$50 craiglist 225 tank/cabinet/canopy DIY refurbish

Well I set aside my stress and decided to give the sump a try since I already had it in place under the 244 tank. Filled both the sump tank and skimmer tank as instructed and turned it on. To my surprise it started working filling the sump more and more past the max level as the tank level dropped. So as instructed I raised the skimmer with the control knobs and the water level in the aquarium started raising back up while the sump tank level fell finally getting both adjusted.

I can see know why the auto fill tank is necessary and now have it hooked up just outside the back of the cabinet in order to freely remove and fill the tank liner. I had to add 3 feet of hose to do this.

Well its working pretty good my guess about 300 GPH max from what I'm used to seeing on out flows, no where near the FX5 I tell you that. I removed the fine filter pads at the top becasue I currently have a slime problem and don't want to clog up perfectly good fine filter media until the slime issue has abated.with slime. So here is to the bio balls and ceramics that hopefully will not get clogged. Overall The Tom's PS4 is working quite well I suppose and with the noise reducer in the skimmer pretty silent.
 
im surprised at your 300 GPH flow rate i have a real fast flow which im sure is more than 300GPH. i would add some cheap filter floss in the top basket to catch any slime that might drip down thru the bio balls and cylinders and clog them up. yes i have all my wet/dry's setting behind my tanks which makes maintance simple just take out the top tray dump the filter floss replace it and drop the tray in the wet dry replace the lid and thats it. and keep a eye on the overflow box sponge pre filter they clog pretty fast and really will hamper your water flow down to the sump, i took mine out and dont use them. i also removed the adjustable water deflector so i have full return with out any restriction. im slowly moving all my tanks over to wet dry systems and selling off my canisters with in the next few months i will be selling at least 12 canisters, i have found a few local people who wanted to trade some wet dry systems for canisters so i got some good deals. glad your tank turned out so good it really looks nice U DA MAN Gunner !
 
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Gunner, why use ph down?


RodInCALIFORNIA said:
im surprised at your 300 GPH flow rate i have a real fast flow which im sure is more than 300GPH. i would add some cheap filter floss in the top basket to catch any slime that might drip down thru the bio balls and cylinders and clog them up. yes i have all my wet/dry's setting behind my tanks which makes maintance simple just take out the top tray dump the filter floss replace it and drop the tray in the wet dry replace the lid and thats it. and keep a eye on the overflow box sponge pre filter they clog pretty fast and really will hamper your water flow down to the sump, i took mine out and dont use them. i also removed the adjustable water deflector so i have full return with out any restriction. im slowly moving all my tanks over to wet dry systems and selling off my canisters with in the next few months i will be selling at least 12 canisters, i have found a few local people who wanted to trade some wet dry systems for canisters so i got some good deals. glad your tank turned out so good it really looks nice U DA MAN Gunner !
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Could ya save a hotmag 250 for me? I know you have like 25 of em :)
 
Thanks Rod. Ever since I measured the exact out flow and head pressure of my Rio 2100 using a ladder, 5 gallon container and stop watch I have gotten a real feel for what GPH looks and feels like coming out of a 1/2" port. The Rio 2100 which at 0 head pressure as a power head puts out so much flow that a 100 gallon tank can hardly handle it but the actual measured rate was only 420 GPH.

So all these manufacturers estimates or ratings are way over rated but to give you a better idea my PS4 sump is putting out about the same flow as a clean Magnum 350. But the good news is that later if I like, I can replace this pump with a different submersible pump, maybe when I retire my DIY canister Ill use the Rio 2100 pond pump inside it to power the sump LOL. But that might overwhelm it, not even the garden hose full blast can keep up and feed the Rio 2100 fast enough to keep it from running the test tank dry, and all sumps are limited by their ability to gravity feed water to the pump, and besides all this I think sumps are supposed to be slower but more thorough bio filtering right?

As for convenience of maintenance perhaps at som epoint in the future as I get older. Maybe my next DIY project will be how to build a round Tupperware sump for under $50 LOL.
 
hi MOTT i dont plan on getting rid of the HOT MAGNUMS i use a wet dry filter and hot magnum on each tank and that combo keeps the water sparkley clean. but if i do get rid of any i will let you know.
 
mott said:
Gunner, why use ph down?
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Sorry mott missed your question and I almost hate to answer it as its controversial but Ill keep it light and simple. I have noticed that for initially cycling a tank keeping the PH low 6.8 to 7.1 until cycled keeps toxic ammonia NH3 locked up for the duration.

I never use PH down only WDV about 1 mil per gallon but I now realize that when cycling a new tank I could probubly achieve the same affect by using a new piece of heavily tannin wood like African Mopani allowing it to tannin the tank for the duration and probably maintain a PH of 6.8 well below what required in the toxicity tables to keep NH3 locked up even at 5 PPM. It controversial but it works and makes for weekly vice daily water changes since ammonia is exactly what the bacteria colonies need to get started albeit non-toxic ammonia IMHO.
 
CWO4GUNNER said:
... I never use PH down only WDV about 1 mil per gallon but I now realize that when cycling a new tank I could probubly achieve the same affect by using a new piece of heavily tannin wood like African Mopani allowing it to tannin the tank for the duration and probably maintain a PH of 6.8 well below what required in the toxicity tables to keep NH3 locked up even at 5 PPM. It controversial but it works and makes for weekly vice daily water changes since ammonia is exactly what the bacteria colonies need to get started albeit non-toxic ammonia IMHO.
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Anyway, it gets the job done, in your case. I never really gave it much thought, but it is an interesting logic..
 
RodInCALIFORNIA said:
hi MOTT i dont plan on getting rid of the HOT MAGNUMS i use a wet dry filter and hot magnum on each tank and that combo keeps the water sparkley clean. but if i do get rid of any i will let you know.
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Great thanks! I was about to buy one here on the forums but you beat me to it!!! so I just bought the inline heater :)
 
Well the good news is that ammonia levels in my 244 tank have dropped to zero after staying at .25 PPM for about a week and the slime seems to be abating and the water clearing a little.

It looks like I may have to swap out the Tom's PS4 for the FX5 on my Koi 80 tank after all. I bought the tom's to complement the FX5 Im also using but apparently you cant expect a sump & pump made for 50-100 gallons to manage the water level on a much larger aquarium even if its only augmenting as the Tom's PS4 keeps hunting for the correct level first over filling the sump canister then trying to catch backup and move the water level back up on this large tank. Too much for it I guess and tired of hearing it gurgle as the sump runs dry then the gushing flood of water coming down the hose as the water rushes to catch back up. I bet it will work great on the 80 tank which is 160 gallons less for it to try and cope with and probubly what it was. The extra FX5 is just what this 244 needs to get cleaned up.

On another note Im tempted now to find another solution for temp housing my AF Cichlids to repair their tank so I can stock something completely different in the 244 tanks like game fish maybe which is becoming more popular or perhaps take a real chance and invest in some Discus. But whatever I do I have to make sure I make the right choice as its pretty permanant onece you stock a tank.
 
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