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Unread 02/10/2010, 08:43 AM   #76
ant-elp
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i would get rid of all filter socks,they trap all the detritus,mulm,that you want out of the water column,not sitting in socks breaking down,raising nitrates,lowering your redox.the key is good water movement to suspend waste and get it to the skimmer out of the water column.the clarity,can be achieved with the proper bacteria additions,prodibio,polyp labs,etc.resulting is less algae blooms,with complete denitrification.hope i didnt go off on a tangent,wish you luck,most of the latest threads are reefers simplifying their high tech systems, with greater results,control,enjoyment.less is more across the board.
regards.
ant


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Unread 02/10/2010, 09:55 AM   #77
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Originally Posted by ant-elp View Post
i would get rid of all filter socks,they trap all the detritus,mulm,that you want out of the water column,not sitting in socks breaking down,raising nitrates,lowering your redox.the key is good water movement to suspend waste and get it to the skimmer out of the water column.the clarity,can be achieved with the proper bacteria additions,prodibio,polyp labs,etc.resulting is less algae blooms,with complete denitrification.hope i didnt go off on a tangent,wish you luck,most of the latest threads are reefers simplifying their high tech systems, with greater results,control,enjoyment.less is more across the board.
regards.
ant

Thanks for the feedback. That is interesting advice. I have heard a number of pros and cons to the filter socks. My intent is to replace them regularly so they dont become an issue but truth be told, I am not a maintenance person so I could see myself burning out on that as well. I will definately want to use them in the short term as they will give me a place to put my bio balls while I ween them out of the tank. My sump has mostly live rock with some bio balls in it.

My system has 45 or so fish in it. Right now, I am seeing a nitrate issue. My concern is the effect that removing my existing wet dry will have on the system in short term. Initially, the new sump will get all of the old sumps live rock. I will be adding 100 pounds of figi live rock mud that was removed from a large system, 4 pounds of chaeto and a dozen or so mangroves to the new fuge. This will go in when I do the switch. With a little luck, the new fuge additions will circumvent any negative biological spikes resulting from removal of the original wet dry sump. Just to be safe, I think it might be a good idea to rinse my bio balls and throw them into the socks instead of removing them all at one time.

As for long term use of the socks.. There will be high flow in the first sump as well as a good skimmer. Given that, I may not need to socks at all however as I do have a pretty healthy fish population, there is a substantial amount of food that goes into the tank on a daily basis. It is my thought that if I can filter out the excess food that goes through the overflow, it will spare the system unnecessary waste.

I would certainly like to hear yours as well as other thoughts on the above..


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Unread 02/10/2010, 10:30 AM   #78
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I recently started using socks and feel they are well worth the effort of changing and maintaing. I have very high flow, an awesome dual becket skinner and still there is plenty of material collected in the socks, You do have to tend to the wekkly or at LEAST ever two weeks. My system has never had a nitrate issue, with or without socks.... PO4? ... Oh yeah ... but not nitrate.

Anyway, I like socks or some form of easily maintained mechanical filtration.

JMTC


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Unread 02/10/2010, 12:36 PM   #79
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Love the in wall tank.. Really nice setup.. Can't wait to see the new sump system setup..


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Unread 02/10/2010, 01:15 PM   #80
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Good God, what does 4 lbs. of chaeto look like?? The stuff is so light, it must be the size of a German Shepard!


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Unread 02/10/2010, 01:53 PM   #81
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Good God, what does 4 lbs. of chaeto look like?? The stuff is so light, it must be the size of a German Shepard!
Thats pretty darn funny!!

Your guess is as good as mine. I will be picking the 'Shepard' up late this week if not early next..


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Unread 02/10/2010, 02:04 PM   #82
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i have a lot of chaeto
its might grow better in your system


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Unread 02/10/2010, 08:50 PM   #83
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Originally Posted by Untamed12 View Post
Ha..ha... oh my, you are not a good photographer! (pics of the sump)

Now we're getting somewhere. Yes, Focus options sounds like distances...choose Center. Colour Mode: Chose Rich. Metering mode: Center or Spot. I guess you will have to go with Auto White Balance. ISO to 400, flash off and you're in business.

You mean to buy another camera? I'm no fan of Sony, but you can get a lot more out of your current camera. Don't waste your $.

So I tried your settings and experimented a bit from there. I am VERY happy with the results so far! Thank you so much for the help!! I took a ton of pictures and saved what was decent. I even played with macro a bit. Photoshoped them a bit and created an slide show of the best pics but I can get the slide show to play from Photobucket.


















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Last edited by slief; 02/10/2010 at 09:08 PM.
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Unread 02/10/2010, 09:00 PM   #84
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Unread 02/10/2010, 09:01 PM   #85
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Unread 02/10/2010, 09:04 PM   #86
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Unread 02/10/2010, 09:05 PM   #87
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Unread 02/11/2010, 08:47 AM   #88
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slief, i see a longhorn cowfish lurking in some of your pics. i love, love, love those fish, but have been leery of getting one due to the whole "releases toxins if stressed" issue with them. are you A) thinking that the stress issue is overblown, or B) under the impression that your system has enough water volume to adequately dilute any released toxins? or C) flying on a wing and a prayer?


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Unread 02/11/2010, 09:13 AM   #89
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nice tank!


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Unread 02/11/2010, 09:36 AM   #90
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This is the same tank on LAfishguys youtube Episode 80 can't wait to see the changes when u make them.


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Unread 02/11/2010, 09:56 AM   #91
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Quote:
Originally Posted by techreef View Post
slief, i see a longhorn cowfish lurking in some of your pics. i love, love, love those fish, but have been leery of getting one due to the whole "releases toxins if stressed" issue with them. are you A) thinking that the stress issue is overblown, or B) under the impression that your system has enough water volume to adequately dilute any released toxins? or C) flying on a wing and a prayer?
I love my little long horn. He has lots of personality! He is certainly one of my favorites in the tank.

I was unaware that they release toxins when stressed but he is pretty small and the system is pretty large so I'm not the least bit concerned. I have had them before and never had any issues with them other than keeping them alive. They are slow and dumb and always seem to get stuck in the overflow of circulation pump inlets. This guy has learned to stay away from those things and has only got stuck once which was to the overflow. Now he just avoids those areas like the plague. I have had him for 4 months or so now and he seems right at home.

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nice tank!

Thanks!
Quote:
Originally Posted by dcopeland View Post
This is the same tank on LAfishguys youtube Episode 80 can't wait to see the changes when u make them.
The next phase will hopefully begin next week. The new sumps are getting close. Once they are done, I need to build the plumbing for the sumps outside the tank to simplify the install and shorten the down time. I am shooting for Thursday of next week barring any complications. If that works out then Jim should have the new episode up by Sunday or first of the following week.


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Current Tank Info: 480G display mixed reef, 90G sump, 90G refugium, 60G display refugium. Check out my build thread: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1783476
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Unread 02/11/2010, 10:20 AM   #92
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I look forward to seeing it on youtube


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Unread 02/11/2010, 01:59 PM   #93
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Yay!! You might experiment with trying even 800 ISO for faster shutter speeds. Your focus will work best if you always shoot straight-on through the acrylic. Any angle through the 'glas causes a prism effect where different colours of light spread making the photos not as clear as they could be.

My photographic advice work here is done!


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Unread 02/11/2010, 02:30 PM   #94
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Yay!! You might experiment with trying even 800 ISO for faster shutter speeds. Your focus will work best if you always shoot straight-on through the acrylic. Any angle through the 'glas causes a prism effect where different colours of light spread making the photos not as clear as they could be.

My photographic advice work here is done!
I was wondering what ISO was for.. I could tell that I needed a faster shutter speed. Especially when it came to shooting fish that moved more frequently or moved faster. I will bump the ISO up and see what that does. I will also have to try out a tripod. I have one but I seemed to have misplaced the piece that mounts to the camera which clips into the tripod.

Thanks again for your help! I am very pleased with the results thus far and I owe it to you and your help!


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Current Tank Info: 480G display mixed reef, 90G sump, 90G refugium, 60G display refugium. Check out my build thread: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1783476
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Unread 02/11/2010, 06:16 PM   #95
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It is the fish moving...not you. Tripod won't help you when shooting fish, but can be useful when shooting coral. Move up the ISO to get speed for shooting fish...move down the ISO and use tripod to shoot coral.


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Unread 02/11/2010, 06:25 PM   #96
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Got some updates.. The new Reeflo Hammerhead 5400GPH return pump that will also drive the chiller arrived today. This pump will replace my existing 1/8HP Wave I 3400GPH return pump as well as my reeflo Marlin that is driving my beckett skimmer as well as my chiller.


I stopped by the tank manufacturer as well. The sumps are progressing nicely. Its great to see the sumps go from drawings to reality.

This is a shot from yesterday of the first sump. You can see the overlfows that water will enter through and flow into the sock trays. The sock trays are setting on the bottom under the overflow as the supports are not done yet. The overflows are not glued in place yet.


Now for todays progress. Things are getting glued into place and taking shape. The clear acrylic in the first sump doesnt photograph well. Especially with an iPhone.







Here is the fuge taking shape. I went with black overflow boxes in the fuge to circumvent algae build up in the overflows from the lights. The main sump wont have that issue so clear was chosen to save costs.

In this picture, the water will enter from the first sump via bulk heads on the left side of this picture. Water will be distributed evenly through the slots along the wall on the left and flow across the fuge. Water will exit the fuge through the right side wall via the slots into the box on the lower right side where the bulk head leading to the pump will be. I also opted to add some additional slots to the box on the lower right. They will be blocked off with a removable plate. I figured I should add them to be safe just in case I need additional room for flow.

There will be a series of air traps in that section to eliminate any micro bubbles that make it from the first sump.









Here is a picture of the total sump layout so you dont have to go back in the thread to picture whats taking shape.


A couple more days and they should be done. The cold weather out here is slowing things down a bit as it takes longer for the acrylic cement to cure.


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Current Tank Info: 480G display mixed reef, 90G sump, 90G refugium, 60G display refugium. Check out my build thread: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1783476

Last edited by slief; 02/11/2010 at 06:39 PM.
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Unread 02/12/2010, 08:50 PM   #97
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nice


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Unread 02/15/2010, 07:07 PM   #98
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The sumps are about done. There are only a few things left to do. Tomorrow they will be making the filter sock trays shelfs, routing the bulkhead holes for the pumps, bubble traps, cutting the lids as well as making a 3" stand to raise skimmer. They should be done tomorrow afternoon if not Wednesday. I have all my unions and valves as well as most of the plumbing figured out. Weds I will start cutting and glueing the plumbing together and fit everything outside the sump so that when the swap goes into motion, the plumbing will be the least of my worries. Plan is tentativly set for a Thursday retrofit..

Here are a few pics of the sumps as they stand today.

Skimmer in sump 1.



Skimmer in sump 1 with one of the filter sock trays held in place.



Refugium


Sump and refugium


Stay tuned!!


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For All Royal Exclusiv & Bubble King questions please refer to our Sponsor forum: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/fo...play.php?f=745

Current Tank Info: 480G display mixed reef, 90G sump, 90G refugium, 60G display refugium. Check out my build thread: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1783476

Last edited by slief; 02/15/2010 at 07:13 PM.
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Unread 02/17/2010, 10:18 PM   #99
Marc
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Awesome tank! Didn't I just see you on the episode of LA Fish Guys? Great episode! I also like the inexpensive winch idea to raise and lower the lights! Also why did you decide to replace your beckett with the cone skimmer? I would think the beckett would be a lot more powerful for your size system.

Marc


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Unread 02/17/2010, 11:00 PM   #100
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Quote:
Originally Posted by slief View Post
Thanks for the feedback. That is interesting advice. I have heard a number of pros and cons to the filter socks. My intent is to replace them regularly so they dont become an issue but truth be told, I am not a maintenance person so I could see myself burning out on that as well. I will definately want to use them in the short term as they will give me a place to put my bio balls while I ween them out of the tank. My sump has mostly live rock with some bio balls in it.

My system has 45 or so fish in it. Right now, I am seeing a nitrate issue. My concern is the effect that removing my existing wet dry will have on the system in short term. Initially, the new sump will get all of the old sumps live rock. I will be adding 100 pounds of figi live rock mud that was removed from a large system, 4 pounds of chaeto and a dozen or so mangroves to the new fuge. This will go in when I do the switch. With a little luck, the new fuge additions will circumvent any negative biological spikes resulting from removal of the original wet dry sump. Just to be safe, I think it might be a good idea to rinse my bio balls and throw them into the socks instead of removing them all at one time.

As for long term use of the socks.. There will be high flow in the first sump as well as a good skimmer. Given that, I may not need to socks at all however as I do have a pretty healthy fish population, there is a substantial amount of food that goes into the tank on a daily basis. It is my thought that if I can filter out the excess food that goes through the overflow, it will spare the system unnecessary waste.

I would certainly like to hear yours as well as other thoughts on the above..

You might want to look into a sulfur denitrator. I have a similar setup as you do and my system is 500 gallons not including the sump. I have tried a fuge loaded with chaeto and caulerpa and I did not see a noticable reduction in nitrate. It was a waste of space and electricity so I disconnected it and incorporated a sulfur denitrator. I had to recently built a large 10 inch diameter unit that stands 3 feet high. It holds 3 gallons of LSM sulfur and another 4 liters of seachem matrix. It has been running for three months and my nitrates dropped from 100 ppm to 5 ppm in the three months time. The fuge with the chaeto did not even budge my nitrate levels by 1 ppm so I am glad I tore it down. It seems that you may have a larger fish load than I currently have so good luck on the fuge. It may work for you but was a total waste of time for me.

Marc


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