kien's 150g Room Divider Mixed Reef & Stuff

[Navarchus]

Looks very tidt and neat!!!
Just make sure that you connect the return pump to the return pipe via flexible tube.
It will help to prevent pump vibration going to the pipe and making irritating noise.

[kien]

Yup! That's why that bit is empty right now. I have all the barbed fittings to hook up a flexible tube but need the flexible tube :-) It also makes it easier to maintain the return pump in case I need to service.

[kien]

So I finished up some details on the plumbing that I didn't get done last time. Here's the return line plumbed.







Here's the ball valve for the bypass in case I needed to throttle back the return pump. In the end I didn't need to open it at all but it might come in handy. It simply dumps the return back into the skimmer section.



I also decided to add a gate valve to the fuge line.



And away we go! .. with fingers crossed..



Thankfully the tank held water. The stand did not collapse, or bow for that matter. The overflow box took the overflow and the standpipe drains drained!



Here they are, draining, herbie style.

..

The main drain doing its thing.



And the fuge drain..

[kien]

I was quite happy with how the system ran. Very quiet and no issues save for this one minor one.



Yes, that is a small leak from that fitting. I guess there wasn't enough teflon. Instead of reapplying it I ended up siliconing all the threaded barbed fittings just to be on the safe side. In order to do that though I had to shut the system down and take those barbed adapters out and dry them. A great opportunity to do a power failure test!

This is what the sump looks like after a powerfail and the water has drained back into the sump.



There was definite lack of flood water on the floor which everyone in the house appreciated. The water in the main tank only drained down as far as the bottom edge of the overflow weir. To break the siphon from the returns, these holes were drilled into the sides of the return nozzles which are at the same level as the bottom edge of overflow. In normal operation the water rises above these holes by about a half an inch. This prevents air from being sucked into the return line and shooting bubbles into the tank.



So now I wait for the silicone to dry and power it up again tomorrow. If all goes well I will flush the tank and sump and fill it with salt water instead of that nasty tap water.

[Clay&Chey]

Just wondering isn't a guy supposed to avoid hose clamps like that due to major rust issues??

[Navarchus]

Looks good!
I would move the whole tubes above the sump. That way if you have a leak from some reason, all the water will go to the sump.

[banditpowdercoat]

remove metal hose clamps, will rust and contaminate water. Ocean Aquatics has plastic clamps http://oceanaquatics.com/store/category/34/360/Clamps/
Use electrical tape or black paint to cover up the clear hose. it WILL get algae covered inside and restrict flow, requiring frequent cleaning. Just dont use tape below warerline
You might want to put a union on the return pump as well? Not sure how tough those hoses are to remove from the barbs. Mine are really tough. the pump will need to come out for cleaning

Other than that, looks great

[JDigital]

Looking great! Almost too good to put anything in it.. Nice pics as well.

[04scoobysti]

Originally Posted by Clay&Chey

Just wondering isn't a guy supposed to avoid hose clamps like that due to major rust issues??

+1
I've use them (sold as stainless steel hose clamps), never submerged them, and usually the screw starts to rust.

[kien]

Originally Posted by Clay&Chey

Just wondering isn't a guy supposed to avoid hose clamps like that due to major rust issues??

Ya, these "stainless steel" clamps are interesting like that. I use them all the time on my garden plumbing, pond plumbing and all my past aquariums. Some of them rust and some don't even after years of service. I figure if any of the clamps in the sump start to rust I'll just replace them. But hey, wouldn't they just become phosphate removers at that point? Otherwise I don't really know what to do about them. I've never seen plastic ones and I don't trust zip ties for this application. Any suggestions for something else to use??