My SCA 66g Upgrade
- Thread starter hiimsean
- Start date
Yes use them all the time for my acrylic tanks- works great! Make sure original with no soap or additives
So I’m still debating on how to setup my sump. I’ve got the main drain chamber behind the skimmer and the skimmer section on the left side. They are open to each other at the bottom.
Here’s where I’m deciding what I should do. So I can put my return pump in the middle chamber with my heater and a bio plate. I was thinking of using the right chamber as a fuge/grow area. It’d just be more equipment packed in the stand.
Or I can keep it simple and clean and leave the middle for the biological filter media and anything I may want to add in the future and have the return and heater in the last chamber.
Here’s where I’m deciding what I should do. So I can put my return pump in the middle chamber with my heater and a bio plate. I was thinking of using the right chamber as a fuge/grow area. It’d just be more equipment packed in the stand.
Or I can keep it simple and clean and leave the middle for the biological filter media and anything I may want to add in the future and have the return and heater in the last chamber.
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Don't know which bioplate you're going to use but I've recently had some issues, fortunately I don't have coral in the display yet. I had read about the Marinepure plates leeching aluminum so I got a Brightwell's Xport plate for the display sump and blocks for the frag sump at startup at the end of March. I sent off ICP tests at the end of September to get baselines and they both came back with elevated aluminum. I also got the RO water and mixed fresh SW done at the same time and neither of those had aluminum at all. The only other things those two systems had in common were the Xport and the food I feed, they're not connected. The frozen I feed is Hikari & PE mysis along with cubes of Emerald Entree, Marine Cuisine with a few others. I also feed popular pellet brands and Nori. I've never seen Aluminum in my prior systems before. I've since pulled all of the plate & blocks and threw them in the trash.
They say GFO will remove the aluminum. I sure hope so...
I feel like I just want to throw this whole build into a trash can and start over. With the sump from SCA there's not a lot of room in the stand so I decided to go with a new sump. I bought a Fiji 20 cube. I checked everything would fit especially my skimmer. Got the sump today and it doesn't. The skimmer venturi doesn't have enough room UNLESS I take a dremel to the sump where it flows from the filter sock compartment to the skimmer compartment and just notch it a little. IDK how I feel about doing that so then I'd have to find a different skimmer.
Then I'm searching around and I cannot find the actual power brick for my skimmer that connects to the controller. I've had the skimmer for about a year now waiting on the build to start so I can't say if I lost it or never received it. It looks like most online stores are out of stock with a replacement too. It just seems like one of those days where nothing can go right.
Then I'm searching around and I cannot find the actual power brick for my skimmer that connects to the controller. I've had the skimmer for about a year now waiting on the build to start so I can't say if I lost it or never received it. It looks like most online stores are out of stock with a replacement too. It just seems like one of those days where nothing can go right.
Well I got some stuff accomplished with the tank today. I picked up some 3/4” conduit, bent it and prepped with acid to paint. It takes 48hrs to cure but really cleaned the conduit well. I plan on mounting the lights 10” above the tank with another 5” above in case I need to raise it a bit. I then did the unthinkable and cut the sump. Doing a leak check now but it looks like a perfect fit for the skimmer now. I took off a pice about 1/4” high and smoothed the area out. It’s not pretty but it works. Hopefully next weekend I’ll start filling the tank.
Attachments
Who knew sand would be this dirty
I’m getting back on track with the build. Last week was a bust for getting anything done. Monday afternoon I was admitted to the hospital and was there till Wednesday evening.
This weekend I got the light mounts painted, all hardware to mount them, sand washed and sump put together after leak checking it all week. I have some plumbing parts coming today and hopefully next weekend I’ll have water in it.
This weekend I got the light mounts painted, all hardware to mount them, sand washed and sump put together after leak checking it all week. I have some plumbing parts coming today and hopefully next weekend I’ll have water in it.
I hope you can find the power supply to the Regal, it was a great deal last year and it's a great skimmer. If Reef Octopus was discounted as much this Black Friday as last, I would have replaced the one on my frag tank with a second one just for the float switch.
Did some work on the rocks tonight. Any suggestions? I’m thinking more SPS or encrusting corals on the right side and trying to stick my anemones and some flowing stuff on the left but I’m not real set on anything. I might take hammer and screwdriver to some rock to break it up since I do have some large, chunky pieces.
