MattM3 Registered Member

Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 115









































Current/Past Issues & Design Flaws:

• SCWD: Occasionally when the SCWD changes flow side, the emergency drain will kick on. This is most likely due to the change in flow caused by SCWD since it retains water to rotate direction. Could also be caused by a change in sump level from the retained SCWD water.

• The emergency siphon on the bean animal is not functioning: I’m not exactly sure why, but the emergency siphon is not gaining suction once the 1/8 john guest tubing is submerged under water to create a full drain. It’s possible the seal on the top of the stand pipe is not good enough. The pipes are 1.5 inches and can handle pretty much any kind of clog/problem, so I’m not overly concerned.

• Have to restart flow in media reactors once pumps restart: To get water flowing through the media reactors, the drain has to be shut, the reopened for water to start again.

• pH meter on the apex is not functioning: We are not 100% sure what is causing it to read various number, but we assume it is rf interference from the dimmable ballasts. We have tried copper shielding tape without any success.

• Microbubbles in the return: The refugium on the left of the sump empties directly into the chamber where the return pump is. If the water level is not exactly perfect, microbubbles will form. This isn’t a huge deal, and is an easy fix once we get an ATO, but If I could redo the sump I would place the refugium to the far right emptying into the chamber with the filter sock that leads into the bubble trap.

• RODI Unit reading low PSI: House pressure has not seemed to change, but the PSI has dropped from 65-70 to around 20. Tried flushing the membrane without any success.

• Protein skimmer sometimes floods: When the pumps stop, the protein skimmer will occasionally flood. This can be fixed by raising the skimmer level and lowering the sump level.

• Painting PVC pipes: Huge mistake. I spray painted the PVC pipes black, then we tried to cut them to insert T's with 1/2 inch threads for the reactors. The paint doesn't allow a new seal and caused us a bunch of leaks that had to be completely redone. If you decide to spray paint your pvc, which I don't recommend, make sure you are 100% done with it.

• OLD SILICONE: I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH. BEFORE YOU SILICONE ANYTHING, CHECK THE MANUFACTURE DATE & EXPIRATION DATE. We purchased rtv108 silicone from our local Grainger. We unknowingly used it on the sump only to have it never try or halfway harden. We had to scrape everything out, order silicone online, and redo everything. We had no idea silicone had an expiration date. The stuff we were using was over a year expired.



A huge sincere thank you to this community. Without the help of reef central and many forums alike we would have never been able to make any of this possible.



Total System Review:

Up Time

3 months

Total Volume

90 gallons

Display

75GAL LONG

Substrate

75LBS Fiji Pukani Rock, 20LBS Base Rock, 80LBS CaribSea Caribbean Live Sand Original Grade Substrate, 20LBS CaribSea Caribbean Live Sand Fine Oolite Substrate

Sump

38GAL TALL + DIY 14GAL Reservoir

Filtration

DIY Bean Animal Coast to Coast Overflow, Filter Sock, Carbon Reactor, Two Little Fishes GFO Reactor, Reef Octopus Protein Skimmer, Corallife UV Sterilizer

Lighting

DIY Rapid LEDs', ATI Coral Life T5 & ATI True Blue T5 on ATI Dimmable Ballast

Circulation

Syncra 5.0 Return Pump + (2) Hydor Evo's

Controller

Neptune Systems Apex Controller + pH Probe

Heater

Standard



http://aquarist.me/hqaquarium/hq-aquarium





Current/Past Issues & Design Flaws:• SCWD: Occasionally when the SCWD changes flow side, the emergency drain will kick on. This is most likely due to the change in flow caused by SCWD since it retains water to rotate direction. Could also be caused by a change in sump level from the retained SCWD water.• The emergency siphon on the bean animal is not functioning: I’m not exactly sure why, but the emergency siphon is not gaining suction once the 1/8 john guest tubing is submerged under water to create a full drain. It’s possible the seal on the top of the stand pipe is not good enough. The pipes are 1.5 inches and can handle pretty much any kind of clog/problem, so I’m not overly concerned.• Have to restart flow in media reactors once pumps restart: To get water flowing through the media reactors, the drain has to be shut, the reopened for water to start again.• pH meter on the apex is not functioning: We are not 100% sure what is causing it to read various number, but we assume it is rf interference from the dimmable ballasts. We have tried copper shielding tape without any success.• Microbubbles in the return: The refugium on the left of the sump empties directly into the chamber where the return pump is. If the water level is not exactly perfect, microbubbles will form. This isn’t a huge deal, and is an easy fix once we get an ATO, but If I could redo the sump I would place the refugium to the far right emptying into the chamber with the filter sock that leads into the bubble trap.• RODI Unit reading low PSI: House pressure has not seemed to change, but the PSI has dropped from 65-70 to around 20. Tried flushing the membrane without any success.• Protein skimmer sometimes floods: When the pumps stop, the protein skimmer will occasionally flood. This can be fixed by raising the skimmer level and lowering the sump level.• Painting PVC pipes: Huge mistake. I spray painted the PVC pipes black, then we tried to cut them to insert T's with 1/2 inch threads for the reactors. The paint doesn't allow a new seal and caused us a bunch of leaks that had to be completely redone. If you decide to spray paint your pvc, which I don't recommend, make sure you are 100% done with it.• OLD SILICONE: I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH. BEFORE YOU SILICONE ANYTHING, CHECK THE MANUFACTURE DATE & EXPIRATION DATE. We purchased rtv108 silicone from our local Grainger. We unknowingly used it on the sump only to have it never try or halfway harden. We had to scrape everything out, order silicone online, and redo everything. We had no idea silicone had an expiration date. The stuff we were using was over a year expired.A huge sincere thank you to this community. Without the help of reef central and many forums alike we would have never been able to make any of this possible.Total System Review:Up Time3 monthsTotal Volume90 gallonsDisplay75GAL LONGSubstrate75LBS Fiji Pukani Rock, 20LBS Base Rock, 80LBS CaribSea Caribbean Live Sand Original Grade Substrate, 20LBS CaribSea Caribbean Live Sand Fine Oolite SubstrateSump38GAL TALL + DIY 14GAL ReservoirFiltrationDIY Bean Animal Coast to Coast Overflow, Filter Sock, Carbon Reactor, Two Little Fishes GFO Reactor, Reef Octopus Protein Skimmer, Corallife UV SterilizerLightingDIY Rapid LEDs', ATI Coral Life T5 & ATI True Blue T5 on ATI Dimmable BallastCirculationSyncra 5.0 Return Pump + (2) Hydor Evo'sControllerNeptune Systems Apex Controller + pH ProbeHeaterStandard Last edited by MattM3; 01/07/2014 at 12:51 AM .