Progress pics of my 40g drilled bare bottom

[Ormarr]

Seeing as you have first hand experience with the 6 bulb Tek Light.  Is it possible to screw them into a canopy or something similar?

[xenon]

Seeing as you have first hand experience with the 6 bulb Tek Light.  Is it possible to screw them into a canopy or something similar?

You could screw it into a canopy but the heat build up would be pretty high.

I would definately go with the Tek retrofit instead. You will also save a few bucks. 

[Ormarr]

What should I use to cut acrylic?  I'm thinking of getting some tomorrow for some baffles.

[redbelly]

A tablesaw works well.
Ormarr, be sure those baffles are not tight to the sides of the aquarium. Acrylic expandes over time under water so it will be pushing on the glass if you make then tight to the sides.

[Ormarr]

I'll probably have it cut at Canus Plastics.  If my sump is 18 inches wide, how wide should I have them cut?  Or do I need to figure out the internal width of the sump?

[xiaan]

A tablesaw works well.
Ormarr, be sure those baffles are not tight to the sides of the aquarium. Acrylic expandes over time under water so it will be pushing on the glass if you make then tight to the sides.

I'll probably have it cut at Canus Plastics.  If my sump is 18 inches wide, how wide should I have them cut?  Or do I need to figure out the internal width of the sump?

Mine where a tight fit and it cracked the glass. I suggest measuring your internal diameter of your sump and have them cut around 1/4" - 1/8" smaller. what are you planning on attaching them with?

[Ormarr]

what are you planning on attaching them with?

That was my next question.  What should I use to fasten the baffles inside the sump?  Also, does the middle baffle rest on something to be higher than the other 2 or is it simply epoxied/glued an inch higher or so?

Since the sump has 1/4 inch glass, the internal width would be 17 and 1/2 inches wide.  What would you recommend the width of my acrylic pieces be?

[xenon]

That was my next question.  What should I use to fasten the baffles inside the sump?  Also, does the middle baffle rest on something to be higher than the other 2 or is it simply epoxied/glued an inch higher or so?

Since the sump has 1/4 inch glass, the internal width would be 17 and 1/2 inches wide.  What would you recommend the width of my acrylic pieces be?

Silicone is enough to keep the baffles in place. That's what I use. Make sure its marine safe.

To calculate the baffle size you need, measure the internal dimensions of your tank. If its exactly 18" outside and your glass is 1/4" thick then you need 17.5" for a tight fit. I usually get them to fit tight and sand one edge down so that I have a little play for expansion. I also round off the bottom corners to clear the silicone that was used on the bottom of the tank so that it sits flush on the bottom glass.

[Ormarr]

Thanks.  One more question about baffles.  Say my sump is 14.5 inches high, how high should I have my baffles cut?

I was thinking of setting up my sump like this:   skimmer > return < DSB/FUGE

and have 3 x 11 or 12 inch baffles between the skimmer and the return and 1 x 13 inch baffle with 1.5 inch grooves between the return and DSB/FUGE.

Does that sound ok?

[xenon]

Thanks.  One more question about baffles.  Say my sump is 14.5 inches high, how high should I have my baffles cut?

I was thinking of setting up my sump like this:   skimmer > return < DSB/FUGE

and have 3 x 11 or 12 inch baffles between the skimmer and the return and 1 x 13 inch baffle with 1.5 inch grooves between the return and DSB/FUGE.

Does that sound ok?

It all depends.

If you have room you place your skimmer on a stand inside your sump then the baffles height can be higher. If you don't have the room for a stand you need to make sure the baffles are at the perfect height so that your skimmer gets the proper water level.

You also have to calculate how much water will drain from your display during a power outage and make sure there is enough room for that water to drain in your sump without overflowing.

[xenon]

Small update

I got an Aquasafe 5stage 100gpd RO/DI system today for $129 CAD. I was originally going to order the Spectrapure maxcap RO/DI system but it was hard to justify he price difference.

I am going to start dripping kalk to maintain cal/alk in my tank. I also added a Coralife dual power center. I had used one before on my 90g and never had any problems with it despite the issues I have read about them on the forums.

[sniggir]

the price is great... but horizontal DI are not as efficiant as the vertical... and the aqua safe also has a cheaper RO membrane... while this is easy to fix you will spen 50$ on a proper membrane and then you should change the DI to vertical.

[xenon]

the price is great... but horizontal DI are not as efficiant as the vertical... and the aqua safe also has a cheaper RO membrane... while this is easy to fix you will spen 50$ on a proper membrane and then you should change the DI to vertical.

Yep, that's the plan. When all the filters are due to be replaced they are all getting upgraded.

[Aquaviewer]

the price is great... but horizontal DI are not as efficiant as the vertical... and the aqua safe also has a cheaper RO membrane... while this is easy to fix you will spen 50$ on a proper membrane and then you should change the DI to vertical.

I'm curious, are you referring to a mod you can do to this DI system to change it to vertical?

[xenon]

I'm curious, are you referring to a mod you can do to this DI system to change it to vertical?

It's not a mod. I will just remove the horizontal DI's and buy this.

http://www.spectrapure.com/St_MaxCap_D2.htm

[sniggir]

yup or you can get it through redbelly at ottawa inverts

[Ormarr]

Is there really such a big difference between the horizontal DI and the vertical DI unit?

Should I get this unit or a 75gpd Purely H2O unit for ~$200?

[sniggir]

the purely H2O are to of the line are use high end membraine's where as the other uses cheaper Chinese part. the diference between the vertical and horizontal is the vertical doesn't get the same amount of contact, as the horizontal.

[Funkmotor]

the diference between the vertical and horizontal is the vertical doesn't get the same amount of contact, as the horizontal.

I think he got that backwards...the vertical design passes the water through a lot more DI resin than the horizontal.  (I would think that rotating the horizontal DI containers about their axis every now and then might help that a bit.)

[xenon]

I did a really big water change today. This is the only way to keep good water quality on a skimmerless system.

I thought it was funny to see my corals and anemones out of the water so I snapped a few pics.