New member with a few questions

[leyth]

Hey guys I have been wanting to get into this hobby for a couple of months now, and I have done a ton of research. It seems the information is never ending though. I hate posting questions, because I am sure these questions have been answered before. However, I am exhausted with this one that I could not find the answer to.

If I purchase an RO/DI unit, will it be running 24/7? I am hoping to have a 40-60 gallon tank with a sump. How often will I be changing water? Would I be able to just run the RO/DI unit when I need water from it?

Also, I am a bit fearful of a pump failing. Although I could use an overflow to prevent this, does anyone run two pumps in case of this issue occuring? I have heard of two mini heaters, but haven't seen anyone with two pumps.

Anyone have any recommendations of where I should pickup a 40-60 gallon tank? I really like the Marineland 60RR and Deep Blue 57RR Cubes.

Thanks ahead for your help,

Leyth

 

[jennm]

Welcome to ARC!

No you don't have to run your RO all the time. Turn off the source water and only run it when you need it.

If you have a powerhead or two in your main tank, if your return pump fails, you'll still have water movement in the tank. Plug the powerhead(s) in to a different circuit for extra "insurance" in case the breaker with the return pump trips (or vice versa). It's not a common issue, at least not without warning, but that can prevent a problem.

Are you looking for new or used equipment? If you're looking for new, I can help Just let me know.

Cheers,
Jenn

 

[leyth]

Oh wow thank you for the prompt response.

Now the powerheads staying on, that won't prevent the sump from overflowing due to a return pump failure right? The powerheads only add water movement to the tank right? I was planning to get as many as I need to keep proper circulation, but I might have overlooked the actual importance of a powerhead. Are they absolutely vital to the life of an aquarium?

As for the equipment. I really haven't found the pros or cons of buying used vs buying new for aquariums. I do prefer new of course, but the price differences between the two can be quite large sometimes. I basically want a 40-60 gallon tank, preferrably a cube, but I haven't ruled out the rectangle tanks just yet. Basically, if the price is right, I will buy it new to ensure quality, and prevent saltwater all over my living room in the future haha.

 

[jennm]

If the tank is set up properly, there will be enough room in the sump to accommodate the water that drops out of the plumbing, in the event of a power failure, the pump being unplugged, or the pump failing. Most folks unplug their return pump while doing a water change (so it doesn't run dry) and everybody experiences a power failure from time to time.

Having a large enough sump, and making sure that your return plumbing has a siphon-break in it (so water from the return line doesn't suck back down and create a back-siphon), and knowing how full to have your sump, are easy steps (when you know how - we can show you), to prevent the sump from overflowing.

My contact info is in my signature line if you'd like pricing information, contact me privately and I can certainly help you out.

Oh - and "spillage" is inevitable But a correctly set-up tank/sump will mitigate that problem. Most water on the floor is because a human accidentally poured it there! :lol:

Jenn

 

[rdnelson]

JennM;789648 wrote: Most water on the floor is because a human accidentally poured it there! :lol:

Jenn

Hey I resemble that remark!!!!!!

Welcome Leyth. Glad to have you join us. If you have done the research you say you have you have won the biggest battle. It takes a ton of research but to that is the fun part. As for not wanting to ask question I only have one thing to say. WHY???? LOL Most of the people on this site like to here themselves talk (well at least I do) and they love to share what they know. Ask all the questions you want and someone will chime in. Some good, some bad. But you will never be left without an answer.

 

[leyth]

rdnelson99;789653 wrote: Hey I resemble that remark!!!!!!

Welcome Leyth. Glad to have you join us. If you have done the research you say you have you have won the biggest battle. It takes a ton of research but to that is the fun part. As for not wanting to ask question I only have one thing to say. WHY???? LOL Most of the people on this site like to here themselves talk (well at least I do) and they love to share what they know. Ask all the questions you want and someone will chime in. Some good, some bad. But you will never be left without an answer.

Hahaha that's good to hear. Most forums stress searching before posting, so I didn't want to be known as that guy at this forum. I appreciate the welcomes I receive at this board. Thanks guys.

 

[rdnelson]

Oh there are those on this forum too and doing your own research generally helps you retain what you learned better but, by asking the question and getting an answer, someone else may read it and learn something new. I have never had an original thought in my life. I steal everything from someone else. Oh, and JennM is easy pickens. LOL But you can take what she says to the bank.

 

[schwaggs]

Welcome!

When I setup my latest tank 7 years ago (wow, I can't balieve it has been that long) I setup dual return pumps for reliability. They are on separate electrical circuits as well. While having 2 active pumps has helped in a few cases over the years, I don't think it is worth it in the end. If you buy quality hardware, it will not fail very often. I have been running Iwaki pumps for over 20 years and never had one fail. If you are really worried about quick recovering from A failure, buy a backup pump and set it on the shelf.

That being said, you do need to build your system to handle a pump failure or more common situation of a power outage. Your sump MUST be able to hold all the water that drains down when the power goes out. It is for this reason, that most sumps are setup to be only half full when running. The challenge comes when you don't have enough room for a large enough sump. You may have to run the level fairly low... Once you have your system setup, fill it with regular tap water, run it for a couple days to make sure there are no leaks, test turning the power off to ensure your sump has enough room. Once you are happy with your setup, drain all the water out and fill with RODI and salt and you are ready go!

 

[leyth]

Schwaggs;789743 wrote: Welcome!

When I setup my latest tank 7 years ago (wow, I can't balieve it has been that long) I setup dual return pumps for reliability. They are on separate electrical circuits as well. While having 2 active pumps has helped in a few cases over the years, I don't think it is worth it in the end. If you buy quality hardware, it will not fail very often. I have been running Iwaki pumps for over 20 years and never had one fail. If you are really worried about quick recovering from A failure, buy a backup pump and set it on the shelf.

That being said, you do need to build your system to handle a pump failure or more common situation of a power outage. Your sump MUST be able to hold all the water that drains down when the power goes out. It is for this reason, that most sumps are setup to be only half full when running. The challenge comes when you don't have enough room for a large enough sump. You may have to run the level fairly low... Once you have your system setup, fill it with regular tap water, run it for a couple days to make sure there are no leaks, test turning the power off to ensure your sump has enough room. Once you are happy with your setup, drain all the water out and fill with RODI and salt and you are ready go!

Hey that is excellent advice. I will definitely like to invest in a large sump then. I learned that the more water in your system the better anyways.

Also, I have another question. I may not completely understand how the plumbing works, but here goes. When water is in the overflow, all that water is on its way to the Skimmer right? So if the pump stops, that water is going to go down to the Skimmer. Well if everything is functional, wouldn't the speed of the water flow need to be matched somehow to ensure the water is being skimmed at the same rate as the pump is returning the water?

 

[ralph atl]

Welcome! I can answer many questions, however, plumbing is not one of them...I still can't figure that out sometimes and water is on the floor...I did change my hardwood floor to travertine stone a few years back because of this....

 

[schwaggs]

Leyth;789871 wrote:
Also, I have another question. I may not completely understand how the plumbing works, but here goes. When water is in the overflow, all that water is on its way to the Skimmer right? So if the pump stops, that water is going to go down to the Skimmer. Well if everything is functional, wouldn't the speed of the water flow need to be matched somehow to ensure the water is being skimmed at the same rate as the pump is returning the water?

There are a few ways to setup your skimmer. Mine is setup in the classic way where it sits in a section of my sump and pulls water from that chamber, skims it, puts it back in that chamber. Water from the overflows enters one end of the skimmer section and flows out the other to the refugium or return section. While this doesn't expose every drop of water to the skimmer on each pass, it does over time as the water is continuously circulated through the system.

The other type is called a recirculating skimmer setup. In this type, all the water from the returns is plumbed into the skimmer, is skimmed, then returned to the sump.

You need to get the right type of skimmer for the type of setup you plan on running as they are built and plumbed quite differently.

I don't know which is better, but the classic approach works just fine for me...

 

[leyth]

I understand, and that makes sense. I need to do some research on plumbing then to figure out what method would be best for me. Thanks for your advice!

 

[sewer urchin]

Welcome to the club,
sounds like you off on the right track... research, research and more research. I read a lot and tried to figure out have to search the the site, it helped a bunch.

The best two pieces of advise I can give

take it slow, only bad things happen fast (yaeh I stole, so sue me) and

use some sort of vacumn break to make sure that you don't "auto-siphon" back into the sump

Good luck!

 

[ripped tide]

Sewer Urchin;789976 wrote:

take it slow, only bad things happen fast

That's what she said!

Welcome to the club! You'll find that there are a lot of resourceful, helpful people here.

This is one of those hobbies that will continue to teach you new lessons. I hope you enjoy learning

 

[sewer urchin]

That's what she said!

I've had no complaits, at least not as many as other members:fingersx:

You'll find that there are a lot of resourceful, helpful people here.

It's the respectable ones that are hard to find... just j/k

Edit: oh I thought that smile thing was using a different finger... oh well

 

[ripped tide]

Sewer Urchin;789988 wrote: I've had no complaits, at least not as many as other members:fingersx:


It's the respectable ones that are hard to find... just j/k

Edit: oh I thought that smile thing was using a different finger... oh well

Lol! That would be pretty cool if there was a comicon flipping the bird. I think too many people would get offended though.

 

[sewer urchin]

yeah... but it would be well used

 

[ripped tide]

:nono:

This one is pretty close!

 

[rdnelson]

Leyth, for the time being, don't worry too much about the plumbing. Pick the equipment you want to use and start getting it all together. Plumbing is a lot easier than a lot of people think and when you get close to being ready, we can all help you out with plumbing design and methods. We can share a few pics on how we did ours. You will find that you catch on pretty quick if you at handy.

 

[leyth]

rdnelson99;790034 wrote: Leyth, for the time being, don't worry too much about the plumbing. Pick the equipment you want to use and start getting it all together. Plumbing is a lot easier than a lot of people think and when you get close to being ready, we can all help you out with plumbing design and methods. We can share a few pics on how we did ours. You will find that you catch on pretty quick if you at handy.

Sounds good. I am currently shopping around for a 60ish gallon tank at the moment. Trying to decide between a cube or rectangular setup at the moment. I will keep you guys updated once I get the tank and stand, and we can go from there. Thanks for your support.