My first Reef Aquarium 30G shallow

[Aram]

Thank you.
Question a little out of topic ...
Someone has a crashed coral from FW setup, can I wash / bleach and use it in my setup?

 

[art13]

Wouldn't see an issue with it, if you are going for substrate though, you are better off with large grain sand, the crushed coral usually traps a lot more detritus as the gaps between the pieces are larger.

 

[Trio91]

personally i use crushed coral on my tank but i picked it up new......i wouldn't use anything used (personally) as far as substrate. too many variables involved with that IMO

i have a 40lb bag of dry/sugar fine sand if you are interested, free if you can pick it up

 

[Aram]

Switching gear again ...
I got my 1/2" hose adapter for return pump, so I just installed Mag Drive 3
When sump was half full, pump was virtually silent, when it pumped enough water in the display tank to start the overflow, all I have left is 1.5" of water above my pump. (how much water you have above your pump?)
It humms very loud, is there any fix/ workaround for this, also Is OK to use Stainless Steel Hose Clamp on that connection?

I don't have any flow restrictor on my return line, so basically shoots 335gph, is this OK?

Thank you!

 

[Mark_C]

Not going to hurt to increase waterline above the pump. Just be sure that during a power loss the sump has enough space to contain the overflow. Shifting the pump slightly or putting a rubber mat under it may help. You can find 6"x6" sheets of gasket rubber in the 'orange' or 'blue' home stores.
Avoid stainless, go with plastic.

For substrate I've had good success with this...
Marine Aquarium Substrate: CaribSea Seaflor Special Grade Reef Sand

 

[njtiger24 aquariums]

a tip my LFS gave me when setting up my tank. Fill you tank to the point where the water is about to go over the overflow (like one more drop in would make it go over) and then fill your sump to the level you want it. This should be how your system should drain in a power outage so you shouldn't flood if that happens.

I believe the clamps I use are stainless steel and I have not had any issues with them but they are not touch any water.

 

[horseplay]

You can obviously simulate a power outage by turning off the pump LOL. I run my water level about 7" high.

 

[Aram]

Not going to hurt to increase waterline above the pump. Just be sure that during a power loss the sump has enough space to contain the overflow. Shifting the pump slightly or putting a rubber mat under it may help. You can find 6"x6" sheets of gasket rubber in the 'orange' or 'blue' home stores.
Avoid stainless, go with plastic.

For substrate I've had good success with this...
Marine Aquarium Substrate: CaribSea Seaflor Special Grade Reef Sand

I think my problem is return line, it's drilled below overflow, so when I stop the pump sump fills from a overflow maybe 1-2gallon and another 8+gallons comes from return.
Maybe I need to install check valve? Inline Poppet Check Valve 685 Series PP 1/2" FPT - BUNA - FreshWaterSystems.com
Don't even know if it's good brand

Regarding stainless steel, I have seen reef setup and guy had a little area in his sump for steel wool

 

[horseplay]

You have 8 gallon from the return line?

 

[Aram]

yea , well maybe 7 but it's allot more than from overflow

 

[horseplay]

This is not right. Is it sucking water from the display tank? You might need to prevent back siphon.

 

[art13]

they sell those flexible pipes that you can install where the water returns into your tank, from there you can bend it to put water back into your tank near the top and it won't drain 8 gallons out.

 

[Aram]

What is use check valve from post #28 ?
Or maybe I will bent that return pipe in the tank, to point up?

 

[horseplay]

Point the return nozzle horizontally. Also reduce the flow to the tank by teeing off the return line and return the excess flow to the sump.

 

[Aram]

On the T-ed line that will go back to the sump, do I need to install ball valve?

 

[Aram]

Fixed sock holder, was not installed correctly, water level divider was leaking, resealed all.
Got different variety of rubber mats, will try to make the pump quiet

Question, return line in the sock, creates foam (see picture)
is that normal?

Thank you,
Aram.

 

[njtiger24 aquariums]

Fixed sock holder, was not installed correctly, water level divider was leaking, resealed all.
Got different variety of rubber mats, will try to make the pump quiet

Question, return line in the sock, creates foam (see picture)
is that normal?

Thank you,
Aram.

No that does not seem correct. How often do you change/clean it out?

 

[Aram]

Tank is week and half old... How often I need to change socks?

 

[njtiger24 aquariums]

I change mine every week. I know people who change their every other day. A good sign of when the sock needs to be changed is when the water is overflowing over the top. Now when I started I thought socks were a 1 time usage. I then learned you can clean them. Every week I run my sock in the washer. I first run it in hot water, with soap, inside out. After it goes though it's cycle I then run it again, in normal water with soap, right side out. I then replace my socks about every 6 months to a year.

 

[Trio91]

It looks dirty, not terribly dirty but it could be clogged.