Starting up a display fuge

[NotTheFace]

So, I have a pump already that is 265gph. I would prefer to use this, but would it be strong enough or should I get a stronger pump? I know it probably depends alot on the height and distance the water is going to have to travel through the tubeing but I won't know that precisely yet.

Yep it depends on the pumping height, from what I gather from your previous posts, the height probably wont be more than four feet, so I'm sure that pump will work fine. I use a Maxijet 1200 (295 gph) to pump from my tank to the chiller and back to the tank, and that has been working for me.

[NanoDrummer]

quick question. I got a 20gal long (30in) and want a stand thatll look better than the table i got it sitting on right now and want to have a stand for it AND a display fuge. BUdget....not huge! Any DIY plans or nice buys i could make?

[NanoReefNovice]

So, I have a pump already that is 265gph. I would prefer to use this, but would it be strong enough or should I get a stronger pump? I know it probably depends alot on the height and distance the water is going to have to travel through the tubeing but I won't know that precisely yet.

 

This calc will help you figure you head loss...

http://www.reefcentral.com/calc/hlc2.php

[nate82]

+1 on reefcleaners.org John has all the knowledge and macro that you'll every need. He's also great to deal with.

[NotTheFace]

quick question. I got a 20gal long (30in) and want a stand thatll look better than the table i got it sitting on right now and want to have a stand for it AND a display fuge. BUdget....not huge! Any DIY plans or nice buys i could make?

There are people who have done exactly that, stands aren't too hard to make and there are plans all over the place.

This guy made one for a 40 breeder. http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=169131

[00deven]

great thread and you guys made up my mind on setting up a fuge above my tank with only one pump.

[NanoDrummer]

There are people who have done exactly that, stands aren't too hard to make and there are plans all over the place.

This guy made one for a 40 breeder. http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=169131

Looks awesome I'll be looking into it more thanks

[QbnSuperman]

hey there. I just made a write-up of my above the tank display fuge. hopefully this will give you guys some ideas.

display fuge thread

[NotTheFace]

Alright, I got my display fuge started.... but it didn't work out right so I need to figure some stuff out.

 

Having three pumps turned on depletes the water available too fast. My fuge is not draining fast enough to keep up with this. Being an idiot, I turned off all three pumps and bam! small almost controllable flood.

 

Without recreating this bad situation, I think I know what one problem was, and that was the tube to my return pump, leading to my fuge, became a siphon when the pump was turned off. I think I had the tube set too low in the fuge

 

Actually looking at the fuge water level pretty much tells me I'm right. The water level is way lower than the drain.

 

Go go taking a breather and letting logic take control again

 

Now I need to fit my tube above the water line so this doesn't happen again. But before I do that, I need to figure out how I'm going to have all three pumps running and still have enough water so they can function properly.

 

If you know the Nanocube tanks, they have 5 chambers pretty much. Far Left, Left, Center, Right, and Far right, The Far Left and Far Right are designed to hold return pumps, left and right chambers are designed to hold heater and skimmer, center is designed to hold the media basket. In my set up I removed the basket, put in another return pump to pump to the chiller. and have floss and carbon above that pump.

 

Because my used tank didn't come with the wave maker, I haven't been using my second return pump, and just added a Koralia Nano in the tank to add flow and added a Hydor Flo to create varied flow. I was unsure about using the chiller lines to add water to the fuge because that would seem to kind of defeat it's purpose. These are my concerns with this.

 

a. The chiller is taking temps from the display,

b. The fuge may get too cold because of a. and the heater in the fuge will turn on to warm the water thus negating the cooling I needed in the display.

 

That's why I wanted to use the return pump I wasn't using as the pump to the fuge.

 

Any answers to my concerns would be greatly appreciated. Sorry I was rambling, but I had a lot on my mind.

[NotTheFace]

Well, I don't know about temperature of running both, but I got the kinks worked out. Once I raised the hose out of the water no overflowing problems. To fix the problem of running dry, I just had to add more water. So I learned a lesson, and now all is well Time to get a light and order some macros

[D3monic]

you got the overflow issue solved for when the pumps turn off?

[NotTheFace]

you got the overflow issue solved for when the pumps turn off?

yea, I had it all worked out before, my only problem was my line going into the fuge worked backwards when the pumps were shut off.

[MedRed]

hey there. I just made a write-up of my above the tank display fuge. hopefully this will give you guys some ideas.

display fuge thread

 

 

 

that looks awesome. Is there a way of doing something similar with more discreet hosing?

[QbnSuperman]

that looks awesome. Is there a way of doing something similar with more discreet hosing?

i think so. more space behind both tanks and plumb them closer together (the pipes). Then cover them with a soffit of some sort. I may eventually cover mine similarly. It's freshly done and still a work in progress.

 

You could also drill the bottom of the fuge and make an internal overflow as opposed to my behind-the-tank design. I did'nt want to deal with drilling the shelf it's sitting on so I went that route.

[NotTheFace]

Here are a couple shots of what I have done. Still need to get a light, and buy some new macros.

This is how I set up the drain pipe. pretty basic.

 

I am still in the process of trying to hide the return hose, if you look in the first pic, the drain hose is covered with a black pipe.

[MedRed]

Here are a couple shots of what I have done. Still need to get a light, and buy some new macros.

This is how I set up the drain pipe. pretty basic.

 

I am still in the process of trying to hide the return hose, if you look in the first pic, the drain hose is covered with a black pipe.

 

 

can you elaborate on your build process, equipment, and materials?

[NotTheFace]

can you elaborate on your build process, equipment, and materials?

 

I can't really be detailed because I just brought stuff into the hardware store to make sure they fit but here goes.

 

Tank is drilled in the top right, the bulk head is 1 1/2" (Male), I connected it to a 1 1/2"elbow (Female). Both the Bulkhead and the Elbow were threaded. Inside the elbow, I have a pipe that converts it down to 1", inside that is another adapter to 1/2" and I connected a hose to that and sent it down to the back of my tank, as can be seen in the first pic.

 

I took the return pump in with me to the store, got another hose that fit, used some tefflon tape, and a plastic zip tie to secure it, as it was going to be under pressure.

 

The hoses I used are reinforced vinyl tubing, I was looking for black reinforced vinyl, but I don't think they make it. I didn't use regular vinyl because it seemed too flimsy and the last thing I want is a bend in the hose.