Jamesamantha, I am impressed with the amount of equipment you squeezed under your tank. What is the tall container in the middle? http://www.razorbackreef.org/old/galle ... C02905.JPG
Yep. That vessel holds 10 gallons of kalkwasser. Right now I add about 1 tsp of calcium hydroxide per gallon and it is keeping all of my parm right where I want them. There is a float switch in the sump and the little aqualifter pump on top of the 10 gallon vat is what pumps it into my sump. I have to fill it about once per week.
Would you mind detailing everything under your tank for me with dimensions, etc? I'm not really happy with the space utilization under my stand and have been considering a redesign -- maybe some kind of acrylic two-level thing? I'd really like to create a space for a refugium. My current sump is 30x12x18. I'm only using 9" of the depth because of the water level required for the skimmer and there's not enough vertical space to raise the skimmer more than about an inch.. 1-2 inches are all that's required to handle drainage from the display when the pumps are shut off so about 6-8 inches of sump tank depth are being wasted. If I move the external closed-loop pump somewhere else, I would have another 6" left-to-right. Or if I had a shelf to hold both return pumps I could move the internal sump return outside the sump and have another 6" inside the current sump. I'm not happy with the current configuration so any suggestions or design ideas are welcome.
Sure thing! I will measure it up tonight and also put a couple of more detailed pics in my gallery. If you have not already you can check out this link for lots of sump layouts, with and without fuges. You might find a way to incorporate some of these ideas into your existing glass sump or get inspired to do a custom acrylic one. http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html James
Second only to Chris! Why don't you post a recent pic of what things are looking like inside your stand so we can all brainstorm. I already have some crazy ideas floating around inside my head. It took me about three tries before I got mine how I wanted it. An example is my topoff vat. I started with a 5 gallon jug, then went to a clear bottled water bottle...still 5 gallons. I wanted something bigger and looked everywhere but nothing would fit. I was checking out Melev's 280 build and there it was...a wrapping paper container he used for a vat. So I went upstairs and dumped my wife's wrapping paper out on the floor, ran back to the tank and it was perfect. It fit great and held 10 gallons. My wife was not happy but I got her a new one the next day. James
I'll try and get some good pics and measurements tonight. Luckily, I have the topoff handled although the float-switches can be relocated if necessary. The adjustable baffles are not working great. They're OK but not tight enough to allow a flow-over baffle. Once the water builds up enough to flow over, the water pressure pushes the baffle over. Either the panels need to be a little wider or they need thicker weather-stripping. I guess since I won't be changing skimmers, the baffles could be fixed in place.
Cut me some slack, he just gave me a coral! :lol: The moral of that story was I didn't get it right the first time either. But I am sure we can come up with a better design for your setup. That is too bad about the baffles as I thought that was a neat idea.
Never heard of using adjustable baffles :? Why wouldn't you silicone them in place? Isn't the point of the baffles to redirect the water flow to A. slow it down and B. Diffuse bubbles? If they weren't fixed permanently I would be concerned with constant movement and bypass water flow defeating the sole purpose of them. I thought this was addressed by someone else already but I cant seem to find where I read it. Maybe it was deleted when that one guys posts were deleted I dunno.
I think you're confusing the RRMAS forums with another site somewhere else. A Google search (site:razorbackreef.org baffles) of this site turned up my post in this discussion: http://www.razorbackreef.org/old/phpBB ... 9a2567a4e3 The adjustable baffles will work, it's just that my implementation is flawed. I was going to start with an existing small skimmer and wanted to be able to house a larger one when funds allowed. Adjustable baffles would let this happen with a minimum of fuss. Since I went ahead and purchased a larger skimmer, the adjustable baffles aren't necessary so rather than cutting some new ones slightly bigger or trying to find some thicker weatherstripping so they'll fit tighter, I think I'll just have a new custom sump built to maximize my under tank space of which I'm wasting a lot right now.
Here are my vitals. I put a couple of more pics in my gallery too. Overall space is 47"x17-1/2"x31-1/2" tall Sump is 24"x12"x16" tall, skimmer chamber is basically 12x12. 10" of water. My return compartment is technically bigger than it needs to be. I keep a heater in there and some extra rock rubble. I have 4-1/2" of space in front of the sump which is enough room for my return pump to sit in. I drilled the tank with a dremel and put an elbow out of the bulkhead. My fuge is 11"x13"x17"high. The 13" is front to back. It sits on a 4" block so the drain clears the top of the sump. It is roughly 10 gallons and was a home made acrylic project. I know your skimmer has a bigger footprint but your lack of a topoff vat should make up for that. I bet we can come up with something really cool if we think about it. James
