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

[mrbee2828]

The air outtake on the right overflow just snapped off while I was moving the lights and started squirting water all over Shut down again for the night until I get that fixed tomorrow. So glad I'm in the garage.

[kdpuffer]

This thread is really inspiring me to get back into a reef tank. Nice build.

[mrbee2828]

I managed to fix the air outtake on the overflow. While they are working, they aren't breaking up the surface much. I may get some 2" pipe and cut some slots in it to make the openings higher but I have seen toothless overflows. Not sure... Overall it's actually really quite but I think that's again due to the surface not getting broken up much.

coffeetwitch, is your SCWD noisy? That's the only thing I can heard and it's pretty bad. Basically, as the water switches direction inside the divice, it starts knocking some, almost like an older oscillating fan when it gets to the end of 1 direction. The pipes are pretty stable.... it's inside. I'm not sure if this is normal.

The surface in the refugium is like glass as well. There isn't anything breaking it up at all. I guess I should have varied the in / out heights some on the baffles. I guess when I get the protein skimmer in there it'll kick up some crazy bubbles.

More to come.

[mrbee2828]

[coffeetwitch]

Originally Posted by mrbee2828

coffeetwitch, is your SCWD noisy? That's the only thing I can heard and it's pretty bad. Basically, as the water switches direction inside the divice, it starts knocking some, almost like an older oscillating fan when it gets to the end of 1 direction. The pipes are pretty stable.... it's inside. I'm not sure if this is normal.

sorry just read your post... mine is silent top to bottom. no noise but the hum of the pumps. surface of my sump is only slightly ripped by flow from my overflow current (herbie ultra silent) and then i put a nano 425 in my fuge area for my chaeto. that makes some surface movement but not really agitation.

[coffeetwitch]

Maybe bad pics but that's how mine is made. I really hope I answered your "scwd" question

[coffeetwitch]

ha, i had to google the scwd. i dont have one as you can see. sorry for the confusion. i was just stating that i had the duel returns. must not have eaten my wheaties for the past week.

[Mpfaff77]

My scwd is quiet. The sound of my overflow is way louder. I can hear mechanics of scwd but have to put ear right to it

[mrbee2828]

HA! I was reading and you said dead silent and I was thinking WTH. Thanks for letting me know yours is making some sound Mpfaff77. I'm going to look into that more today. While it's a cool idea, I can't deal with that noise even while I'm out there for a few minutes. It's really loud. Man... so much more to do. I need a lot of stuff!

[mrbee2828]

So I brought some water up to Fish Sarafi (LFS) just now to get a second opinion on the water quality. Everything is perfect but the PH which was at 8.1. I never thought about the RO water bringing that down everyday I top off. So I have to buffer the water a tad. How does everyone deal with PH and the ATO? Anyway... I got my 2 clowns!!! They are acclimating now. I'll post pictures later.

[coffeetwitch]

surface agitation will also help with ph. maybe adjust a power head to get some.

[mrbee2828]

I had the powerhead at the bottom last night to stir things up. I moved it towards the top and have it pointed up a tad. Things are looking better. I'm considering a small powerhead in the fuge too honestly. Looks stale in there to me.

[coffeetwitch]

i cant say for sure, but it seemed to have helped out on my tank to have something moving water in my sump.

[Fishkeeper92]

I use 8.4 to make my ph more stable and keep a powerhead pointed at the surface. One use and i havent had a problem yet.

[NyteGTI]

Mt tank sits at a constant 8.0. my RO, DT, & mixed SW all 8.0 so I just keep it consistent

[Mpfaff77]

Originally Posted by NyteGTI

Mt tank sits at a constant 8.0. my RO, DT, & mixed SW all 8.0 so I just keep it consistent

+1. Mine 8.1 usually. Consistent is key. I don't buffer my top off. It also depends on when you took sample. If lights just came on it will be low. Your highest ph will be just before lights out.

[Bschowa]

Great build, you have made alot of progress i just read through it all! ill definitely follow along, your builds are always so informative, i feel like i am right there with you.

tank and setup looks great!

[mrbee2828]

Thanks! This is only my 2nd build so I'm still learning and making mistakes. BUT... threads like these are gold. You can read them and most of the time see what works for people and what doesn't BEFORE you do it yourself. Hopefully, something in this or my other one will save someone time and money

[NyteGTI]

Originally Posted by mrbee2828

Thanks! This is only my 2nd build so I'm still learning and making mistakes. BUT... threads like these are gold. You can read them and most of the time see what works for people and what doesn't BEFORE you do it yourself. Hopefully, something in this or my other one will save someone time and money

exactly! I'll be comnig to you when I'm trying to figure out how to plumb my next tank haha.

[mrbee2828]

oh dear God!!! I hope not lol, I'm doing it all wrong with elbows and everything hahhaa. I can build you an ugly overflow on the cheap any day of the week though lol