SCMAS 300 gallon in wall with bar

[Murfman]

Following the tutorial in the photography forum, I was able to get a lot better images. Sorry for the "junk" photos, next ones will be a lot better.

 

[Murfman]

Upgraded my skimmer to a Salt Water Creations (SWC) Cone 230;

 

[Murfman]

Got my Avast Swabbie retrofit and Davy Jones Skimmate Locker today. This is how they were packed;


Kit comes with a measuring too, glue to affix the motor to your current skimmer top


Swabbie motor;


Large Skimmate locker;

Locker with the air pressure switch that turns off the skimmer should the locker become too full. I have this same style switch on my ATO.

Skimmate locker also comes with a carbon vent to allow the air out but not the smell;


Air pressure shut off switch plug. You plug your skimmer into the box and the solenoid is inside the box. Air pressure moves up and down inside the tube and turns the switch off and on. The LED shows if the switch is active of off.

 

[Murfman]

To install the retrofit motor you have to find the center of the cup.


You drill a 4mm pilot hole. 4mm is just slightly larger than 1/8". Once you have the pilot hole, you drill a 15mm hole for the shaft of the motor;


Then you generously apply glue to the motor and install it on the cover;


You let it sit overnight before installing the squeegee in the skimmer.

 

[coralcity]

love your attention to details

 

[Murfman]

Installed the squeegee with the clamp and stainless steel nut. You leave it loose so you can adjust it;


You then place it inside the skimmer cup and adjust it so that it drags across the neck;


In this case, the squeegee was too long. Notice the sharpie mark on the blade;



I scored the plastic and cut the rubber blade. I bent the plastic and it broke at the score line;




I drilled and installed the plastic screw and this is what it looks like installed in the cup;

Installed on the skimmer. The blade is in the very back, opposite the flash line. It runs for 1 minute, 4 times a day.

 

[Murfman]

OK so I upgraded one of my Dart pumps to a Dolphin 6250 GPH pump. Here is the old Dart, this is a 3 year old pump;


You can see the corrosion from the leaky seal;

Dolphin with inlet installed;

Dolphin/Dart comparison;

Dolphin's propriatary sleeve and coupler. Very easy to install;




Installed in place of the Dart. This increases from 3600 GPH to 6250 GPH and less wattage;


I installed a Tee so that I could bring the other Dart drain into the inlet for the Dolphin, should I take it off line. I am debating on just keeping them both connected till the Dart seal wears out. This is an increase of of 50% flow over the two Darts;

 

[Murfman]

I love the seals on the Dolphin. Hand tighten the jamb nut and a little more and you are done. No teflon, no plumbers putty, no sealants!!

!

 

[Murfman]

New fish pix
Dragon Wrasse



One spot Foxface



Mystery Wrasse



Harlequin Tuskfish

 

[Murfman]

Sept of 13;
Adding 3 more fish (Tangs) to my tank. Here they are in the introduction box, day 2; new fish in intro box - YouTube

You can see how aggressive the Purple Tang is toward them.

 

[Murfman]

Sept 30 2013

Full tank video; Full tank video - YouTube

 

[Murfman]

Well it looks at though I get to do another tank build. This 300 developed a leak in the bottom right corner and is slowly dripping as I type this. I am monitoring it and mitigating it with coasters to suck up the dripping. I am keeping an eye on it though. I have talked to Fluid Designers and they will build me a glass tank the same dimensions. Closed loop is going away, Ghost overflow on the back to maximize inside tank space and going to have larger fish and less corals.