75g 'finding nemo' themed FOWLR LOG

[vorlx]

Just keep an eye for any fighting, because it is common amongst tangs, especially in smaller tanks. If you notice a lot of "pacing" in a sense, it is time for an upgrade. When we had the yellow tang in the 56 gallon he started pacing towards the end. He'd swim back and forth fast, and up and down. I knew he wasn't happy, so to a new home he went, and later died. If you upgrade in the future make sure it is a 6foot+ tank, as that is what they truly need. The reason I went with a tomini (besides being not as often seen in the trade), was its small size.

Yep, thats part of the plan. I will keep an eye on them. On a different note...

I picked up a 20L today, perfect fit underneath my stand and most of the acrlyic pieces should be able to be cut down another inch and fit perfectly in there. My biggest question at this point is, is a bubble trap really needed? It seems to add alot of complexity to the setup as far as sealing it properly. Can I use something like a sock filter/piece of rock in the drain area?

 

[darkcirca]

In our setup we have the drain pipe down into the sump, which either then goes into the skimmer then over the first ledge, into the refuge with chaeto. After that it goes over another ledge, into the last compartment. Here is the pump, which has an elbow facing down and rubble rock surrounding it. This has eliminated most of the bubbles going into our tank.

 

[rsw686]

Nice looking setup. Did you make the sump yourself? It looks like thats the size I would need. I have scrapped the rubbermaid idea and am trying to salvage the acrylic that I can. I notice you don't have a bubble trap and have been trying to research more into this. Can I get by without a bubble trap in the sump? Seems its alot easier to make and seal properly without one.

Yep I put the baffles in myself. They are made out of 1/4" acrylic and held in place with silicon. Silicon doesn't stick well to acrylic so you need to make sure you have a nice bead on the glass tank.

I did a good amount of reading and skipped the bubble trap. The bubble trap doesn't stop the tiny micro bubbles only the length of the sump helps that. With the intake on the pump turned down towards the bottom of the sump with a 90 degree elbow and rubble rock stacked on top there are very few if any micro bubbles in the tank. The cheato also helps the micro bubbles become trapped in it.

Another reason for skipping the bubble trap as it allows a larger reservoir of water, meaning more time before I need to top off. I loose a 1/2 gallon of water a day so I can go 2-3 days before I need to top off. The section with the return pump determines this. Notice the acrylic between the refuge and pump is only a couple inches tall for the above reason. The egg crate keeps the cheato in the correct section. This setup has worked great for me.

Heres a picture of the rubble rock and you can kinda of see the pvc. You want it packed fairly tight to make sure any micro bubbles will bump into a piece of rock. I had some small peieces of rock that I further broke up with a screw driver and a hammer.

 

[vorlx]

This is great information and will really help in the creation of mine. Thanks!

 

[vorlx]

I expanded my cleanup crew today. Added 2 large Mexican Turbo Snails, 15 Nass Snails, 10 Cerith Snails, 5 astrea snails, and 2 Emerald crabs.

I think I am good for now.

I also bought a nice custom overflow from my LFS. I will take some pictures later. Off to work on the sump, version 2.

 

[vorlx]

I am a few steps closer on the sump. I got the acrlyic silconed in, let it set for about 24 hours and am water testing it now. I have a Emperor 280 pulling water from the middle (future refugium area) to the first (intake) section so that water overflows from the first section over the baffle into the refugium. So far so good, I am gonna leave it like that for a few days. I plan on starting to buy the plumbing. Any advice or thoughts on things that you have done for plubming? Thanks!

 

[vorlx]

Alright well it seems that I am the only one keeping up with my log anymore. Haha.

So I got the sump finished... it was quite the experience. I ran all of the plumbing yesterday and got everything setup. I moved my skimmer and heater down to the sump and removed my HOB's. I moved about 10 pounds of Live Sand from my 12g tank to the refugium area. Everything is up and running, I test simulated losing power and everything worked well. I also installed a check valve so that water doesn't flow back down into the return pipe.

The siphon on the overflow works well to, so all appears to be good.

I plan on getting a clip on light with a 6500k floressant. Where is a good place to get macroalgae and what type should I put in there?

 

[rsw686]

I also installed a check valve so that water doesn't flow back down into the return pipe.

Not the best idea to use a check valve. They will fail from the gunk that builds up in the pipe. Chances are it will be when your gone and the power fails and then you have a flood on your hands.

Either don't place the returns more than an inch or two below the water level and make sure the sump can handle the draining water, or if the returns are low in the tank drill siphon break holes in the pipe an inch or so below the water to break the siphon.

 

[tankanator]

I agree with MAX on the urchin I had one in my 55 gal and he was stripping my LR bare of Coraline algae, I had to take him back to my LFS. I would IMO suggest that you take him back.

 

[vorlx]

Not the best idea to use a check valve. They will fail from the gunk that builds up in the pipe. Chances are it will be when your gone and the power fails and then you have a flood on your hands.

Either don't place the returns more than an inch or two below the water level and make sure the sump can handle the draining water, or if the returns are low in the tank drill siphon break holes in the pipe an inch or so below the water to break the siphon.

Hmm, that would have been good to know going into it. I will take that into consideration and possibly make some changes. Shouldn't be to difficult to modify. If it did fail and the water couldn't flow do you think the PVC would bust or would the pump just continually try to push water into it at no avail and possibly burn out the pump?

I'll keep the Urchin comments in mind. So far he is doing ok.