Huge Sump

[Anthony Pruitt]

I have a 300 gallon Rubbermaid horse trough I picked up used for $75. It's
round and has a 6 foot diameter and is 32 inches tall. I also have two 400
MH pendants that came out of an old warehouse, I bought at a building
surplus store, for $15 each. Does anyone think I would be nuts to use the
trough as a refugium and tie all three of my reefs into it. I have a 55, a
46 bowfront, and a 20 gallon. I know it's reversed, most people don't have
sumps twice as big as their tanks, but I have the stuff, so why not ?

[Pszemol]

"Anthony Pruitt" > wrote in message ...
> I have a 300 gallon Rubbermaid horse trough I picked up used for $75. It's
> round and has a 6 foot diameter and is 32 inches tall. I also have two 400
> MH pendants that came out of an old warehouse, I bought at a building
> surplus store, for $15 each. Does anyone think I would be nuts to use the
> trough as a refugium and tie all three of my reefs into it. I have a 55, a
> 46 bowfront, and a 20 gallon. I know it's reversed, most people don't have
> sumps twice as big as their tanks, but I have the stuff, so why not ?

It sounds good. Lots of water!

BTW - Where do you plan to put this trough ?
In your basement or maybe livingroom ? ;-)

One thing I would think about is by linking all three reef tanks
which are now separated you may increase a chance of failure all
of them if you bring a disease to one of them - it will spread
to whole system... Other than that, more water is always better
and more stable.

[Anthony Pruitt]

*It sounds good. Lots of water!

BTW - Where do you plan to put this trough ?
In your basement or maybe livingroom ? ;-)

One thing I would think about is by linking all three reef tanks
which are now separated you may increase a chance of failure all
of them if you bring a disease to one of them - it will spread to whole
system...
Other than that, more water is always better
and more stable.*





LOL, it would be in the basement, I have a wife, not a death wish. As far as
disease goes,
I run the same risks as if I just had one large tank, so I think it's worth
trying.

[Pszemol]

"Anthony Pruitt" > wrote in message ...
> LOL, it would be in the basement, I have a wife, not a death wish.

:-)

> As far as disease goes, I run the same risks as if I just had
> one large tank, so I think it's worth trying.

Right, be careful with quarantining everything new.

[Anthony Pruitt]

"robin.gordon1" > wrote in message
...
> just think of how much water there is in the oceans ???? dilution is
> always
> the best. my only query is what material the trough is made out of and is
> it reef safe. if food grade plastic then go for it.
> MH check which type of fittings the bulb holders are maybe you cant get
> the
> right colour spectrum in that fitting but maybe you could do what I did
> which is make an RX7 out of another smaller holder and this will allow you
> use the ballasts.
>
> Robin
>
>



It's a thick semi flexible plastic, think regular Rubbermaid container
multiplied by a zillion....lol....as for food grade, it's a horse trough, it
has to be safe or they couldn't use it for watering livestock.

[robin.gordon1]

just think of how much water there is in the oceans ???? dilution is always
the best. my only query is what material the trough is made out of and is
it reef safe. if food grade plastic then go for it.
MH check which type of fittings the bulb holders are maybe you cant get the
right colour spectrum in that fitting but maybe you could do what I did
which is make an RX7 out of another smaller holder and this will allow you
use the ballasts.

Robin

[kim gross]

The Rubbermaid troughs are used by a lot of people so unless it was
contaminated before you got it, it will be fine for your tanks.

As for adding it to the system, that is a great idea.

Kim


Anthony Pruitt wrote:

> "robin.gordon1" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>>just think of how much water there is in the oceans ???? dilution is
>>always
>>the best. my only query is what material the trough is made out of and is
>>it reef safe. if food grade plastic then go for it.
>>MH check which type of fittings the bulb holders are maybe you cant get
>>the
>>right colour spectrum in that fitting but maybe you could do what I did
>>which is make an RX7 out of another smaller holder and this will allow you
>>use the ballasts.
>>
>>Robin
>>
>>
>
>
>
>
> It's a thick semi flexible plastic, think regular Rubbermaid container
> multiplied by a zillion....lol....as for food grade, it's a horse trough, it
> has to be safe or they couldn't use it for watering livestock.
>
>

[Henry Etteldorf]

You need to worry about evaporation. If you can cover this and vent to the
outside you will eliminate the moisture problem. Otherwise you could run
your air conditioner and/or dehumidifier a LOT more than in the past.


"Anthony Pruitt" > wrote in message
...
> I have a 300 gallon Rubbermaid horse trough I picked up used for $75. It's
> round and has a 6 foot diameter and is 32 inches tall. I also have two 400
> MH pendants that came out of an old warehouse, I bought at a building
> surplus store, for $15 each. Does anyone think I would be nuts to use the
> trough as a refugium and tie all three of my reefs into it. I have a 55, a
> 46 bowfront, and a 20 gallon. I know it's reversed, most people don't have
> sumps twice as big as their tanks, but I have the stuff, so why not ?
>
>
>
>

[Cindy]

Anthony Pruitt wrote:
> I have a 300 gallon Rubbermaid horse trough I picked up used for $75.
> It's round and has a 6 foot diameter and is 32 inches tall. I also
> have two 400 MH pendants that came out of an old warehouse, I bought
> at a building surplus store, for $15 each. Does anyone think I would
> be nuts to use the trough as a refugium and tie all three of my reefs
> into it. I have a 55, a 46 bowfront, and a 20 gallon. I know it's
> reversed, most people don't have sumps twice as big as their tanks,
> but I have the stuff, so why not ?

Oh! Oh! I know!!! Make a tidepool sump like they have at Sea World with
starfish and anemones and stuff you can pet. <vbg> Yeah, and mangroves,
maybe a mudskipper or two.
:)
Cindy

[Anthony Pruitt]

"Cindy" > wrote in message
m...
> Oh! Oh! I know!!! Make a tidepool sump like they have at Sea World with
> starfish and anemones and stuff you can pet. <vbg> Yeah, and mangroves,
> maybe a mudskipper or two.
> :)
> Cindy


Mangroves for sure, starfish for sure ! And I have a wicked mudskipper tank
already ! Actually two 20 gallon long tanks side by side. One has fiddler
crabs and one has mudskippers. Both like to come out on the flats and feed
at low tide, so there is a pump in each tank on timers that pump water from
one tank to another. So it's always high tide in one and low tide in another
and switches back and forth every 4 hours. So every 4 hours the tide goes
out and the flats are exposed and the inhabitants come out to roam and feed.
Both tanks have hang on the back filters that are tied into timers so they
come on and clean the water during high tide. Also, both tanks have a small
pool made out of a tupperware container buried flush in the sand, that stays
full when the tide goes out, so if anyone needs to take a dip, the tank
isn't completely dry. It was extremely easy and cheap to set up, but totally
cool to watch.

[John]

> It was extremely easy and cheap to set up, but totally
>cool to watch.

That does sound pretty cool, now I wish my house was bigger :(
~John

[Anthony Pruitt]

"John" > wrote in message
...
>> It was extremely easy and cheap to set up, but totally
>>cool to watch.
>
> That does sound pretty cool, now I wish my house was bigger :(
> ~John


So use 5 gallon tanks instead of 20 longs and you'll have plenty of room
:-}

[[email protected]]

Now that, is a wicked idea!

Why 4 hours, tho? Isn't the lunar tide based on the rotatation of the
moon, so approx. 12 hours up, 12 hours down?

Geoff Norris
Red Deer Reefer

Anthony Pruitt wrote:
> "Cindy" > wrote in message
> m...
>
>>Oh! Oh! I know!!! Make a tidepool sump like they have at Sea World with
>>starfish and anemones and stuff you can pet. <vbg> Yeah, and mangroves,
>>maybe a mudskipper or two.
>>:)
>>Cindy
>
>
>
> Mangroves for sure, starfish for sure ! And I have a wicked mudskipper tank
> already ! Actually two 20 gallon long tanks side by side. One has fiddler
> crabs and one has mudskippers. Both like to come out on the flats and feed
> at low tide, so there is a pump in each tank on timers that pump water from
> one tank to another. So it's always high tide in one and low tide in another
> and switches back and forth every 4 hours. So every 4 hours the tide goes
> out and the flats are exposed and the inhabitants come out to roam and feed.
> Both tanks have hang on the back filters that are tied into timers so they
> come on and clean the water during high tide. Also, both tanks have a small
> pool made out of a tupperware container buried flush in the sand, that stays
> full when the tide goes out, so if anyone needs to take a dip, the tank
> isn't completely dry. It was extremely easy and cheap to set up, but totally
> cool to watch.
>
>

[Billy]

> wrote in message
news:Ala%c.321530$M95.204169@pd7tw1no...
| Now that, is a wicked idea!
|
| Why 4 hours, tho? Isn't the lunar tide based on the rotatation of
the
| moon, so approx. 12 hours up, 12 hours down?
|


Sure, but the fish don't know that.<g>


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[Anthony Pruitt]

> wrote in message
news:Ala%c.321530$M95.204169@pd7tw1no...
> Now that, is a wicked idea!
>
> Why 4 hours, tho? Isn't the lunar tide based on the rotatation of the
> moon, so approx. 12 hours up, 12 hours down?
>
> Geoff Norris
> Red Deer Reefer


The 4 hour tidal change is easy to explain, any longer than that and the
tanks start to dry out too much. I used sand and not mud for the bottom of
the tanks, so the top of the sand gets dry faster than the mudflats in the
wild. And Billy is right, so far I haven't seen a single fish waving a
protest sign.......*grins*

[Pszemol]

"Anthony Pruitt" > wrote in message . ..
> Mangroves for sure, starfish for sure ! And I have a wicked mudskipper tank
> already ! Actually two 20 gallon long tanks side by side. One has fiddler
> crabs and one has mudskippers. Both like to come out on the flats and feed
> at low tide, so there is a pump in each tank on timers that pump water from
> one tank to another. So it's always high tide in one and low tide in another
> and switches back and forth every 4 hours. So every 4 hours the tide goes
> out and the flats are exposed and the inhabitants come out to roam and feed.
> Both tanks have hang on the back filters that are tied into timers so they
> come on and clean the water during high tide. Also, both tanks have a small
> pool made out of a tupperware container buried flush in the sand, that stays
> full when the tide goes out, so if anyone needs to take a dip, the tank
> isn't completely dry. It was extremely easy and cheap to set up, but totally
> cool to watch.

Do you have any pictures of your setup?

[Michael Buffington]

> I have a 300 gallon Rubbermaid horse trough I picked up used for $75. It's
> round and has a 6 foot diameter and is 32 inches tall.

I'm about to use the same kind of trough, though much smaller (50G).
The only warning I can give is that you'll want to make sure it's
covered, and also, making that much water is a serious pan. I've spent
the past two days creating RO/DI water for a 90G system. I can't
imagine 300G.

[Pszemol]

"Michael Buffington" > wrote in message m...
>> I have a 300 gallon Rubbermaid horse trough I picked up used for $75. It's
>> round and has a 6 foot diameter and is 32 inches tall.
>
> I'm about to use the same kind of trough, though much smaller (50G).
> The only warning I can give is that you'll want to make sure it's
> covered, and also, making that much water is a serious pan. I've spent
> the past two days creating RO/DI water for a 90G system. I can't
> imagine 300G.

It will not be any pain if you had 200gpd RO/DI unit... ;-)

> I have a 300 gallon Rubbermaid horse trough I picked up used for $75. It's
>> round and has a 6 foot diameter and is 32 inches tall.
>
> I'm about to use the same kind of trough, though much smaller (50G).
> The only warning I can give is that you'll want to make sure it's
> covered, and also, making that much water is a serious pan. I've spent
> the past two days creating RO/DI water for a 90G system. I can't
> imagine 300G.

It will not be any pain if you had 200gpd RO/DI unit... ;-)


**********End Of Post*************
No sump is to big :)
Yes get a new RO unit, try http://www.roultratec.com/ . I've had there 5 stage,100gpd for a
few years now and it works great.
Plus replacement cartridges cheap compaired to kent.
By the way, How are you going to get that monster into your basement?

[kim gross]

There are 4 tide changes a day, so you would need to cycle every 6 hours
to come close to nature. The exact times are not 6 hours though, check
out www.sal****ertides.com

Kim


Anthony Pruitt wrote:
> > wrote in message
> news:Ala%c.321530$M95.204169@pd7tw1no...
>
>>Now that, is a wicked idea!
>>
>>Why 4 hours, tho? Isn't the lunar tide based on the rotatation of the
>>moon, so approx. 12 hours up, 12 hours down?
>>
>>Geoff Norris
>>Red Deer Reefer
>
>
>
> The 4 hour tidal change is easy to explain, any longer than that and the
> tanks start to dry out too much. I used sand and not mud for the bottom of
> the tanks, so the top of the sand gets dry faster than the mudflats in the
> wild. And Billy is right, so far I haven't seen a single fish waving a
> protest sign.......*grins*
>
>

[Cindy]

>
> Mangroves for sure, starfish for sure ! And I have a wicked
> mudskipper tank already ! Actually two 20 gallon long tanks side by
> side. One has fiddler crabs and one has mudskippers. Both like to
> come out on the flats and feed at low tide, so there is a pump in
> each tank on timers that pump water from one tank to another. So it's
> always high tide in one and low tide in another and switches back and
> forth every 4 hours. So every 4 hours the tide goes out and the flats
> are exposed and the inhabitants come out to roam and feed. Both tanks
> have hang on the back filters that are tied into timers so they come
> on and clean the water during high tide. Also, both tanks have a
> small pool made out of a tupperware container buried flush in the
> sand, that stays full when the tide goes out, so if anyone needs to
> take a dip, the tank isn't completely dry. It was extremely easy and
> cheap to set up, but totally cool to watch.

That sounds very cool! I just might steal your idea one day....
:)
Cindy

[Anthony Pruitt]

> wrote in message
...
> > I have a 300 gallon Rubbermaid horse trough I picked up used for $75.
It's
> >> round and has a 6 foot diameter and is 32 inches tall.
> >
> > I'm about to use the same kind of trough, though much smaller (50G).
> > The only warning I can give is that you'll want to make sure it's
> > covered, and also, making that much water is a serious pan. I've spent
> > the past two days creating RO/DI water for a 90G system. I can't
> > imagine 300G.
>
> It will not be any pain if you had 200gpd RO/DI unit... ;-)
>
>
> **********End Of Post*************
> No sump is to big :)
> Yes get a new RO unit, try http://www.roultratec.com/ . I've had there 5
stage,100gpd for a
> few years now and it works great.
> Plus replacement cartridges cheap compaired to kent.
> By the way, How are you going to get that monster into your basement?
>
>
>


For it's size, it's relatively light. My brother and I easily carried it
around to the back yard. As for filling it, easy too. I don't use RO or DI
water, I've had reefs for close to 15 years and never had a problem using
good ole tap water. Either I'm very lucky or the local water company does an
excellent job.

[CapFusion]

"Pszemol" > wrote in message
...
>
> Do you have any pictures of your setup?

How about this one -
http://www.asplashoflife.com/surge&tidezone.htm

CapFusion,...

[Rod]

Hey, Thats mine .. no longer at A Splash.. Moved it back to my place. If any
locals wantto stop by, feel free any time.

[Pszemol]

"Rod" > wrote in message ...
> Hey, Thats mine .. no longer at A Splash.. Moved it back to my place.
> If any locals wantto stop by, feel free any time.

Rod, how is the store move going ? Are you already at new location ?

[Rod]

Hi Pszemol,
The move is going slow for them. It will probably be the end of October before
they move. The old store is sort of empty since my tanks are no longer there..
Im not with A Splash anymore. Setting things back up at my place. I think I saw
a post on reefland that you were asking about my old place, but it was after I
closed the doors to become part owner of DTs. I am thinking of opening the
doors again very soon.

[Ken]

I think the second is true, your water company must be doing a good job.
Here, they are importing outside water since they are running out... turns
out there is a little to much of the wrong thing in it and people's Koi fish
are dying off in the ponds after they top off their water. That is why I am
now an avid bottled water drinker.

Ken


"Anthony Pruitt" > wrote in message
...
>
> > wrote in message
> ...
> > > I have a 300 gallon Rubbermaid horse trough I picked up used for $75.
> It's
> > >> round and has a 6 foot diameter and is 32 inches tall.
> > >
> > > I'm about to use the same kind of trough, though much smaller (50G).
> > > The only warning I can give is that you'll want to make sure it's
> > > covered, and also, making that much water is a serious pan. I've spent
> > > the past two days creating RO/DI water for a 90G system. I can't
> > > imagine 300G.
> >
> > It will not be any pain if you had 200gpd RO/DI unit... ;-)
> >
> >
> > **********End Of Post*************
> > No sump is to big :)
> > Yes get a new RO unit, try http://www.roultratec.com/ . I've had there
5
> stage,100gpd for a
> > few years now and it works great.
> > Plus replacement cartridges cheap compaired to kent.
> > By the way, How are you going to get that monster into your basement?
> >
> >
> >
>
>
> For it's size, it's relatively light. My brother and I easily carried it
> around to the back yard. As for filling it, easy too. I don't use RO or DI
> water, I've had reefs for close to 15 years and never had a problem using
> good ole tap water. Either I'm very lucky or the local water company does
an
> excellent job.
>
>

[Cindy]

Ken wrote:
> I think the second is true, your water company must be doing a good
> job. Here, they are importing outside water since they are running
> out... turns out there is a little to much of the wrong thing in it
> and people's Koi fish are dying off in the ponds after they top off
> their water. That is why I am now an avid bottled water drinker.
>
> Ken

EEeeeuw. Where are you?

Cindy

[Ken]

Riverside, California -- an hour east of LA. (The story must have some truth
to it, the news was warning people to be careful since pond owners were
loosing their prize Koi.)

Ken

"Cindy" > wrote in message
om...
> Ken wrote:
> > I think the second is true, your water company must be doing a good
> > job. Here, they are importing outside water since they are running
> > out... turns out there is a little to much of the wrong thing in it
> > and people's Koi fish are dying off in the ponds after they top off
> > their water. That is why I am now an avid bottled water drinker.
> >
> > Ken
>
> EEeeeuw. Where are you?
>
> Cindy
>
>

[Anthony Pruitt]

"Anthony Pruitt" > wrote
> For it's size, it's relatively light. My brother and I easily carried it
> around to the back yard. As for filling it, easy too. I don't use RO or DI
> water, I've had reefs for close to 15 years and never had a problem using
> good ole tap water. Either I'm very lucky or the local water company does
> an
> excellent job.
>
>


Ok, I finally decided what to do with this thing. It looked so good sitting
in the backyard, I left it there. I buried it just barely above the grade of
the yard to keep the runoff out of it. If you have never had the pleasure of
digging a 6 foot diameter hole, 30 inches deep, you've never
lived...*groans* I hid the edges with stone and installed an external pond
filter. After filling it up with the garden hose and adding a few lilies and
lotus and some cattails, it looks pretty good. So instead of a massive sump
for my reefs, it now houses 10 butterfly sarassa comets. So, one day,
several blisters and an aching back later, I have a killer watergarden.

[Marc Levenson]

Hi Rod,

What do you do for DT's? Is A Splash of Life still around?

Marc


Rod wrote:

> Hi Pszemol,
> The move is going slow for them. It will probably be the end of October before
> they move. The old store is sort of empty since my tanks are no longer there..
> Im not with A Splash anymore. Setting things back up at my place. I think I saw
> a post on reefland that you were asking about my old place, but it was after I
> closed the doors to become part owner of DTs. I am thinking of opening the
> doors again very soon.

--
Personal Page:
http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com

[Rod]

>What do you do for DT's? Is A Splash of Life still around?

Hi Marc,
Dennis offered me a 49% partnership after visiting what was my coral farm at
the time(4+ years ago I had a pretty good internet biz going). We worked
together for about 2.5 years, then went our seperate ways. A good split.. We
get along great, and his product(s) cant be matched. ( A new food(s) on the
horizon that I am totally stoked for!)

Splash is still around sort of.. They are moving, but they have shut their
doors until the new place is opened. I dont hang out there anymore and am doing
my own thing again.

[Marc Levenson]

Sounds like you made a good choice. Good for you!

Marc


Rod wrote:

>>What do you do for DT's? Is A Splash of Life still around?
>
>
> Hi Marc,
> Dennis offered me a 49% partnership after visiting what was my coral farm at
> the time(4+ years ago I had a pretty good internet biz going). We worked
> together for about 2.5 years, then went our seperate ways. A good split.. We
> get along great, and his product(s) cant be matched. ( A new food(s) on the
> horizon that I am totally stoked for!)
>
> Splash is still around sort of.. They are moving, but they have shut their
> doors until the new place is opened. I dont hang out there anymore and am doing
> my own thing again.
>
>

--
Personal Page:
http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com