~New to saltwater - 29gal w/15 gal sump~

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lovejc03

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Hi everyone! My bf and I are new to salt water aquariums. Just started about 2 weeks ago. We have a 29 gallon tank and recently we bought a 15 gallon for the sump. The sump will have 4 baffles, a refugium, pump, skimmer & heater.

We've built a stand and are currently finishing our plumbing & we'll also be installing the baffles into our sump tonight. Made an internal overflow the other night, it looks pretty good. Can't wait to get some water flowing through it! We drilled 2 1 3/4'' holes in it the other day and installed 1'' bulkheads. We just got our light tonight, it looks great. We've got good deals on pretty much everything we've bought. My bf has done all the plumbing & building. :)

We lack: RO/DI, skimmer, powerhead(1), heater(2) + all the fun fish stuff (lol)

We plan on having live rock, live sand & soft corals.


Just wanted to join and share our aquarium with everyone & hopefully learn stuff in the process! :yes:
 
Just after it was drilled & after bulkheads were installed.
drilledbulkheads.jpg
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Plumbing finished! Now doing baffles
plumbing92.jpg
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Sounds like you've done your research, welcome to ARC.
 
Welcome, just remember take your time. Don't add fish/corals until your tank is cycled. If your not sure about something just ask.

Edit: Welcome, just remember take your time. Don't add fish/corals until your tank is cycled. If your not sure about something just ask.
 
Welcome :)

Just an observation - your return line is significantly lower than the drain - do you plan to install a check valve on the return line? Reason being - if the power goes out, a LOT of water is going to drain into your sump, potentially overflowing the sump.

Jenn
 
Butch;683954 wrote: Nice setup. What pump are you using?
Click to expand...

We're using a Rio 2100

Edit:
JennM;683957 wrote: Welcome :)

Just an observation - your return line is significantly lower than the drain - do you plan to install a check valve on the return line? Reason being - if the power goes out, a LOT of water is going to drain into your sump, potentially overflowing the sump.

Jenn
Click to expand...

If you look at our plumbing, we have it all hooked up with check valves. :) We're just running the sump by itself with just the pump hooked to it. We haven't actually hooked "everything" together, just wanted to see if the sump was leaking.
 
Plumbing was a success!
tankrunning93.jpg
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Overflow
overflowrunning932.jpg
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Display tank
tankdisplayrunning93.jpg
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Sump hooked up to tank
sumprunning93.jpg
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We've got the blues!
runningblue93.jpg
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Looks great. I had to take a second look at one of your pics. The chains in the back looked like water spilling over!
 
Angcot70;684076 wrote: looks AWESOME! great job ... I am impressed, wanna build me one :)
Click to expand...

Thanks :) I am impressed as well.. can't wait to see what it'll look like with rock and fish! Haha sure!

Edit:
Butch;684085 wrote: Looks great. I had to take a second look at one of your pics. The chains in the back looked like water spilling over!
Click to expand...

Thanks.. nope just the chains for our bottom light, lol
 
Video of our tank running!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUg7aft_Y1E">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUg7aft_Y1E</a>

Only issue we're having is our check valve isn't closing. When we turn everything off and the water drains back into the sump.. it just keeps going! My bf took the plumbing off the back, blew into the pipe and I guess cleared it.. but when he hooked it back up it's still doing the same thing.

He did have to cut the teeth down a little more on on overflow..which got acrylic in the tank, but I'm not sure if it had anything to do with stopping the check valve up.

[B]Has anyone had this issue.. or have any thoughts as to what could be the problem? [/B]
 
James and Crystal
I am very impressed with your progress. You are doing all the right things for someone new to the hobby. All your research and planning shows , your tank looks awsome. Keep taking it slow and use this site for any questions and concerns, the people here are very helpful and will keep you from making expensive mistakes. Feel free to call with any questions you may have. :up: Jim
 
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