Cali Kid Corals

Brandie's 210 Upgrade

I wanted to leave a 4-5 inch gap in between the two platforms so I could put a hose in there once every 3-4 months and vacuum out the debris. The space won't sit empty however! I created a "rubble rock" box out of egg crate that will sit in the middle. This will make a nice pod refuge, and it won't make a mess being every where in the bottom of the sump. The two platforms will sit on 5, 4 inch, 1.5 in pipe legs, held with zip ties to the egg crate. Egg crate will also be doubled to give max support.

I decided to forgo traditional acrylic baffles after much thought. At the end of the day, the acrylic baffles seemed to me to be mostly for bubble traps, and to keep debris out of the other areas. The movable egg crate baffles give me much flexibility to change things, or adjust for space as needed, as nothing is "set" and it will keep the level of my sump pretty constant, provided I keep up with adding RODI water for evaporation until I get an ATO. The middle of the "sump" will be a modified fuge, as it will act as a settling bin and a bubble trap itself, with all the rock that the bubbles must travel through until going to the return pump. It's also very easy to maintain, and according to Matt F. at AE, made in mind with a heavy bioload, all of which were requirements that I had when noodling sump designs. The egg crate will keep the life in the sump pretty isolated, as I have plans to go out and get some netting from Michael's (I'm not sure what it's for, all I know is that it's small, and plastic) so things like chaeto, and small fish or inverts cannot get into the sump or return area.

Whew. By the time the tank is ready to be put on the stand, all I'll have to do is get the plumbing stuff, and get that together, then it's water! We are getting there, slowly but surely.
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FeliciaLynn said:
Nice! I'm happy to see you making progress :) Looking good!
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Thank you! It's small progress, but progress nonetheless. I'm hoping to have everything all in order so all I have to do is get the plumbing, then start to add water. Adding water will be a process (as you know, haha) as I only have 40 gallons of RODI water every few days. It's ok though, patience is key!

Oh, and now that I have plans on going with these lights: http://www.rapidled.com/onyx-by-rapid-led/
I can get lighting for the 210, but I won't have to come up with all of it at once! What a relief. I will need the ~$300 for at least 1 module, but that is enough to get me going until I can afford the other two. What a fickin' relief! Lights were a HUGE stress on me, because my original plan was to get the ~$1000 one, but for those, I'd need all the money at once. For the Onyx, I'll be putting three on the 210, and 1 can get me started. :)
 
Well progress is progress! Yeah, making up all that water is definitely going to be a process! And I thought getting my tank filled was a process, haha!

Those lights really seem like a great option. Those are going to look great over your tank :)
 
gimmito said:
Brandie,

Have you considered removable acrylic baffles ?
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I have, but another thing that I really liked about the egg crate was the flow through the sump, and the water level in the entire sump and less water fall noise, actually none at all. In addition, I'll only need two of the EC baffles, taking up less space, compared to using several acrylic baffles, possibly losing several inches.

We'll see how it goes. There's a first time for everything, so I'm hoping to follow the steps of Matt F. to achieve success. LoL.
 
FeliciaLynn said:
Well progress is progress! Yeah, making up all that water is definitely going to be a process! And I thought getting my tank filled was a process, haha!

Those lights really seem like a great option. Those are going to look great over your tank :)
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Thanks! Haha, just wait until I put water in mine... oh man, our apartment management is probably going to think that they had a leak or something hahaha.

Yes, I had no idea about those lights until I saw them over one of Angel's tanks. I picked him brain about it and they just seemed like the perfect solution to my once desperate light situation.

@denzil going to work on polishing the tank more tomorrow. We talked about it tonight, and we hope to be able to water test it by next weekend, after resiliconing the edges. Then we'll leak test it for 4-5 days, then it will hopefully be up on the stand the weekend after that. Keep yer fingers crossed! :D
 
Looks good. Improving access is a good idea!
I do not see a baffle between skimmer and return pump though.
The concern there is keeping the water level constant for your skimmer.
 
aqua-nut said:
Lookin' good!

How is the EC held in? Friction fit?

The netting from Michael's, is that 'plastic canvas'?
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Nope, EC will just be leaning against the platforms of the sump rock, to be held in place by the flow. Nothing special holding it in at all. That way, when I need to clean it up, I can just turn it sideways and get it out, and clean it up. I'll take some pics at Matt's next time I'm there. As far as the "plastic canvas" I'm not sure, I'll let you know when I go look for it ;) no one can seem to be able to tell me what it's called LOL.
 
rygh said:
I do not see a baffle between skimmer and return pump though.
The concern there is keeping the water level constant for your skimmer.
Click to expand...


That question was kicking around in my head too. Even with an ATO, the sump will have to loose lots of evap. volume before the sensor sees it as a change. If the return section is small and you ATO there, just a small amount of evap. will turn on the ATO. As a not to be discounted side benefit, the skimmer will have constant water level too.
 
goldielocke76 said:
Nope, EC will just be leaning against the platforms of the sump rock, to be held in place by the flow. Nothing special holding it in at all. That way, when I need to clean it up, I can just turn it sideways and get it out, and clean it up. I'll take some pics at Matt's next time I'm there. As far as the "plastic canvas" I'm not sure, I'll let you know when I go look for it ;) no one can seem to be able to tell me what it's called LOL.
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The product I'm thinking about is called plastic canvas. It's stiff sheets of plastic with a grid of about 1/8 inch holes. It's used by crafters (like my wife) to make needlepoint like projects.
 
rygh said:
Looks good. Improving access is a good idea!
I do not see a baffle between skimmer and return pump though.
The concern there is keeping the water level constant for your skimmer.
Click to expand...

There is going to be a baffle separating the skimmer from the rock, and then the rock from the return pump. Easiest to see in the very last picture. And agreed, improving access was the best way to go. Not sure why I had temporarily decided to leave it as is. I'll chalk it up to a moment of temporary insanity, LoL. ;)

Yes, water level will be a concern, but I don't plan on not going without an ATO for very long. I just have to find the perfect container for the reservoir. Hopefully though, it won't take too long to find. :)
.
 
aqua-nut said:
That question was kicking around in my head too. Even with an ATO, the sump will have to loose lots of evap. volume before the sensor sees it as a change. If the return section is small and you ATO there, just a small amount of evap. will turn on the ATO. As a not to be discounted side benefit, the skimmer will have constant water level too.
Click to expand...

Well the current plan is to keep the sump level a little more than 50%. I'll define that number more when I get an idea with water in the tank. ATO will be right next to the tank. I'm going to try to find a container, then build like, a nightstand to fit around it. We'll see. It's hard to say right now, until I can put water in, test it, then explain it, LoL.

Oh, and I think you are right on the needlepoint thing. Matt did say it was for needlepoint. I just couldn't remember if he said needlepoint or another craft... dangit, can't think of it's name either.
 
Coral reefer said:
Just want to officially let you know we are racing...
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I won't throw in my hat yet, but I don't plan on winning, hahaha. Every time I say "I want to get water in by this date!" Something always comes up. Right now, I'm hoping that everything is done by August 31st. You will probably beat me cause so far, it's been a sloooww going process. = /

It's ok. I'm trying to improve on everything from learning on the 90, LoL
 
The water level uncertainty from the ATO affecting skimmer is not really the issue.
The problem is when you turn the return pump off, or if it stops.
When that happens, the sump water level rises significantly. Several inches easy.
That leads to major and instant skimmer overflow. Immediately dumping all
that nasty skimmate into the sump. Big mess.
 
rygh said:
The water level uncertainty from the ATO affecting skimmer is not really the issue.
The problem is when you turn the return pump off, or if it stops.
When that happens, the sump water level rises significantly. Several inches easy.
That leads to major and instant skimmer overflow. Immediately dumping all
that nasty skimmate into the sump. Big mess.
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This is very true. Sadly to say that I do plan on using the same skimmer, so I'll just follow the same routine that I follow now: every time I do a water change, I shut off my skimmer, and take the sponges off so I can throw them in the wash with some vinegar, and put the new set of sponges on. I've found that it helps keep the nitrates and noise down. I'll also take the time to empty whatever's in the skimmer and clean every thing up. Keeping up on it makes more work true, but if I keep up on it, it's not so bad.

Unfortunately, I'm not sure I'll get the position at the Sunnyvale clinic like I really wanted. So, no new job means old skimmer goes in the tank until we move. At least the skimmer had a pump upgrade so it can handle the bioload. Still, really frustrating and disappointing. I keep getting interviews, but no offers. Can't figure out for the life of me what I am doing, or saying wrong. = /
 
Well, just reread your post. Can't do much if it just stops, other than to hope that my skimmer platform keeps it high enough that that doesn't happen if it just shuts off due to power failure or the likes. We'll see.
 
You could use a float switch on the skimmer. If water goes up, skimmer shuts off automatically.

Good luck on the job. Very tough job market these days, so I seriously doubt it was something you did wrong.
Well .... unless you mentioned you were very active in the "reefer" community. :)
 
rygh said:
You could use a float switch on the skimmer. If water goes up, skimmer shuts off automatically.

Good luck on the job. Very tough job market these days, so I seriously doubt it was something you did wrong.
Well .... unless you mentioned you were very active in the "reefer" community. :)
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Oh! What a great idea! :D Thank you, that never occurred to me. I like that a lot actually... would probably make water changes worlds easier... hrm.

Haha, no, when I do mention it, I try to say something like "salt water club" if it comes up when they ask about my tanks, LoL. I know what looks I get from my friends, so I'd rather not find out what looks I'd get from prospective employers, lmao.

Just sucks. So damn frustrating. I want a job already so I can get this build really moving. And catch up on bills... LoL. but really, I want to work and get on with my post grad life, LOL.
 
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