Starboard Reef is up and running

[Narkon]

Thanks Travis, I just got an acrylic tank, and was not for sure. Well we all make choices, and mine has again limited me. haha uh?

[Bomber]

Originally posted by Louis Governo
Any ideas? Thanks!

Louis, try that again. Honest I read it several times and I just can't follow it.

I think I know what you're thinking, tell me if I missed it.

What you will probablly end up with is a tank that holds about 120gal, with a overflow that can handle 10X's that - or 1200 gals.
10X's turnover should be plenty if you have your skimmer feeding from the sump.
Here's how I would do that.
Say you have 1200 gph dumping into the first compartment of the sump.
I would have the pickup for the skimmer pull out of that first compartment and have a skimmer that could handle right at 1200gph through it.
Then have the return/dump from the skimmer empty into the second compartment of the sump.
Setup that way, the skimmer should process almost all of the water that you circulate through the sump.

[makoJ]

I'm setting up my first BB tank, and I'm in design phase now, I've ordered my tank its a 150 gallon tank (60X24X25) center overflow 2-1.5inch drains and two returns, there will be a Dart pump for a return pump and 3 6100 tunze streams inside tank for flow.

My question is regarding my sump, I was wanting to incorporate a refugium inside my sump, should I? and is there anything special I should add to my sump for BB, filter socks, bio balls etc?
Any help would be appreciated!
Thanks,
Jeff Jackson

[makoJ]

also what thickness of starboard should I get, the smallest?

[joefish]

Originally posted by Bomber
Louis, try that again. Honest I read it several times and I just can't follow it.

I think I know what you're thinking, tell me if I missed it.

What you will probablly end up with is a tank that holds about 120gal, with a overflow that can handle 10X's that - or 1200 gals.
10X's turnover should be plenty if you have your skimmer feeding from the sump.
Here's how I would do that.
Say you have 1200 gph dumping into the first compartment of the sump.
I would have the pickup for the skimmer pull out of that first compartment and have a skimmer that could handle right at 1200gph through it.
Then have the return/dump from the skimmer empty into the second compartment of the sump.
Setup that way, the skimmer should process almost all of the water that you circulate through the sump.

Sounds like my set up to a tee .

[joefish]

Originally posted by makoJ
I'm setting up my first BB tank, and I'm in design phase now, I've ordered my tank its a 150 gallon tank (60X24X25) center overflow 2-1.5inch drains and two returns, there will be a Dart pump for a return pump and 3 6100 tunze streams inside tank for flow.

My question is regarding my sump, I was wanting to incorporate a refugium inside my sump, should I? and is there anything special I should add to my sump for BB, filter socks, bio balls etc?
Any help would be appreciated!
Thanks,
Jeff Jackson

IMO I wouldn't use a refugium . they seem to trap more detritus for survivle then they remove .

Only thing in the sump should be a skimmer ( very big one ) and a heater .

These are JMO milage might vary ........

[Louis Governo]

Bomber, thank you for your time. I guess it does sound a little confusing on paper. I think I remember way back on this thread where you had a whole bunch of flow to keep detrius from settling. That is my goal with out having to use powerheads or having to buy a different pump. My display tank is 150 gal and will drain at 1200 gph or 8X. Should I be content with that? I remember you telling someone earlier that it is better to skim all the water that is circulated rather than having more water and only skimming part of it. If this is REALLY important, then my design is probably no good (unless I add another skimmer). Here is the idea and I'll try to explain it better. I want to run a piece of PVC along the bottom back of my tank with holes that direct the return water to flow across the bottom of the tank. I also will use a couple of squids (i forgot the real name) to alternate flow on other return locations. Above this pipe, just under the water level, I want to run another larger pipe with slots cut into it for a drain. However this drain would be hooked to the suction side of the pump. The suction side of the pump would also be conected to the sump (to control suction pressure in the display tank). Does that make any more sense?
Thanks

[joefish]

Originally posted by makoJ
also what thickness of starboard should I get, the smallest?

personally i would do 1/2" . I would be afraid of the 1/4" warping . It probably won't , but I'm a better safe then sorry person .

[jdg]

Originally posted by joefish
personally i would do 1/2" . I would be afraid of the 1/4" warping . It probably won't , but I'm a better safe then sorry person .

Agreed; definitely 1/2" ... I agree on the whole refugium thing as well ... it's a big ole dirty mess and what we're trying to get rid of in BB systems is big ole dirty messes.

I do have a lower flow area in the sump, it's for putting new arrivals (or established guys) in 'time out'.

[nepuck]

Louis Governo,

"I want to run a piece of PVC along the bottom back of my tank with holes that direct the return water to flow across the bottom of the tank."

I have tried this approach w/o much success. The "spray-bar" idea looses flow and pressure (too many output holes to be effective).

[Louis Governo]

nepuck,
Can you go into more detail on what you have tried (flow, holes, sizes)? I have more gph from my pump than I know what to do with (130 gpm @ no head and a working max pressure of 150 psi)so I may be able to avoid the problems you had. Please share what you tried.

[jdg]

The spraybar thing has been done; there's a pic someone posted in Part-A of this thread and he said it worked very very well. The concern is this:

If you blow everything off the bottom and don't have enough flow elsewhere, the 'stuff' is just going to settle on the rocks where it is more difficult to see and pull out. I was going to go with the Spraybar idea and decided to put a pair of Tunze Streams in the tank. The keep the rocks pretty clean with one small exception which I turkey baste every few weeks or so. Everything else settles in 2 little sections which are easily accessible to siphoning. I get settlement in the sump as well, of course, but I'm working on engineering something to make that a little easier to clean up.

I guess as long as you keep *everything* in suspension a spraybar would be fine. If it puts stuff on the rocks though, then it's just moving the garbage instead of helping you take it out. Just my thoughts.

[Bomber]

I think you'll do a whole lot better just getting a lot of flow in the whole tank, keeps every that's light suspended.

[Travis]

Originally posted by nepuck
Louis Governo,

"I want to run a piece of PVC along the bottom back of my tank with holes that direct the return water to flow across the bottom of the tank."

I have tried this approach w/o much success. The "spray-bar" idea looses flow and pressure (too many output holes to be effective).

It "can" work but you have to have some "power" coming out of the spray bar. Here is what I did:





To make sure I was getting some good water flow from the spray bar I split it in half. Each half has its own input and an oceansmotions unit cycles the water flow between the spray bars. I'm running a 6000 gph pump through it so at any one time there is 6000 gph coming out of one side of the spray bar.

I know people keep saying that it "shouldn't" be done. I will continue to disagree. Sorry guys. You just have to have enough water flow in the tank to keep the detritus in suspension rather than pushing it up off the bottom and onto your rocks.

It really depends on what you are trying to accomplish. If you don't mind looking at a bare bottom and you don't mind having big ol' Tunze streams and eductors in your tank then I would surely go that route. That would be the "best" way, IMO as it is more utilitarian. But for me, I don't like the intrusive looks of eductors or large powerheads, nor do I like the look of all that bare bottom. So I needed to do something different. The way my tank is set up you don't see anything that distracts from its natural beauty, yet it still keeps itself pretty clean. Sure, I have to go in there and hit the rocks with a turkey baster once a week but that takes all of about 2 minutes per week. I would say my rocks stay fairly clean even without the basting. I've heard others that followed Bomber's setup much more accurately with eductors and little rock on the bottom and they still say they hit the rocks with a turkey baster weekly. Can the eductor users really say that they never get any detritus on their rocks? I find it hard to believe but I don't run them so I wouldn't know for sure. I guess it all boils down to having enough flow in the tank too.

[Travis]

Oops. Almost forgot to mention that my rock is raised off the bottom on an eggcrate platform. I wouldn't try a spray bar with rocks on the bottom or you would end up with detritus settling in places where you would never be able to get to it to siphon it out.



And, yes, my bottom stays clean. Once every month or 2 I have to siphon out about 3 tablespoons of "sand" that is too heavy to get pushed up off the bottom. I don't think it is detritus. I am guessing it is sand coming from creatures that are boring in my rocks. Fortunately, it settles at the two front corners of the tank where it is easily siphoned out.

[Louis Governo]

Travis, thanks, that's more like what I was thinking although I didn't think of the eggcrate. Is that 2" pipe with the split? How are you pulling out 6000 gph from your tank? From those 4 holes on the sides? Any problems with critters getting caught? Have you been happy with the oceansmotions?

Any ideas on the suction drain with vertical slots that I'm thinking about?

[Member No. 1]

Originally posted by Reef Addict II
Hi everyone

Are both or these links the same starboard, becuase the first has better prices.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/te...hdx&hasJS=true

http://www.aquaticeco.com/index.cfm/...11451/cid/2976

Thanks

Steve

I got mine here..http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/NNSRIT?PMAKA=52421583

[Detritivore]

hey bomber, what if i dont get a skimmer that would do 1200 gph?

[joefish]

Originally posted by jonah310
hey bomber, what if i dont get a skimmer that would do 1200 gph?

Then you get the same effect as a DSB ! algae every where .

[joefish]

J/K !

It means that you have to work harder to keep the detritus out of the sump . So more or less more work to keep up with . Or if you can find a way to keep it suspended so the skimmer gets another shot at it .

[jdg]

Originally posted by Travis
It "can" work but you have to have some "power" coming out of the spray bar. Here is what I did:





To make sure I was getting some good water flow from the spray bar I split it in half. Each half has its own input and an oceansmotions unit cycles the water flow between the spray bars. I'm running a 6000 gph pump through it so at any one time there is 6000 gph coming out of one side of the spray bar.

I know people keep saying that it "shouldn't" be done. I will continue to disagree. Sorry guys. You just have to have enough water flow in the tank to keep the detritus in suspension rather than pushing it up off the bottom and onto your rocks.

It really depends on what you are trying to accomplish. If you don't mind looking at a bare bottom and you don't mind having big ol' Tunze streams and eductors in your tank then I would surely go that route. That would be the "best" way, IMO as it is more utilitarian. But for me, I don't like the intrusive looks of eductors or large powerheads, nor do I like the look of all that bare bottom. So I needed to do something different. The way my tank is set up you don't see anything that distracts from its natural beauty, yet it still keeps itself pretty clean. Sure, I have to go in there and hit the rocks with a turkey baster once a week but that takes all of about 2 minutes per week. I would say my rocks stay fairly clean even without the basting. I've heard others that followed Bomber's setup much more accurately with eductors and little rock on the bottom and they still say they hit the rocks with a turkey baster weekly. Can the eductor users really say that they never get any detritus on their rocks? I find it hard to believe but I don't run them so I wouldn't know for sure. I guess it all boils down to having enough flow in the tank too.

Aha! That's the picture I was talking about ... Thanks Travis.

[Member No. 1]

Sorry if this has been hashed out before,
My tank, 75 AGA w/overflow, 1 center brace, Dims. 48"l x 18"w.
The SB I got is 24 x 48 that I will cut down. I would like to get it in there in one piece. But with the lip on the tank + the center brace I can see this might be hard. I could go either 24" x 18" cut line front to back or 48" x 9" with the cut line running left to right.
So my question is, how close to the side glass does the SB have to be? Up against it, 1/2" away per side, get my drift?
TIA

[imsqueak]

I have a 8' tank with a 7' spray bar powered by a iwaki 70. Bottoms stays fairly clean. Rocks stay fairly dirty even after a year BB. I didnt glue the spaybar in so maybe I will adjust it so it barely blows the bottom.

[Bomber]

Originally posted by Member #1
So my question is, how close to the side glass does the SB have to be? Up against it, 1/2" away per side, get my drift?
TIA

Mine's about a inch away from the inside - all the way around. But I have a 1/4" glass Eurobrace on the bottom inside of the tank that it had to fit inside too.

[Reef Addict II]

So I assume we should keep about 1/2" around the tank open, so it doesnt press on the seals(silicone)

I got my seafoam color Starboard in yesterday, its close to the color of sand

Steve