Tropheus Caramba Red Bishops

[thegoodlife]

I'm starting to think that tile bottom is the way to go...so much easier and a clean look as well...

[Ken B]

Austin

You were concerned about the wet dry filter causing flooding. Is there a hole drilled in the top of your return line? This kills the suction if the power goes off. Otherwise tank water will siphon down the return line and back into the sump. You can test it by unplugging the pump. If too much water ends up in the sump, then make sure you have the hole in the return line and then make your skimmer higher too. But with a large tank, even 1/8 inch of water is a lot of water that will continue to skim into the sump until the water level is low enough.

[agamberutti]

Another suggestion is to use a sharpie and put a line on your sump to show where the water line should be. I did that along with drilling a hole in my return so when the power goes off it will back syphon but not flood the sump

[Austy16414]

I'm starting to think that tile bottom is the way to go...so much easier and a clean look as well...

It only makes sense, right?

[Austy16414]

Austin

You were concerned about the wet dry filter causing flooding. Is there a hole drilled in the top of your return line? This kills the suction if the power goes off. Otherwise tank water will siphon down the return line and back into the sump. You can test it by unplugging the pump. If too much water ends up in the sump, then make sure you have the hole in the return line and then make your skimmer higher too. But with a large tank, even 1/8 inch of water is a lot of water that will continue to skim into the sump until the water level is low enough.

I was mostly joking, really. I took all the necessary precautions when setting it up. There's a hole drilled on the return above the water to break the siphon in case of a power outage, and the overflow box is setup so that the filter will not overflow if the pump cuts off

[Austy16414]

Another suggestion is to use a sharpie and put a line on your sump to show where the water line should be. I did that along with drilling a hole in my return so when the power goes off it will back syphon but not flood the sump

Luckily this one came with a water level sticker haha fool proof

[ptran]

Long day of fish fun is complete. Swapped out my sand for some ceramic tile (thanks for the idea Sunny). I'm really diggin it. Here's a video, be sure to click HD.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGAjaV0iXDg

Looks very clean bro. The tile also reflect a lot more light on your tank.
Did you have to cut the tile to fit?

[Austy16414]

Thanks man. The reflected light makes the fish pop too.

Yea, I had to take an inch off for it to fit the width of the tank. The tiles were 18" long each, so I was able to lay 4 without cutting for the length of the tank

[ptran]

The tank look a lot cleaner already with the wetdry lol.

[Austy16414]

Believe it or not, it's not running at the moment. When I turned off the pump to do a water change, it wouldn't turn back on. I haven't had time to mess with it yet, but I'm assuming it's just an air bubble or something stuck in the impeller

[barrettsline]

Not bad looking Austy. I still like the look of sand in a tank, but I did get a free hospital so I may give this a go.

As far as the pump goes when you plugged it in could you hear the hum of the motor? (If not, thats bad).

A few things you can try:

Look to make sure there is no visible obstruction.

Try to free spin the impeller by hand.

Use the palm of your hand to give a glancing whack to the body of the pump.

Try a different socket to plug the pump into.

I have yet to see a mag pump that was running, seize up because of an air bubble from a water change. Not to say it can't happen but I highly doubt that is your issue.

Did you buy the pump new? If not did you take it apart completely to verify the impeller and housing were clean and free of debris?

[Austy16414]

I like the natural look of sand as well, but it will be nice not having to worry about maintaining a substrate.

I didn't buy the pump new, and it was running fine so I didn't take it apart at first. Unfortunately I'm getting no noise when plugged in. I'll try a few of these approaches this evening and see if any help. I'm just puzzled because it was running fine, then I turned it off for 20 minutes, then I plugged it back in and got nothing. Just like that

[barrettsline]

Austy, sent you a PM.

What did you use end up using to cut your tile with?

[Austy16414]

Got it.

I ended up using a tile cutter to score the tile and break it off. Such a pain when you're only trying to take off an inch

[barrettsline]

I ended up using a tile cutter to score the tile and break it off. Such a pain when you're only trying to take off an inch

Rent it, buy it, borrow it? I may buy one simply for other projects around the house is why i'm asking.