Nano Tank Water Level Help !!!

[David J]

So I'm currently cycling my first Nano 25 gal tank with the sump are in the back. I'm doing some work today and I'll post the pictures when Im done on the tank. First I swapped out the crappy stock pump for a 1.5 Sicce as it was too loud. I'm also putting in my ATK sytem. So I guess my question is when I turned off the pump for the first time the sump area water lvl filled up higher then it should be.

When I put the new pump in the water level dropped back down but more then prior. So for my ATK so I get it to fill to the desired water lvl for the tank sump knowing that when the pump is off the water lvl will be much higher ? Im guessing it has to do with how much water the pump is pushing out vs how fast it can travel back in. With the new pump I tuned it down a bit 25 Innovative Marine Lagoon tank, think stock is like 225GH vs 365 of the 1.5. I would guess im around 300 now.

I would guess that I'm going to have to add more water so that the flow rate back into the sump chambers keeps up with the new pump rate. My heater is also in this chamber so if the water is too low it doesn't seem to heat properly. I had it in a side chamber but that didn't seem to work as I couldn't fully submerge the heater and the flow I think was not as good as the middle chamber getting water from both side..


Let me know what you think. I'm filling up my 5 gal RO water jug setup now so I'm going to hopefully top it off in about an hour.

 

[David J]

 

[chefjpaul]

Fill the middle back chamber just barely below the baffles.

IM recommends about an inch, but on both mine, I'm about 1/4-1/2 drop in water.

I also upgraded the pump and have more ghp, just balance it out.

 

[David J]

Ok thanks @chefjpaul , I figured that was the case but just wanted to double check before I went and did it. Hoping to get some live stock next weekend my nitrites are down to 1.0 I think another day or 2 probably be at 0.

 

[chefjpaul]

Good luck with the new tank.
I'll be following on your build thread.

 

[Ghost463]

In myncase was simply evaporation over a day or so. Most small tanks have no lid making evaporation easy. If u reall want to know whats what try covering the top. Do t use plastic wrap or nothing just a lid of some type.
P.s. i did yhe same tging with my wee tank with the heater. It can cause other issues with the heater itself. Id put a close eye on that

 

[David J]

@Ghost463 its 100% evaporation, I wasn't worried about that it was just making sure that with the more flow rate from my new pump its fine to balance it out and add more water. I just bought the ATK so I don't have to fill it every day and it will heat more efficiently. I have a Cobalt 100 watt and if its not 90% or more covered with water it heats itself up and throws off the temp reading. I found that out the first week I was cycling the tank. Check in at night and it was at 66F. But water was only up about half way on it.

 

[Ghost463]

Well the good news is evaporation means ur getting fresh o2 in the water.
Long story short. My heater cracked and well thats just not healthy for the fish. (Or me from a salt tank)
Was a small 50w.
Ya i actually dislike that style.of tank for those exact reasons. But with regular checks on water levels in the back compartement u should be ok.
Good luck!

 

[David J]

 

[Aprod]

Hey David,

Digging the inside structure of your APS stand. Is that shelving structure all custom made? If not, let me know where you got it, so I can buy it haha.
I just set up a Nuvo 20 about a month back. Going to follow your build. Good luck!

 

[David J]

@Aprod Correct custom made. I wish I added 1 more shelf as theirs some wasted space still but eventually I want to get the Apex controller so I'll still have room to move some stuff around. I looked at the shelf kits they sell but for $25 each just for 2 your at $50. I used 2 6 foot sections of Pine think they were $20 total. box of 1 inch screws and then just painted the outside with a oil base that should make it pretty water resistant if something spills on it. Had to take the doors and the magnet latches off to get it in. Its actually free standing inside so I can take it out at some point if I wanted to. I took the measurements of my auto top off jug and just used the rest of the space for shelving. Added the back piece for controllers and on top I just have my PDU sitting there so I can power things off and on when doing maintenance . Also for pine I used the 12inch wide boards

 

[actik]

It's so strange, I have a nuvo 20g. Also upgraded stock pump with sicce 1.5. I cranked it all the way up...I mean it doesn't seem much quieter then my stock pump...the water pressure seems a little stronger but not what I was expecting at full blast... maybe mines not working right ?

 

[David J]

@actik Maybe, if I turn my skimmer off I can barely hear anything. Is it resting up against the side of the tank ? Suction cups installed ? Also mines not all the way up which would make it a bit quieter then full blast. You could pull the pump shaft out and check for any damage.

 

[actik]

Maybe I should check into that. I know it's touching nothing but the suction cups don't grip well at the bottom, the hose just barely reaches those out ports

 

[David J]

Yeah its tight lol, I didn't have my hose all the way on and when I powered it up shot some water out of my tank as the hose blew off.

 

[actik]

Haha same story except it was shooting water at me, if it was just like...1 inch longer that's it