This thread is not really a how to, but more what I have learned thru my research and experiences and my feeings about setting up a BB tank, a manifesto so to speak
Hopefully this helps people in setting up their tank.
Cook Rocks
The first thing I want to talk about is cooking rock. I was fortunate enough to cook my rocks but there are many people that can't or wont, or do it one way or another way. This is not a "must do", but doing it gives you that much more of a headstart to a clean tank.
Here's how I did it.
- got 2 rubbermaid brute garbage cans and 5 rubbermaid bins.
- filled up 1 brute and all 5 rubbermaids set up in a row with aged/aerated (24 hours)ASW. I made sure the brute was heated to tank temps and had an airstone at the bottom.
-set up a bunch of towels between the rubbermaids
- violently dunked and swished each rock in each rubbermaid for like 30 seconds or so
- after the 5 rubbermaids I placed the rock in the brute and put the top on. After the 5th rubbermaid the water was pretty clean
- I would wait 7 days and do the whole process over again. The rubbermaids would be just as dirty as the week before.
This went on for about 2 months. Something I later learned was that my rock was probably "base" rock by that time (it was stored in a tub for months in a very cold garage for months) and that I should have added an ammonia source to jump start the cycle.
I still blow my rocks off every week, sometimes a few times a week.
Sumps
Next I'd like to mention sump design. The thing I wanted in my sump was a place for stuff to settle, no microbubbles, and to help me in the skimming of my filthy, stinkin, water. I keep my sump in the dark so it stays bacterial driven and there is no algae growth in it.
My sump is set up in 3 sections.. From right to left = compartments 1-2-3
-The first compartment is where the overflow from the tank (pointed towards the intake of my skimmer), my temp controller probe (so I can get a reading from my whole tank), and my skimmer intake (with screen) is. I set up 2 baffles between the first and second compartment, the go under than over in to the second compartment. I made these baffles pretty close, about 1" apart and less than 1" off the ground. This keeps most of the dirty water in compartment 1 where my skimmer can get it. Something I should mention here is that my
skimmer pump and return pump are the same exact pump (pcx-55) This allows me to skim most of the water that flows thru the tank.
-The second compartment is where my skimmer intake is(at a 45 degree), and my heaters are(to heat the whole tank before the probe). At the end of compartment 2 there are 2 baffles that go over then under in to compartment 3. These baffles are about 2" apart and 2" off the ground. I tried a few different widths but found 2" to stop all microbubbles from entering the tank. Any less than 2" (with my pump speed) and my tank suffers from bubble fogging. The baffles slow the water down just enough to let the bubbles pop before the enter compartment 3. I know other people use eggcrate and baffles to slow the water down.
-Compartment 3 is my just my return pump (with screen). This is also the settling compartment of my sump. I notice that when I skim "dry" this is the compartment that fills up with fish poo and food particles. This is 1 of 2 ways I know my skimmer is working at it's best, the other way is my skimmer cup walls.
If I had anything to do over again in the sump it would be to make compartment 3 bigger and the "under" baffles taller. Compartment 3 is the compartment that houses the effects of
wet skimming and evaporation. The collection cup for the skimmer is 5 gal, compartment 3 is about 6. Thank god my skimmer is stable and doesn't overflow or my pump would run dry and I'd be in a heap of trouble . What I end up doing is overfilling my sump but this defeats the purpose of my baffling system. I am going to make a new bucket out of a 3 gallon pail tomorrow.
Skimmers and Skimming Wet
Now the favorite subject, skimmers.. The skimmer is the backbone of my system. I have tried 2 skimmers, an ASM G3 and a mr2. I don't want to sound like I am bashing the G3 or needlewheels but I should tell you why I decided to get rid of it and switch to a becket type.
One thing is that G3 skimmer pump wasn't powerful enough. In order to wet skim (which is key) I would have to jack the water way up in the skimmer. The solid mass of bubbles wouldn't start until the reduction in the neck, what would happen is most of the water would bypass that solid foam and go right back into the tank. The skimmer was great at producing that flowey, swirly bubble mass, but not the tight, upward moving bubble mass needed to remove particles. The swirly bubbles arn't strong enough to grab the particles and move them out. Also by jacking the water way up in the neck my skimmer was prone to overflow and dump dirty water back in the tank consistently. I just didn't feel like this skimmer was cleaning my tank, the only way I was able to remove particles was with a filter sock.
I hear people throw out the term "wet skimming" a lot but I wonder if they are really wet skimming correctly. I am no expert and dont claim to be but I did consult with a few people about wet skimming and I feel I have a good handle on it. IMO just because the skimmate is watery doesn't mean that you are wet skimming, it just means that your skimmate is wet. Thru my research on reefcentral, the first person I saw mention "wet skimming" was the infamous Bomber and all he used was a becket type skimmer. It was also stated that a needlewheel type of skimmer was meant for dry foam and it makes perfect since seeing how much the reduction in the neck was.
For wet skimming I am under the impression that there should be no dry foam what-so-ever coming out of the skimmer. My skimmer bubbles very rarely spill over into the collection cup and just pop at the top of the riser, this splatters particle matter all over my skimmer cup. I have to wipe down my collection cup every 2 days so that I can see thru to my riser, this is the second way I can tell if the skimmer is working. If I wipe down the cup and dont instantly see a slime starting to build up, something is not right. I don't really know how to explain to someone how to to wet skim, but I can tell you that with my configuration the swirly bubbles stop right at the bottom of the top riser (under the quick release). From the bottom to the top of the upper riser I have a solid column of bubbles that move upwards. At the very top of the riser the bubbles get a little bigger, then pop. There is probably on 5 seconds total of contact time. Also my riser never really needs to be wiped down.
Here is a picture of my cleanish skimmer cup
Here is a dirty picture..
And here is a really bad video..
http://s50.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=184MRQ427XS8V1E9SPOLZHK246
This is my skimmer. There are many like it, but this one is mine. This skimmer is a modded MR2. I used to have an up and over into the intake of my skimmer and return pump but after talking to the manufactures, I decided to drill the sump and go straight in to the pump. They told me that my pump is very good at pushing water, not so good at pulling. After drilling the sump I noticed a major difference in my pumps performance. After researching more I found gregt's thread on reefcentral and he is running an up and over on his pumps, he calls it a "hook". Come to find out he uses a larger diameter pipe so there is as much water available to the pump as it needs. Hopefully that helps someone.
As far as the modding goes the becket is raised off of the separation/reaction chamber about 6" with a 1" pipe, the 1" from the pump output goes directly into the becket (no 90 "L"), and there is a carbon air filter. I'm not really sure what raising the becket off of the box does. I heard something about backpressure and allowing more time for the bubbles to separate. I also didn't know what the 1" straight in to the becket did either until I replaced it with the old 90 that was originally on there. I noticed I had to re-adjust, for the worst, my air and water settings to get where I wanted to be with wet skimming. The carbon air filter was the best mod. Every time I would light a candle or cook my skimmer foam would drop down, not anymore. Also my skimmer mixes a ton of air in to my water and I want it to be clean air. I have alost invested in that water and I want it to be as clean as possible. Also it's great not to have to change that little cotton ball which would get all clogged up and effect skimming often.
I made a 5 gallon collection cup with auto shutoff that I found when looking at gregt's thread. If you're reading this, thanks Greg! This was so helpful while learning to adjust my skimmer (which was the worst part about setting up my becket)
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...hlight=divider
My skimmer is set high and the output enters the sump in at a 45 degree angle. This keeps the level in my skimmer very consistent and lets the skimmer drain fast.
, aka filter sock or blowing around your tank.
I agree on the skimmer, you can get them to run wet for a needlewheel but never as wet as a beckett. I also think you defeat the purpose of the needlewheel design which is dwell time, by skimming wet.
