new 10g/10g sump tank

[p3ngu1n]

Hi guys, this is my first salt water setup so I thought I should share some pics with you guys and also get some little advice to start off. My tank has gone through about 1 week and 2 days of cycling my parameters are sg 2.25, temp 80-81 deg, ph 7.8, ammonia went from 0-3.0 on the 5th day and is now at 0 ( can anyone tell me if its normal for it to drop that fast?), nitrite went from <.03-.3 on the 5 day and is also now at 0,nitrate is unknown at the moment because my test kit didn't come with it for some odd reason; I am using a tetra test laborett btw, I will soon get more accurate reading at the LFS when I can and am looking at the salifert kit but don't know which one to get because I heard that once my tank has mature I don't really need to waste money on the ammonia and nitrite kit (is that correct? and if so which one should i get?) My lighting system is a 24" nova extreme 24 watt T5HO with a stock slimpaq 460nm actinic and 10,000k daylight bulb. (Is that stock bulb good enough to keep soft coral and some LPS?) Well here are the pics please give me any feedback or advice thanks in advance.

 

can anyone tell me what kind of hitchhiker this is also?

[pprwngs]

and nice setup.

 

As far as test kits go, I've used the API Reef Kit and it seemed accurate. I'm sure Salifert is good just to pricey for me, but as far as test kits go you will probably need Nitrate, Calcium, dKH/Alkalinity, and pH. And then anything else you feel like testing for(Strontium, Iodine, Copper). Always test for what ever you want to dose your tank with.

[got2envy]

I think you are off to a great start! I have the API reef test kit and the regular SW test kit..I believe I got them at Petsmart

 

and the stock bulbs are def enough for softies and LPS

[E36 328i]

Have any more pictures of your sump setup? What kind of pump are you using?

 

Also, where'd you get the overflow?

 

Sorry for all the questions, I'm doing a 7gallon Bowfront with 10 gallon sump and your sump looks good to me.

[Mischeif Nite]

Are your pumps "on" in the sump pic?

[p3ngu1n]

The overflow I am using is the one from http://www.aquatraders.com its just like the cpr one but only for $30, its rated at 600 gph but I have lifted it up high enough with foam so I think I'm only getting around 200-250 gph. As for the pump I am actually using a maxi-jet powerhead rated at 230 gph that I had laying around for mixing salt because the pump that I had before Odyssea wp 500 water pump (from the same site that I got the overflow from) pulled out too much water from my sump. I will have more pictures of my sump soon but its too late right now to do so maybe in a few days but basically its just 3 sheets plexiglass I got from homedepot glued together with some aquarium safe silicon also from homedepot I really don't recommend this silicon because it came in a small toothpaste like tube and was really hard to handle you really need strong hands just to push the silicon out of the tube and get a good amount of to seal it with the glass, I ended up with a huge mess in my sump with silicon finger prints everywhere which I had to clean off with a razor when it was done drying and still I am not really satisfy of some how some of the edges turned out but it was leaked proof so I just went ahead. So if you're going to do this try use silicon that is in one of those big plastic tube with the gun squeezing thing attached to it (sorry if I don't know the real name to it), I kinda played it safe and use the aquarium safe silicon with the big fish picture on it but after doing more research I heard that anything 100% silicon should be safe so don't really limit yourself. Oh yeah and my pump is on in the picture btw.

[lakshwadeep]

to nano-reef.com

[Lalani]

I <3 your sn and av.

Oh and

Great start!

[E36 328i]

Thanks for the replies they really did help me. I have been scouring the web for a decently priced overflow without having to drill the tank.

 

I think I'll go the same route as you but I want to use PVC as my piping so I think I'll utilize ball valves with the odyssea wp 500 to slow the flow a little. Are you using the venturi on your powerhead for continuous overflow?

 

Also, what method are you utilizing to prevent the tank from overflowing in case of electrical outage?

 

Thanks!!

[p3ngu1n]

I am using a dosing pump from http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem.aspx?idproduct=OE1137 for the venturi instead of the powerhead it works great but make sure you buy a pre-filter if you are doing so for like $4 more . For a power outage just make sure you have enough room in your sump to hold extra water so your sump won't overflow during an outage; you can do this by turning off your system and see how much extra water your sump can hold without overflowing take out water accordingly if it does flood, then turn your system back on and wait a few seconds for the return pump to pull some water out of the sump then mark the glass with a marker to indicate a safe zone for the sump to hold water at, this can also be used to top off your system with freshwater as well when it is under the marker. As for the return pump you really don't have to worry about it flooding your display because the dosing pump should pull out all the air bubbles so your overflow shouldn't fail unless your dosing pump gets really dirty and fail. Sorry I don't have more pictures of my setup my camera broke =/ but here is a video on youtube of the crp overflow which is basically the same overflow I have but for cheaper

. Also I would recommend painting the overflow box black, which I planning on doing soon, so that you can't see the algae that grows on it because its clear. I hope this helps keep me undated on how your setup turns out =) I will have more pictures soon when I get my new camera.