New sump and ato project DIY

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Nick Shades

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This is a project I started in the beginning of March after I realized that my existing sump had a cracked in it.

I kept seeing water around the base of the stand but couldn't quite track it. I was filling my sump by about a gallon of water every day and the rate of evaporation seemed ridiculous. My skimmer was also working terrible and while changing out the pump with a new one, I discovered the crack.


[video=youtube;ksUe1RvdMtg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksUe1RvdMtg[/video]


Cross post of this from fw club forum, hence to the fw references and comments i make of the skimmer, etc. I had a couple people ask there about basic sump construction there,.
 
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sklywag

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Funny we watch videos of others working on their projects. I've seen those parts on Ebay as well. Rediculously expensive as you mentioned.

Question. Is there a reason your intake for your skimmer faces your fuge instead of your sock? Which makes me wonder if people just throw them in facing any which direction or so they can reach the adjustment or access to removing cup. I always made/make mine face the drain pipe to collect as much water from display as possible. Wonder if it matters. Must not since direct feed faded away.

Forgive me for not doing a bunch of searching on you and your setup or setups. This was on what size tank?

And clean up your wiring. Bugged the crap out of me. What I've always done was screw hooks into the roof of the stand. Coiling the cords, zip tying them or twisties and then hanging them from the hooks if you can picture that in your mind. So from appliance, straight up, coil on hook and then whatever is needed to reach power source.
 
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Nick Shades

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90 gallon dt, 20 gallon long sump.

I have the skimmer intake facing the fuge because it is way too diffucult to adjust by reaching back behind the stand, or over the sump. In an ideal situation, it would be facing the sock.

After i took this video, i started fixing the cord management. I had to pull everything out very quickly when i started the sump, so i basically disconnected everything except the vortech on the DT.

I've got to figure out a slightly better switch for the ato. I did not expect its leads to only be 10" long.
 
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sklywag

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Those leads are always short. Just looked at mine and they maybe 20". Longer than they normally come with. Don't remember if I lucked out or managed to find find a switch with longer leads. I think you and I are the only DIY ATO users. No one seems to trust them but us. Never a problem in 12-13 years.
I'm not using that extra electronic thing you are. I just went between one side of the extension cord I used.
 

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Nick Shades

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sklywag said:
Those leads are always short. Just looked at mine and they maybe 20". Longer than they normally come with. Don't remember if I lucked out or managed to find find a switch with longer leads. I think you and I are the only DIY ATO users. No one seems to trust them but us. Never a problem in 12-13 years.
I'm not using that extra electronic thing you are. I just went between one side of the extension cord I used.
Click to expand...
I thought that the relay *might* not be absolutely necessary, but i always wanted to try one on a project. The fact that you've got running for a couple years does not make me surprised, but i wanted to be safe.
 
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Nick Shades

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Nick Shades said:
I thought that the relay *might* not be absolutely necessary, but i always wanted to try one on a project. The fact that you've got running for a couple years does not make me surprised, but i wanted to be safe.
Click to expand...
I wanted to add that the main reason I chose to try a relay was because I always wanted to have a tide and current system in place that was dynamic to the tank.

I originally looked into an arduino system,but am not an especially knowledgeable programmer. Old school,however, a relay system can be controlled dynamically by the existing environment in the tank and also can have a board custom developed inexpensively for controls.

So. Perhaps in 6 months, I will try and develop one with the same principals that I have here.
 
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sklywag

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Tide and current? All today's pumps do that. Or you just want to make your own? But the short shaft of the float switch would make for something like the old Tunze wave box. Or are you thinking more like a dump bucket type deal?

One thing I did learn is or at least in my experience, larger volume water pumps don't like these types of switches. Think the power draw is too much for them. But that might be where your relay comes in.

Just looked up Arduino. Over my head.
 
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Nick Shades

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sklywag said:
Tide and current? All today's pumps do that. Or you just want to make your own? But the short shaft of the float switch would make for something like the old Tunze wave box. Or are you thinking more like a dump bucket type deal?

One thing I did learn is or at least in my experience, larger volume water pumps don't like these types of switches. Think the power draw is too much for them. But that might be where your relay comes in.

Just looked up Arduino. Over my head.
Click to expand...
The relay has 4 control phases available to it. I was planning to control two powered solenoid valves and redirect water from one side of the tank to the other all from one pump.
 
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sklywag

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Nick Shades said:
The relay has 4 control phases available to it. I was planning to control two powered solenoid valves and redirect water from one side of the tank to the other all from one pump.
Click to expand...
For some reason people don't like them, say they're faulty, another product I never had a problem with, I find SCWDs to be excellent for this type of predictable ebb and flow.
I'm actually going back to Koralias and a controller I found in my garage. Although I've usd it(WP-25)for a few years now and modded a Current USA eflux to a Jebao controller. I don't care for the random flow they put out. But I don't expect much happiness with the switch hence I haven't done it yet because it's a peninnsula style tank I hate. My opinion, are horrible tanks to set flow up in. Need a laminar flow from bottom to top towards the overflow as opposed to omni or ebb and flow that a center or near center overflow allows.
 
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Nick Shades

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People say the solenoid valves are faulty?

I've never worked with one in saltwater, but i really want to play with two in order to make tides and surges. The concept i was considering for one was going to be a separare fill reservoir that would drain to it from a separate overflow and/or a controlling drain solenoid.



I've been looking at the reef pi system, and it is so much more affordable, as well as customizable than an apex, so building it up piece by piece is what i find the most alluring.

I will have to mock up the build quite a bit. I saw a similar surge system at the monterey bay aquarium about 6 or 7 years ago and was fascinated by it, and have always wanted to build one on a smaller scale.
 
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sklywag

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I should have started with SCWDs, not my impression of what others think of them or mine. Typing like my oldest kid sometimes talks. Starts a conversation in the middle.

There was a guy on RC that lived in Torrance I believe that had a surge system on his tank. Someone on here might remember the guy. His house was pretty insane. His whole backyard was a pond and he buried a couple of thousand gallon tanks in his front yard for water storage.

I mentioned going back to Koralias earlier. Called Chewy to cancel order as FedEx showed up at my door. They accepted. Reason? Bought a Red Sea Max 130D today to swap over to from an ugly scratched up 45g acrylic I was going to use them in. That means I'll have an acrylic DIY sump for sale soon. 36x10x15 3 chamber.
 
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Nick Shades

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I never read about SCWDs before, but from what I've seen so far, their silent allure is that they are not controlled by electricity at all.

The solenoids i am interested in should be able to avoid a traditional salt water creep freeze.
 
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