Electrobes Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 Woowee that's a nice skimmer! This tank is looking great! Link to comment
pschom Posted February 8, 2012 Author Share Posted February 8, 2012 hey love your tank.what are you running for a return pump. i have the same tank and am running a modified mag 3with 3/4in lines and my sand blows all over. Thanks. How do you mod the mag3? I'm using the same exactly, but I put a ball valve (ugly my first attempt at plumbing ever) right above the pump. That way I can dial it down if I need. I do need to take that thing apart and re-seat the impeller. Kind of loud after last night. When turned on the sand blows off of the heavier substrate only on the right corner. I'm willing to live with that. Still love this tank! I also like the set up underneath! Cool man, thanks. I like the sump better with no macros. Cleaner. And a couple things happened when I put the skimmer in. 1. The water movement is so much that no detritus settles down which is outstanding. And 2. The ph is way up where it should be. I mean within a matter of hours. I'm attributing this to the induction of air molecules. But that could be WAY off. Woowee that's a nice skimmer! This tank is looking great! Ha. Thanks. I love it, but I hate the break in period for the pump. I want skimmate NOW! With your signature: you can put the title between the URL at the end and a bracket at the end of the actual link. Like this: url="http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=293631" 40 Mixed Reef Title[/url] Jus add the brackets [] at the beginning and end I had to remove them or else you can't see the text. Just shows the link. Outcome: 40 BR Mixed Reef Needs Sump Sorry if u already knew that... Link to comment
pschom Posted February 8, 2012 Author Share Posted February 8, 2012 Did some reworking of the sump and stand to make things run better. skimmer is now bubbling much better after raising it three inches. need to label my cables. like to get a small shelf from target or something for the left side. also went to Aquatic Obsession in Manassas and picked up a few frags. no good pics of them yet. got a red/green favia for $10 that would have been $30+ locally. Link to comment
mygolfisslow Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 to mod the 3. or at least how i did it, it you take the 4 screws out, pull the front off remove any plumbing. if you look at the side of the outlet just above the treads you should see a seam. there is a reducer in the end. this cuts down on flow. i took a razor blade and cut around that seam and cut the top off. if you look down the hole you should see the sleeve. you can drill out the sleeve or chip it out with a pick. it only opens up the outlet by maybe 1/8 inch. but in a 1/2 inch hole an 1/8 inch is 25% more flow. as far as i know this reducer is the only difference between the 3 and the 5 other than slightly higher wattage. think of it as a mag4. Link to comment
pschom Posted February 9, 2012 Author Share Posted February 9, 2012 Ok thanks. I'll probly do that when I get the locline splurged for the return. With it going two ways I'll need more flow. Like I said initially there was too much so I put a ball valve, but with a T it cuts it in half both ways. Thanks again. Link to comment
jedidad Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 Just read through this and your bc thread. this tank is amazing. i will be following along. Link to comment
pschom Posted February 9, 2012 Author Share Posted February 9, 2012 Just read through this and your bc thread. this tank is amazing. i will be following along. Cool man. Glad you like it! I think I stirred up too much detritus from the sump when I cleaned it out. Duncans and leather look kinda poor, but they look like they will recover. Fingers crossed. Link to comment
jedidad Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 they should be fine. they both can get pissed pretty easy but are hardy corals. Link to comment
aquakevem Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 New Duncans. 5 heads for $30 I thought was pretty good. Hey Pete, Did you purchase your Duncan from Congressional Aquarium? I had the chance to swing by there the other day and saw that they had a few. I also want to thank you for suggesting to checkout Congressional Aquarium, my late Uncle brought me here in the early 90's, which brought back memories Link to comment
jedidad Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 how do you think an AI SOL blue would look with a red stunner strip on it? thought it might give me a broader spectrum but afraid it would just cause a spotlight effect of red. Link to comment
pschom Posted February 10, 2012 Author Share Posted February 10, 2012 Hey Pete, Did you purchase your Duncan from Congressional Aquarium? I had the chance to swing by there the other day and saw that they had a few. I also want to thank you for suggesting to checkout Congressional Aquarium, my late Uncle brought me here in the early 90's, which brought back memories Yeah I got them when I traded in that huge torch coral. I miss it too. It sold within a week when they added it to their stock. I usually have very good success with corals from there. I've only acquired 4 frags from House of Tropicals in Glen Bernie and ALL of them are doing really great! I think I'm about to loose one from A1 though. No clue why. Started bleaching immediately. They called it a prociliapora or something. No problem. Even though those guys don't know crap about maintaining a reef, I like the store. Glad it ws cool for ya. how do you think an AI SOL blue would look with a red stunner strip on it? thought it might give me a broader spectrum but afraid it would just cause a spotlight effect of red. I do not know. Didn't know they even sold red ss's. Interesting concept. Idk I've seen the Radion in action. Its cool, but the SOL is really all you need. I also think the radion makes the tank look kinda fake. Link to comment
jedidad Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 yea i guess i should just wait till i get mine set up before i worry about it. i'm sure i'll love it just as it is. Link to comment
aquakevem Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 Yeah I got them when I traded in that huge torch coral. I miss it too. It sold within a week when they added it to their stock. I usually have very good success with corals from there. I've only acquired 4 frags from House of Tropicals in Glen Bernie and ALL of them are doing really great! I think I'm about to loose one from A1 though. No clue why. Started bleaching immediately. They called it a prociliapora or something. No problem. Even though those guys don't know crap about maintaining a reef, I like the store. Glad it ws cool for ya. The only thing that may interest me from Congressional Aquarium are the frags from their frag tank. I believe you have the same shallow aquarium? Wish i had more to say about their quality of fish and invertebrates... Yeah, I happen to like House of Tropicals. They always have a large selection of livestock, good to hear that you are having a good experience with them. I have yet to actually purchase anything from them, but i plan to for my upcoming tank. Link to comment
pschom Posted February 10, 2012 Author Share Posted February 10, 2012 Fishies That mean you like the clowns? Lol If so, thanks! One day I may have a nano that looks like yours. I'm addicted to mini carpet nems, but no one has any good ones locally. They're all green/red or green/purple. My two are the best I've seen around here. yea i guess i should just wait till i get mine set up before i worry about it. i'm sure i'll love it just as it is. Yes you will. It's so great. Whenever I start thinking about switching to something different I always fall back on the SOL. Link to comment
pschom Posted February 10, 2012 Author Share Posted February 10, 2012 The only thing that may interest me from Congressional Aquarium are the frags from their frag tank. I believe you have the same shallow aquarium? Wish i had more to say about their quality of fish and invertebrates... Yeah, I happen to like House of Tropicals. They always have a large selection of livestock, good to hear that you are having a good experience with them. I have yet to actually purchase anything from them, but i plan to for my upcoming tank. Yeah man I bought the tank from there. They set that frag tank up about a month before that and I really fell in love w it. Shame theirs looks like total shiznit now... I should ask if I can maintain it for free frags. Damn that's a good idea! I don't think anyone has touched it since it's been up, except to add frags to it...only to see them brown out. I should secretly test the water. Btw I went to Exotic Aquatics. I like the store, but despise the staff. If they change management and crew I might go back. Until then I'll save my gas. Link to comment
Lawnman Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 How far does the water fall into the overflow?looks like a good 2-3 inches? I had to raise the stand pipe in my Deep Blue 75 because the water crashing into the overflow was annoying. When you turn the return pump off how much water drains back into the sump from the display? My 75 drains about 3 gallons. Link to comment
pschom Posted February 11, 2012 Author Share Posted February 11, 2012 How far does the water fall into the overflow?looks like a good 2-3 inches? I had to raise the stand pipe in my Deep Blue 75 because the water crashing into the overflow was annoying. When you turn the return pump off how much water drains back into the sump from the display? My 75 drains about 3 gallons. Oh man I was loosing sleep with that noise. Here's what I do: Every week I insert a long piece of filter floss between the wall and the pipes. The FF covers the overflow holes and actually helps with keeping the sump clean, while silencing the noise. Here's what my plan is: I want to make a small lid to cover the entire overflow. Has to have a hole for Durso air intake. The lid will have a custom cut sponge that will slide into place where the current FF is. Thus making the lid stay put and prohibiting the noise. Easy in theory... With the pump off I probably get around 2-3 gallons cause its not only what's in the overflow, it comes from the display as well. What I have a problem w now is evaporation! Makes the new skimmer unstable. Got a 20% off coupon from MD for a JBJ ATO. Gonna have to use that. Link to comment
Lawnman Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 Like I said before I own a deep blue 75 and the overflow was very noisey. I am downgrading to this tank in a few weeks. What I did on my 75 was raise the drain pipe I will do it with this one as well. The white pvc between the durso drain head and the bottom reducer I removed that. I cut a new piece 2 inches longer. This allows a higher water level in the overflow so no crashing or trickle sound. My overflow is dead silent. What I did for a siphon break was split my locline return with a Y. I use one side for more flow and the other bearly breaks the surface. Soon as the pump goes off I have a instant siphon break. My evaporation is 3-4 gallons a day on my 75. You should try www.autotopoff.com that is where I got my ATO. Had it for 2 years not 1 problem and a great deal for 40 dollars. I have seen a couple other people have this tank. I told another member we should start a Deep Blue shallow owners thread like people have done with the RSM and the ADA tanks. Link to comment
mygolfisslow Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 +1 on the deep blue shallow club Link to comment
pschom Posted February 12, 2012 Author Share Posted February 12, 2012 Lol yeah so I did try the shallow thread. Wasn't specific to a Deep Blue. I got a little flack cause there was already an 'Official Shallow Thread'. As far as the overflow. I'm definitely doing the Y split within weeks. I'll check out the website for a top off. The reason I haven't raised the pipe is cause it would just look weird. It would be sticking up an additional 2 inches. It's in a pretty open area and needs to look good. That being said, can u post a pic of urs? If its not bad I'll do it! I just envision this big old pipe taking away from the display. Link to comment
Chris George Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 I was about to post to your new shallow thread when I saw a policeman had started patrolling it. I avoid the cops. I know this isn't an option for you since you only have two holes drilled in your tank, but I highly recommend anyone building a new tank to get 3 holes drilled and go with a Herbie-style overflow (two standpipes). You will love the silence, and nothing sticks out of the tank like they do in a raised Durso. Link to comment
pschom Posted February 12, 2012 Author Share Posted February 12, 2012 I was about to post to your new shallow thread when I saw a policeman had started patrolling it. I avoid the cops. I know this isn't an option for you since you only have two holes drilled in your tank, but I highly recommend anyone building a new tank to get 3 holes drilled and go with a Herbie-style overflow (two standpipes). You will love the silence, and nothing sticks out of the tank like they do in a raised Durso. Lol. It's staying alive. There are some very nice setups on it that I hadn't seen. Some one said they were going to email a moderator to merge the two shallow threads. I've since changed my sig. Yes.I really like your overflow. I like mine too, but like lawnman said the pipe that comes with it is too short. I might get a longer PVC and test it out for looks. That's my only concern. How's everything going? I see you were able to retain some of the red/orange monti. Link to comment
pschom Posted February 12, 2012 Author Share Posted February 12, 2012 I have kind of a noob question for anyone. With the addition of the skimmer I have 0 nitrates. Seemingly indefinite 0 nitrates. Which leads me to the question: how often should I change the water? Upon testing my levels today, harmful elements were nonexistent, but positive elements were down (calc 350). Anyway...should I still do weekly 20%, or dose, or what?? Link to comment
spanko Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 If your test reagents are fresh and you are performing the test correctly then the 30%water changes may be keeping your nitrates undetectable. Best way to find out is to skip a few water changes and see if they go up. You may find you can go a few weeks in between changes or that the changes are keeping you good. The other consideration is as you increase your bioload with fish etc. the parameters and water change schedule may be effected. Link to comment
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