2007, 10:54 AM	#49 (permalink)
KodiakBear Plate Coral Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Woodbine, GA Posts: 790 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: My Confession Off to LOWES! One of my favorite stores in the world! I bought a couple sheets of Plexiglass, and some Aquarium Grade Silicon Adhesive and some PVC... The design: I didn't want to have to buy a new big pump, so I just spent $15 on a little pump to act as a booster for the suction on my fluval, which was connected in series. __________________ Isaiah 6:8 I once prayed God would grant me patience. The next day I was starting a reef aquarium. My Confession

04-07-2007, 10:55 AM	#50 (permalink)
InLimbo87 Harlequin Tuskfish Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Orlando Posts: 998 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: My Confession Nice setup. Love to see the progression. One day when I get brave I'll post my newbie pictures. :Shudder's and goes to hide: __________________ We are forever responsible for that which we tame... Oceanic 33g Cube Tank Thread ~Ian~

04-07-2007, 10:59 AM	#51 (permalink)
KodiakBear Plate Coral Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Woodbine, GA Posts: 790 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: My Confession I had it running for about a week before I was out to sea again. a month or so underway we finally got some mail! Letters from home are more valuable than gold when you're out to sea. My letter even had a CD-R with photos in it! Well, that picture had me freaked out. Filter floss over the return, and my chess board over the fuge?! Of course the letter had no explanation about either! __________________ Isaiah 6:8 I once prayed God would grant me patience. The next day I was starting a reef aquarium. My Confession

04-07-2007, 11:03 AM	#53 (permalink)
KodiakBear Plate Coral Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Woodbine, GA Posts: 790 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: My Confession A couple weeks later we got to shoot off some e-mails, and the picture of the sump was 2nd on my list of questions about home (the first being about Hurrican Katrina since this was the same time period and we don't get a lot of current news underway. For some reason we just can't seem to get the newspaper delivered!) __________________ Isaiah 6:8 I once prayed God would grant me patience. The next day I was starting a reef aquarium. My Confession

04-07-2007, 11:06 AM	#54 (permalink)
KodiakBear Plate Coral Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Woodbine, GA Posts: 790 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: My Confession Turns out my 3 cats thought the salty, fishy water tasted pretty good! So after one practically fell into the sump, the Mrs grabbed whatever was nearby to cover it. i.e. A chess board and the filter floss. When I got home, I made my own custom cover out of a trash bag and duct tape! I also moved the skimmer into the return section. It's crude, I know. But the cat's were distraught for days trying to get in! __________________ Isaiah 6:8 I once prayed God would grant me patience. The next day I was starting a reef aquarium. My Confession

04-07-2007, 11:12 AM	#55 (permalink)
saltwaterfarm Manta Ray Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Maryland Posts: 3,222 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: My Confession I am really loving this thread... Maybe I've got Karma back... __________________ Lisa 90 Gal AGA, DIY Sump/Fuge, Current Outer Orbit 250w MH's with T5's. AquaC Remora Pro Skimmer, RK2.[/font] Purple LTA, pair of Percula Clowns, Clams, Softies, Shrooms, Ricordea, Echinophyllia, Torch, Frogspawn, Blastos, Sponges, Acro, Wellso, the NEW Zoa Mountain, and some more stuff... 3 Gal Sexy Shrimp Pico. 29 Gal Oceanic BioCube, Current Sunpod 150w MH.

04-07-2007, 11:13 AM	#56 (permalink)
KodiakBear Plate Coral Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Woodbine, GA Posts: 790 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: My Confession It was about this time that I found RS, and found dozens of threads about DIY sump/fuge set ups. So, strike one: Move the skimmer to the overflow side of the sump. Strike two: move the sand to where the return is, and put the return in the middle. Strike three: what good is a fuge without macro in it? Macro needs light, so I used the fixture that came with the tank originally. Just a standard fluorescent I still wasn't getting as much flow through the fluval as I wanted. The booster pump just wasn't passing enough water. So, recalling a piece of equipment on the ship that uses a venturi to gain extra volumetric flow, I designed an eductor of my own: __________________ Isaiah 6:8 I once prayed God would grant me patience. The next day I was starting a reef aquarium. My Confession

04-07-2007, 11:18 AM	#57 (permalink)
KodiakBear Plate Coral Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Woodbine, GA Posts: 790 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: My Confession So there it is, Skimmer on the left, return in the middle, and fuge with cheato on the right. Forgot to mention the adding of 15 pounds of live sand when I made the conversion. I rinsed it 3 times and thought for sure that would be enough. I'm wrong a lot. I'm just used to it now. It did clear up, eventually. Took 3 filter socks to get it clear though. __________________ Isaiah 6:8 I once prayed God would grant me patience. The next day I was starting a reef aquarium. My Confession

04-07-2007, 11:24 AM	#58 (permalink)
KodiakBear Plate Coral Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Woodbine, GA Posts: 790 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: My Confession Here I am, all impressed with myself. I finally had a sump that would work. My cheato was rolling around, pods were in my tank, etc etc. I'm just sitting there, watching the tank. WTF?!! That snail ain't a snail at all!!! Neither is that one!!! Nor that one!!! They're all hermit crabs! I'd been laughing at the Crabs Are Evil Society... serves me right I guess. All this time I'd been thinking my hermit crabs were dying off, when in reality, they just killed nearly all my snails and upgraded shells! To the sump they go! As evil as they are, I had to give them something to climb on. My newest rock __________________ Isaiah 6:8 I once prayed God would grant me patience. The next day I was starting a reef aquarium. My Confession

04-07-2007, 11:29 AM	#59 (permalink)
KodiakBear Plate Coral Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Woodbine, GA Posts: 790 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: My Confession Of course, this meant another trip to Ocean Wonders! Had to get some more snails to make up for the losses! __________________ Isaiah 6:8 I once prayed God would grant me patience. The next day I was starting a reef aquarium. My Confession

04-07-2007, 11:43 AM	#60 (permalink)
KodiakBear Plate Coral Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Woodbine, GA Posts: 790 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: My Confession Walking through Lowe's one day I have an epiphany for a new fuge light! A flourescent twist bulb boasting 6700K! Add a little clip lamp and boom! Instant Fuge light for under $20 __________________ Isaiah 6:8 I once prayed God would grant me patience. The next day I was starting a reef aquarium. My Confession

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