Building reef tank...

Nyx101 · Nov 17, 2018

So... I got this new tank and have 0 experience in working with a sump. Might have a few questions down the line starting with: do I need to glue pvc piping or is it secure enough? Also why did I get extra parts with my return pump? See pics below.

P.S. I only know one person into reefing and met him recently. For some reason he’s competing with me already and likes to brag a lot even though I’m clearly new at this. Asking for his help is too much for my ego hehe.

cvrle1 · Nov 17, 2018

Welcome to R2R. No competition here, just friendly folks ready to help you out with whatever you need.

Cant help you with extra part, as I have no idea what it's for either. In terms of PVC, yes you would need to glue it all together. If not, you will have water leaking, and thats not good.

Reef-junky · Nov 17, 2018

That’s to inject air. For a saltwater tank I wouldn’t use it. You would probably end up with salt spray. Also I would switch the drain pipe and return pump spots. Runs of horizontal pipe can get plugged easier then vertical ones. What do you have as an overflow as I only see one pipe. If you can I would change to a Herbie or bean animal style.

NS Mike D · Nov 17, 2018

heads up when you glue PVC, the joints slide and if you don't hold them together initially, they expand/ slide in the initial drying seconds and you end up with longer plumbing than expected. Not a good thing with rigid pipes that a measured to fit to drain valves. I used a mix of braided vinyl and pvc, It may not look as clean, but I was able to reduce a few right angle joints which lessened the resistance on flow (theoretically). On the other hand, we probably use too much flow through our sumps anyway.

SPR1968 · Nov 17, 2018

That's a great looking tank and you've already had some good advice on the plumbing and pump

You might find the following link useful if you haven't already seen it and anything else you need to know just ask. No 'braggers' on here to worry about, well maybe ! lol

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-supreme-guide-to-setting-up-a-saltwater-reef-aquarium.138750/

And welcome to R2R!

Reef-junky · Nov 17, 2018

Your going to want a flow rate of 3 to 5x your display tank. You need to look up the head loss curve for your pump to make sure it’s the right size. A pump could be rated for 500gph but when you have a run of hose that goes up 4ft that will not be the speed of your pump.

Reef-junky · Nov 17, 2018

If you want to one up your friend go all PVC and paint it with krylon fusion in your favorite colors. Like this

: )

Nyx101 · Nov 17, 2018

The return pump is 660 gph for 92g I think for now will be decent. All I want is to get water in ASAP but I guess I’ll develop pvc gluing skills first. Thanks all I’ll hold em tight to prevent expansion. Though wondering if I could use something else rather than glue to secure them. For easy cleaning. Any ideas?

budau18 · Nov 17, 2018

Once you get into the glue you’ll find it not that messy you don’t have to use all that much of it on each fitting anyhow

Nyx101 · Nov 17, 2018

Off to buy pvc glue then. I’ll also be putting a pink tipped anemone in that tank as soon as it cycles (seeding with smaller tank) I know my tank has to be 6 months old but I like to live dangerously Nya!

I’ll let you know if it thrives, maybe not if it dies lul

Nyx101 · Nov 17, 2018

What I love is not having instructions at all. First in sump skimmer why do I have this?

For this skimmer:

Nyx101 · Nov 17, 2018

Doesn’t look quite right...

lapin · Nov 17, 2018

The long silicone tube is for draining the skimmer cup. Looks like it came with a valve so you can drain it when you wish. Some people have separate jug that the tube drains into or a floor drain. This is so they do not have to manually drain it. Looks like you put a plug in the end.

Nyx101 · Nov 17, 2018

lapin said:
The long silicone tube is for draining the skimmer cup. Looks like it came with a valve so you can drain it when you wish. Some people have separate jug that the tube drains into or a floor drain. This is so they do not have to manually drain it. Looks like you put a plug in the end.

Neat, figured when I plugged it in I tend to overcomplicate things. Now need to find a way to make the pump quieter the suction cups aren’t sitting on the glass. Either I cut an hose part the right length for it all to fit or I find something to set under it. Nothing is quite plug and play in this hobby I just realized. Except maybe the fluval evo XII

lapin · Nov 17, 2018

Nyx101 said:
Neat, figured when I plugged it in I tend to overcomplicate things. Now need to find a way to make the pump quieter the suction cups aren’t sitting on the glass. Either I cut an hose part the right length for it all to fit or I find something to set under it. Nothing is quite plug and play in this hobby I just realized.

I would suggest placing a piece of foam mat like a for a yoga mat under the pump to see if that quiets it down. Once you have the skimmer height set so the water level is at the correct height for it to function properly then worry about the pump placement and hose length.
Do you know what model skimmer that is? Im sure we can find some distructions

Nyx101 · Nov 17, 2018

lapin said:
I would suggest placing a piece of foam mat like a for a yoga mat under the pump to see if that quiets it down. Once you have the skimmer height set so the water level is at the correct height for it to function properly then worry about the pump placement and hose length.
Do you know what model skimmer that is? Im sure we can find some distructions

It’s the tia 110 comes with cadlights versa 92g set without instructions and with many scratches and defects unfortunately. I only found tutorial on the 2nd version of the skimmer.

don_chuwish · Nov 17, 2018

Welcome to R2R! Gorgeous tank to start playing with. You can cut that cup drain tube short and put the plug in - just more tidy. I wouldn't want that long tube flopping around every time I take the cup out to empty & clean it.
The air intake tube routing seems odd to me but maybe that's the only way - can the nozzle be rotated up?
I put my whole skimmer on a silicone pad (hot pad for the kitchen) to absorb vibration but those suction cup feet might be doing the job just as well.

lapin · Nov 17, 2018

I found the skimmer now to find instructions on how high the water level needs to be.
https://www.cadlights.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=69_98&products_id=367

Nyx101 · Nov 17, 2018

Yeah I saw that too but that’s all I saw lol

lapin · Nov 17, 2018

One of the pictures has a diagram of the parts . At the bottom it has product instructions in one of the pictures. Not great but it does have water height. So you want the skimmer to sit in 6.3 to 7.9 inches of water.