Re: HI Solar Powered Aquarium: RDSB      12/11/16
I'll hunt Pimpled Basked Snails in sandy tide pool areas with some meat. In "Hawaii Sea Creatures" (Hoover) it says they can kill small crabs and shrimp. But my coral banded shrimp should be good, right?
<Yes>
Drupes seem too predatory. If I can't find snails for my DSB am I doomed?
<Not doomed... worms, small crustaceans and much more can/will come to "do the job">
I'll keep the sea stars to the sump for detritus and remove the DSB in the sump to inoculate the Rubbermaid DSB.
<Ok>
I just added more crushed coral sand to my DT. Yes it's clearing up nice and fast with the bio-magnet clarifier but I have to say some of the sand chunks do seem rather large, like 1/4".
<Fine>
An old aquarium friend told me different sized substrate is good for growing different types of life.
<This is so>
I'm confuse why so much info in the DSB FAQs say only to use fine sand.
<Non-divers, non-studiers of bio.... perhaps sellers or stock holders of fine sand companies!>
I just stirred the front of my glass to make it look nicer i.e., different levels of sand and colors of algae. See pic.
<Nice>
Is this good practice, say quarterly?
<Monthly>
Before:
After
I'll substitute the basaltic non-porous rocks for my calcium-based rocks when they're done curing. But are they worth keeping in my RDSB?
<Worth keeping>
Or just get rid of them? The do make good platforms to build aquascaping upon....
Lastly, about that crab... He's a common rock crab with black pincher tips. I'm finding pieces of bristle worms everywhere and think he's pinching them in half. Would this be grounds for expulsion?
<Close to it>
It seemed to coincide with when I added sand. I kept finding dead worms. Maybe the layer of sand just killed them?
<Likely a contributing factor... the crab will not be able to find, consume all>
Mahalo.
<A hu'i hou! BobF>

Re: HI Solar Powered Aquarium: RDSB      12/11/16
I may not have mentioned that the drain line to the Rubbermaid from my DT is only 1”.
<Mmm; I don't think so; or at least very much hope I didn't miss this. "It" won't work... >
Do you still recommend that the overflow from the Rubbermaid to the sump be dual 2” bulkhead to bulkhead? Or will dual 1” suffice?
<It will not. PLEASE READ here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/SystemPIX/PlumbingPix/Oneinchart.htm
and the linked files above... incl. the FAQs files, detailing the trials, travails of folks who've had too few, too small drain lines. I'd have two-two inch at a minimum>
Also, there’s a layer of sediment on everything in the DT now that the sand settled that won’t blow away swishing my hand over it. I brushed lightly- hopefully goes away over time. It’s really clinging to the hair algae making it more pronounced, though. Do you want to shy away from completely scrubbing live rock? Of is this a case that may call for it?
In Gratitude,
<I'd lightly vacuum it away; a bit every week. B>
Sky Kubby

Re: HI Solar Powered Aquarium: RDSB     12/12/16
Sure enough, as the article stated, I just calculated my flow through my 1” pipe to be 300gph. I did this by the container filling method. However I’m not experiencing the issues outlined in the link you gave me. Yes, I have a lot of noise coming from my overflow box but it’s not because the water line is rising above the box, or creating siphoning issues. The noise is because the water falls so far. It flows in flex tubing out that wall and into the sump. So it seems I don’t have an issue with restricted flow out. Perhaps that will change when I run the outflow the length of the RubberMaid to dump in at the far left side.
<Sky; mate... When, not IF this one inch line become occluded... a snail, some gravel... Do NOT trust this line>
I’m not sure what you meant by:
"<"It" won't work... > "
The RubberMaid RDSB addition or my whole system?
<The plumbing here. PLEASE send along a diagram of your whole system. The going back and forth with bits/pieces is very easy for me to make mistakes here>
If I’m just having softies and want minimum wattage from a return pump so as to not tax my solar system, will the 300gph flow suffice?
<For how large a system? I'd have several volumes changed/recirculated per hour>
Or do you just mean that to you mean to have 2” overflows from the Rubbermaid to the sump won’t work.
>.... ALL through-puts should be over-sized and redundant<
Is the idea to keep it uniform diameter throughout? Since I have 1” pipe, I thought I’d be able to proceed with two 1” bulkheads from the RubberMaid to the sump. Or do I really need to I re-plumb the stock fitting that came with my 100g tank to 2” for my RDSB to “work”.
<ALL TWO INCH is the route I'd go>
The other issue is that I probably cannot fit two 2” bulkheads on the far side of my sump which is the curved part.
<Use the flush area of the Rubbermaid>
Maybe one with silicone. I understand the need for redundancy with the second bulkhead. The RubberMaid tub needs to be pushed up flush with the house to provide room to walk on the sidewalk around it. This kind of eliminates the bulkheads to go where they are supposed to (on the flat front and back sides).
<I'd sacrifice the sidewalk space>
I was hoping to plumb from the far R side, opposite to where the inflow would be on the L, to create a flow of current accrues the DSB.
<..... this makes no sense. Id est, I have no idea what you're referring to>B
Maybe I shouldn’t be hung up on this though the concept makes sense. I can re-plumb with 2” for better flow, but I wanted to make sure we were on the same page as I’m not shooting for growing SPS in high flow system. Of course, that would be cool if you think I could still manage with my little LEDs and supplemental natural sunlight.
Of course in the Rubbermaid is a different story. It get Full sunlight so I could probably grow some SPS there. But we already talked about this and you said it would be good as low flow. Tanks.
In Radiant Health,
Sky Kubby