avalanche1201 Posted February 26, 2007 Share Posted February 26, 2007 I've got a 3gal Pico going and I want more water in the tank, So ill be creating a HOB Fuge...hopefully around a few gals or so that I can stock w/ some LS LR rubble and some cheato as well as pods. Im thinking of putting a cover on it w/ a submersible LED light. I will be designing the project in a few days w/ Sketchup. I am still unsure If i will create the plans and have a shop build it for me b/c I dont have tools (at a college dorm) or If i will try it myself while at home for break. (it will be roughly designed after this:http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=12402 ) A fwe questions first before I start the design...What pump would people suggest to use for both the intake and the return pumps (or should I just have a siphon and a return). And what would be the best chemicals to run? ie carbon etc? Thank you for the help and hopefully I will have this fully designed in a few days, and hopefully I will have the time to make a rendering of it on the tank as well. Link to comment
avalanche1201 Posted February 28, 2007 Author Share Posted February 28, 2007 I dont think Ill be getting my comp for some time...so Im sketching the plans up...Would it be better to have the drain tube Siphon? Or be sucked through w/ a PH? Link to comment
RBuddha Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 I dont think Ill be getting my comp for some time...so Im sketching the plans up...Would it be better to have the drain tube Siphon? Or be sucked through w/ a PH? A powerhead takes up tank real estate so if you can spare it then go that way. Otherwise a siphon is ok just remember to have a siphon break in case of power outages. Link to comment
avalanche1201 Posted March 1, 2007 Author Share Posted March 1, 2007 How would I go about making a siphon break? And I dont think power outages would be that often in Boston at a college...but Its def a good idea now that you mention it...thanks for the heads up The PH pulling in the water would be the weakest MJ they have...but Im begining to think that Gravity would do a better job sucking down the water then about 100gph PH would. Sketches will be up either later tonight (im hoping) or 2morro Link to comment
RBuddha Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 You drill a hole in the intake part of the tube slightly below the water line. So that when the water gets too low it loses siphon in the tube. Link to comment
avalanche1201 Posted March 1, 2007 Author Share Posted March 1, 2007 aaaaa....I never would have thought of that...thanks alot RBuddha Link to comment
avalanche1201 Posted March 1, 2007 Author Share Posted March 1, 2007 Here are the renderings of the Fuge. Any input/suggestions/comments are appreciated and needed. Thanks Link to comment
avalanche1201 Posted March 7, 2007 Author Share Posted March 7, 2007 bumb...check em out Link to comment
avalanche1201 Posted March 7, 2007 Author Share Posted March 7, 2007 thanks alot Im just worried that my baffles might be to close Link to comment
avalanche1201 Posted March 8, 2007 Author Share Posted March 8, 2007 so Ive been informed that it will be hard to start the siphon..so I think im going to plumb another MJ900 into the intake pipe and have it externally mounted as an intake pump Link to comment
RBuddha Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 Thats the way i used to make refugiums that i sold. Link to comment
avalanche1201 Posted March 8, 2007 Author Share Posted March 8, 2007 nice, so I guess I did a nice job...do you think a 1/8" gap between baffles is to close? Link to comment
RBuddha Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 Should be fine. Are you trying to eliminate micro bubbles? Link to comment
Matty1124 Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 they dont have to be that close... if anything gets in there it will be a pain to clean out... i would do them alittle further apart Link to comment
avalanche1201 Posted March 8, 2007 Author Share Posted March 8, 2007 Should be fine. Are you trying to eliminate micro bubbles? No, I wouldnt really mind bubbles..I mean worse comes to worse..it shows good water flow, plus it doesnt hurt the tank at all, I mean come on...ocean reefs arnt bubble free they dont have to be that close... if anything gets in there it will be a pain to clean out... i would do them alittle further apart I never though about ease of cleaning...but I think id be able to use a pipe cleaner kinda thing (i hope)...I might space them out a little bit more, And im going to making the intake pipe feed into an externally mounted MJ900 so there will be no more first section (just realized) So I could space them farther aprt Link to comment
avalanche1201 Posted March 10, 2007 Author Share Posted March 10, 2007 For the intake I will have a second MJ900...should I get rid of the first section all together? and have some loc line or something into the fuge? and just have the fuge and the return? Or should I keep the first section? also...whats a good GPH for the fuge? Im starting to lean away from plumbing into valves to control flow..but if a full blown MJ900 is to strong for the fuge id throw in the valves Link to comment
smithcreek Posted March 10, 2007 Share Posted March 10, 2007 with a pico tank I think a mini-jet would be more than adequate. An mj-900 is going to be a lot of flow. As far as the siphon goes you can do everything exactly as you have it drawn and when you want to start the siphon just stick a powerhead on the intake for a couple seconds to prime it. Like Rbuddha said, a powerhead in the tank will take up a lot of real estate. Link to comment
avalanche1201 Posted March 10, 2007 Author Share Posted March 10, 2007 Im not going to have any powerhead directly inside the pico. Right now I have about 140gph running w/ my two HOB filters. I was thinking of increasing the movement thats why I was thinking of going with the maxi-jet 900(230gph) instead of the maxi-jet600 (160gph). If i needed two both of these pumps could be used externally. That is why Im thinking of going with two pumps, one for intake and one for return. The intake would be located outside the tank and the return would be in the return section of the fuge...So I guess the question now becomes if I want the 900 or 600. Ill be keeping shrooms, rics, feather dusters and zoas. Its going to be invert only tank. I believe overall it would be easier to use to pumps instead of one in the long run. edit: would 1/8" acryllic be strong enough for the base? Or should I step up to 1/4" to be safe Link to comment
RBuddha Posted March 10, 2007 Share Posted March 10, 2007 depending on the size of the fuge 1/4 should be ok, if in doubt use 3/16th's Link to comment
avalanche1201 Posted March 10, 2007 Author Share Posted March 10, 2007 thanks, ill prob change it 1/4, its around 3gal i think Link to comment
Lingwendil Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 Does the bottom of the fuge sit on the surface that the tank is on? If so, just glue some baffles into a $10 2.5g and plumb that, that's how my 2.5 is set up. BTW, to start that siphon, just run some airline tuping up there and suck out the air... you could even cut a hole in the top and permanently have a tube on there, just run the tubing to a powerhead's intake. When rigged like that, the powerhead will aspirate any bubble in the tube, keeping it clear of obstruction. Link to comment
reefercolm Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 what program do u use?...looks awsome Link to comment
scarfish Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 Wow, almost a year later. Link to comment
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