Benjamin's 75g Garage Build (FOWLR to Reef)

[Bschowa]

which pump do you have and what issues did it cause?

[Mpfaff77]

I usually cover my air intake with my finger for few seconds to get my water level. It is still hard to tell. I'll try the shake the skimmer technique too

[Hondatek]

Sicce psk 2500.the pump is designed to go backward first then it starts. The issue comes when power outages And restarting the pump. If power goes out and the sump fills with water from the dt above the gate valve and the skimmer pump starts before the sump level goes down to the normal water line it traps an air pocket and the pump will not turn the right way until you get the air pocket out and it takes a while and a huge pain in the butt.Either blow the air pocket out through the vent hose or pull the pump out and drain it or if your lucky to be awake if you have a power issue can just unplug it wait until the water level is right in the sump before starting it. The manufacturer told me he tells everyone with those pumps to take 2 rubber stoppers out . when it's trying to start those rubber stoppers stop the pump from making a clicking noise and he said that's their only purpose . I havent pulled it apart yet to do that myself it's on my list of fish stuff to do. Sorry for the long post .

[Bschowa]

thanks for the advice, i will stay away from that pump!

[mrbee2828]

So I'm killing some time right now but have a bunch of updates to post pictures of later. First off I noticed my sand was dirty again today and realized that my goby decided to make a break for it This is why it's an expensive hobby right?

I was just pricing the netting and frame parts to make a cover this wek but started wondering how to go around my plumbing and its a bit too late I guess. I will have to make one before my next purchase. Another hard lesson.

[TLTGF]

Check out "Jim's 90 gallon build" under Getting Started. He just made screen tops around plumbing.

[mrbee2828]

Originally Posted by TLTGF

Check out "Jim's 90 gallon build" under Getting Started. He just made screen tops around plumbing.

That's what I was figuring but I've got 2 returns and 2 overflows so I was thinking the back was going to be a hot mess. Now I have the legs for the light as well so I don't know what to do.

[EriksFish315]

You could try using eggcrate for a top that's what I did and it's easy enough to cut several spaces for pumps and wires and what not.

[mrbee2828]

So outside of the bad news I made it out to the HRRC meet up Saturday. They raffled off a custom frag tank which I didn't win but I scored some other stuff. I picked up a RBTA, a candy cane frag and a frogspawn frag. The RBTA was really dug in on the rock so I bought the whole thing off the guy. All 3 looked TERRIBLE when I got them home. Between the trip to the meeting, being there and getting them home I'm sure they took a beating. By the end of the day today the anemone and the frogspawn had really opened up. The candy cane doesn't look too much better though. The acclimation went well over about 3 hours. I also covered my poerhead with the cross stitch mesh I had laying around.

[Bschowa]

You could always wrap the egg crate in some screening as well, that's what I had to do for one of my tanks, it does block the light somewhat though

[mrbee2828]

I also worked on the garage for a few hours while I was waiting for the rain to stop in Daytona. I'm not going to get much work done tomorrow while the race is on While cleaning, I went through a huge box of wires I've had forever and found a really old set of ikea under cabinet lighting. I finished cleaning off the other 8 feet of the new workbench and wired the lights up for future fragging, plumbing work etc etc work area.

[mrbee2828]

Originally Posted by Bschowa

You could always wrap the egg crate in some screening as well, that's what I had to do for one of my tanks, it does block the light somewhat though

I have considered that as well but since I'm only running 4 tubes I'm really worried about losing any light right now. I'm probably going to order some of the mesh online, get the frame parts from home depot and just take my time. It's just going to be ugly though with all the ins and outs I think.

[mrbee2828]

oh I almost forgot... the skimmer is killing it already. I've got all kinds of crap in there! The only thing I'm not happy about is the noise from the return water splashing. I have read some ghetto T mods to shut it up but I'm disappointed they didn't add a little extra on this to polish up an otherwise amazing product. This should come with it!!!!!

http://coralvue.com/protein-skimmer-output-vent/

[mrbee2828]

If anyone finds their 150 to be noisy and causing a mess with salt creep here is an entire thread on fixing it: Protien Skimmer Vent - Reef Central Online Community

[TLTGF]

Lol - I was just about to send that to you!

[HPballer76]

i will definitely be doing that to my skimmer. thanks for posting the link!

[mrbee2828]

I made the silencer today. Here is the build thread because I love this forum and learning from everyone here: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums...er-195687.html

This is also my magic number 555th post

[TLTGF]

Awesome! How well did it work?

[mrbee2828]

It's totally silent! I know this in my garage but for someone who has this in their family room or something it's perfect.

[Hondatek]

How big is your outlet that you attached the hose before the t ? I really need one for mine because it's so annoying. Also do you even need the cap on the top?