Creation of the fuge pic thread

[ReefSparky]

I'm creating a fuge so I can grow some chaeto under full light 24/7. I've got limited space under my 55 gal tank, so I'm making this fuge out of a 10 gal tank. (Don't flame me, I've given this thought, and forgive me this small experiment before I go to a 120 gal tank; then my 55 will be the fuge. . )
Since I can't fit my hands inside the 10 gal. b/w the glass baffle and the end, I had to run my beads of silicone before the glass baffle was put in place. This sounds backwards, but it was a necessity since I couldn't get my hand/caulk gun into the space between the glass baffle and the end of the 10 gal. tank. So step one was to put the baffle in place, level it out, and draw lines exactly where the beads of silicone were to go. I did this by placing a book under the baffle and drawing the lines with a sharpie.

I then made the beads of silicone that would go in the short end that prohibited entry of my hands with the glass in place.

Then I placed the book back in, put the glass in place, leveled it, and ran a bead on top of the glass.

Lastly, I removed the book and set it all to dry.



Tomorrow I'll put the next baffle, which will help hold in place the eggcrate material to help stop microbubbles from getting into the cheato condo.

[b16drag]

I've done a 10g sump on a 55g... I figured a sump is better than no sump... the owner and the fishes agreed!

[Sndwave80]

I'd agree- something is better than nothing. Looks good!

[Loverotties]

Looking good!

[Geoff]

what is wrong with bubbles in the Chaeto?

G~

[ReefSparky]

Continuing on, next is to make sure the gloves are worn!
Remember, I have to do this a bit backwards, since I can't fit my hands on either side of the glass to run beads of silicone once the glass is in place. So, I'm setting a bead, pressing the glass into the bead, and running another bead on top of the glass. I explained the rationale for this last post.
I set the return powerhead in place, and gave about an inch of play to the left.

Then I made my mark.

Using a combination of boxes and books, I get the height right, and level it out.

Make sure it's level on all planes,



Then I draw the lines again, and make the beads under the lines.

Put the books and boxes back in. .

Place the glass on the bead and level. .

Run a bead on the glass. .

And let it dry.

Next time it's the installation of the baffle next to the one just done--it will maintain the water line in the main compartment (the cheato condo).

[ReefSparky]

Sorry about the lack of pics, but I've been putting in some hours at the real job.
First the Cliff Notes:
At first,terrible failure, nothing worked.
Now, everything works like a charm.

I've fit the last baffle on the fuge. I also had it drilled to accomodate the overflow from the display tank, and I gave it a test run. In an attempt to create a leisurely water flow in the fuge, I tried a QuiteOne 1200 as the return. With a 4 ft. head, the pump is supposed to return approx. 150 gal/hr, but the return stream had less force than a waterfountain. The fuge took in water faster than it could return to the display tank, the water level in the main sump (Wet/Dry) would plunge and begin to pump air. If left unattended the fuge would have overflowed within 15 min's.
So I tried my old Rio 1700 and placed that in the fuge. After playing around with the return valve (had to dial it down a bit) I had everything where it was supposed to be.
In a power outage, the wet/dry can accomodate about 5 gals of overflow. The fuge, itself a 10 g tank, operates at 7 gal with room to accomodate nearly 3 gals of overflow safely.
After letting it run for a couple of hours, I pulled the plugs on all pumps and observed. I was stoked to see fuge stops filling almost immediately, and is motionless at about 8 gals. The wet/dry sump becomes still with about 5" below the danger zone. So everything is great. Cant underemphasize the ability to sleep well at night.
Today I'm going to hit a LFS for some chaeto and Home Depot for a clip-on light and bulb.

Pro's:
1. I've just about doubled my tank turnover,
2. I've added more water to the system, stabilizing the chemistry,
3. I've added a good chunk of surface area for O2 uptake,
4. The chaeto will harbor pods for the fish to eat,
5. The chaeto will also compete with tank algae for nutrients.
6. More turbulence in the display tank.
Possible Cons:
1. Water movement in the fuge may be to great.

[Sndwave80]

The set up looks good!

[Dancing4raiin]

Nice build Congrats

[Hop]

Quick ideas to throw at you... First only run the lights 10-14 hours opposite of the tank lighting. The chaeto will do OK under 24/7 lighting for a few months and then it starts to die quickly. It needs lighting downtime too... Second, figure the ATO now as that pump chamber is small, so this is where the evap will be noticed and even 1/2 gallon a day can starve that pump

[ReefSparky]

thanks everyone. Hop, can an auto topoff system be DIY'd with no RO/DI system presently?

[Hop]

Originally Posted by ReefSparky

thanks everyone. Hop, can an auto topoff system be DIY'd with no RO/DI system presently?

Sure. My first ATO was a float valve tied to a 5 gallon bucket... I've seen others run a aqualifter pump and a sensor with a reservoir. I would think if you did some searching you could find one here or one of the other boards to suit your needs in one of the build threads or an online retailer.

[ReefSparky]

thanks hop. If you still operate this ATO and don't have any accessibility issues, I'd love a photo.

Well, it's finished for now. On my next dive I'm going to grab enough sand from the reef to create a DSB with critters and pods.




I'll keep everyone posted on how it progresses.

[Geoff]

have you turned off your return pump yet? is the sump big enough to handle the flow back when the power is off? it looks really close. you may have to play with the amount of water in the pump return section.

G~

[ReefSparky]

I tested first thing after firing them up, Geoff. Read up.. there's ample space.