Pro Star Rimless 200

[flyfisher2]

Cool, I've never done that. Or done a quarentine tank. I have 40 breeder still in the cardboard, I've just never set it up. Some of my fish going in I've had for years, and the other 2 tangs are really small and I've had them for over a month. So I'll just be putting them in once the tank is ready.

I'm finally starting to fill my tank last night and today. I'm hoping to have it filled by tomorrow. Such a slow process off the RODI filter. Took like 15 minutes for the leak test and a water hose.

How’s the tank coming?

 

[mindme]

How’s the tank coming?

It's full and looking good.

I'm a little worried about how well the overflow is going to skim. Other than that, no complaints. Don't think I rinsed my sand well enough, water is still a little cloudy. And since I'm using microbacter to cycle, I can't put my socks in to clear it until next week. It's not really bad cloudy, can only tell when I look end to end.

Also found a lid finally.

Picture from last week when I started to fill it up. The lighting was white, I don't know why my camera makes it all blue.

 

[flyfisher2]

It's full and looking good.

I'm a little worried about how well the overflow is going to skim. Other than that, no complaints. Don't think I rinsed my sand well enough, water is still a little cloudy. And since I'm using microbacter to cycle, I can't put my socks in to clear it until next week. It's not really bad cloudy, can only tell when I look end to end.

Also found a lid finally.

Picture from last week when I started to fill it up. The lighting was white, I don't know why my camera makes it all blue.

Looks good!
What’s your issue with the overflow?
Nice aquascape
Loving the length and space
Amazing what that extra 1 foot looks like.

I put my 180 up for sale but haven’t had any serious offers. Just the usual tire kickers.
I’m really thinking of holding on to it.

Anyway I’m excited today.
Salinity is up to 1.025 in my quarantine so it may be the day I begin transferring fish to the display tank.

 

[mindme]

Looks good!
What’s your issue with the overflow?
Nice aquascape
Loving the length and space
Amazing what that extra 1 foot looks like.

I put my 180 up for sale but haven’t had any serious offers. Just the usual tire kickers.
I’m really thinking of holding on to it.

Anyway I’m excited today.
Salinity is up to 1.025 in my quarantine so it may be the day I begin transferring fish to the display tank.

Normally with surface skimming I would see things on the top drawn in towards the overflow, don't really see that happening. Time will tell.

The extra foot was a really hard decision. I seriously went back and forth for a month. Finding the 230 for $2700 was what put me over the edge.

Grats on the successful quarantine! Hope they love the new tank.

 

[flyfisher2]

Normally with surface skimming I would see things on the top drawn in towards the overflow, don't really see that happening. Time will tell.

The extra foot was a really hard decision. I seriously went back and forth for a month. Finding the 230 for $2700 was what put me over the edge.

Grats on the successful quarantine! Hope they love the new tank.

I have same exact issue with the surface skimmimg. I end up taking the two silencer caps off and then it sucks everything up. Design flaw? Seems the drop to the pipes in the box is not low enough or the openings extend too low into the aqaurium?

 

[mindme]

I have same exact issue with the surface skimmimg. I end up taking the two silencer caps off and then it sucks everything up. Design flaw? Seems the drop to the pipes in the box is not low enough or the openings extend too low into the aqaurium?

Yeah, I turned my pump up and took the caps off and noticed a little more draw towards that area when I was testing.

I'm not sure why they don't have a better setup in that area. I assume trying to make the overflow smaller because its really really compact back there. Could be much better, but it's minor. I will just keep the silencers on for now and wait until it needs a good skimming.

I am wondering if the lower row of intake below the top one may also be part of the reason for less surface skimming.

 

[flyfisher2]

lower row? Is that exclusive to the 230? I'm not seeing it on mine

 

[mindme]

lower row? Is that exclusive to the 230? I'm not seeing it on mine

Not sure. On the 230 there is the row of slots that goes all the way across. And the on the sides there is another row of slots under it.

But it might not matter, it might just be a matter of how high up the pipes are.

 

[Uncle99]

I run my 230 with silencers in, takes a bit to tune the two overflows which are at the same height, but once dialed in runs silent.

 

[flyfisher2]

I run my 230 with silencers in, takes a bit to tune the two overflows which are at the same height, but once dialed in runs silent.

very organized. I like

 

[flyfisher2]

Not sure. On the 230 there is the row of slots that goes all the way across. And the on the sides there is another row of slots under it.

But it might not matter, it might just be a matter of how high up the pipes are.

Exactly, I'm thinking if the pipes were a little lower so as to allow the water to drop from the slots vs just come in like the tide the problem would be solved

 

[Sordfish]

Exactly, I'm thinking if the pipes were a little lower so as to allow the water to drop from the slots vs just come in like the tide the problem would be solved

A standard standpipe is not meant to be silent. It continually sucks in air at the full siphon level, causing the gurgling sound. There are numerous ways to try and make it quieter. One is the Durso pipe - essentially you put an upside down U at the top of the standard standpipe, with an air hole drilled at the top of the U. The Size of the air hole regulates the siphon level, thus reducing air suction and noise. The problem with Durso is that it really limits flow capacity. The rimmed tanks from Marineland and Seapora use Durso.

The most popular silencing method currently is the Herbie overflow. As with the Pro Star you have two standard standpipes. One is about 6” lower than the other. The higher one is the emergency overflow and sets the water level. The lower one is the main overflow. The main overflow never makes noise since it is fully submerged. To ensure full submersion of the main drain, a gate valve is used to restrict the flow on the main drain until the water level reaches the emergency overflow such that a trickle of water goes down that. Herbie requires fine tuning, but is completely silent once dialled in. It also achieves higher flow rates than Durso. Red Sea, etc. use Herbie. Many people who own rimmed tanks convert their overflows to Herbie by converting the Durso pipe to a standard standpipe and using It as an emergency overflow and cutting the return pipe 6 inches below the water level and using that as the main overflow.

I’d expect the best thing to do with the Pro Star would be to cut one of the standpipes by 6 inches, and add a gate valve to it in the sump to convert the overflow into Herbie. It is not clear to me how exactly to do this though since I have read that the standpipes and the return pipe are glued in. If that is the case, perhaps the return pipe T at the top can be removed and then one of the standpipes can be cut with a Dremel? I am not sure how much space there is in the overflow box. Figuring out how to do this is in fact what is delaying my purchase. I want to make sure I can convert it to Herbie before I buy it.

PS: As for the lower side holes in the overflow box, I read that those were removed from V2. Perhaps @flyfisher2 has V2 and @mindme has V1?

 

[flyfisher2]

Thanks for the very detailed explanation on the Durso vs Herbie overflows. I do have the V2 and that may explain the absence of the lower side holes like you said.
In reference to the standpipes and one being 6" lower than the other I'm not sure of that. I posted some pictures on page one of this post. I'll try and look tomorrow but as far as I could tell both were the same. I did see a spiral insert in both with seems to reduce the gurgle effectively. I'll take a closer look and try to take pictures.

 

[flyfisher2]

Just to be clear, the design is very quiet as it stands. The issue for both mindme and myself is the lack of actual surface skimming and the film of organics being left at the surface which I'm removing by taking the standpipe caps off.

 

[Sordfish]

Just to be clear, the design is very quiet as it stands. The issue for both mindme and myself is the lack of actual surface skimming and the film of organics being left at the surface which I'm removing by taking the standpipe caps off.

Good to hear the overflow is silent. The pro star definitely does not have herbie. It has two standard standpipes which are the same length. It uses yet another silencing method, the spiral insert. That is an old method that people stopped using since it had a reputation for slowing flow. I suspect the reduced flow is the reason you have to remove the inserts to get the skimming to be effective - though I am just speculating here since I have never had any personal experience with this type of a silencer. Since I am familiar with Herbie and have had good flow with it I’d like to be able to convert the Pro Star to a Herbie by cutting 6 inches off one of the pipes. But I am not sure if there is sufficient room in the overflow box to get a dremel in to cut the pipe.

 

[mindme]

A standard standpipe is not meant to be silent. It continually sucks in air at the full siphon level, causing the gurgling sound. There are numerous ways to try and make it quieter. One is the Durso pipe - essentially you put an upside down U at the top of the standard standpipe, with an air hole drilled at the top of the U. The Size of the air hole regulates the siphon level, thus reducing air suction and noise. The problem with Durso is that it really limits flow capacity. The rimmed tanks from Marineland and Seapora use Durso.

The most popular silencing method currently is the Herbie overflow. As with the Pro Star you have two standard standpipes. One is about 6” lower than the other. The higher one is the emergency overflow and sets the water level. The lower one is the main overflow. The main overflow never makes noise since it is fully submerged. To ensure full submersion of the main drain, a gate valve is used to restrict the flow on the main drain until the water level reaches the emergency overflow such that a trickle of water goes down that. Herbie requires fine tuning, but is completely silent once dialled in. It also achieves higher flow rates than Durso. Red Sea, etc. use Herbie. Many people who own rimmed tanks convert their overflows to Herbie by converting the Durso pipe to a standard standpipe and using It as an emergency overflow and cutting the return pipe 6 inches below the water level and using that as the main overflow.

I’d expect the best thing to do with the Pro Star would be to cut one of the standpipes by 6 inches, and add a gate valve to it in the sump to convert the overflow into Herbie. It is not clear to me how exactly to do this though since I have read that the standpipes and the return pipe are glued in. If that is the case, perhaps the return pipe T at the top can be removed and then one of the standpipes can be cut with a Dremel? I am not sure how much space there is in the overflow box. Figuring out how to do this is in fact what is delaying my purchase. I want to make sure I can convert it to Herbie before I buy it.

PS: As for the lower side holes in the overflow box, I read that those were removed from V2. Perhaps @flyfisher2 has V2 and @mindme has V1?

I'm not sure. I don't think the 230 came with v1. I think v1 was a 220 and v2 is the 230.

If skimming becomes an issue I will probably look at converting to a herbie. But my overflow is so compact I'm not sure how to cut it.

 

[mindme]

I was looking into ways to cut the pip and came across this:

 

[Sordfish]

I was looking into ways to cut the pip and came across this:

That is an awesome find - this is why this form is a great place to post. I had been wracking my brain on how to cut the pipe. Thanks @mindme.

I am guessing the T shaped return pipe on top of the overflow box can be removed to access the top of the drain pipes. If it is not clear what I meant by the T shaped return pipe, please see the top of the overflow box in this PDF by pro-clear:

ProStar Rimless | pro clear aquatic systems

This rimless glass aquarium sits on a modern cabinet, available in black or white. This aquarium is designed for saltwater use freshwater use. In addition, it includes sump filtration made of glass.

www.pro-clear.com

Also, you are right, 230 is V2.

 

[mindme]

That is an awesome find - this is why this form is a great place to post. I had been wracking my brain on how to cut the pipe. Thanks @mindme.

I am guessing the T shaped return pipe on top of the overflow box can be removed to access the top of the drain pipes. If it is not clear what I meant by the T shaped return pipe, please see the top of the overflow box in this PDF by pro-clear:

ProStar Rimless | pro clear aquatic systems

This rimless glass aquarium sits on a modern cabinet, available in black or white. This aquarium is designed for saltwater use freshwater use. In addition, it includes sump filtration made of glass.

www.pro-clear.com

Also, you are right, 230 is V2.

In mine, the 2 drain pipes are out in front of the T. So you wouldn't need to remove the T in order to cut them. I'm not sure if the 200 is the same or not, but it appears to be the same in the sump diagram you posted.

I'm not sure if the T can be removed or if it's glued. I decided all I could really do in that area is mess things up.

That entire area is extremely compact. If you drop something in there, then it's basically gone. Maybe if it's metal you can magnet it out, but you aren't going to get a hand or anything in there with the pipes. And I'm pretty sure the 200 is the same width as the 230, so if you are reaching over the front, even when on a step stool, your arms wouldn't reach in there anyway. So any major adjustments will need to be done when the tank is dry and you can get behind it.

I think I could cut a pipe with a ladder as it is now to do a herbie if needed. But I'm only going to do that if I have problems with film on the surface. Noise wise, it's not an issue.

 

[Sordfish]

That entire area is extremely compact. If you drop something in there, then it's basically gone. Maybe if it's metal you can magnet it out, but you aren't going to get a hand or anything in there with the pipes. And I'm pretty sure the 200 is the same width as the 230, so if you are reaching over the front, even when on a step stool, your arms wouldn't reach in there anyway. So any major adjustments will need to be done when the tank is dry and you can get behind it.

Small size overflow box is not uncommon. There is no way to get my hand in my Red Sea’s overflow box either. However, the stand and return pipes are fully removable (they are screwed in). Once removed, you Can get one hand down there. In fact, coincidentally, I dropped my light stand clip down the overflow box just yesterday. I had to drain the display tank below the wier, unscrew all the pipes in the overflow box to retrieve it. I just don’t get why Pro-clear has these glued. Really bad practice if something goes wrong and you need to service, for example, the bulkhead.