Deleted User 6 Posted February 14, 2009 Author Share Posted February 14, 2009 Nice job Now lets get some water in this bad boy! Oh, and does your return have anything to prevent siphoning in a power outage? like a check valve or a small hole to break the siphon? Return isn't set up yet, but I've got to figure out a way to do that. Got any ideas on how to plumb the return? I'm a total noob at the plumbing. I'll be using a Mag 5 (thanks sk8dood for the fittings info). Also, I was at home depot and the 1/2" tubing and their 1/2" ball valve didn't fit each other. How do I rig a ball valve into flex tubing? Link to comment
steve0xr Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 IMO a ball valve isnt really needed on a return, Also I used flex then hard pipe where it goes into the tank, just because I think it looks neater. To prevent siphoning back to the sump when the pump is shut off I put a tiny hole in the return line inside the tank above the waterline. When the pump is in service water just trickles out of the hole (into the tank) and when the pump is off it lets air in the line to break the siphon. Its safer than a check vale. Excuse the cheesy diagram but i think it gets the point across. The black is my return line (sprinkler system piping from lowes) Sorry I'd get you a better pic but my camera broke. Hope that helps a bit.... Link to comment
Deleted User 6 Posted February 14, 2009 Author Share Posted February 14, 2009 Awesome - that's perfect. For connected the flex tubing to the rigid, can you use the same size (1/2") and just put one of those metal tightening things? Edit: oh yeah, and I'm mixing my first batch of water now! Link to comment
steve0xr Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 I'm home sick, lots of time on my hands..... Link to comment
Deleted User 6 Posted February 14, 2009 Author Share Posted February 14, 2009 I'm home sick, lots of time on my hands..... Wow, lol. Amazing! Sorry to hear you're sick, but it's sure helping me out Link to comment
Deleted User 6 Posted February 17, 2009 Author Share Posted February 17, 2009 FINALLY! Water is in! Picked up a rock for the starter bacteria culture - probably going to get some SeaLife Inc. rock once the initial cycle is complete - then let it recycle a bit (the hope is that any invert hitchhikers will survive the mini cycle from adding the sealife rock). Still have to finish the MH light. The starter rock came with some orange macro - ID? The mj1200 is in there until I can get my koralia. Link to comment
Deleted User 6 Posted February 17, 2009 Author Share Posted February 17, 2009 Tested for ammonia and nitrite tonight and both came out positive! Something's working... Link to comment
Atari Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 Its about time! How is that Mag 5 in there? to much flow in the sump? Link to comment
steve0xr Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 So whats the plan for lighting? Link to comment
Atari Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 Still have to finish the MH light. Link to comment
Deleted User 6 Posted February 17, 2009 Author Share Posted February 17, 2009 Its about time! How is that Mag 5 in there? to much flow in the sump? I've got ball valves on both the drain and the return, so I should be able to regulate. However, it's frustrating trying to get the drain flow to match the return flow and still be relatively quiet. I'm starting a thread on any tips out there on that because I can't get it right. Link to comment
neanderthalman Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 Just read your tank thread. The problem you're having is that nobody with experience commented on your plumbing. It looks like the advice combined a herbie drain with a durso standpipe. Not going to work. You currently have a single drain with no standpipe. You need a proper standpipe to cut the noise, in your case, the appropriate choice is an external durso. There's no need for a valve on the drain - the only type of drain that uses a throttling valve is a herbie drain - which you're not set up for. You'd need a full-height overflow box and two holes. http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=69372 Link to comment
Deleted User 6 Posted February 17, 2009 Author Share Posted February 17, 2009 Hmm. See the other thread on this one: http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...p;#entry2076648 Link to comment
steve0xr Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 I duno dude my overflow is the same way as yours, all i had to do was slowly close down on my overflow ball valve (leave the return valve wide open) until it became quieter. Its not silent but no noiser than the skimmer is. But like he said i guess the real problem is you havent talked to anyone experienced. Link to comment
Deleted User 6 Posted February 17, 2009 Author Share Posted February 17, 2009 I duno dude my overflow is the same way as yours, all i had to do was slowly close down on my overflow ball valve (leave the return valve wide open) until it became quieter. Its not silent but no noiser than the skimmer is. But like he said i guess the real problem is you havent talked to anyone experienced. I also think part of the problem is not enough water in the display. I'm going to try to get the water level up another 1/2" or so today and fiddle with it. I'm looking at the durso standpipe and the principle is the same as what I've got set up - I'll open the ball valve wide open and see what I can do with it today. Link to comment
steve0xr Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 I'm looking at the durso standpipe and the principle is the same as what I've got set up Exactly but your not experienced enough to know that Link to comment
Deleted User 6 Posted February 17, 2009 Author Share Posted February 17, 2009 Exactly but your not experienced enough to know that I'll take all opinions. Link to comment
Mr. Fosi Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 The practice of placing valves of any type on your overflow in an effort to quiet it is "fraught with danger" in the words of yardboy. All you need is an unfortunate fish, a snail or some other bit of debris to clog that small hole you created by adjusting the valve and you have an overflow situation. Use one of the silencer mods or adjust the flow of your sump return, never the drain. Link to comment
Deleted User 6 Posted February 17, 2009 Author Share Posted February 17, 2009 The practice of placing valves of any type on your overflow in an effort to quiet it is "fraught with danger" in the words of yardboy. All you need is an unfortunate fish, a snail or some other bit of debris to clog that small hole you created by adjusting the valve and you have an overflow situation. Use one of the silencer mods or adjust the flow of your sump return, never the drain. I have a silencer on there - what glass-holes.com calls a F.L.U.S.H. It's a hole in the elbow with a piece of rigid tubing down inside it. Me being a noob means I don't know how to adjust it to silence the drain. Also, you reminded me to add some eggcrate to the top of my overflow to block large things from going in there. Link to comment
Mr. Fosi Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 Maybe I am still missing the point but... The typical way to adjust the noise of your drain is to increase or decrease the amount of air flowing into it. I am not familiar with your silencer type so I can't provide any specific info. EDIT: Or put something like a cotton-swab air filter over the end of the air tube if the noise you are trying to eliminate is the sucking sound. Link to comment
Deleted User 6 Posted February 17, 2009 Author Share Posted February 17, 2009 Maybe I am still missing the point but... The typical way to adjust the noise of your drain is to increase or decrease the amount of air flowing into it. I am not familiar with your silencer type so I can't provide any specific info. EDIT: Or put something like a cotton-swab air filter over the end of the air tube if the noise you are trying to eliminate is the sucking sound. The sucking sound I think can be solved with more water in the display - I really think my issue there was not enough water. The main issue is that my drain is noisy (flowing water sound) and it also seems to suck in a lot of air and the end of the drain in the sump spits out big bubbles which make loud bubbling noises. All that with the drain wide open. So, do I need more or less air flowing into the standpipe to reduce those noises? Or is it just a water level thing. I'm doing my best to explain this - sorry if it's confusing. Link to comment
Mr. Fosi Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 Flowing water sound may be too little water or too much air. I looked at a couple previous pages in this thread and I saw a pic of your hard plumbing but I didn't see a diagram of your overflow & silencer setup so I don't have a good sense about what is happening. Could you whip something up in MS Paint? Link to comment
Deleted User 6 Posted February 17, 2009 Author Share Posted February 17, 2009 Flowing water sound may be too little water or too much air. I looked at a couple previous pages in this thread and I saw a pic of your hard plumbing but I didn't see a diagram of your overflow & silencer setup so I don't have a good sense about what is happening. Could you whip something up in MS Paint? I'll see what I can do - I'm at work so I'm a bit limited. If nothing else, I have pics at home I can post tonight. Link to comment
Deleted User 6 Posted February 17, 2009 Author Share Posted February 17, 2009 Ok, here's the quick and dirty version of the overflow/elbow/silencer. The elbow has rigid tubing that goes through a hole on the top of it. Link to comment
Mr. Fosi Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 Ahhh, I see now. Try plugging the ridged tubing with your finger and see if that improves or worsens the sound. If it reduces it, you could put an air valve on the tubing and use it to control the airflow (which is what I do on my stockman). If it doesn't change the sound, you have too little water flowing through the drain. If the sound gets worse, you may need more air which could be done by drilling another hole for another bit of tube. Link to comment
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