BigAl's slow chronicle . . .

[BigAl07]

thanks gang! I am THRILLED to have "Action" in the tank. Even if it's only "Egg-Crate" swimming around it's at least ACTION!!

Originally Posted by Dentoid

Wierd Science man! Great job Al! The TV in the background drownds out any noise from that sump!

Scott.. WHAT sump noise?

[tbittner]

Stoopid TV! (for Barbs sake)

One thing that I found out was extending pipes down into the water ends up trapping air in the line. I had to drill a small hole in the elbow in order to let air escape. I'm just curious/concerned about the tube going from your fuge into your return compartment. And it wouldn't take much to stop the flow going through that tube, like some chaeto or a snail or a crab and *BOOM* instant flood.

Maybe think of a way of protecting the intake on that tube from blockage.

[BigAl07]

Originally Posted by tbittner

Stoopid TV! (for Barbs sake)

One thing that I found out was extending pipes down into the water ends up trapping air in the line. I had to drill a small hole in the elbow in order to let air escape. I'm just curious/concerned about the tube going from your fuge into your return compartment. And it wouldn't take much to stop the flow going through that tube, like some chaeto or a snail or a crab and *BOOM* instant flood.

Maybe think of a way of protecting the intake on that tube from blockage.

tbittner EXCELLENT advice. I thought about the "fuge drain" as well. I'll probably add a huge sponge there to allow for light filtering and protection from stoppage.

Ok help me out about the "small hole in the elbow" idea. You mean ABOVE the water line? Does it NOT push water OUT the hole?

If you could elaborate a little more on the "Elbow Hole" would be GREATLY appreciated. Also would this work for the Main Drain line as well as the Fuge Line?

[tbittner]

The main drain line wasn't a problem simply because of the weight of the water and the distance that it falls, it's able to force the air out the end. It was the gentle falls, such as from my collection container down into the skimmer and fuge tubs, which only falls about 3 feet through 1 1/4" pvc pipe. I guess they were big enough that air would get trapped in them and the flow was slow enough that it would very effectively block the flow down those pipes until the water got high enough in the 35g collection container to push the air out. It did overflow once on me when I first got it working so the drill quickly came out and a small hole was drilled ABOVE the water line to give the trapped air a place to go. Problem solved.

I drilled a very small hole in the elbow and yes, water does dribble out of that hole occasionally but I drilled the hole so the water then drains into the skimmer/fuge tubs anyway so it's not a concern for me. I was just flabbergasted that it stopped the flow of the water.

This is all based on my experiences and we have two very different solutions so just because it happened to me does NOT mean it WILL happen to you. I was just offering my experiences.

[BigAl07]

Terry I appreciate your input greatly.

The line coming TO the fuge does seem to have a build up of air in the line and it will slow down and push one BIG gulp of air out every now and then. I wonder if that will hep.

On the MAIN drain it does the same thing but on a LARGER scale. It's pretty quiet now so I may leave that part of it alone

[Frankie]

Looking good dude!
I would not put a sponge on the drain pipes. See the bulkhead screen you have on the fuge? mod a few of them to fit over the pipes. This way you can still get the pod population flowing to the main display.

[BarbMazz]

Originally Posted by Dentoid

Wierd Science man! Great job Al! The TV in the background drownds out any noise from that sump!

AAEEEIIIIIII MY EARS MY EARS........AEIIII TV SOUNDS!!!


AL. did you really think people would turn off the sound?!? I'll forgive you this time, though.

The plumbing looks really good.. I bet it's a great feeling. Congrats!

[cracker]

Same here Al I have a lot of air to the fuge.It's creating a lot of bubbles in the fuge & salt spray. A device like Framerguy made or what got my interest was the pic Boozeman put up of "back flow break" I think he called it.

[BigAl07]

Exactly Barb! Exactly!!

Yeah it's a GREAT feeling! I now have the RO/DI system dumping into it. Hopefully tomorrow night Salt, Sand and ROCK! Maybe just Salt and Sand and REEF BALLS

Thanks for looking and reading Me

[tbittner]

Originally Posted by BigAl07

The line coming TO the fuge does seem to have a build up of air in the line and it will slow down and push one BIG gulp of air out every now and then. I wonder if that will hep.

Sounds like exactly what I experienced.

[tbittner]

Originally Posted by Frankie

Looking good dude!
I would not put a sponge on the drain pipes. See the bulkhead screen you have on the fuge? mod a few of them to fit over the pipes. This way you can still get the pod population flowing to the main display.

Ahhhh, excellent suggestion! You don't want to stifle the flow of pods.

[hma]

[boozeman]

everything looks so new and shiny

[BigAl07]

I would bet that's a "short lived" luxury booze bro! At least I have the pictures to help fuel my memory later on when it's less than shiny and clean looking.

Ok I left the RO/DI running into it ALL night long. Talk about slow. When it's 16 degrees outside the RO/DI unti does seem to run a teenie bit slower.. yeah a TRICKLE at best. So after it ran for 7 hours here's what it looks like this morning.

FTS (Does it still count if the tank is only 1/3 full?)


Side Shot (Notice my Reef Balls.... everyone likes looking at my balls)


and a close up of the MASSIVE stream of water coming from the RO/DI unit


I'll be going home in a few hours just to check on the status. Don't want something "un-calculated" happening and running gallons of water into the living room. It's not totally water proof YET

By the way.... I just started a separate thread about MIXING the salt and looking for ideas in it over at

Mixing Salt Ideas ? ? ?

The reason for the New Thread is it MAY be something that will help someone else out in the future. Let me know what yall think

[ragvette]

Originally Posted by BigAl07

and a close up of the MASSIVE stream of water coming from the RO/DI unit

That looks like a lot of water

What size RO/RI unit do you have? You certain you don't have the waste line going into the tank?