90 Gallon Upgrade

You should start another thread about this and get others thoughts. As I cant find anything on here about a 'dark fuge'.

 

the only time I saw one was on RC's TOTM.

 

I will definitely start up a thread to see if anyone used that method. In the mean time. My build has been delayed since my sump order. Received 75 pounds of rock from reefrocks.net. So like a child during Christmas. As soon as I got home from work I tore open the box to play with rocks lol. Threw a few scapes around and I came up with this one that I think I will glue together on my days off. What do some of you guys think?

 

I was reading about these once.from what I can remember,you get all kinds of different organisms that will grow in the dark that would normally not be seen in your system.could be interesting if youre into all the little critters that live on and in live rock

 

I read that. I actually just started another thread to concentrate info on these setups and gather info on them. Hopefully make it easier to search for this rare setup and hopefully get some pros and cons to it.

 

A little update to my build. My sump finally came in today. Ordered it from eBay from a seller that gets it straight from the factory. It's a 30 gal sump with refugium section in the middle. For $200 it's very well built and comparable to my current proflex. Of course like a kid, I had to throw it under the stand and start the plumbing it to my Jebao DC12000!! This baby can push water and will be more than enough to power everything I will have hooked up. I'm actually running the sump backwards because I need the bubble trap more in the intake section than the return. Took a few quick shots of the sump and plumbing in the works. Not the cleanest plumbing but should work. I split the return with the T that has a valve on both ends. One side goes to the return and the other side to the equipment with that valve being the main shut off. Created a basic 1/2 in barbed manifold that will each have their own valve. One will be for the Hydor 705 recirc skimmer coming in tomorrow hopefully. The second will be for GFO reactor. And the third is my little idea, I'm sure someone else has it also, that will have a long line attached as needed which can reach any part of the tank and sump. This is going to be my idea of a turkey baster because I honestly hate using the turkey baster to blow off rocks and detritus. Since I have this DC12000, I'm going to harness some of that power and kind of made a pressure washer that I can control and shut off with the valve ;-). It all makes sense in my head at the moment. lol. Can't wait to fill it up.

 

What you're looking for are Cryptic organisms or zones

Cryptic Zones
Cryptic FUGE (not tank) - Biological Filtration - Nano-Reef.com Forums

 

very nice looking sump!

 

thanks! Yea I was surprised also considering how inexpensive it was compared to name brand ones. The joints looked pretty well put together. Time will tell.

 

Finally got it filled up and laid out the scape and gravel. I used egg crate only under the heavy sections of rock instead of laying it along the bottom of the whole tank. All the plumbing leaks checks good. Still need to run the line for the reactor. Used the remaining egg crate to make myself a little electrical board to hold all the wires and cords. It sits on the side of the tank that isn't seen from the couch and small lamp table. This will also house the apex once I get it transferred from the old tank. At the moment I have a MJ1200 to provide a little circulation while the tank cycles. That will be replaced with the 2 WP25s I have. The Jebao DC12000 is pumping great. I have it set in the middle intensity. It's having no problem feeding the huge hydor 705 recirc skimmer. Which use metric PVC and I had to get creative with silicon electrical tape and "interference fitment" to be able to move the skimmer further away from the sump. Made the screen tops out of extra BRS 1/2 in netting I had laying around. Silenced my overflow with 1/2 in tubing and a small wad of filter floss inside it. The lighting units will be hung on a 1 1/4 wooden dowl that is laying across two brackets allowing me to slide the units left or right as needed. I'm going to be using two Evergrow lights that I managed to get before the price went up. The first one is still being used on the old tank and the one hooked up now is shown in the picture at 100% blue 90% white. With two I shouldn't have any par issues. I'm loving the black background I painted and it really makes things pop out more and hides the overflow better. And finally for today I used some left over styrofoam insulation I used to lay the sump on to put on the inside of the stand doors for a little extra noise insulation. Feels good starting from scratch knowing what you're doing this time around lol.