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Jared Wood 
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Joined: January 27 2004
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 Posted: May 03 2004 at 9:26am |
Mark,
Where is the rest of your post?! 
Now I want to know what the "already developed better designs that are simple, usable, cleanable, and better for the most effective natural filtration methods used for the best looking, longest lasting, lowest maintenance reef aquariums" are.
You can't just walk up and say "hey that is nice but it is soooooo 90's" and then leave. Come back and finish with what the better way to do it is.
I for one want to know all about it.
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In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth ... then He let it cycle. Have you read my dinosaur theory yet?
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Richard L.
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Posted: May 03 2004 at 1:40pm |
If drizzy is only experienced in FW tanks, he may not have a clue about SW differences. Plus he may be looking for a single unit to do everything. I agree there are better ways. Drizzy, do a search on this site for sump, RDR (Reverse Daylight Refugium), and filter. There has been tons of discussion and DIY projects posted. The bends do look nice. My third tank, first SW was a 29gal acrylic over thirty years ago. That tank with bent corners lasted for about 25 years. That tank developed stress spider webbing in the bent corners, and all the seams started to seperate. I liked the corners, though if too tight they would be a pain to clean algae off of.
By the way, that fingernail got me in my empathy point, you know that sphincter that subconciously contracts at such sights. You may need to drill that nail when the blood fills it in and the pressure increases. It is easily done with a hot paperclip. Heat the wire to red hot and VERY GENTLY press it on the nail where the blood has collected underneath. It will melt right through the nail and release the pressure. Sounds painful and gross, but if done VERY GENTLY can eliminate the pain quite effectively. Okay Suzy, you can now take issue with my "medical" advice . . . And back to the thread!
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Richard
Alpine, UT
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Drizzy
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Posted: May 04 2004 at 11:26am |
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Well, thanks for the tips guys! For my own tank I'll definately
use a seperate sump in the tank stand. I was mainly wanting to
make a design like this to see how much work it would take.
Hopefully for a simple fish tank for my nephew it will work out
ok. Thanks for the tips on the overflow. I was wondering
about doing the front as well but desided against it for
asthetics...looks like I was wrong. I'll also go back and make
the slots wider as per your suggestion. I'm relatively new to
aquariums and BRAND spankin' new to making my own so any suggestions
I'll assume are coming from one more experienced than I.
So are you refering to a deep sand sump system (what are they called -
refugium or something like that?) rather than a wet/dry filter system
Mark? I've read about it and have seen how it is setup but I must
admit I dont get "how" it works... a quick explanation?
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Suzy
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Posted: May 04 2004 at 11:48am |
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How's the finger? Don't fuss with it if it doesn't hurt............
( Richard, my dad used to do that. And, when I got a cut on my
forehead that wouldn't stop bleeding, he put sugar in it! Stopped the
bleeding! )
Drizzy, a refugia is where natural filtration takes place and where
amphipods can grow without being eaten. We put macroalgaes in it
to absorb nutrients from the tank. If the lights are on the refugia
when they are off in the main tank, it helps keeping the pH stable. It
has to do with O2/Co2 and acid/base balance.
Our refugia has mangroves! They are cool for removing excess
nutrients that want to feed nuisance algae in the main tank. They are
not for everyone, though. They can get tall, unless you are proficient
in the art of Bonsai! We also have some caulerpa, and some bryopsis
(an algae some dislike 'cause no fish will eat it). Since I added this to
our sump, none is growing in the main tanks. We also have a deep
sand bed in the sump, where anaerobic bacteria can convert nitrate
to free nitrogen gas which bubble up and out of the system.
Bioballs are great for changing ammonia>nitrite>nitrate (I think)
but can't have nitrate removal properties.
A sump can also increase your water capacity, be a place to hide
your heater (if you want one) and your skimmer. You can put a dark
place for sponge, which makes your tank way healthy!
What did I forget?
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Jared Wood
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Posted: May 04 2004 at 9:20pm |
Live Rock! Live Rock! Live Rock!
The end all, be all, almost magic solution, and greatest discovery to modern captive reef systems.
OK Drizzy here is what I've learned over the last year. (this is off the top of my head and I am not going to go look anything up so it will be a little general)
Live Rock is filled with living micro & macroscopic organizms that do the same organic filtering that we used to use bioballs for. But Live Rock (LR) is much much better. LR not only provides habbitat for the the aerobic and anaerobic bacteria that make the ammonia>nitrite>nitrate conversions but it is also beautiful. And not only does it look nice, it provides the habbitat and propagation environment for all the food chain links all the way from single celled organizms to fish. In our 200 gallon tank for instance, we can "forget" to feed for more than 2 weeks at a time with out a problem because the LR is full of food for everyone living in our aquarium.
How was that? Maybe you already knew that. Anyway, I think that LR is the main reason that bioballs are no longer needed. You put the LR in your display tank and make sure that water is flowing over it.
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In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth ... then He let it cycle. Have you read my dinosaur theory yet?
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jglover
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Posted: May 04 2004 at 9:23pm |
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For Simplicity reasons a refugium is a seperate tank or a division in your sump you run the lights at night. It holds plants and bugs as suzy described a few different types the idea is to have a place for critters to live where they won't be eaten by the fish amphipods AKA pods are a great example they all help to remove "problems" in tanks. Plants AKA "macro algaes" aerate the water lower nitrates and phosphates and provide food. A deep sand bed does the same thing Anerobicaly gets rid of nitrates and phosphates.
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: May 05 2004 at 7:11am |
Well said by all  Those are the basics.
My only addition:
The variety of small organisms living in LS (Live Sand) and LR compliment the superb biological filtration of the aerobic and anaerobic bacteria that make the ammonia>nitrite>nitrate >nitrogen gas complete conversion that bioballs cannot make.
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Drizzy
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Posted: May 12 2004 at 4:59pm |
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Well, I'll have to update you with some new pics. The seams are
coming along great using the pin method I've read about. How long
should I leave this after making the seal before I water test it?
I'm not talking filling it completely up but maybe 1/3 to see how the
bottom seal is? How long till I can fill it completely?
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jfinch
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Posted: May 12 2004 at 6:48pm |
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24 hrs minumum, imo.
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Drizzy
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Posted: May 12 2004 at 7:08pm |
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yeah that is what I figured. 24 hours for a complete setup... now
that its about ready I just want to fill it with water already!
:) So do you need to wait because of the pressure of the water on
the seal or because of the water interfering with the solvents?
So, anyone know a cheaper way to get a some filter pads? Is there
a home depot replacement available? I'm refering to the poly
filter or pure flo filter type of pad. It seems like there would
be something that would serve the same function at a cheaper price...
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jfinch
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Posted: May 12 2004 at 7:37pm |
I think it takes that long for all the solvent to evaporate out of the joint.
For filter material go to the fabric store. Look for "batting". If you're referring to the actual poly filter, there is no cheap alternative unless you consider activated carbon a cheap alternative.
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Drizzy
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Posted: May 12 2004 at 9:16pm |
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Would batting material do the same thing as a poly filter? Its for a prefilter for my bio ball system...
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jfinch
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Posted: May 12 2004 at 9:22pm |
As a prefilter, yes. You'll save lots of money going to the fabric store.
Poly filter is also a trade name for a filter pad that adsorbs heavy metals and organics. Functionally works similar to activated carbon.
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