chimera

just starting or started for a wee while? you will need to wait a bit before you can introduce his fish

Weekend update: Sump room has been completely sealed with polyurathane. All plumbing down to the room has been completed (glued 40mm marley piping) and leak tested. All plumbing back upstairs has been completed with 20mm pressure piping. For this, I only needed 2 x 45 degree elbows to get passed a floor joist so this should keep good flow rate. Ceiling will be lined this weekend. Hopefully my sparky mate will be able to put in separate circuit on RCD to this room then too. Got the tank valve put in the 3 foot sump as well as siliconing in a single baffle to make a small overflow (to keep heaters submerged) I ordered another union ball valve from Mico to go between the sump tank valve and the Iwaki (originally had a 25mm plastic piping but this was too difficult to get in and tied up plus makes removal too difficult) I also ordered a 3-way ball valve (f#$%@ expensive, $200!) to go between 4 foot refugium and 3 foot sump to make water changes easier. I also got another 25mm tank valve to go in a hole 50mm down from the top of the sump so if too much water is put in the sump (or the main tank backflows) it empties into either a holding tank or straight down the drain rather than onto the floor! (haven't figured which yet) I also bought some flexible piping from a marine shop that is usually used for bilge pumps and the likes. This will go between the Iwaki output and start of return piping held with stainless steel clips. My only concern is that the flexible piping is not pressure tested - the guy at the boat shop assured me it was good enough. Can only test to find out! I also painted the back of the 3 foot sump with transparent blue paint as a test prior to painting the main tank. I think it looks quite cool, problem is the room that the tank will be facing is pitch black so it almost seems pointless. However, I think there will be enough light reflecting from the MH's should give it a nice appearance. Makes the water look "deep sea blue". Will post a photo of this to get your opinions (on 'painting back of tank' post) New photo's of room will be posted tonight!

for anyone's info, yes it can be turned, very easy. white plastic part is separate to rest of pump as it's magnetic driven. just didnt want to rip a potentially good pump open then to have it fail tis all good!

reef, i did do programming and web design - check your PM

...anyone wanna move this conversation to the freshwater or breeding forum?

Sea swirl is cool! I already noticed less cyano (or rather slower 'growth') on areas where there was previously little water movement and its only been 12 hours! The only issue is the return pump is an Eheim 1060 (at the moment) so its not pumping as efficiently as it could/should be. My only concern is that the Iwaki (which will be mounted downstairs therefore at a larger head) would mean flow (according to the chart) will be about the same as the Eheim 1060 currently. Of course, the only real test is once it all goes in. For anyones interest, here's the flow rates for all Eheim's: http://www.brooklands.co.nz/eheim/techinfo.htm

I will suss out something I am sure. Only the water test will give a better test, hook up the Iwaki etc Sea-swirl arrived this arvo, gonna hook it up to my 4 foot tonight and see if it blows the front glass off :-?

Well I certainly hope the tank will hold! It has 3 braces over the top (2 ends and a middle) plus a strip along the front. I told him not to give up strength just for the sake of less bracing - I've left it in his hands to build it correctly. The guy also said that the water level will sit about 5mm above the overflow so we allowed for that. There is about 35mm before the top. I wanted as much viewable area as possible in the wall. The comb will restrict water flow more but Im only picking about 2mm higher water level again.

how about i take away ALL your corals and save you HEAPS of time!!! :lol: actually, why dont you just give me your tank and we'll call it quits - I'll even give Pies a grain of sand whats the worst that could happen? i could buy it overstocked, give it an outbreak of cyano then spend over $5k upgrading it? :lol: :lol: :lol:

well you always know theres a room for any "over-crowded" bits over this way!

does anyone know if the "white plastic" part of an Iwaki pump can be unbolted and turned around so the outlet pump is in a different position?

It was never said that NSW=cyano. It was said that it is possible that NSW=more likely to breed cyano than ASW. BTW, I've found the best way of getting rid of cyano from your rocks is using a tooth brush

hey man remember its steve typing - one word at a time - dont stress him out :lol:

i think an RT70 or RT100 would blow the inners out of the sea-swirl it will be plumbed up too... im sure i read the pump was an "MD-RX30-220N" (will confirm when i get home tonight) although on various web sites i can only find info about RXT and RT, nothing about just "RX" an interesting post: http://forums.procooling.com/vbb/archive/index.php/t-7831

yeah i realise about the durso hence my initial comment about the only thing i would change - never mind. i'll sort out something im sure i've intentionally left the back ones off so I can paint it this week. I picked a blue that sprays on transparent. Its not completely the exact blue I like but the room the back will be facing will be dark anyway. I was thinking really slight lighting in that room plus the transparent blue should give it some depth? BTW, here is the flow rate loss chart for the Iwaki models: From an electrical engineering forum re: Iwaki's:

Thanks Layton - yeah it looks nice and tidy in the wall, cant wait to see the new one in their with the MH's lighting the sucker up! I got an Iwaki MD-RX30 off Steve yesterday for the return pump. It does about 4,300 litres per hour at 0 metres head height. Mine will have just under 3 metres head height so according to their graph on flow lost at various heights, I get 2,100 litres per hour. Still good enough and spot on for the Sea-swirl (3/4" @ maximum 850gph or 3,200lph). The rest of the water movement will be achieved from the closed loops and Tunze streams if need be. I got the tank valves for the bottom holes (x3) all silicon'd up and in yesterday. Im nervous as hell about doing a 'leak test' - its gotta be sealed 100% first time otherwise Im screwed when the tank is up and running! If anyone knows the best way to pressure test for leaks (other than obviously just filling the tank up with water) let me know. Would applying vigorous water movement help in testing? (updated lph figures from initial post!)

yeah, the new tank is her bath until everything else is sorted ps: go to bed, look at the time!!!

well now i've got the new tank, i was able to do a bit more plumbing to the sump room. here's the current 4 ft tank with a vivid marked on the wall for a cut out of the new tank to show increase in size (with the ugly wallpaper that will be no more in a few months!!!) I like this pic as it shows how much bigger a 5 foot vs a 4 foot tank can actually be (in this case, almost twice the litreage) This is a shot of the new tank with my daughter Aleysha in it (and a nice background shot of her washing ) As you can see it will be a bit of a squeeze for the durso, the only thing I wish was changed (i worked out I can just fit it with about 2mm clearance) and here is the start of plumbing up for the closed loops and overflow (or rather a test for measurement as the back of the tank still needs painting) I also bought a few rotating flow nozzles from the UK which should arrive in 6 weeks or so (when my cousin brings them back from his holiday) I am not sure on the size of them or the fitting however the plan is to use one on each closed loop return. If they dont fit or work for this setup, I'll sell them off (i think they're meant to fit on a powerhead) They were relatively cheap anyway so took the risk they'll do a good job, if not a "fixed direction" loop output will do.

Well Im going back to ASW for "a little while" (reason is, I need about 600 litres of water when I get my new tank setup and I aint gonna wait for a RODI unit to produce that much water and spend $100+ on salt!!!) Until then though, I'll use ASW. I want to see if it clears up (which wont exactly say whether it is a definate or not) but it might suggest the cyano is less likely to appear with ASW than with NSW. First time going back to ASW was 17th July (change about two weeks prior was NSW) I have done another 20% water change tonight with ASW and will continue at 20% each week until the new tank goes in (hopefully within 3 weeks) Cant wait for the new tank, my fish will be so much happier with that much more water available to them!

I think the theory of those getting cyano when using NSW vs those who have not had it using ASW maybe true (or at least partially) IMO, using NSW means you are more likely to get cyano whereas using ASW you are less likely to get cyano. I say this from those who have posted previously regarding cyano and the type of SW they use. I also base this on having my tank and using ASW for several months, then switching to NSW and getting cyano within a month. Coincidence? Perhaps.

ha ha haaaa! i'll make sure i monitor them when it goes in i got my new tank today. 1500mm x 600mm x 600mm approx 540 litres(5'x2'x2' or 140 gallons) Shes a beauty, all crystal clear glass waiting for a mass algae buildup to ruin her complexion :lol: All the holes i had drilled are in the perfect place and the 35mm holes are spot on for the fittings i have. my only concern is with the overflow which was built smaller than I thought so adding the durso will be slightly more difficult, woops :-? gotta build a temporary stand at some stage for a temporary tank and transfer all fish corals etc then move my current 4 foot (320 litre) out. of course this is after i have finished plumbing up the sump room (which shouldnt take long) and plumbing up and testing the closed loops in the new tank. will post a pic of plubming stages for the new tank for those interested in the placing of the loops (which i carefully calculated by modelling the tank out of cardboard boxes )

contact George Taylor at APL, phone (09) 534-5127 and ask him how much to build a 4 stage RODI unit for you. I would guesstimate around $450.

yup, definately. smells like rum

Picked up my "grey union ball valves with blue taps" today - swapped with threaded model I originally bought after a recommendation against them from Pies (thanks, the new ones way rock!) My new 3/4" Sea-swirl is on it's way from the USA, cant wait. I also picked up a plastic drum (200 litres, allowing a 20% water change) today from 'bazza' today, nice bloke. im going to use the drum on its side and plumb it up as a holding tank for water changes. The lid is fixed with 2 x 65mm holes: here's a side on shot of the sump room and upstairs tank. the right side of the 'green' pipe goes to the outside of the house to a small tub. i simply full up the tub which fills up the drum. open the "red pipe" tap over the sink to empty water, open the "green pipe" tap near the refugium to fill the sump back up. (closed loops in the main tank not shown) I think as the taps are opened, the water being added has to travel to the main tank and the refugium before emptying in the sink so I would imagine a very small portion of water being changed (if any) would actually go back down the sink. Suggestions for improvement?