Sheol's 80-Gallon - Description and QUESTIONS

[Phurst]

Wow, I can't believe I've missed two pages of this project already. Looks like you have a lot of work ahead of you. I'll toss in my $.02 on the chiller. It sounds like you're considering putting it in the stand? I'd have to strongly reccomend against it. A chiller is a heat pump, and generates significant ammounts of heat. It requires good circulation of cool (room temperature) air to be effective. It will heat the air in the stand very quickly and cease to be very effective.

I only have one return, and so have my chiller and UV plumbed inline with my return, but I'm thinking in your situation, you'll want the chiller on one side and the UV on the other, or one return will be considerably more restricted than the other. A pair of ball valves could help even it out (you"ll probably want them anyway, just to tune the flow), but I thik you'll be better off with one device on each return.

[Sheol]

I had previously read that they shouldn't go in the stand because I know they output heat, BUT, the only reason I'm considering it now is because that's how it was set up in the previous owner's house, and they have cooling fans blowing through the stand. The previous owner said that the chiller was hardly ever on, too, and he lives in the same environment I do, so I figured I could give it a try.

Thanks for the advice on putting one on each return line... Before your post I was considering putting them on the same line again, because I figure that much resistance on that line will bring it down to a lower flow rate than the line w/ nothing on it, but that may be good in optimizing the cooling effects of the chiller - bringing it down closer to 600 gph instead of up at 1000 gph... although really, it's hard to figure out how much is going where without any flow meters. My brother suggested to put one on each line for the same reasoning you did, and he is who I'm depending on to essentially figure out all of the plumbing and get it running. He's very handy, but not an aquarium expert by any means, which is why I'm asking so many questions about it here to get us some guidance.

[Sheol]

ANOTHER plumbing question:

If I add a refugium as a separate, 10-gallon tank, what's the best way to move water between the sump and the refugium?

[lReef lKeeper]

the bigger the fuge ... the better. i prefer using drilled tanks (drilled up high) for my fuges, it makes it really easy to plumb in. let me see if i can get a quick pic of mine for you. brb

[lReef lKeeper]

hope these help some ... of course it helps if the fuge is a little higher than the sump for gravity feeding, but i think you can get the just of MY setup.

[Sheol]

OK I see... but do you have a pump in the sump dedicated to returning water to the refugium?

[Phurst]

Gravity is really the only way to go if they're going to be searate tanks instead of a cobo sump/fuge. Dont even consider complicated schemes using pumps and siphons, as something somewhere will fail, and you'll be totaly screwed. I don't recall the size of yur sump, but if you can get someone to drill the 10 for you and set it on top of your sump, you're golden. Then, you can just direct some of the overflow water into the 10, through the fuge, then out the drilled hole(s) and into the sump.

[lReef lKeeper]

my pump returns water to the frag tank above the fuge, the frag tank drains into the fuge and the fuge drains into the sump. it is the same sump that my DT uses. the return pump for the frag tank/fuge is a mag7. i like low flow in the fuge for more contact time with the macro, thus more nutrient export.

[Sheol]

Originally Posted by Phurst

but I'm thinking in your situation, you'll want the chiller on one side and the UV on the other

Thanks! As of tonight, that looks like exactly what we will be trying to do.

Originally Posted by Phurst

It sounds like you're considering putting it in the stand? I'd have to strongly reccomend against it.

Originally Posted by IReef IKeeper

the bigger the fuge ... the better

OK thanks - my plan now is to get the biggest fuge I can, take the chiller out and plumb it behind the tank (around the corner), and just leave enough room underneath to also add an auto water top off system.

I notice now that in the sump, I could easily add a divider (there are slots for one) and make enough room to convert a portion of it into a refugium by changing the connecting hose from the skimmer's pump from a straight hose to a U-shaped piece, but it wouldn't be as large as it could be if I were to buy a separate fuge, so I am still leaning towards the separate fuge for now.

Originally Posted by Phurst

Then, you can just direct some of the overflow water into the 10, through the fuge, then out the drilled hole(s) and into the sump.

Originally Posted by IReef IKeeper

of course it helps if the fuge is a little higher than the sump for gravity feeding

Thanks! The images were perfect! I'm going to try to emulate that and incorporate the split in the overflow water, directing some to the fuge.

Thanks everyone for being so helpful! And I am nowhere near done asking questions, LOL.

Edit: Speaking of questions, here's one more for tonight:
I bought 2 cans of this paint in gloss black tonight to spray the back of my tank. Does anyone think that using this particular paint is not a good idea?
RustOleum.com

[Sheol]

Oh look - another question already!

Tonight I bought a 10-foot piece of 2-inch white PVC pipe to use as rock stands.

Then, I was just reading this website about raising rocks off the substrate, and it says to use 1/2 to 3/4 inch Schedule 80 (gray) PVC.

So, I just want to double-check. Am I going to be OK w/ the white 2-inch PVC?

[lReef lKeeper]

Should be fine with the white. They gray is just rated for a higher PSI inside the walls.