Kikobananas Marine Tank

[pokmingsheng]

hey bros...

finally got the tank set at my place today...

it was from bro waime..

got the tank movers to help me with my pipings and all that stuff..

i was told that i could only add water in 24hrs later...

but before that, i've got many many questions to ask..

hope you guys there can fill me in...

this is my first time having a tank with a sump..

i've read some info here and there about it,

but i still have questions....

1) Do i have to purchase pumps for inflow and outflow of water going and coming out of the sump?

2) There is a black overflow box at the back of the tank if u can see, the 2nd picture shows the inside of it.. how does this thing work?? the water flows into the overflow and into the sump? issit just as simple as that? then wouldnt fishes "fall" into the overflow? haha...

3) what are the basic essentials required for a sump? and which compartment should each fall into??

4) i've a hang-on skimmer currently, can it be placed in the sump??? feasible???

hope you dont mind all these noob questions,

i'm really new to this different kind of setup..

i've been using canister filter all these while...

bro waime, if you are reading this,

hope you can share some input on ur previous tank

[pokmingsheng]

interesting in building an algae scrubber in my sump...

there's like 40 pages in the algae scrubber thread that i duno where can i start from...

any experienced reefer with an algae scrubber willing to guide me along???

maybe listing down first the specific stuff to purchase to build a scrubber for a start..

i roughly more or less know how it works and the benefits from it, but i'm still not quite sure how to operate it...

[ReDDeviLs]

hi bro, u need a pump to pump water up to the tank.. and when the water is full in the tank and got higher then the level of your overflow box, the water will flow down to the sump and it will be a cycle.

we call this a return pump.

fishes normally will not get flush down the overflow because there is "teeth" on top of the overflow.

sump normally got 3 standard compartment

1 compartment is return pump where water go up

1 compartment is for the water to flow down from the maintank.

these 2 compartment is usually the 1st and the last in the sump tank.

i cant really see the compartment of ur sump tank clearly, does it have 2 or 3 compartment?

what is your hang on skimmer? some can be in sump,some must elevate it higher.

it can also be hang on to ur sump glass. However,watch out for the sump glass thickness,it may not be able to hold the weight of the skimmer in long run.

enjoy

[raydiative]

1) Do i have to purchase pumps for inflow and outflow of water going and coming out of the sump?

You will need a return pump for the water to go from the sump to the main.. As what bro reddevils said, the water from the main tank will flow down thru the overflow back to the sump.. no pump required for that part

2) There is a black overflow box at the back of the tank if u can see, the 2nd picture shows the inside of it.. how does this thing work?? the water flows into the overflow and into the sump? issit just as simple as that? then wouldnt fishes "fall" into the overflow? haha...

Yes, the basic logic is there... fishes should not fall into the overflow as the combs are there... however, "jumpy" fish may somehow end up in there sometimes...

3) what are the basic essentials required for a sump? and which compartment should each fall into??

Most sump have 3 compartments...

first - for water overflow from main tank

second - refugium / Skimmer / etc...

third - return pump to main tank

4) i've a hang-on skimmer currently, can it be placed in the sump??? feasible???

yes, your skimmer can be place in the sump... however do check if the skimmer pump is meant to be submerged first...

with a sump, why not go for other skimmers?? my believe is that they should skim better..

just my 2 cents.. hope it helps... =]

[Solo77]

suggest you get advice from bro waime on his setup and advice on improvement. The sump for 2ft cube is rather small and limited, hence plan your setup. If you are going for chiller, apart from your return pump, you will need a chiller return pump chilled water for your return compartment or simply use your return pump to chiller then return to your tank(your return pump will need a powerful one, maybe 4000L/H and taking headloss into consideration and requirement for your chiller(not advisable as meeting your chiller flow rate may not be powerful enough to support the return). An algae scrubber is not hard to DIY but just think through how you one want to control the growth and not allowing your sump to be flooded with algae. For skimmer, you have to see your space and its effective to determine which to go.

[andylee]

i think ur return pipe might make alot of gurgling noise, so u might want to make it into a durso pipe instead by adding some elbows.

think ur sump 3 compartments rite? 1st part is water from ur main tank, last part ur return pump and chiller pump. as for me, i tee off my return pump to chiller and back to main tank. some losses, but i using rio20 pump abt 5000L/hr shld be ok.

[jackywongto]

Hi kiko, just wanna drop by and say hello.

Grats on your new tank set. Enjoy!

[pokmingsheng]

hey guys!!!

thanks for all the advice!

more or less got the concept here...

water just "naturally" flow down the overflow box into the sump,

then exits the 3rd compartment of the sump by a pump, back into the main tank...

more questions to shoot here..

like what bro Solo77 said, the water have to enter the chiller before it goes back to the main tank,

therefore i would need a strong pump...

1) flowrate for pump around 4000l-5000l/hr?? can i go any lower than that??? is Rio pumps the most economical one???

2) bro RedDevils, yes, currently there's only 2 compartments in my sump, suppose to have 3 i think.. i was not at home when the tank makers came to install my tank... anyway, there is this extra plank lying and i was wondering if i could glue it myself to make it 3 compartments?? (can be seen in the pic leaning in the middle) if i were to glue the plank, do i leave a small gap below? or do i glue it right to the base, so that water could only enter the 3rd compartment thru the top....

3) bro andylee, what do you mean when u say i might want to make it into a durso pipe instead by adding some elbows. what is durso pipe and what are elbows? hahaha...

4) bro raydiative, what should i look out for in a good skimmer??? i'm using macro aqua protein skimmer, dont know much about it cos i got it from a 2nd hand reefer many months ago... how do i tell if a skimmer is able to over skim, or not good enough that it will under skim???

once again thanks alot for all the advice

need to get these questions answered before i can add water into the main tank..

dont want the whole thing to be a big mess....

[Solo77]

Hi Bro, for a chiller to support yr 2ft, the flow rate should be within 2500L/H to ensure efficiency of the chiller. So if you follow the recommendation, the pump may not support the "return" as many headloss will be encountered in the chiller and elbow joint, etc. economic pump, you should be looking for aquabee pump, 2000, 2000i and 3000. Other brand, high power consumption. Reef Octopus new pump also energy saving but not sure full pledge in or not.

For compartment, i suggest you keep 2 and get bros help here to use acrylic to box up the part where water flow down from tank to sump....

durso pipe, search the net, you will see the diagram, it is like an inverted J pipe like structure. Purpose allow you to adjust water level in compartment where your tank water will flow in. It helps to silence noise generated from water flowing into the compartment. High water level, less noise. Vice versa.

For skimmer, plan your equipment that you want to put in sump. then determine the space for skimmer. then decide on the type. Hang on, in sump or out sump. For in sump, get those second h&S if you are on budget, good and proven skimmer. As long as it is needlewheel, should be good. For outsump, same but run the risk of leak. For hang on, i will only recommend 2 proven one...mce 500 or 600. For mce500, though hang on, the body must be in the sump or tank due to the pump. For mce600, the body can be outside the sump as there is a pipe to suck water into the skimmer and allow it to flow out. Another promising hang on skimmer will be reef octopus but yet to see the result.

All the best.

[raydiative]

4) bro raydiative, what should i look out for in a good skimmer??? i'm using macro aqua protein skimmer, dont know much about it cos i got it from a 2nd hand reefer many months ago... how do i tell if a skimmer is able to over skim, or not good enough that it will under skim???

guess bro solo have mentioned all that is worth to be mentioned about skimmers already! haha

if ever i have the opportunity to have a sump, i will definately use a good skimmer.. this is something which i am not exactly able to do due to space constraint... skimmers like hns deltec etc etc.. =]

for skimming and all, many people have their own thots about it... to me, its all about what kinda corals you intend to keep... certain corals prefer "dirtier" waters and overskimming will not provide the optimum condition for it to thrive... other corals are extremely sentitive to water condition and overskimming maybe a better consideration... yet again.. this is base on my personal thoughts.. =]

[comycus]

I agree with bro solo. My mce600 really pulls out a hell lot of gunk! I was cleaning my collection cup last weekend and the dirty stuff kept coming out! Was pleasantly surprised at the amount of skimmate it was able to pull out.

there is 1 on sale now in pasar malam! might wanna consider.

Do not thought that because your sump is small, might have to consider hanging on the skimmer rather than putting in sump. This way, you save the space for something else, like a small refugium

One of the bros here is also utilizing his mce600 in a 2ft cube, can check out his sump layout for more details. Can't remember who though, gotta dig it out.

[raydiative]

Hope you don't mind bro Kiko, but are hang on skimmers really inferior to a normal skimmer? My MCE600 really pulls out alot of gunk, and I clean my skimmate happily every week. Of course I have no experience with other skimmers and cannot compare, just wondering...

Please dun get me wrong bro.. I'm definately not sterotying here... just that different skimmers have their own pros and cons... my personal feel is that skimmers that allows the bubbles to have long interaction time with the water produce a better result... most hang on skimmer are limited in that sense and thats why my personal preference is those stand alone ones... hope this clarifies? =]

[comycus]

Please dun get me wrong bro.. I'm definately not sterotying here... just that different skimmers have their own pros and cons... my personal feel is that skimmers that allows the bubbles to have long interaction time with the water produce a better result... most hang on skimmer are limited in that sense and thats why my personal preference is those stand alone ones... hope this clarifies? =]

heh thanks for clarifying I edited coz on second thoughts, bro solo already covered it...

but like i mentioned, I'm really quite satisfied with mine now.

[raydiative]

heh thanks for clarifying I edited coz on second thoughts, bro solo already covered it...

but like i mentioned, I'm really quite satisfied with mine now.

sure bro.. after all your's a deltec! whats there to complaint?? hahaha...

do agree with a very valid point you have made with regards to utilizing the space create from Hang on skimmer into a refug...

but for bro kiko case.. he will then have 3 methods of exporting nutrients... Scrubber, refug, skimmer... his tank is gonna be super clean... hahaha

[comycus]

do agree with a very valid point you have made with regards to utilizing the space create from Hang on skimmer into a refug...

but for bro kiko case.. he will then have 3 methods of exporting nutrients... Scrubber, refug, skimmer... his tank is gonna be super clean... hahaha

yupz can consider this bro if you feel that it gives you more space to manage the limited amount of space inside a 2ft cabinet.

[ReDDeviLs]

Very important point is your pipe size, too small pipe going up frm sump to tank will give you alot of problem if u use an oversize pump, most deadly one is the pipe coming down frm ur main tank to sump. If too strong a pump pumping too much water up, your overflow will flood n than your main tank overflows.

[pokmingsheng]

hey guys...

just filled the tank with fresh water...

just wanna see how the whole water cycle goes..

the thing that caught my attention was NOISE!!!

it was soooo noisy!!!!

by the way i bought aquabee pump 2000i today...

i guess should be strong enough??

questions time....

1) if u noticed the 3rd picture above, water coming down from the main tank will be splashed against the "screen" of the sump... do i add the durso pipe to that???

2) the gurgling noise generated from the flow of water is extremely noisy... seemed to be coming from the pipes that the water is flowing down from.. durso pipe will solve the problem??? any other ways??

3) currently all the media in my canister filter can be placed in the first compartment?? so 2nd compartment is for "clean" water only? haha...

4) saw some of the pictures of sump with those white things called "egg crates" i think... where can i get those? is that useful??? currently i doubt i can use that cos the outflow of my water is splashing against the sump... if u can picture that using my 3rd picture above..

thanks for all the help guys...

sadly after bringing in the tank,

i've still got much work to do before i can transfer the LS over...

[pokmingsheng]

where can i purchase the durso pipe and how much does it cost???

[jackywongto]

where can i purchase the durso pipe and how much does it cost???

Here's an image of a durso pipe. Can DIY.

http://www.dursostandpipes.com/

http://www.the3wisemen.net/durso.jpg

[jackywongto]

my 2 cents worth. The other bros will be able to give you more details when they chimed in.

1) if u noticed the 3rd picture above, water coming down from the main tank will be splashed against the "screen" of the sump... do i add the durso pipe to that???

==> Durso pip goes into your overflow box in main tank. Pics sent in post earlier.

2) the gurgling noise generated from the flow of water is extremely noisy... seemed to be coming from the pipes that the water is flowing down from.. durso pipe will solve the problem??? any other ways?? ===> Yes durso should help. I used to cover partially the opening of the pipe in the overflow compartment. It does help tremendously. Just make sure you are not overdoing it and causing insufficient water to enter the pipe.

3) currently all the media in my canister filter can be placed in the first compartment?? so 2nd compartment is for "clean" water only? haha... ===> yup.

4) saw some of the pictures of sump with those white things called "egg crates" i think... where can i get those? is that useful??? currently i doubt i can use that cos the outflow of my water is splashing against the sump... if u can picture that using my 3rd picture above.. ===> you can connect a L shape connector so that the water is splashing downwards or connect a long pipe with many many holes drilled along it so that the water are flowing out downwards to the sump tank. Egg crates can get from the hardware shops. ( I saw the hardware shop near petmart carrying it.

[pokmingsheng]

my 2 cents worth. The other bros will be able to give you more details when they chimed in.

1) if u noticed the 3rd picture above, water coming down from the main tank will be splashed against the "screen" of the sump... do i add the durso pipe to that???

==> Durso pip goes into your overflow box in main tank. Pics sent in post earlier.

2) the gurgling noise generated from the flow of water is extremely noisy... seemed to be coming from the pipes that the water is flowing down from.. durso pipe will solve the problem??? any other ways?? ===> Yes durso should help. I used to cover partially the opening of the pipe in the overflow compartment. It does help tremendously. Just make sure you are not overdoing it and causing insufficient water to enter the pipe.

3) currently all the media in my canister filter can be placed in the first compartment?? so 2nd compartment is for "clean" water only? haha... ===> yup.

4) saw some of the pictures of sump with those white things called "egg crates" i think... where can i get those? is that useful??? currently i doubt i can use that cos the outflow of my water is splashing against the sump... if u can picture that using my 3rd picture above.. ===> you can connect a L shape connector so that the water is splashing downwards or connect a long pipe with many many holes drilled along it so that the water are flowing out downwards to the sump tank. Egg crates can get from the hardware shops. ( I saw the hardware shop near petmart carrying it.

thanks for the links bro jackie!

esp the 2nd one with diagram, really helped me understand what is a durson pipe...

[jackywongto]

thanks for the links bro jackie!

esp the 2nd one with diagram, really helped me understand what is a durson pipe...

uh ummmm..... Jacky....not jackie ... LOL

[pokmingsheng]

uh ummmm..... Jacky....not jackie ... LOL

paisae!! lol...

[pokmingsheng]

DIY-ed my own durso pipe today!

quite a success, noise reduced by quite alot..

although there're still splashing sound here and there in the sump,

its alright cos i'll be adding in filter medias soon....

should i dump LR together with all my filter media into the first compartment???

anyway, i was at a certain LFS in yishun today....

not very good experience...

i was already rushing for time,

and since i was around yishun, i decided to drop by with a "sample" of my pipe to gauge the size of elbows and "T PVC i'll be getting..

i got the elbow that i wanted, but i couldnt find the correct size for the "T-shape" PVC...

i asked the lady there, she just told me "go there and find, if dont have means dont have.."

i was quite taken aback and realise that she could be busy..

went to another guy, asked him if they have the size to fit this elbow PVC that i was holding,

without even looking at it, he just said NO and walked away....

i went back,

"helped" myself to all the pipings there trying to find the correct size,

in the end, couldnt find it, and left the place due to time constrain...

i was just wondering why couldnt they just show abit of effort in helping me...

i just felt so disappointed....

[MOssrope]

DIY-ed my own durso pipe today!

quite a success, noise reduced by quite alot..

although there're still splashing sound here and there in the sump,

its alright cos i'll be adding in filter medias soon....

should i dump LR together with all my filter media into the first compartment???

anyway, i was at a certain LFS in yishun today....

not very good experience...

i was already rushing for time,

and since i was around yishun, i decided to drop by with a "sample" of my pipe to gauge the size of elbows and "T PVC i'll be getting..

i got the elbow that i wanted, but i couldnt find the correct size for the "T-shape" PVC...

i asked the lady there, she just told me "go there and find, if dont have means dont have.."

i was quite taken aback and realise that she could be busy..

went to another guy, asked him if they have the size to fit this elbow PVC that i was holding,

without even looking at it, he just said NO and walked away....

i went back,

"helped" myself to all the pipings there trying to find the correct size,

in the end, couldnt find it, and left the place due to time constrain...

i was just wondering why couldnt they just show abit of effort in helping me...

i just felt so disappointed....

Maybe they earned too much already so just let them be.

Hope you get your tank going by the weekend! haha.

As for algae scrubber, my smallest tank uses those hard wool fiber filter medium as the scrubber. Will have to change it often and maybe troublesome on the long run but it does works.