Marine Upgrade

[OscarWilde]

Here we go....

Hi all

I've been keeping a 15G Marine Nano for over a year now with no problems so I thought it was time to take the plunge and go a little bigger.

I've purchased a setup through a local ad and *think* I got a a bargain at £125.

The tank is a Juwel Rio 125 (125 litres/33 USG). It has been customised/drilled/plumbed by a local firm which I know has a good reputation so Im not worried at all about it working. Trouble is Im not sure what goes where and why!!!

I'd appreciate it if people could have a look at the photos below marked with a '?' and tell me What The parts are for and where they fit in to the overall setup. Of course I have a fair idea about some of it but for my sake its better you pretend Im a complete beginner.

I also got a huge box foll of Test kits, Feeds and Loads of extra pipe work. Also about 10Kg of 'Dead' live rock, Pipe work, Refractometer, Epoxy. The list goes on....

My existing Nano has about 14 kg or Fiji live rock so I have that to put in.

Other questions.

Should I chuck the sand that came with the tank and buy new?
What should go in the Sump for filtration?

I know this is BIG ask. Thanks for reading.

Tank and Lighting

Cabinet

?Weir? - Is that the right terminology?

??Protein Skimmer and lots of other bits Im not sure about??

??Powerheads??

???18"X 10"X 14" Sump Tank (10 USG)???

???Pipework???

 

[BigC]

SORRY, Accidently hit post. Will update shortly

We're waiting.........lol

 

[OscarWilde]

There you go

 

[bagu]

is a bargain lol! in the journal section, truckasaurus has the same tank, and he just started his!

 

[Truck]

yep ive just started mine, but yours has a sump and mine doesnt

shall be good following this

 

[OscarWilde]

is a bargain lol! in the journal section, truckasaurus has the same tank, and he just started his!

Well thats good but can you help me out with what on earth to do with it all?

 

[rabbut]

OK, lets try to do this bit at a time. Can you post a picture of eack skimmer part individually, and number the photos. We can then try an "assembly by numbers" with it

The tank sits on the top of the stand (obviously) and the sump goes into the bottom of the cabinet, being non-floating base, it will sit on a sheet of polystyrene. This is when the two pipe sets go in. One goes into each bulkhead (plastic fitting in the holes in the weir of the tank) and into the sump. They should end up at the same end of the tank. One pump and a further pipe will take the water out of the sump at the opposite end and back into the tank.

It looks like you have an Aquamedic skimmer there, so the Ocean runner pump will be intended for that, and the other pump will be the sump return one

I would be inclined to scrap the supplied sand and install some new after thoroughly cleaning both the sump and display. I'd likely dis-assemble the pumps and skimmer also for a deap clean and inspection of the components before you start

All the best
Rabbut

 

[OscarWilde]

Thanks VERY much Rabbut. I will get to work on cleaning up the display and sump and then post new photos of all of the parts as you have suggested.

Many thanks.

 

[OscarWilde]

Quick update. Teardown and cleaning is going well and Im starting to see how everything comes together.

Im slightly concerned about the Sump for two reasons.

1. There are no baffles in there at the moment. Is it possible for a Sump to function without the Baffles? Kind of like an open top external filter. I found this fantastic article but its very detailed and a little overwhelming.

2. Even if I get the sump fixed, the tank is going to go in my bedroom. Is the Sump likely to suck and gurgle like a bath emptying? If so, im going to have to explore setting up the tank without the sump.

Cheers.

 

[SkiFletch]

The trouble with going baffle-free is bubbles. You'll get a lot in your tank if you don't have bubble-trap baffles.

 

[rabbut]

The sumps can gurgle a lot when running, or be near silent, depending on the overflow piping. Yours looks like a noisier version to me, but there are modifications you can do. I'd extend the bulkhead to which you are attaching the un-valved down-pipe to upwards to where you want the water level in the weir. I'd then install a duroso on the valved down-pipe bulkhead. This should make it nice and quiet after tweaking the valve

I'd be inclined to get a few baffles installed into the sump myself. You can run sumps without baffles (work does) and they can work OK, but there are a few drawbacks, as Ski points out above

All the best
Rabbut

 

[OscarWilde]

Thanks all. Made some progress on the Skimmer.

Its an Aqua Medic Biostar Flotor found details on it including an exploded diagram here.

Seems I certainly did get a Bargain! These things seem to retail at over £100! Does anyone have any experience with these?

Doesnt bode well for my quiet bedroom tank plan however so this may be going on eBay.

 

[rabbut]

I use them at work. They are no worse than any other HOB skimmer for noise IMO

 

[OscarWilde]

I use them at work. They are no worse than any other HOB skimmer for noise IMO

Dam it! The Biorotor (sponge) is missing. Is it a right off or could i use other meida in there such as some Live rrock rubble, the existing sponges from my Nano and some Bioballs?

 

[rabbut]

You can add other media, but be aware that that section where the bio-wheel is located is high-bypass for anything else, as it is designed for a bio-wheel, so you only want something that does not require too much flow. Floss would be my preference, as LR rubble and phosphate remover aren't going to get the flow needed to be effective