Our Tbs

[lossman]

Originally posted by patsan
What does it mean when the flower anemone regurgitates?
Bob just did a water change, and right before he filled the tank back up, I see the anemone releasing poo or something from it's mouth.
I did notice while all the pumps were turned off that it had closed up.
Just not sure what to make of the junk it's releasing.

It's poop. After it eats, it needs to get rid of the wastes. When mine first pooped, I was like a mommy who's kid pottied all by itself for the first time! Honey! Look!! Our anemone pooped!!

LOL, you should have seen Brett's face!!!

[patsan]

Originally posted by lossman
It's poop. After it eats, it needs to get rid of the wastes. When mine first pooped, I was like a mommy who's kid pottied all by itself for the first time! Honey! Look!! Our anemone pooped!!
LOL, you should have seen Brett's face!!!

Well it must be constipated then because it didn't eat yet today!
I've seriously never seen it do that before...

[lossman]

We had our anemone for close to a week before I saw it poop. It had not eaten that day either....we only feed it twice a week.

[drk70]

Well I know I asked this question already (Thanks Phil and Jason) but after I got home and put a tape measure in the sump I'm really not sure. Here is a pic of the sump with the baffles. The major concern is the size of each compartment.


So here are my questions:

1. Is the skimmer section large enough?
2. Is the return and fuge sections large enough?
3. Should I just do without the fuge and just have skimmer and return section?

Any suggestions are welcome.

[patsan]

Dennis, how large is the 2 sections that don't have the skimmer in it?
How come you're going to keep the return in the middle and not in the last section and use the middle for a fuge?
I think as long as you can fit the skimmer in the space, then it's large enough for that section.

[drk70]

Originally posted by patsan
Dennis, how large is the 2 sections that don't have the skimmer in it?
How come you're going to keep the return in the middle and not in the last section and use the middle for a fuge?
I think as long as you can fit the skimmer in the space, then it's large enough for that section.

They are not really set. I can still move the baffles but I'm guessing that I have about 18" of room to play with. The tank is 30" long and the skimmer is about 9.5" long. The set of 3 baffles is 11" tall and the one that would separate the fuge is 12" tall to the bottom of the teeth.

The reason I put it there is so I can make that section 1 to 2 inches deeper. I don't want to raise the skimmer up much more or I won't have good access to get the top off.

I could move the baffles and make the skimmer section smaller but I also have to have room on the ent for the pipe from the drain.

Does it really matter how your skimmer sits in the sump? I know I don't want the outlet of the skimmer right at the baffles but is it alright to put it facing the side or should I turn it so the outlet faces the opposite the baffles?

[patsan]

I don't think it matters how it sits in the sump. You have the baffles there to trap the bubbles, so no matter which way you face it, it still has to go thru the bubble trap. I've read thru so many skimmer threads, and most people seem to be concerned with the footprint of the skimmer just to see if it will fit in their sump, and how much water it needs to sit in.

It really looks nice what you did! I'm impressed!

Just ordered my lights and pump from ReefGeek. So, at least I started.

[drk70]

Originally posted by patsan
I don't think it matters how it sits in the sump. You have the baffles there to trap the bubbles, so no matter which way you face it, it still has to go thru the bubble trap. I've read thru so many skimmer threads, and most people seem to be concerned with the footprint of the skimmer just to see if it will fit in their sump, and how much water it needs to sit in.

It really looks nice what you did! I'm impressed!

Just ordered my lights and pump from ReefGeek. So, at least I started.

As I said the only thing I have heard was not to point the out towards the baffles. If you point it away it gives the bubbles more time to pop before they get to the trap.

Thanks Pat. I just hope it works.

Nothing like starting with one of the most expensive parts.

[H2OLUVSME]

Dennis, i think you just need enough room to get the skimmer in and out while the sump is in your stand. as long as its big enough for that, its big enough

i do see something with your baffles. when your water level in the return section goes down you will have two waterfalls pouring into it, creating new bubbles. remember my post about under/over/under

also with the refugium baffle, the water should come through there at a much slower pace, so not many bubbles will be created there. IMO, some will though. to reduce these, one single "under" baffle would trap bubbles and not reduce your return section volume.

i think you did an excellent job fabricating those baffles. it looks way better than any sump ive made. mine work good, but they dont look it

and, i really like your skimmer lift. i use a plastic flower pot turned upside down

[drk70]

Originally posted by H2OLUVSME
Dennis, i think you just need enough room to get the skimmer in and out while the sump is in your stand. as long as its big enough for that, its big enough

i do see something with your baffles. when your water level in the return section goes down you will have two waterfalls pouring into it, creating new bubbles. remember my post about under/over/under

also with the refugium baffle, the water should come through there at a much slower pace, so not many bubbles will be created there. IMO, some will though. to reduce these, one single "under" baffle would trap bubbles and not reduce your return section volume.

i think you did an excellent job fabricating those baffles. it looks way better than any sump ive made. mine work good, but they dont look it

and, i really like your skimmer lift. i use a plastic flower pot turned upside down

Thanks Landon. The acrylic is really easy to work with. I used Weld-On #3 and it dries in about 30 seconds.

I must have missed that about the baffles. If you look at Melev's site he only has an over/under/over. It wouldn't be hard to add one more baffle. The acrlic is so easy to glue I could do it right in the sump.

Do you think the area in the refugium or return is too small?

[BrianPlankis]

Originally posted by drk70
Thanks Landon. The acrylic is really easy to work with. I used Weld-On #3 and it dries in about 30 seconds.

I must have missed that about the baffles. If you look at Melev's site he only has an over/under/over. It wouldn't be hard to add one more baffle. The acrlic is so easy to glue I could do it right in the sump.

Do you think the area in the refugium or return is too small?

I would make your return area as big as possible, even if it means sacrificing a little area in the refuge. I made fuge the following way:

Drain from main tank --> skimmer --> fuge --> frag tray --> return pump to main tank.

The return area is only about 6" wide and that is the only compartment in the sump that the water level varies in. When my evaporation takes place that water level drops rapidly. My auto-top off device keeps it full, but once my auto-top off container runs out of water then I only have about 1 day to catch it.

If I was redoing my sump I would make my return section baffle at least a couple inches taller or ideally move the baffle a few inches the other way so it is 10" or so wide. I'm always paranoid about my pump running dry. I'm still looking for that cheap 30 gallon I can use to make into a new sump to increase the volume

B.

[H2OLUVSME]

how many inches is the return section? 12x??x??

[Nirol]

My sump is a little longer, but it goes: drain, sump, over, under, over, return, refugium. The fuge is fed from the return for a slower flow. I like the configuration. I wish I had a bigger fuge even though mine runs about 12 gallons, so I would not reduce yours if you can avoid it.

[drk70]

Originally posted by H2OLUVSME
how many inches is the return section? 12x??x??

It would be about 12" L x 12" W x 11" deep.
The refugium would end up being probably 5 x 12 x 12 deep.

I'm guessing here at this point but that should be pretty close.

[drk70]

Originally posted by garagebrian
I would make your return area as big as possible, even if it means sacrificing a little area in the refuge. I made fuge the following way:

Drain from main tank --> skimmer --> fuge --> frag tray --> return pump to main tank.

The return area is only about 6" wide and that is the only compartment in the sump that the water level varies in. When my evaporation takes place that water level drops rapidly. My auto-top off device keeps it full, but once my auto-top off container runs out of water then I only have about 1 day to catch it.

If I was redoing my sump I would make my return section baffle at least a couple inches taller or ideally move the baffle a few inches the other way so it is 10" or so wide. I'm always paranoid about my pump running dry. I'm still looking for that cheap 30 gallon I can use to make into a new sump to increase the volume

B.

My concern is the same. Is my return big enough with the refugium or should I just eliminate the refugium altogether. I don't have an auto top-off unit nor have the room for one.

[H2OLUVSME]

well, the way i see it you would have about 3-3.5 gallons of play for evaporation. this, IMO, should be enough for a few days of evap. im not 100% sure how much T-5s cause (maybe Pat could tell us how much RO she adds each day/week), but i would think its less than MH. i evap about 2-2.5 gallons a day.

[patsan]

Originally posted by H2OLUVSME
well, the way i see it you would have about 3-3.5 gallons of play for evaporation. this, IMO, should be enough for a few days of evap. im not 100% sure how much T-5s cause (maybe Pat could tell us how much RO she adds each day/week), but i would think its less than MH. i evap about 2-2.5 gallons a day.

I don't evap that much. Maybe .75 a day at most. I usually top off every 2 days about 1-1½ gallons.

[H2OLUVSME]

Originally posted by patsan
I don't evap that much. Maybe .75 a day at most. I usually top off every 2 days about 1-1½ gallons.

if you have similar surface agitation i would say you would have 4 to 5 days before your return started sucking air from the surface water.

EDIT: Dennis

[BrianPlankis]

Originally posted by drk70
It would be about 12" L x 12" W x 11" deep.
The refugium would end up being probably 5 x 12 x 12 deep.

I'm guessing here at this point but that should be pretty close.

OK, that is way better than mine then. I'm sorry, but what size is your sump tank? My return is only 6" x 12" x 8" deep. I agree with Nirol that your refuge should be as big as possible, so your return looks like decent size then. You could probably even have it be 10" L x 12" W x 11" deep and have at least two days to notice that you need to add water before your pump starts sucking air, especially if you don't have MH.

I evaporate about 1.5 gallons a day with my MH and fans on now. My auto top-off holds about 5 gallons, so that is why I can only go 3-4 days.

B.

[drk70]

Originally posted by H2OLUVSME
well, the way i see it you would have about 3-3.5 gallons of play for evaporation. this, IMO, should be enough for a few days of evap. im not 100% sure how much T-5s cause (maybe Pat could tell us how much RO she adds each day/week), but i would think its less than MH. i evap about 2-2.5 gallons a day.

the only place I will have alot of evaporation is in the sump because my tank will have a glass cover on it that is unless I run into a real heat problem.

[drk70]

Originally posted by garagebrian
OK, that is way better than mine then. I'm sorry, but what size is your sump tank? My return is only 6" x 12" x 8" deep. I agree with Nirol that your refuge should be as big as possible, so your return looks like decent size then. You could probably even have it be 10" L x 12" W x 11" deep and have at least two days to notice that you need to add water before your pump starts sucking air, especially if you don't have MH.

I evaporate about 1.5 gallons a day with my MH and fans on now. My auto top-off holds about 5 gallons, so that is why I can only go 3-4 days.

B.

Its a 29g glass tank. 30" long 12" wide and 18" deep. It takes up all of my stand.

[patsan]

Originally posted by drk70
Its a 29g glass tank. 30" long 12" wide and 18" deep. It takes up all of my stand.

How long is your tank that it takes up all of your stand?

[drk70]

Originally posted by H2OLUVSME
if you have similar surface agitation i would say you would have 4 to 5 days before your return started sucking air from the surface water.

EDIT: Dennis

Maybe I'm concerned for no reason. I just keep thinking I'm going to suck the return dry real quick and don't want to have to fill it every day. Remember I'm a newbie still. This is my first SW tank.

[drk70]

Originally posted by patsan
How long is your tank that it takes up all of your stand?

[gregt]

This thread was automatically split due to performance issues. You can find the rest of the thread here: http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...hreadid=573616