planning on setting up a marine

[Anthony]

is that it?

is it pritty good apart from that?

[Control]

Ira

Control, what's a vax?

A wet and dry vacume cleaner. We were talking about the sump overflowing.

Aaron.

[Control]

Further away from the tank would be a goog idea too.

Aaron

[Anthony]

how much are vax's?

here is the updated copy

[TM]

all looks good

the only thing is check the distance between the top of the sump and the bottom of the tank.

is there enough room to acess everything easy?

[Ira]

Oh, yeah, you'll want a minimum of a foot, probably more like 2 feet of room above the sump. You could cut some off the top of the sump, 600mm is a bit excessive, but not a problem, you'll just have to put a lot of the equipment on racks to put them at the height they like.

[Anthony]

i made it 600 pearly for the reason of holding more water but i could always chnage that to 450 or 300

ive thought about that there being not enough room between the top of the sump and the bottem of the tank and thats y a 2 foot high sump sounded a bit high

[Kermit]

Looks good so far dude, how about bringing the return from the sump up through the bottom of the tank that way you don't have to worry about an ugly pipe hanging out the side and then you can also put an elbow fitting at the top insteed of a right angle fitting just use some rock to hide the pipe and your sweet.

Also if you still want to use the space next to the sump how about putting the bend (could also be a elbow fitting) up as high as you can go and then use a peice of flexible tube to connect it to the sump pump that way you not having two harsh bends and you still get to use the space.

As for lights how about mounting them 300mm centers from the sides (gives you 600mm centers between the fittings) would give you a even spreed over the tank.

Have you thought about putting some baffle chambers in the sump to help prevent bubles?

[Anthony]

if u look at the start of the post i had the return pipe at the bottem of the tank then i was told that if the pump failies or theres a powere cut all the wateres going to drain out of the tank and yes i have thought about baffle in the sump but i just havent added it to the photo as i dont how how im going to finally do the sump

cheers

[Aquatopia]

Anthony - I think what Kermit meant (if you dont mind me saying Kermit), is that you might feed the return up through the bottom of the tank and continue it up higher with pipework to a location near the top of the tank. (and that way if there was any syphoning then it would just be the volume of water at the top of the tank till it got below the level of the return).

[Kermit]

True you have, i have my return coming up through the bottom and have no problems when power turns off as my return pipe extends to the top in the tank above the overflow hight so if power goes off then the water only fulls to the hight of the overflow becuase the return is out of water and any syphon is stopped.

I wasn't sure on your sump so i thought i'd ask, looking forward to see some picks when all up and going.

Kermit

[Kermit]

Your onto it Chris, thats what i meant as above Cheers.

Kermit

[Anthony]

o ok

well i thought it was just easy running it next to or behind the tank

[Aquatopia]

It is Anthony - these are all just little suggestions. Some people would prefer to have the return piped outside because it can go behind the tank and would not be visible. Others would go for Kermits route and prefer it being inside the tank. At the end of the day, all you can do is listen to these ideas and make up your own mind. To say this is a confusing hobby is the worlds biggest understatement. Inside or out though, neither is right or wrong.

[Anthony]

thats why i posted here well b4 i was going to get the tank made to get all of your ideas and help of the way you done your tanks

[Aquatopia]

Absolutely. And im getting some good ideas too as we go along. Im in the planning stage too. One thing ive learnt is to get as much info as poss, then devise a plan. It wont hurt to come back with the final plan - but its difficult to finalise "sections" of the overall plan untill you have considered all aspects as often changes to one stage affects what you do in others.

[Anthony]

ok, i didnt even no marine tanks existed until i came onto this site

i have a question about my sump weather to leave it at the hight of 600 or lower it to 450 or even 300

cheers

[jetskisteve]

600 the more water it holds the better.

[Anthony]

sweet cheers jetskisteve,

but now the only other problem is that the tank is gonna be at least 3-4ft off the ground

[Aquatopia]

Anthony - ultimately i would say you ought not to compromise viewing angle just for a few extra litres of water. (Jet, I know what you are saying and i agree with the more the better, but Anthony is limited to space remember - and he needs to have enough access to get to the bits in the sump too).

Work out where you will want to view it from mostly (I will be rearranging the lounge furniture to fit round my la-z-boy being the prime spot to view the tank). Work out what height you want it to be. Even go as far as measuring the height of your line of sight when you are seated where you will be the most. You can have SOME elevation from that, but not too much or you will be staring into the glare of your lights too, lol). The ONE thing i HATED about the tank i was setting up in the UK was it was TOO HIGH. They had made the cabinet big enough to hold my AP850 skimmer and then some (which was stupid as i never asked them to - i was planning on showing the beast off !!).

So work out the internal dimensions of your stand and then work back from there. If you are putting baffles in (advised) remember that will limit the manoeverability of the bits n pieces inside the sump too. You dont need to go as far as having it so low that you can bring your skimmer up and out totally vertical, but you want to be able to get in there and do things and access the sump properly too.

Let us know what height your cabinet would be (ideally) and we can work from there on the sump height.

Jetskisteve is right though - the more water the better, notwithstanding other considerations.

[Control]

Anthony

You realy need to get a water storage tank.

Having a small system isn't a problem as long as you realize that your tank will not be as stable as it could be, which means more regular water changes.

I was lucky because my Father Inlaw is a manager at Bailey Tanks LTD so at the end of a run they made a 1000 litre tank for me.

To the discust of many people here as well as my main tank I have a two foot tank with a couple of clowns in it (according to someone I also have an anemone in there as well but I don't remember putting one in their).

I keep this tank very stable by doing regular but small water changes. but this can only be done if you have the water on hand.

Your tank is not anywhere near as small but you could benefit in the same way if you get a storage tank and change your water more often.

Aaron

[Anthony]

i only live say 10-20 mins away from the beach so collecting water isnt such a big deal i have access/buy water drums which i can store in a cool dry dark place

[cookie extreme]

• To the discust of many people here as well as my main tank I have a two foot tank with a couple of clowns in it

still waiting for some pictures!!!! :roll:

or is the camera broken, or doesn't the email work?

[Aquatopia]

Hey Aaron - on the subject of water storage - how long would you say synthetic water (since thats what most use) will last? Im assuming you keep it aerated and moving with some kind of pump or does it just sit there? Just wondering if that gives it the opportunity for bacteria to grow, or does yours get used up on a fast basis? Does it need to be maintained at a certain temp or would you say just empty out the amount you want to change and heat that up? Bearing in mind that in any small system introducing cold water might shock the inhabitants moreso than with a larger more stable system? This is something I have not addressed in my own setup yet either.

Chris

[Pies]

Anthony - I think you have been around to my place before?

Anyway, before you go ahead and build anything, pop over and check out mine. It will be a lot large than what you are planing, but all the plumbing is the same, will just be smaller diamater pipes. I can help you out with explaining and showing you the overflows into the sump, how the sump baffels work, water line, overflow combs, Dursos etc. It can seem daunting, but its easy as, just need to be patient.

If I can get my clown spawn raised, and the timing right I will donate you a pair of clowns to get the ball rolling.

* Regular water changes are good, however I doubt its sustainable to follow Controls advice and do small regualr water changes all the time. Initially you will, its all fun and new, but as time goes on, water changes will become a drag, then the times between them will increase. Setup your system for understanding that long term 15%+ monthly water changes will be nessessary, don't drop the skimmer (or whatever else) because you are going to do a water change every few days to counter the problems. Not saying it won't work, but I would bet against a system like it.

Pieman