Fist SW Upgrade: 55 to 90 gals

[Rychek]

I like the calfo design, thought I would have preferred a reef ready/ durso style overflow better (less PVC to worry about and it can be placed closer to the wall). However, the calfo (once properly plumbed) can be much safer than a siphon overflow due to the lack of a siphon. You still have to take steps to prevent a reverse siphon in the event of a power outage, but you never have to worry about losing your normal siphon due to low water, or whatever else can break it.

My return pump will be here on Wednesday. All I need now are a few pieces of cut glass and some lumber to build my custom stand for my 55 gal tank. Then the tank swapping can begin. That will be a long, long day.

[Rychek]

I'm finally getting to the point where I can do some work on my tank conversion. I put all of my FW fish into my 20 gal tank and got some glass cut for my baffles yesterday. Here is pic of my "new" sump. I went with a sump/fuge. The sump area is ~10"x12"10". The return area is ~8"x12"x8" and the skimmer area is ~18"x12"x8".



I've definitely got some cleanup work to do on the silicone. However, for my first attempt, I think it turned out fairly well.

Big Thanks to gm333 for his thread in the DIY forum. I copied his design for this sump.

[Nereaga]

Nice build! Looks good to me, heck I used white silicone in my sump, it is under the stand anyways!

Brad

[Rychek]

I'm leak testing my sump today! I actually started yesterday, but found a leak. Had to wait 24 hrs for the silicone to dry. In the mean time I painted the back of my tank black. Pics are coming once I get home.

I've begun plumbing the tank. I think I went a little large on my plumbing, but I figure it's better to have larger than needed pipes than small than needed pipes.

[Nereaga]

Let's see that progress!

Brad

[Rychek]

Sorry, no pics tonight. The take down of the 55 and the setup of the 90 was a bumpy ride, riddled with set backs. However, the tank is full of water and the sand is in as well as the base rock. I'm going to have to give it a couple of days before I put the inverts in though. The storm needs to settle and the skimmer and Emperor 400 have some cleaning to do!

I'll post pics as soon as I can, but it will tomorrow evening at the earliest.

[Rychek]

So I've finally gotten a few pics together. They aren't the best, but they will have to suffice for now.

Mostly completed tank:

The Hydor Theo 300 heater in this picture is temporary. After hooking up my return pump I discovered a leak on the pipe that feeds my sump, so the pump is off until the glue on the pipe dries. It's not really easy to see them, but the reddish base rock is mostly buried in the sand. It sits on egg crate and the sand all around it. I think it looks nicer this way. Though now it looks like I need more rocks. I'll post pics of the sump once I get everything working properly.

With Acintics:

[Tbx]

Nice rychek , So is the sump up yet?

[Rychek]

As a matter of fact, it is. The fuge isn't completely stocked yet, but the water flow is all set:



It seems to be working after I fixed a leak on the fuge feed. The only real problem now is the noise. The feed for the skimmer area is making noise like none other. I tried submerging the drain in the sump, but that just make a different kind of noise. Although I think that sound was quieter than the current waterfall I've got going on.

Any thoughts or suggestions on how to quiet down my drains?

[Nereaga]

Hey Rychek,

I went from the same thing as you. A tank from no plumbing to all sorts of things going on. In the begining it was loud, but now its just there and I really don't notice it much. You could try and put a filter sock on the drain to the skimmer area, might help out a bit. Other than that... IDK.

Someone else can jump in with some more ideas....

Oh yeah BTW... Looking really good. The sump looks like a nice clean build. Nice work!

Brad