I'm setting up a 40g breeder frag tank next to my 65g DT, and I already have a 29g display refugium with macro and LR on the other side. I want to tie all three together.
For the fuge return I dropped a utility pump in the sump, and ran 3/4" flexible hose from 2 bulkhead overflows. Putting a gate valve on one of the returns has worked very well for tuning the flow and making it silent.
However, I don't think my current sump (about 15g) will support the extra water from all 3 tanks when I shut the pump(s) off. Plus I need to upgrade my Reef Octopus NWB110 skimmer at some point, and want more space. I'm thinking about using a 29g underneath the 40b as the new sump, and relocating the skimmer to it. It would fit under the open stand with a few inches on each side.
When I do this, I want to upgrade the main return pump to handle all of the following flows, and eliminate 2 utility pumps in the sump:
- return to 65g DT (fed by Deep Blue Triton 3 - 850 gph)
- return to 29g fuge (fed by MJ1100)
- return to 40g frag tank (new)
- GFO reactor (fed by MJ600 throttled back)
- Carbon reactor (likely future)
- Remote Deep Sand Bed in a bucket (possible future)
I have a few questions that I'm hoping someone can help me with.
- How do I size the pump? All 3 tanks are on the same floor, and I have a max of about 4' head. However, the fuge will have almost 6 feet of horizontal travel for the overflow and returns.
- What's the best way to tie in the multiple lines for the 3 returns and reactor feeds? I haven't been able to find any guidelines for feeding this many pipes. I'd rather not build something that's 3 feet long just to support all the shutoffs and valves.
- Can I get away with flexible hoses between the systems? The black hose with barbed connectors was easy to work with, and I'd hate to have to tear down too much of the fuge to upgrade it. Much easier to buy longer hose.
I still have to sort out the lighting for the frag tank, but that can wait until I have water flowing. I'm probably going to stick with T5s, since that's what I have on the DT.
Thanks for any directions,
Doug
For the fuge return I dropped a utility pump in the sump, and ran 3/4" flexible hose from 2 bulkhead overflows. Putting a gate valve on one of the returns has worked very well for tuning the flow and making it silent.
However, I don't think my current sump (about 15g) will support the extra water from all 3 tanks when I shut the pump(s) off. Plus I need to upgrade my Reef Octopus NWB110 skimmer at some point, and want more space. I'm thinking about using a 29g underneath the 40b as the new sump, and relocating the skimmer to it. It would fit under the open stand with a few inches on each side.
When I do this, I want to upgrade the main return pump to handle all of the following flows, and eliminate 2 utility pumps in the sump:
- return to 65g DT (fed by Deep Blue Triton 3 - 850 gph)
- return to 29g fuge (fed by MJ1100)
- return to 40g frag tank (new)
- GFO reactor (fed by MJ600 throttled back)
- Carbon reactor (likely future)
- Remote Deep Sand Bed in a bucket (possible future)
I have a few questions that I'm hoping someone can help me with.
- How do I size the pump? All 3 tanks are on the same floor, and I have a max of about 4' head. However, the fuge will have almost 6 feet of horizontal travel for the overflow and returns.
- What's the best way to tie in the multiple lines for the 3 returns and reactor feeds? I haven't been able to find any guidelines for feeding this many pipes. I'd rather not build something that's 3 feet long just to support all the shutoffs and valves.
- Can I get away with flexible hoses between the systems? The black hose with barbed connectors was easy to work with, and I'd hate to have to tear down too much of the fuge to upgrade it. Much easier to buy longer hose.
I still have to sort out the lighting for the frag tank, but that can wait until I have water flowing. I'm probably going to stick with T5s, since that's what I have on the DT.
Thanks for any directions,
Doug
