Progress Breeds Questions

[sgrien]

Well, Construction is underway for my new 75 Gal Reef. The setup is
located in my basement being an in wall design. I have the luxury of
having my basement split into a finished side and an unfinished side
lending me plenty of work space behind the tank..:) I've built the
stand and the finish work around the tank, and located my old 45 gal
underneath for my sump. I have 35" from the bottom of my sump to the
bottom of my display tank. I ordered the glass for my baffles which
will give me a depth of 16" of water in the sump. Now, I would like to
know a couple things about skimmers. I have read that some (or all) in
sump skimmers need to be placed on a platform of some kind to maintain
a certain optimum operating depth? Is this true or will most of them
(namely Turbofloter, or Red Sea) operate right at the bottom of the
sump, given my 16" depth?? I have never owned or seen a skimmer first
hand other than pictures and some at the LFS and am just a little
confused about their overall operation. Other notable measurements
that may affect (or may not) placement is the 11" I have from the top
of my sump to the bottom of my stand to maneuver items into and out of
the sump. Do any of you experts see any problems here or am I ok?
Another question I have is regarding the temperature of the basement.
It is not heated and gets pretty cold down there in the winter months
(50-60 degrees on the unfinished side). Would you suggest additional
heaters in this environment? One thing for certain, I won't be needing
a chiller :)
Thanks for your help. You folks have been a great help to me so far
in setting up my "Dream Reef"......:)

-Scott

[Marc Levenson]

Hi Scott,

If you buy a skimmer, it will tell you in the instructions exactly how deep in
water it can sit. For example, the Aqua C Ev series can sit in 8" of water now
(IIRC) compared to prior units that could only sit in 4" of water.

If the water level it too tall, the water level will be the same height inside
the skimmer which reduces the bubble reaction area and produces very wet
skimmate. So if the section the skimmer is going in is 16" deep, you'll need to
create a stand that the skimmer can sit on that will put it at the proper depth
(or height).

Euroreef skimmer can be in even deeper waters, btw. The Aqua C urchin can be in
a 11" of water. Since you have a 75g, you might opt to buy the Urchin Pro -
rated for 125g.

Whatever your tank's volume of water (including the sump) is, you'll need a
heater to maintain temperature. As a safety, you are better off using two
heaters rather than one large one. Figure out what you need, and divide that by
two. Get two heaters that are that wattage. If one heater fails to turn on,
the other will still do what it can to keep your tank warm, and if one sticks on
and tries to cook the tank, it doesn't have the ability to destroy your reef.

Marc


sgrien wrote:

> Well, Construction is underway for my new 75 Gal Reef. The setup is
> located in my basement being an in wall design. I have the luxury of
> having my basement split into a finished side and an unfinished side
> lending me plenty of work space behind the tank..:) I've built the
> stand and the finish work around the tank, and located my old 45 gal
> underneath for my sump. I have 35" from the bottom of my sump to the
> bottom of my display tank. I ordered the glass for my baffles which
> will give me a depth of 16" of water in the sump. Now, I would like to
> know a couple things about skimmers. I have read that some (or all) in
> sump skimmers need to be placed on a platform of some kind to maintain
> a certain optimum operating depth? Is this true or will most of them
> (namely Turbofloter, or Red Sea) operate right at the bottom of the
> sump, given my 16" depth?? I have never owned or seen a skimmer first
> hand other than pictures and some at the LFS and am just a little
> confused about their overall operation. Other notable measurements
> that may affect (or may not) placement is the 11" I have from the top
> of my sump to the bottom of my stand to maneuver items into and out of
> the sump. Do any of you experts see any problems here or am I ok?
> Another question I have is regarding the temperature of the basement.
> It is not heated and gets pretty cold down there in the winter months
> (50-60 degrees on the unfinished side). Would you suggest additional
> heaters in this environment? One thing for certain, I won't be needing
> a chiller :)
> Thanks for your help. You folks have been a great help to me so far
> in setting up my "Dream Reef"......:)
>
> -Scott

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

[sgrien]

Thanks Marc,

How do people feel about the AquaC injection system Vs. traditional
airstone or venturi systems in terms of efficiency and maintenance?

Scott

Marc Levenson > wrote in message >...
> Hi Scott,
>
> If you buy a skimmer, it will tell you in the instructions exactly how deep in
> water it can sit. For example, the Aqua C Ev series can sit in 8" of water now
> (IIRC) compared to prior units that could only sit in 4" of water.
>
> If the water level it too tall, the water level will be the same height inside
> the skimmer which reduces the bubble reaction area and produces very wet
> skimmate. So if the section the skimmer is going in is 16" deep, you'll need to
> create a stand that the skimmer can sit on that will put it at the proper depth
> (or height).
>
> Euroreef skimmer can be in even deeper waters, btw. The Aqua C urchin can be in
> a 11" of water. Since you have a 75g, you might opt to buy the Urchin Pro -
> rated for 125g.
>
> Whatever your tank's volume of water (including the sump) is, you'll need a
> heater to maintain temperature. As a safety, you are better off using two
> heaters rather than one large one. Figure out what you need, and divide that by
> two. Get two heaters that are that wattage. If one heater fails to turn on,
> the other will still do what it can to keep your tank warm, and if one sticks on
> and tries to cook the tank, it doesn't have the ability to destroy your reef.
>
> Marc
>
>
> sgrien wrote:
>
> > Well, Construction is underway for my new 75 Gal Reef. The setup is
> > located in my basement being an in wall design. I have the luxury of
> > having my basement split into a finished side and an unfinished side
> > lending me plenty of work space behind the tank..:) I've built the
> > stand and the finish work around the tank, and located my old 45 gal
> > underneath for my sump. I have 35" from the bottom of my sump to the
> > bottom of my display tank. I ordered the glass for my baffles which
> > will give me a depth of 16" of water in the sump. Now, I would like to
> > know a couple things about skimmers. I have read that some (or all) in
> > sump skimmers need to be placed on a platform of some kind to maintain
> > a certain optimum operating depth? Is this true or will most of them
> > (namely Turbofloter, or Red Sea) operate right at the bottom of the
> > sump, given my 16" depth?? I have never owned or seen a skimmer first
> > hand other than pictures and some at the LFS and am just a little
> > confused about their overall operation. Other notable measurements
> > that may affect (or may not) placement is the 11" I have from the top
> > of my sump to the bottom of my stand to maneuver items into and out of
> > the sump. Do any of you experts see any problems here or am I ok?
> > Another question I have is regarding the temperature of the basement.
> > It is not heated and gets pretty cold down there in the winter months
> > (50-60 degrees on the unfinished side). Would you suggest additional
> > heaters in this environment? One thing for certain, I won't be needing
> > a chiller :)
> > Thanks for your help. You folks have been a great help to me so far
> > in setting up my "Dream Reef"......:)
> >
> > -Scott

[Marc Levenson]

I love the injectors. They need to be clean occasionally, but that is so simple. Unscrew,
run a brush in the injector, replace.

Marc


sgrien wrote:

> Thanks Marc,
>
> How do people feel about the AquaC injection system Vs. traditional
> airstone or venturi systems in terms of efficiency and maintenance?
>
> Scott
>
> Marc Levenson > wrote in message >...
> > Hi Scott,
> >
> > If you buy a skimmer, it will tell you in the instructions exactly how deep in
> > water it can sit. For example, the Aqua C Ev series can sit in 8" of water now
> > (IIRC) compared to prior units that could only sit in 4" of water.
> >
> > If the water level it too tall, the water level will be the same height inside
> > the skimmer which reduces the bubble reaction area and produces very wet
> > skimmate. So if the section the skimmer is going in is 16" deep, you'll need to
> > create a stand that the skimmer can sit on that will put it at the proper depth
> > (or height).
> >
> > Euroreef skimmer can be in even deeper waters, btw. The Aqua C urchin can be in
> > a 11" of water. Since you have a 75g, you might opt to buy the Urchin Pro -
> > rated for 125g.
> >
> > Whatever your tank's volume of water (including the sump) is, you'll need a
> > heater to maintain temperature. As a safety, you are better off using two
> > heaters rather than one large one. Figure out what you need, and divide that by
> > two. Get two heaters that are that wattage. If one heater fails to turn on,
> > the other will still do what it can to keep your tank warm, and if one sticks on
> > and tries to cook the tank, it doesn't have the ability to destroy your reef.
> >
> > Marc
> >
> >
> > sgrien wrote:
> >
> > > Well, Construction is underway for my new 75 Gal Reef. The setup is
> > > located in my basement being an in wall design. I have the luxury of
> > > having my basement split into a finished side and an unfinished side
> > > lending me plenty of work space behind the tank..:) I've built the
> > > stand and the finish work around the tank, and located my old 45 gal
> > > underneath for my sump. I have 35" from the bottom of my sump to the
> > > bottom of my display tank. I ordered the glass for my baffles which
> > > will give me a depth of 16" of water in the sump. Now, I would like to
> > > know a couple things about skimmers. I have read that some (or all) in
> > > sump skimmers need to be placed on a platform of some kind to maintain
> > > a certain optimum operating depth? Is this true or will most of them
> > > (namely Turbofloter, or Red Sea) operate right at the bottom of the
> > > sump, given my 16" depth?? I have never owned or seen a skimmer first
> > > hand other than pictures and some at the LFS and am just a little
> > > confused about their overall operation. Other notable measurements
> > > that may affect (or may not) placement is the 11" I have from the top
> > > of my sump to the bottom of my stand to maneuver items into and out of
> > > the sump. Do any of you experts see any problems here or am I ok?
> > > Another question I have is regarding the temperature of the basement.
> > > It is not heated and gets pretty cold down there in the winter months
> > > (50-60 degrees on the unfinished side). Would you suggest additional
> > > heaters in this environment? One thing for certain, I won't be needing
> > > a chiller :)
> > > Thanks for your help. You folks have been a great help to me so far
> > > in setting up my "Dream Reef"......:)
> > >
> > > -Scott

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