tee-em

Came across this in South Africa. The Jelly fish are blown on shore and there are heaps of these small critters (very technical term.. ) that come out and eat/feed on them. It is interesting to watch as the waves sweep back the water must carry scent of the jelly fish,.... and they appear out from under the sand. The critters (another very tech term) then hoon up the beach towards the stranded jelly fish. Average size was about 40 - 50 cm. Judging by the amount around it must happen often to sustain the number of critters.

Hiya, anyone had experience good or bad with the Teflon based pipe jointing compound? Did a bit of a Google on this site with no luck. Thinking of using it on the PVC pipe threads. I like the fact that it does not harden and previously have had really good results on steel steam piping. It mentions non toxic,: contains Calcium carbonate, Hydrocarbon oils, Teflon, Titanium Dioxide and Clays. So Reckon... 1. is it reef safe? 2. will nasty saltiness creep through? So if you have tried it or have some comments I would be grateful for input. Chrs

Nice... I take it that you are still working on the other bits and pieces like equipment... hence the 403 Forbidden. Was hoping to see under the hood

Thanks, cooking it is... for "denitrifying bacteria" to take hold do I need to do anything special or will NSW hold some of this or is it always present in the dead rock?

Ex live rock been out of water for a few months. Previously been in a reef tank for a few years. Do I need to cook the rocks? If yes then do I first start curing them... then cook them to get some bacteria going first before it will cook? Or can I go straight to this method http://www.thereeftank.com/forums/showthread.php?t=66551 Any thoughts or tried and tested methods on previously used rocks welcome. chrs

Blowing provides a more concentrated stream over a longer distance. Take the fan and use a piece of paper suspended and it will demonstrate the flow and concentration. Another fairly powerful/free and often neglected means is using convection. Hot air rises... so by angling a hot surface slightly the hot air will flow and cause natural airflow. As the hot air rises it flows and cooler air replaces it... causing a gentle and silent flow. Used in conjunction with a well situated fan blowing one can improve cooling considerably. I have also found that the common pc fans rev higher than the optimum speed. Basically they thrash the air causing lots of noise, slowing them down slightly reduces noise considerably with very little if any loss in fan performance. I typically use a cheap variable resistor find optimal speed I want for the fan then measure the resistance and put a suitable resistor in line. Viola, a quiet fan still working optimally. Just watch it as the cheaper fans will slow down with time due to cheap bearings etc so usually I allow just a touch more. Or leave the variable resitor on so you can dial it up or down as you require. Hope this helps.

Has anyone tried the knuckle unions in marine tank yet? Just wondering the salt will eventually cause them to leak. :-? Chrs http://www.hansenproducts.co.nz/products/poly/KU.htm

Thanks Wasp, thats what I need right now, Drilling holes in tanks, stripping cabinets, putting holes through walls... Buying expensive skimmers, omg the lights as well ... damn then a stream or two. Without some local support it just wont work. So thanks for all the good advice... all of you sounds mushy but true. Chrs pics in a month or so...

Thanks, appreciated. now the missus has something to do as well

Have not been able to find much info on what type of paint to use on the back wall of the tank. So far sites mention Latex paint? Can someone please point me in the right direction or where I can get some "Latex Paint". Any tricks or tips would also be appreciated. Chrs

Seen some mods to take old dehumidifier and turn it into chiller. Apparently quite efficient and designed for extended run periods. For someone like Chimera that has direct access under the house, would be interesting to check soil temp 0.5m or so down. A huge cool heatsink under there. My house much lower, very cool and drafty. Seen another article on running tank underground cirulating cool water and using it as a radiator to extract heat. Hey would be huge project due to your volume though, just a thought for those that can run the calorific values and stuff like that.

Cool thanks... will Google turn-over rates and see if i can find some more info on in sump skimmer and micro bubbles. Hoping full syphon will eliminate overflow bubbles? May try and redirect skimmer outlet straight into fuge compartment to prevent build-up of bubbles as well. If anyone has Deltec in sump skimmer and can shed some light on the issue it would be appreciated. chrs

Awsome, brilliant cabinet design, how long as tank been running?

Righty ho... cabinet redesign underway leaving space for one big sump in the cabinet. Deltec skimmer will have to sit on something to get correct depth. Full syphon from tank, end of pipe from syphon about 50mm below water surface in the sump. Refugium will be mostly live rock to start but may give MM a go later on as tank matures. Aiming for 4 times turn-over of sump capacity so return pump round the 500 l/h. Return to refuge from return pump to recirculate to get return flow rate correct. Valve on horizontal return. So thoughts on baffle height, placement. Clever trick for baffles to keep them silent? Do I need a bubble trap at last baffle since in sump skimmers appear to create micro bubbles? What "whisper quite" return pump to use static head 1.2m , 32mm plumbing and fittings. Chrs

Thanks that really helps. The glass is 10mm. Point taken on the 200 front piece. I will make 2 removable supports and probably reduce the 200 piece to 150 or so and look for the Plywood type products that i can see would have a greater stiffness. I have a feeler gauge so will be able to measure the deflection.. if nothing else it would be interesting.

Thanks for that, this is for a marine tank so with the corrosive environment I might stick with timber option. Chrs

Trying to increase the open usable volume in the cabinet. The two walls makes it hard to put a decent sump in it. The plan is to remove the two internal load bearing walls and replace it with supporting timber to carry the load. First pic is of what the cabinet is now, second is what i plan to end up with. Timber is ordinary treated pine 2 x 4 and 2 x 8 to span across the front. The two cross members are recessed into the main 200 supprt. What do you reckon strong enough? Should I use other timber? Diffirent support design? Tank is empty so now or never Chrs

Thanks Chimera, that helps.. Besides you are close enough to come over drink my beer ((actually missus beer) and if you add value,... a wee dram of true scotch), then tell me where I went wrong... :lol: Anyways, next focus, rip out cabinet walls and provide enough support to fit in long tank. Long tank to include first chamber for in-sump skimmer then refugium then return chamber of sorts. Aiming for 3-4 times sump turnover. Rest of display tank turn-over by power heads and closed loop circuit as well.

Ummm... thanks for input. I think Yes used Google sketch, really easy once you get the hang of manipulating objects. Spinning the object is still good fun to try and get correct orientation The key for me was to grab any side or orientation by making sure you zoom in on it with the edge closest to you that you intend to stick or align with something. Then everything seems to snap a lot easier into place. Some really good constructive ideas. So far I take this from the bits and pieces: 1. Multiple sumps design due to cabinet = too difficult. I see the sense in that , spend a week-end sort the design to have one big sump, save heaps of time over the next few years maintaining and enjoy benefits of bigger and easily maintained sump. 2. Need to look at durso vs full siphon. I have the luxury of two holes drilled in overflow box of display tank. One was for overflow, reckoned the more the merrier when getting it done. Criteria is quiet with few bubbles. Will still check this out. Keen to get sump in and can play with stand pipes later. 3. Using in sump skimmer deltec 1250 , seems obvious to place it close to inlet to sump. Reckon it would be safest to have a baffle to maintain height for in sump skimmer and heater. So at this stage keen to get at least one baffle close to skimmer end. 4.Refugium, still keen on this and the idea of creating critters to feed display. So this will mean at least one more baffle... hmm can see another Google sketch coming 5. Its hard looking at an empty tank sitting in the lounge while I type this message and plan. Chrs for the suggestions.

Chrs lots of live rock then.. anyone tried the miracle mud? Will take a closer look at cabinet, as you say I do loose a lot on space for joining etc. chrs

Back left incoming weir from overflow. Mechanical filtration, sock sponges etc... then in the rest of the first sump chamber Protein skimmer and biological filtration media... bio balls or live rock. Second sump is fuge, third is fuge and return.

Hi setting up new 540l display marine/reef. Your thoughts on the below options please. Cabinet is challenging as the load bearing "walls" split the usable space into 3. Skimmer to be lifted to correct water height. Not sure on physical filter media yet, maybe sock on inlet then bioballs . Option 1: two sumps joined with two 32mm bulkheads drilled through. Approx volume of sump 2 x 32l = 64l Option 2: three sumps joined with approx volume of 3 x 32 = 96l Lining up and joining sumps tricky... imagine it would be painful to pull one out and then realign. Sides increased to 10mm maybe 8mm will do? Option3: Redesign cabinet to support one larger single sump. I am leaning towards option 2, your thoughts and comments would be appreciated. Chrs

Just bought piranha 1000 from Burnsco. hoping it will do the business. 12 v keep the motor running... Dont need much, aiming for 70-100 l per collection. All theory, practice will tell-refine. Chrs tom

Centrifugal pumps prefer a bit of intake pressure.. so if your in-line will have a higher head of water use it in-line. Put another way,... if the water level in the in-line pipe feeding the pump is higher than the water level of the sump you will have better flow rate. I making sweeping assumptions that you have proper feeding pipes without too many restriction etc. If sound and temperature and space is an issue you need to way these criteria up as well. chrs

Thanks, you guys have probably saved me some dremel work.. Was going to work of these dimension but will get fittings first. http://www.hansenproducts.co.nz/tech/thread/dimensions/sftft.htm#SFTF Chrs