n00dl3's 180G Rare Crypts Collectoritis Journal - New Update 4-7-2013

[n00dl3]

So it begins:

[n00dl3]

A quick update. I have not finished all the piping yesterday since we had companies last night. I finished the drain piping from the overflow box to the sump. Finished about 50% of the return piping. Still need to make the connection to the spray bar and built the spray bar.

The work seems much easier in my head but it is taking a little longer to do. I think it is the perfectionist in me that is making me go slower.

I have not taken as many pictures as I thought I would've. Here are a few.


Overflow box rough in :


Return rough in:


Overflow box installed:


Return piping installed:

[n00dl3]

Spray bar pictures:






Here is the completion of the installation.


The conversion is completed but I still have a bunch of fine tuning to do. I ran out of time this weekend to wrap up the project. The sump is up and running. It is a huge different from canister filters. The rate of filteration and turnover is night and day. But it is a bit noisy with my overflow box. That is part of my fine tuning.

So far, what I don't like is the overflow box sticks out a bit. I thought it would be recessed back more. I will just to work around right it. Maybe tie some moss onto it so it will somewhat cover it up.

I wanted to try something new with my light bulbs. And I read lots of review if you mixed 6500k bulbs with Giesemann aquaflora that plant growth is better because you're providing a full spectrum for the plants. Now I have one bulb is 6500k and other is Giesemann aquaflora. The aquaflora made the aquarium a little pink. We will see what it will do.

Tonight, I will take pictures of the sump with everything hooked up to it. It definitely made the tank cleaner looking.

[wabisabi]

Cool set up Hung! So the sump is in the room behind the tank?

[n00dl3]

Originally Posted by wabisabi

Cool set up Hung! So the sump is in the room behind the tank?

Yup... I couldn't fit underneath the stand.

I made a couple of extra holes in the wall because I wasn't thinking clearly. The wife is not too happy about that. Just have to do some patching...

[wabisabi]

Lol!

[crazydaz]

Holy Mother!! Nice DIY!! Really nice, Noodle!!!! How long did that take you?

Nice to see the new growth in your tank, btw! That tank will be bananas in two months.

[n00dl3]

Originally Posted by crazydaz

Holy Mother!! Nice DIY!! Really nice, Noodle!!!! How long did that take you?

Nice to see the new growth in your tank, btw! That tank will be bananas in two months.

Thanks... It took me all Saturday and Sunday. Still has some clean up and fine tuning left.

It would be awesome if everything rebounded in two months. I would like to rescape the tank.

[n00dl3]

Here is a picture of the completed sump setup:


A wall shot that shows the sump and the tank in two separate rooms:


Equipment corner (auto fert dosing, pressurized co2 system, temperature control system, and auto water changing system).


P trap to prevent overflowing if the pump died.

[RobMc]

That sump is a beast - You definitely won't have any ammonia / nitrite issues.

[n00dl3]

Originally Posted by RobMc

That sump is a beast - You definitely won't have any ammonia / nitrite issues.

That is the game plan!

[n00dl3]

I tried to mess around with the overflow box to reduce the noise level. Unfortunately, I did not succeed. It is still noisy as heck. I googled for a DIY silencer. It came up with a few designs.

It seems like Hofer Gurgle Buster is pretty good so I will try to make two these this weekend. Hopefully this reduce the noise level.

Anyone have experienced with making one?

[n00dl3]

I had time last night to work on bulding the HGB silencer. It is a little tricky to build it if you don't have the right tools. Lucky for me, I had everything need to build them.

All I can say is WOW! It works really well and made the room super quiet. I love it.

Here are a couple pictures of the HGB silencer:

[n00dl3]

I think the bristlenoses in my tank are developing a taste for new growth leaves. I would see a new leave one day on my crypt and the next morning they are gone or half eaten. It might be my fault as I don't have any driftwood in there for them to munch on. So I'm in the process of trapping them. Tough little booger to catch in a tank this size. I have caught 1/2 of them so far. This morning I checked the trap, I didn't see anything in there except for snails. Could they be that smart to learn to avoid my trap?

[n00dl3]

It has been a little over one week of running the sump and finished tweaking of the tank. The sump filteration is very impressive. I'm getting 2-3 times the filterations that I was getting from two Eheim 3 filters. My water is crystal clear, less mums/poops on the substrate, water movement is much better with the spray across the entire back of the tank, and surface film is gone. I did a pin wheel co2 injection from the pump, the co2 distribution is very evenly and thoroughly in the tank.

Filter is cleaning is very easy and takes 1/10th of the time. All I have to do is change out 6 filter socks and put new one in. Then thrown the dirty socks into the washer. The process takes about 5 minutes or less.

When I had my eheims it would take about 1 hour to clean which I hate the most. I would have to shut off the eheims, disconnect the hoses, pull out the canisters underneath my tank, drag them to my sink, clean them, place them back underneath the tank, and reconnect them. The canisters are not that easy to move because they hold 5 gallons of water which is about 40 lbs.

Things I would improved in my future built would be to use clear acrylic on the spray bar instead of the white PVC and make less holes in the wall. It is suppose to be measure twice and cut once. I cutted twice and measure once!