*celebrate Well, I can fire up the tank today, but since the Post Office is making me work today, it will be tommrow before the party can begin, I'am saving my sick days *DRUMMER* till next week when my two orders of Live Rock come in, LOL - LOL. I am going to fill up the tank with fresh water from the hose, not RO water, to check for leaks and make sure everything is running right, before putting the salt water in the tank, this leaves me with a few questions. My drain line into my sump has a one inch ball valve on it and the return line from the sump to the tank has a 3/4 inch ball valve on it. Should I open these valves all the way or part way? I know he had me put these in to control the water flow, but I really don't know what kinda water flow I want to see when its up and running. Dang, *laughingc its hard getting old, I forgot the other question I had to ask, well it will come to me later, maybe. LOL, I sit here for a min. and it came to me, I am not going to run the skimmer during this test run or the power heads, do I fill the sump all the way with the water, I am guessing I do, just wanted to ask, don't want to start out flooding the wifes nice wood floor.
Its ah, Showww Time
- Thread starter strout
- Start date
good point and one I would do......especially a tank that size. remember the rock and sand will displace water so mix it up then siphon about a third out into jugs or a rubbermaid garbage can and save it for water changes.......and to top off after installing rock and sand......all evaporated water should be plain ro water....as salt doesn't evaporate......
The ball valves will let you match your return to your overflow....as you may have a return pump that returns faster than the drain.....
Do not fill the sump to the top. You need to leave room for back siphon if the power goes out. fill it up about 1/2 then turn on all your pumps.....then turn them off.....see where the water level rises in the sump until the siphon breaks......you will need to do this a few times to accurately gauge the water height that will allow for the siphon....usually it is about 2-3 gallons. there is a formula to calculate the amount of water per inch of display L x W x H / 231 = Total Gallons. Using this you measure down to the point where the siphon breaks, this is the amount of water that will drain back to the sump in a power failure......hope this makes sense.
The ball valves will let you match your return to your overflow....as you may have a return pump that returns faster than the drain.....
Do not fill the sump to the top. You need to leave room for back siphon if the power goes out. fill it up about 1/2 then turn on all your pumps.....then turn them off.....see where the water level rises in the sump until the siphon breaks......you will need to do this a few times to accurately gauge the water height that will allow for the siphon....usually it is about 2-3 gallons. there is a formula to calculate the amount of water per inch of display L x W x H / 231 = Total Gallons. Using this you measure down to the point where the siphon breaks, this is the amount of water that will drain back to the sump in a power failure......hope this makes sense.
RO water does come out fairly slowly. It will depend on the water pressure and water temperature. Do you have a pressure gauge on the unit? I believe it should be about 60 psi or more for ideal operating. The GPD (gallons per day) on your unit will also determine how fast. If you have a 200gpd unit, it will take about 12 hours to fill your tank (yes, stating the obvious).
You don't need to run the skimmer during the test.
You don't need to run the skimmer during the test.