Step-by-step building of my 125

[hansmatt]

Looking good! I only wish I had blank slate to work with too!
Matt

[Jrmass]

Well, as I have been planning I have made a plumbing modification already. Pretty much had to be done due to having to cut the water flow back so far on my pump. I took the "T" off of the connection between the two returns and gave each return their own dedicated 1 1/2" dump line. Water flow has gone from being restricted to about 1/4-1/3 power to 3/4 open. aka from MAYBE 1000 gph between 4 nozzles to probably 3000 gph between the 4 nozzles. (tank kind of has that hot tub water movement feel to it now lol).

[Jrmass]

This HOPEFULLY will be the last addition to the tank as far as equipment goes for quite sometime. Got a brand new 1/5 drop in chiller off of ebay a few hours ago. I should have it here by weeks end hopefully.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWA:IT&ih=014

[carym]

Cool should help keep things regulated....

[hansmatt]

I've said that to myself a few times "last addition ...as far as equipment", it also applies to fish, corals....
matt

[Jrmass]

I don't think I would ever say "last addition" as far as corals go... Because there is ALWAYS room for "just one more" lol. But, Jen has already said this is our x-mas presents to each other... So, that means the leash is being kept tight for a while hahaha... But, if it keeps my tank from going above 85 then it's a worthwhile investment. (it's 84-85 right now). So, I'll have to wien the chiller in not to send everything into shock.

[Jrmass]

Talk about worst case scenario happening... Yesterday I got my 1.5" bulkhead for my sump that I was telling you all about. I get the bulkhead installed into the new plastic tank. Checked it quickly for leaks and all was good. Removed my old plumbing that was on my 75 gallon tank. Plumbed up the new system. All is great. Start filling the tank and guess what. A leak. *rolling eyes* yeah they happen. I try to tighten the bulkhead............ And the **** thing is stripped out......... So... Here I am.... 8:00 at night. All plumbing stores are closed/closing. And I have a tank which leaks worse than a babies diaper. Well, to make a long story short... I used an entire can of pipe cement on the bulkhead. Just about an entire roll of tephlon tape. And about 1/2 the towels in the house and got the leak down to about 1/16 cup every 5 mins... Luckily Jen had the day off. Because that's the way I just left it seeing I had to work at 5:00 and it was already 11:00. So... today back to the plumbing store and put it back the way it was and one very nasty call to the company I got the bulkhead from. (not going to mention who... but, they do have a coral conference each year for the last three years). So, back to the drawing board. But, at least my tank is leak free again but, I have the same issue with worrying about a power outage and losing my prime on my pump =(. Any ideas on how I can fix this issue w/out getting the pump further on the ground as I'm not messing with that again for a VERY long time.

Jason

[pogodzib]

Plumbing problems ALWAYS happen when stores are closed. Don't ask me why they never happen when the stores are open. Maybe it's because I only mess with my tanks late at night. Don't give the company that you got the bulkhead from too much trouble. They aren't the ones that manufactured it and they will probably send a new one out to you at no cost.

As far as suggestions go for your pump, it's always nice to have the tank drilled with a bulkhead and the pump below the water level. It shouldn't be too bad to still do that since you should be able to drain the sump for a little while to get it drilled. Although I never fully trust them, the only other way that I know of that would prevent your pump from loosing prime would be to install a check valve.

[schneijt]

I have an Eheim 1250 return pump in my sump, which is not self-priming. However, since it sits below the water level, it has never had a problem restarting. I don't know how your pump is set up, but I'm pretty sure it will restart as long as there is water in it when power is restored. Even if your pump is external, having it below the sump's water level should allow it to restart itself without any trouble. Then again, I'm no expert on these things... :-)

-Joe

[hansmatt]

I had my own "plumming when the store is closed" issue last night...I was replacing the faucet in the kitchen and decided to fiddle with it a bit more than necessary. The enemy of good is better I guess, and I had the cold and hot lines dripping pretty well. Not quite as dramatic, however when it's the kitchen sink there is always cause for concern (from someone that is)
Matt

[Jrmass]

Well, the reason I'm worried about losing prime is because the pump is actually above the water level. What I had before was a checkvalve on the end of the intake pipe (which does work but, would only hold the water for about an hour so if the power is out longer than that guess what?) And the other downfall to that method is that I have to have hose clamps on the unit and saltwater plus ANY kind of metal equals disaster. (I've already tried even using stainless steel) it eats the hell out of it.

[schneijt]

I'm dealing with 1/2 and 3/4" tubing, so I can use plastic clamps. If you're using larger diameter tubing, then yep, you'll have to figure out a way to clamp down the tubing without using metal. That, or find a 100% reliable way to stop water from siphoning back down below the pump and breaking the prime.

-Joe

[Jrmass]

If I were to plumb the pump onto the ground and have my piping come over the top of the tank and come down to the tank (similiar to that of a sideways "S") do you guys think that if the power were to go out there would be enough water in the system to jumpstart it like that? Or do you guys think that it would pull itself out of prime too fast?

Here is a makeshift diagram of what I'm talking about... The only thing that would maintain the prime would be the amt of that would remain in the piping below the water lvl. Just curious if you guys think this would work?

Jason

[carym]

Wouldn't the water be at the top of the tank? When the power goes off there is water in all of the pipes.... power goes off and water drains back into the sump only to the level of the top of the take or the horizontal pipe..... you could always add more water by taking the pipe up out of the sump at a higher level....

Cary

[schneijt]

I'd be worried about the pump having enough water getting to it from the sump. Since you're setting up a sort of "siphon" system, I think your pump might push water up faster than it can get it from the sump through the pipes. My apologies if this has already been covered, but is it somehow possible to drill the sump near the bottom? Probably not, or I'm sure you'd have done that... But, I don't see the setup demonstrated above working well. Even if it did, I'd be worried about reliability starting back up. I could be wrong, but that looks kind of risky to me. You mentioned before that you couldn't put the return pump in the sump because of the metal clamps; if you figured out a non-metal way to secure the tubing, would you be able to run the pump submerged in the sump? That's probably the easiest thing you can do at this point. Otherwise you'll have to find a way to drill the sump, I think. The more elaborate you get trying to overcome this problem, the more I think you're introducing potential problems. I like the K.I.S.S. principle, and I try to avoid breaking it at all costs!

-Joe