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

[PowerManJ316]

Originally Posted by Geoff

what sized pump are you going to use to supply the skimmer?

G~

Since I am using all Flex PVC, I am going to measure the head with a Mag 3 and then get a smaller Mag once I see what kind of head pressures I am dealing with...prolly like a 1.5 for the through flow and a 2-3 for the venturi air bubble creation. You have any reccommendations on how big of a pump to use for the venturi? The skimmer is 4" diameter and 4' tall.

[Geoff]

i really like what a mag 7 does with either a 1/2" or 3/4" Kent venturi valve.

G~

[PowerManJ316]

Originally Posted by Geoff

i really like what a mag 7 does with either a 1/2" or 3/4" Kent venturi valve.

G~

Oh wow, I wouldn't have guessed that big. I actually should be getting the 1/2" Kent venturi tomorrow. I have a spare 7 laying around so maybe I will throw that beast on there and test it. Im guessing the 3.5 prolly won't even come close to producing enough bubbles then.

Unfortuneately my skimmer looks like a pincushion filled with water...it is leaking all over the place .

It will prolly take me a day or two to re-glue and get this holes sealed up.

On a better note, all of the main plumbing is done. Only the plumbing to and from the skimmer remains (and fresh topoff). I will have pics tomorrow!

[Jeremy1973]

Originally Posted by PowerManJ316

Unfortuneately my skimmer looks like a pincushion filled with water...it is leaking all over the place .

lol...sorry bro..but the way you described that just created a hilarious mental image of a tall plastic tube with jets of water squirting out on all sides and directions.

Is this problem easily correctable? Was something just not glues together correctly, or is that part of this whole closet flange piece Geoff mentioned?

[PowerManJ316]

Originally Posted by Jeremy1973

lol...sorry bro..but the way you described that just created a hilarious mental image of a tall plastic tube with jets of water squirting out on all sides and directions.

Is this problem easily correctable? Was something just not glues together correctly, or is that part of this whole closet flange piece Geoff mentioned?

It is just the glueing of the connections. The curvature of the main tube makes gluing the lnlets/Outlets difficult. Also, 1.5" was waaaay to big. This did not help. The 1/2" openings are fine right now and sealed very well. So, the closet flange itself has not leaked yet, but I have only had about 1 gallon of water in the skimmer so far. I glued half of the 1.5" inlets/outlets again last night and I will finish this tonight, so Thur I will be testing it again for leaks.

[Geoff]

i like uni-seals because of the problems you are finding out now. whenever anybody asks me if there is anything i would do differently on the skimmer i tell them to use uni-seals instead of trying to cement the joints together.

G~

[PowerManJ316]

Here are some pics of all the plumbing done. The skimmer should be sealed now. I used some strong epoxy and it seems to be holding much better. I am going to test these leaks tonight. I am going to hook up my RO/DI unit this weekend and hopefully get some salty water in the tank by the end of next week.

[PowerManJ316]

More Pics.

[PowerManJ316]

The grey bin on the bottom shelf of the stand is a 20gal rubber maid container to help hold the extra water from the surges. It is plumbed directly into the return chamber from the sump so that while the sump is filling the surge tank, it does not run dry and while the surge tank is surging, the sump does not over flow. This was really helpful since my return portion of the sump could only hold about 3-4 gallons.

[Jeremy1973]

Hey Jeff, wanted to say it is looking good bro. One small thing. I think your tank will look better or be more easilly viewable if you turn it around. I think the grey shelving might hinder some from looking in your tank. heh heh


Sorry..had to do it.

[PowerManJ316]

Great Catch !!! I would have been very angry if I would have filled it up and then not have been able to rotate it around. Haha, I have it spun around and I am planning on filling it as soon as I get a booster pump. My water pressure is like 20 psi so for every 1 gallon of good water coming out of my RO/DI unit, about 10 are wasted. This is a bad thing since I am paying for (crappy) city water. But I just ordered a booster off ebay that should bring it up to about 100psi which is the max the RO/DI unit can handle.

[PowerManJ316]

Also, I hooked up my Kent 1/2" Venturi to my mag 3 and it looked pretty cool, but I don't think there is the bubble production I need for the 4ft skimmer. I am going to slap a Mag 7 on there and test it again once all of the leaks are fixed on the skimmer.

[PowerManJ316]

The finished product...
The surge device works really well though I am going to want to put some sort of deflector on the outlet so it just doesn't poor into the tank. I am thinking about just sticking a couple of rocks in front of it and letting the water diffuse around the rocks.

* It takes about 25-30 seconds to fill (Mag 7 and flex PVC from sump)
* It takes about 10 seconds to drain
* Right now the syphon doesn't break immediately at the bottom - sometimes it will continue to flow normally for 30 - 60 more seconds meaning the Mag 7 is a little faster than necessary and the Mag 3 supplement is not needed. I am going to divert some of the water away from the surge tank and then use the mag 3 to kick the syphon in gear. This way as soon as the water hits the bottom of the CSD, the syphon breaks.

I would really recommend this to anyone interested in a cheap and easy surge device. ($25)

[PowerManJ316]

And one final pic

[motorslave]

That thing is freakin awesome! Now how will I fit one of those into the wet room?
Good job!

R