68 Gallon Rimless Reef Build

[gregzz4]

Besides the good advice given while I was writing this letter

What I don't know about is how much water will actually be in the return area constantly when the system is running... is there a way for me to figure that out before setting everything up?

You set the level in the return area yourself. Enough to keep the return pump from sucking air right before the ATO tops it off is enough to keep the system running. While this isn't an ideal situation, it will give you an idea of how much room you have for powerouts

If I have to increase my return chamber size the only way thats possible is if I reduce the size of the refugium. I don't know what the best or at least minimum size of refugium I'd need on my system. Or is it best to go as big as you can?

If you were to run only chaeto, you could go anywhere from 8 to 12 inches cubed. You want to run a DSB and I have no experience with them, so someone else will have to help you here

I really like how you did your sump. Very well planned out! unfortunately I don't have a lot of realestate to play with here.

Thanks, but I reconfigured it 4 times, so not so well planned out
I built, then tested, then re-built etc

I see you have a 16" tall tank. I suggest you use as much of that height as you can. You'll need to build a stand for your skimmer, but ...
You'll increase your return area by 2g or so, depending on the height of your baffles. This may be all the powerout room you need. Plus, this will increase your total system volume
Hopefully others with a sump similar to yours will chime in ...

What I did was decide what skimmer I'd want to buy in the future and made that chamber as narrow as possible. I also built it as high as possible
I didn't plan on a DSB, so I built a small hang-inside tank for chaeto (later I built it remote). This allowed me to have it be part of the return area which freed up lots of extra volume for powerouts and total return chamber size

[gregzz4]

This is why I hope others with a similar setup to yours will help out ...

Go as high as you can, but leave yourself enough room under your DT to get equipment in and out of the sump, and to remove your collection cup without hating yourself

[zhasan]

Hi Everyone!! Its been a long time since my last update. I've been working on my build slowly and now its finally taking shape!

Here are the pics!

The tank made its way on top of the stand!! I used a thin layer of wood flooring underlay. I think it worked out very nicely!



Meanwhile the doors wait to be painted!



Time for a vinegar bath!



While the tank get a vinegar bath, I gathered all my plumbing supplies and tools to get down with the wrench and pvc cement!



Sump complete with bulkhead and baffles and water tested!



More plumbing... Time for the return pump to get hooked up!



Time to test run the plumbing and check for any leaks!



SUCCESS! No leaks!

[zhasan]

Alright, now the fun begins!

Rock is in, Saltwater is in!



All this gloominess is due to the overloead of Micro bubbles that I'm getting. Its extremely frustrating to see them in the display.

Any ideas on what I could do to fix this?








I think, I may have screwed up on my sump design. I see this long 'worm like' line of bubbles going in through the return that get blasted all over my tank.





Here is a shot of the complete setup. I ran my skimmer today as well just to see how its performing. It seems to be doing okay. ofcourse no skimmate just yet. It seems a bit loud atm, will have to look into how I can reduce its noise level.

[zhasan]

I'll be adding about 10lbs of live rock to my tank to properly seed the base and dead live rock. I'm thinking about adding agents like prodibio to aid in the cycling process but have not decided on anything yet. Still have to look into their benefit and costs.

I really need you guys' help on my sump design/return for this micro bubbles issue. I want to get this issue out of the way before I add any live stock to my tank. Please throw your ideas and comments out there for me to learn from and hopefully come up with a solution for my problem!

Cheers!!

[HaZRaTTy]

It hurts me to see that powerhead without the zip tie and dryside secured to something. It will be an expensive repair for that thing to hit the ground! Personally I don't take the chance but its up to you!

I love your stand good job I wish I had to patience and time to do that for myself!

[zhasan]

Originally Posted by HaZRaTTy

It hurts me to see that powerhead without the zip tie and dryside secured to something. It will be an expensive repair for that thing to hit the ground! Personally I don't take the chance but its up to you!

I love your stand good job I wish I had to patience and time to do that for myself!

Thanks for pointing that out. I was thinking about securing it too. I've seen a few of those small plastic square sticky things with small zip ties on them but don't know what they are called or where to buy them. Any suggestion on where I can get them?

[HaZRaTTy]

Hey,

Yah no problem they should hve came in your MP box if you bought it new. You would want to secure it on op and having a rimless I wouldn't want to stick that thing on my tank I would make something nice to go On to the top edge.

If you don't mind the stickin part HD carries zip as for the clips HD might have them or try LFS? I hve a few here that I can trade you for your stand.. Haha

[gregzz4]

You can get the adhesive-backed cable tie anchors at electrical supply outlets, or Rona and Home Depot etc

As for your air intake issue in the sump, I don't think it's your bubble trap
It looks like your pump is moving a massive amount of water and you need to either;
A - Put a valve after the pump and slow it down some or;
B - Raise the water level in the return section more ( maybe not ideal depending on your power out level )

What model is that Iwaki pump ? I can't make it out