65g reef

Melina · #1 08-27-2007, 10:29 PM

It drains below the water level.

There is a small hole on the drain pipe in the sump, above the water level (at the exact same height as the first baffle), draining water into the sump, making a loud trickling noise (or peeing sound, as my husband says!). It's really peeing out water. When we hold our finger over this hole, a lot of the noise is gone. Can we permanently block this hole? The sound gets a lot better when we restrict the flow from the pump. When the flow from the pump is cut back by about 1/3, and we block that little hole, then the sound is OK. Is it OK to restrict the flow that much?

Another thing... when we cut the power to the pump, the overflow drains into the sump. The standpipe?.. the pipe in the overflow? fits into a larger pipe (creating a gap at the connection) about 3-4 inches above the bottom... and water seems to drain into this gap. So the overflow box becomes empty except for the bottom 3-4 inches, when the power is out. Shouldn't it stay full in case of a power failure? I've heard of people having stuff growing in there.. you wouldn't want it to drain! Can we glue/seal those pipes together so it won't drain? Is there a reason we should not do that? It could have been glued together, but it wasn't.
(I've forwared this message to Mike at HR, who responded super quickly to my post! much appreciated Mike!) I'll see what he says...

Another question! I've read that some people suggest widening the little hole (what's it called again?) right on top of the standpipe (Dur... something or other?) in the overflow box? Is that something we should try?
Thanks!

Melina · #2 09-07-2007, 06:27 AM

Well I just got the live rock today and put it in... I love the way it looks! The rock is just beautiful (from Hidden Reef) I just took some pictures and am trying to identify what looks to me like 2 of the same species of sea cucumber? Anyone ever seen these before? They're about 2 inches long. And what's the purple stuff growing out of the rock above and below the cucumber(?) Man this is so exciting, I think I'm going to be up all night with the flashlight, checking out all the stuff growing on these rocks! I'm keeping the temp at 79-80F, and my salinity is 1.026

Melina · #3 09-07-2007, 06:40 AM

I believe I just identified them.. they're tiger tail sea cucumbers...
Will they be OK without a substrate for a few days? There was a bit of die-off on my rocks and I wanted to syphon it out and let the rock cure completely before adding sand so I could syphon out any stuff that falls off the rock. I wasn't planning to put my sand bed in right away. Also I was not planning to make a deep sand bed, just 1-2 inches... will this be OK for the cucumbers, and will they survive the curing/cycling process? The rock was cured, but there was some die-off during shipping. Not much though.

Are these guys really toxic if they're stressed/dying, or are they safe to keep in a mixed reef? Do I have to worry about them poisoning my tank? I don't plan to have many fish, just a couple clowns at the most, if any. Will they kill my corals, if they die and release their toxins?

Redrover · #4 09-07-2007, 11:54 AM

First I would have painted the back of tank [ outside ]...in order to hide view of plumbing and wiring from light fixture...Second I would put sandbed in first [ 1/2 inch ]

Make sure rock on both sides and front are away from glass for glass cleaning
Make a few caves for fish to hide [ sleep ] they will all pick there spot.

SuperFudge · #5 09-07-2007, 01:25 PM

yes, you can plug the hole above the waterline if its quieter to do so.
The hole is there to let air purge out, sometimes its the exact opposite...if the hole isnt the air pushes down through the whole pipe.

I would lift up the out put lockline nozzle, from the pics it looks as if it might back siphon too much back to the sump when powers out.

Its ok if the overflow drains, but if you dont like it draining, glue it.
The reason for this is that if a small fish goes in there or theres a need to clean it, you can pull the standpipe out.

Yes, you can restrict the pump and it is necessary to do so on most systems.

Marc.

Pan · #6 09-07-2007, 03:59 PM

Tiger Tails
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...pcatid=712&N=0

Purple Stuff is Corraline Algae

Melina · #7 09-07-2007, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SuperFudge

yes, you can plug the hole above the waterline if its quieter to do so.
The hole is there to let air purge out, sometimes its the exact opposite...if the hole isnt the air pushes down through the whole pipe.

I would lift up the out put lockline nozzle, from the pics it looks as if it might back siphon too much back to the sump when powers out.

Its ok if the overflow drains, but if you dont like it draining, glue it.
The reason for this is that if a small fish goes in there or theres a need to clean it, you can pull the standpipe out.

Yes, you can restrict the pump and it is necessary to do so on most systems.

Marc.

We plugged that hole and WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!!! It is SO much quieter now. With the flow from the pump restricted a bit, it's so quiet now!!!

Thanks for the tip about the lockline, will do that.

We'll leave the overflow as is, so it drains.

Now I have a question about my skimmer. How long till the collection cup starts filling with skimmate? I've had it on since last night and the fine white bubbles are still swirling around in the main body of the skimmer but nothing is coming up through the neck or into the collection cup. Am I doing something wrong? Any suggestions? The water is murky.

Melina · #8 09-07-2007, 07:21 PM

I just finished aquascaping and I'm not going to touch another rock or I'll never be done!!! I made lots of caves & hiding spots and kept the rock away from the glass on the sides & front.

The water is extremely murky and my skimmer doesn't seem to be working?? I'm wondering should I do a water change. I cleaned the rocks as best I could but there's still some die-off, (even though the rock was cured, it was in transit to me, by bus, for almost 36 hours) which brings up another question... these cucumbers can't handle high nitrates so I'm thinking they're probably going to die with the curing/cycling process?

SuperFudge · #9 09-08-2007, 02:29 PM

Melina,

Your ammonia/nitrites may not spike at all, depending on where the rock came from.
If it was already cured, likley you will avoid the cycle altogether.

The skimmer is different for everyone, ive seen them start skimming 10 minutes later, and ive seen them take a week to start.

Make sure the air intake for the skimmer is just about fully open, and the water level in the skimmer is adjusted to (usually) about the base of the cone.

Usually the skimmer is unstable in a new system as the water is pretty much sterile, so i wouldnt expect it to perform normally this soon.

Marc.

Melina · #10 09-07-2007, 04:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Redrover

First I would have painted the back of tank [ outside ]...in order to hide view of plumbing and wiring from light fixture...Second I would put sandbed in first [ 1/2 inch ]

Make sure rock on both sides and front are away from glass for glass cleaning
Make a few caves for fish to hide [ sleep ] they will all pick there spot.

I personally don't like the look of a painted background, but my husband suggested doing just that. We will see. I put the rock first because I read that's the best way to go if you plan on having lots of critters that dig in the sand and can disturb the rockwork ie. cause a rock slide. Yeah I'm going to arrange the rock differently so it's away from the glass in the front and on the sides.