New 75gal Reef Tank Step-By-Step Setup DIY

[PowerManJ316]

Made some good progress on the plumbing. I think by the end of the week it will be pretty much done. I have a lot of the 1.5" connecting pipes cut and measured. Also, I have the main CLS pump put together. I just need to extend it to the bulkheads now. Enjoy the pics.

[PowerManJ316]

Progress from this week. I have completed the central, high output portion of the CLS. I could not add a union after the ball valves due to space constaints so two of the 1.5" fittings are only teflon taped and slipped together. They fit quite tight so I hope there will be no leaks. That is a Mag-7 powering the whole CLS.
On the second CLS picture you will notice that the return pump from the sump dumps into the top of the CLS inlet. I did this to avoid having to put the return into the display tank. I am interested in observing how this flow will work. The Mag7 is pushing ~700gph because there is very little head. THe return from the sump will be about 500gph. Thus I am estimating that about 200gph will be sucked into the top CLS inlet from the tank. I hope this is how the system works .
I added two small sections to the sump to incorporate a better Ecosystem approach. The each of these two sections will hold several bioballs. The purpose is supposedly to break detritus into fine particles that will be absorbed in the mud and start the denitrification process. The bioballs on the outlet side are there to prevent the Caulerpa, Seaweed, Chaeto, etc from getting sucked into the return pump (bad ).
Let me know what you think.

[Jeremy1973]

That is a BEAST!

I like what you did to the sump. *thumbs up* Nice work bud!

[PowerManJ316]

Originally Posted by Jeremy1973

That is a BEAST!

I like what you did to the sump. *thumbs up* Nice work bud!

Thanks Jeremy...the eggcrate really came in handy here!

[Geoff]

do not run your return the way you have it now!!! you will flood the sump if the power were to go out. that is if you cap off the top of the tee on that return. if you do not cap off the tee you will prolly starve the pump or overflow the return tee. i think this is way to risky to do. if the tee is not capped than you do not have a CLS system, it is an open system. the pump will not be pulling from the tank it will be waiting for the drain from the tank.

you do realize with this biological system you are thinking that you will need to replace your biomudd and sand on a very regular basis. this will be the main nutrient export mechanism. the sand/mudd will absorb nutrients faster than the macro will. i would think that you would need to replace these once a year in order to keep the tank from becoming and algae tank. you would also need to run some serious carbon to keep the chemical warefare from the algaes under controll. if not than you will not get good coral growth. Caleurpa produce coral growth inhibitors. these tanks also have a tendancy to be green in colour from all of the leached nutrients from the algae.

i would really urge you to reconsider this method and get a skimmer or we can design one for the system.

G~

[PowerManJ316]

I am certainly not deadset on the mud/caulerpa biological system, but I do think it is a very good filtration method. The 1x/year mud change i expected, however, I did not know about the Caulerpa inhibiting coral growth. I have also not heard about the green tinting to the water...it was my understanding that this method produced some of the clearest water of any filtration methods. I certainly plan to look into this much more. I am not planning on setting this up (if I decide to go this route) till after all the rock/sand/water is cured/cycled. I plan to run only a protein skimmer while the rock is curing.
The return is a little suspicious I would agree, but I am pretty sure none of the problems you mentioned could happen (only testing will finalize this). I plan on putting a cap on the top tee of the return, but drilling a hole in the cap so it is not air tight and thus a syphon could never occur. You gotta remember that the water level in the tank will always be above the top of the CLS tee even though the picture doesn't quite look like it, the overflow elbows are 1" above the top of the tee. Thus it will always be a closed system. WHen the pump pulls water from the top, since the water level is higher the the tee, water from the tank will flow into the CLS.
I am not 100% sure this is correct, but I am going to test it to make sure. I will make sure to post the findings.

[PowerManJ316]

The plumbing is complete. I simpy need to add my return pump and connect the flex pvc. I am also going to be adding 4 more CLS pumps, but not until a little down the road. I want to test this setup first. Unfortuneately I am going to be out of town for two weeks on business so it will be early April before i get to do anything further with this setup.
Anyway here is the plumbing.

[steve414]

there is acrylic tubing at American Science & Surplus i think its $16 for 4foot 5 1\2 inside they have 2" ones too very cheap plus alot of cool stuff

[Jeremy1973]

Wow..that is quite the beast! How long did it take you to piece and glue all that together?

[Geoff]

if you leave a tiny hole in the cap, it will act like a venturi. i have a feeling you will have air bubbles blowing all around your tank.

with any opening to air you will have an open system not a closed system. regardless of where the water level is. with that tee open to the atmosphere the pump will pull as much as it wants whether it is air or water. since it has a hole in the cap it may pull air in if it can not get enough through the drain. that drain will not act like a siphon so you are limited on that drain to what it can gravity feed. if it were a closed system than it would be limited only by what the pump can pull through that particular pipe size. a reference would be a Mag 18 uses 3/4" inlets and outlets. while a 3/4" drain can only handle about 350gph.

i am very interested to see what happens when you give it a try. hope it works. i would have a backup plan just in case.

the biological system you are thinking is kinda like an ATS (algae turf scrubber). this is taken to the next step from what you are doing, but is very similar.

G~

[PowerManJ316]

Geoff,
I see what you are saying about the open/closed loop system now. The mag cannot actually suck water from the tank - thus it is an open loop system. I am planning/hoping that the 1.5" pipe can gravity feed water into the Mag 7 at 700gph. I guess this is what the test will be determining. Thanks again for the help.
If this wouldnt work, I will simply pull the return tee and cap the CLS to make it a true CLS and run the return directly into the tank. I was just trying to minimize the pipes going into the display tank.

[Geoff]

sounds like a plan!!

G~

[PowerManJ316]

Originally Posted by Jeremy1973

Wow..that is quite the beast! How long did it take you to piece and glue all that together?

Heh...many days. I didn't do it all at once. It was prolly like 2 full days work. The toughest part was going from the 1/2" outlets to the 1.5" PVC. Also, I wanted to put a union after each of the ball valves, but there is not enough clearance behind the tank. So I simply have the pipes slipped in with a little teflon tape and I am going to hope it doesn't leak at all. I am not sure I would be able to glue all that stuff together in a single day. I got nearly got high a couple of times just priming/gluing 5 or 6 pieces together from the smell of the primer/glue. If I did the whole thing at once I would be talkin goofy for quite a while .

[skeety]

Originally Posted by PowerManJ316

So I simply have the pipes slipped in with a little teflon tape and I am going to hope it doesn't leak at all. .

you might get lucky, and not have leaks like this....but I wouldn't be suprised if you do get a considerable amount of air bubbles coming out into your tank.

Again...hope I'm wrong.

[PowerManJ316]

Originally Posted by skeety

you might get lucky, and not have leaks like this....but I wouldn't be suprised if you do get a considerable amount of air bubbles coming out into your tank.

Again...hope I'm wrong.

Any recommendations? I can't glue the whole thing together for obvious maintenance reasons and I can't fit unions in this section either.