Hi all,
Here's one for ya......
Newer client....30 g acrylic. Has an Emperor 280 on it, Eheim Canister 2228, (no skimmer) ~30 lbs LR, double NO lights (fine for the few little softies in it)....lots of cyano, nitrates through the roof LOL
Here's the PROBLEM that I need help with.....
Client bought this tank used, 3+ years ago. Had somebody doing maintenance on it 2 + years ago, but they stopped coming. He had been DIY but no water changes etc.....the tank has an Eheim 2228 canister that was like Pandora's box......nobody has EVER done a thing to it, that anybody can recall (this tank is in his office), not even his old maintenance guy. In fact I don't even think the media was changed when his wife bought the tank from its original owner (betcha Jimmy Hoffa's hiding in there....
)
I did some reading, downloaded a user's manual for this filter, bought new media for it, and was going to take care of that today...well......of course whoever plumbed this tank just rigged it....
The drain to the canister is in the center of the back of the tank, right at the BOTTOM. There is a leaky bulkhead (got a new one coming), with a straight PVC to the dead center of the floor of the tank, a 90 degree elbow pointing UP that had a cruddy intake screen on that. The return is sensibly plumbed in the top right corner of the back of the tank, but they rigged fittings that didn't fit together, and with lots of glue, it sorta worked. Lots of leaky
salt creep down the back of the tank....
I had to CUT the fitting at the bulkhead to free it... the bulkhead was toast anyway.... it's 1/2" and I believe the drain is 3/4".
When I went to unclip the canister to go and change the media, the poorly affixed hoses began to leak and I nearly ended up with 30 gallons of water on the floor. After 3 trips to Home Depot to try to cap the thing, and thank God my daughter was there to hold the end of the hose so the entire tank didn't drain on the floor.....it was clear that I couldn't MacGyver it, so I ended up draining the tank and taking the whole thing back to the shop...tank, livestock, rock, and stinky
canister filter (peewwwww)
So..........
We have a 30 gallon tank with two holes....what would you do?
Keep in mind that the client will have to approve any changes....the tank is nice but in rough shape and I'm not sure what he wants to spend on it ...if it was me, I'd toss the tank and get another one for that stand but I doubt that is an option....
Here's what I'm thinking, in order of my preference...
A.) Create an overflow box in the center back, and add a sump-- a 10 gallon tank would do this nicely, and put say, a Mag 2.5 to return and a small skimmer. I've got a Sealife 75 that would do nicely. This whole thing would cost over $200. (not including labour)
B.) Create a closed loop using said Mag plumbed in-line and using unions and shut valves so that the pump can be removed and cleaned periodically, without a major catastrophe. This would cost the price of the Mag, and the plumbing bits, all told, under $100. (less labour)
C.) Install new bulkheads, plumb the darned thing up right, and overhaul the canister, and maintain it so it doesn't go biological. This would probably be under $75, and I've already got the media for it.
Option A is the most expensive, and the client's least likely to go for it. Option C is what he's probably going to want...
What would YOU do?
Jenn
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