Back in the hobby!

[lavoisier]

Thanks for the pics and intro. Glad you're here!

 

[ScottR]

Welcome to REEF2REEF!!!

 

[Patientman]

Welcome "back" to the hobby … and Welcome to R2R!

 

[Jimbhoy13]

Welcome to R2R and back to the salty world. Nice tank. Lots of knowledgeable and helpful people here who will support and advise you when needed.

 

[Fred2482]

Welcome! I cant tell from the pics, however if the secondary is set a little higher then the primary drain and you utilize the gate valve on the primary to match the exact waterflow of the return, little to no water should go through the secondary. You want this one loud as it means something is wrong with primary.

 

[NabberNate]

Got it thanks. I cut a section of pvc80 a little shorter then what I was provided and I think that helped me. I might go even lower to boost the flow the secondary is not yet a trickle.

 

[BeltedCoyote]

Welcome to R2R!!!

 

[Fish Think Pink]

Hello Reef2Reef members. Getting back into the hobby after almost 30 years. Had a 55 gallon in my teens with a skilter filter (look it up for a laugh) , a custom wet dry and a whisper 3 carbon... all HOB! Life was good except for my hermit crab which I didn't feed enough and would climb coral and pounce onto fish passing by... no joke. Enter my 40's and I finished my basement (mostly for the purpose of having an aquarium) and I am setting up an SC Aquariums 150 Eurobraced with Synergy reef 16" external overflow. Custom made stand, custom sump from a 75 gallon tank and today was my first flow test.

It was a disaster.

My hose creeped out of the Brute 44 gallon and released water on the floor ( thank goodness for vinyl plank flooring ) and my tank and sump would rival a white water rapids course.

Calling up my buddy to super sleuth what I need to do to fix this. I have a fluval sp6 which is likely part of the problem and 1.5" drains which might be the other. My primary has a gate valve but when I dial back the flow to quiet things down my secondary drain sucks just a bit off air and actually has more flow than the primary. Wondering if a gate valve on the secondary would help or if I should try and reduce the secondary to 1" at some point or even put more water in the tank? I'm about 2/3 of the way above the weirs when running.

With the sp6 I divert some of the flow and feed into an aquac ev 180 which recirculates back into the first chamber of the sump. Second chamber was going to be a deep sand bed but the flow is crazy right now it would be all churned up.

Gotta love first timers winging it right?

A few pics attached...

At any rate is all fun until you can't sleep at night thinking about what to do next. I'm leaning toward reducing my secondary drain to 1" and getting a controllable dc pump with a flex pvc section to quiet things down. Fingers crossed! You're advice is sorely needed just no guarantees I'll take it HA! Gotta learn the hard way unfortunately...

NabberNate

Welcome!

+1 more vote towards controllable pump OR less powerful pump (but either way... new pump) Not a huge fan of dialing back flow because that leads to pump back pressure (which causes pump failure and sooner replacement pump) ... I have a pump theme going...

Sure pump isn't only way to solve this - there are always so many ideas! Looking forward to hearing about your successes when you have it dialed in!

I manage to get water on my floor DAILY no matter what I do... so yippee for your flooring choice... I'm finally realizing I'm not going to stop doing it, so now a towel lives there in front of my tank attempting to look like a rug <wink>

 

[maceto]

Welcome!

 

[lelandmarine]

WELCOME!
Here are some resources you may like

If you like to read

The Supreme Guide To Setting Up A Saltwater Reef Aquarium

This article was sponsored by @MarineDepot at www.marinedepot.com. Introduction The marine environment is one of the most complex systems on the planet. The aquarium you are about to set up is only a tiny sliver of the vast ocean, but it is no...

www.reef2reef.com

If you prefer video’s. This video series is “5 minute guide”, good info. BRS TV has lots of different series.


Here’s a getting the most out of Reef2Reef link

Tips for Getting the Most From the Reef2Reef Forum

Tips for Getting the Most From the Reef2Reef Forum Clown Triggerfish, Balistoides conspicillum. Photo is from the Reef2Reef archives, courtesy of @Darryl, ©2019, All Rights Reserved. If you're new to online discussion forums or just new to Reef2Reef, this article is for you. Much of the...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Salty Rambler]

Welcome to R2R and back to the hobby! I'm secretly hoping your new hermit crabs try that again, at which point your mission is to drop everything and take a video clip of it. My brain is cycling between the hermit crab getting the Wile E. Coyote treatment and jumping onto the fish only to slide off, and the hermit crab riding the fish around the tank like a bucking bronco.

 

[MERKEY]

Hello and welcome to R2R!

 

[Aldrinlights]

Glad to have ya back! Lots has changed even in the past 5 years haha.

 

[CMMorgan]

LOVE the hermit crab story. They are the best entertainment. Welcome back to the reef!!

 

[vetteguy53081]

 

[NabberNate]

Welcome to R2R and back to the hobby! I'm secretly hoping your new hermit crabs try that again, at which point your mission is to drop everything and take a video clip of it. My brain is cycling between the hermit crab getting the Wile E. Coyote treatment and jumping onto the fish only to slide off, and the hermit crab riding the fish around the tank like a bucking bronco

I was ignorant and thought the algae and waste would be enough. It clearly wasn't he killed quite a few of my fish. I caught him pinning down a yellow tang. Very sad won't make that mistake again.

 

[G Santana]

Welcome back, love the setup

 

[00W]

Welcome back again and welcome to R2R!

 

[JL15219]

Welcome to R2R!!!

 

[NabberNate]

So got my new jebao dcp 10000 today and it was the missing link. Being able to adjust the return flow allowed me to dial everything in correctly. The tank and drains are whispering now. I still have more flow through the secondary than I like but it's not sucking air loudly or creating excessive bubbles. When I try to make more flow through the primary it goes too low and throws things off. Perhaps lower in the overflow would help but I still suspect 1.5" drains on a 150 are just excessive. Had I known I would have reduced them to 1.25" and saved myself a bunch of money on schedule 80 fittings but the tank is happy so I'm happy. You guys are awesome! Selling the fluval sp6.