Hey!... And Help me... Please... Planning a 180

[crewdawg1981]

Haha... well like the title says "Hey"... First time I've posted, but I've actually been a member of ARC before... I think my membership lapsed a while back (need to re-up).

Anyways, I started up in the hobby when my dad upgraded in 2006. Had a 55 that I ran for three years, then he upgraded again and I got a 90. Both were mixed reefs. Now, I'm moving and want to upgrade myself. I'm going with a 180 with dual corner overflows. The sump is actually going to be in the basement, so I'm looking forward to setting up a semi fish room (will also be used for storage and as a workspace).

I MIGHT have to speed up some of the decision making for this build unfortunately, so I need you guys to help me make some wise decisions along the way. Normally I'd spend a lot more time researching exactly what to buy and all... but some decisions need to be made ASAP.

For much of the tank, I can use what I already have until the wallet fills back up (is that even possible in this hobby?!). What I need right now will be the skimmer and return pump. The tank will be on the first level of the house in the front room. I am having a contractor add a few more floor joists to the area since the only place to put the tank in the house has it running parallel to the joists instead of perpendicular. From there, I will be cutting a hole in the wall and sending PVC down to the basement, making a 90 degree cut towards the back of the house about 20 feet and then down into the sump (about 6 feet down from that). I'm considering either a 40 Breeder or a cheap 75 if I can find one as my sump. From here I'll have an external pump push everything up. I figure that the return pump will have three 90 degree elbows (above the pump, at the wall in the fish room and at the floor up to the tank).

What I need your help with is:

WHAT PUMP?! I've looked around and there a number of options. Should I go with a Reeflo? Which one? I found a Wahoo online for ~$300? Should I go Tarpon or Dart or? My dad actually suggested a Little Giant or a Iwaki. I dont have a preference, I just want a good pump that will last at a reasonable price.

WHAT SKIMMER?! This is an area where I've never splurged before. I ran my 55 on a CSS 125 and my 90 is on a Vertex IN100 that I bought about two months ago. I've found a guy willing to sell me his Bubble King Mini 180, but the range on that one is between 180 to 200... so actual water volume I'd probably be Okay? I hear these things are great so maybe I should just do this even if I'm pushing the upper limits of the skimmer?

Thoughts are greatly appreciated. I'll try starting up a build thread once I start putting it all together. I'm talking with Tim this weekend on a tank order and then I'm looking into a stand as soon as it all gets figured out.

Grant (aka Crewdawg1981 aka Snarkes on ReefCentral)

 

[mustangcaleb]

as far as a sump goes, if you have an entire room(within reason) id go MUCH larger than a 40-75 gallon. robb has a 135g sump for sale with the stand. he also has a return pump from his 240 gallon for sale. im not familiar at all with external pumps so i dont know much about it, but im sure if its good enough for robbs 240, it should work for your 180. both of those items can be found for sale in this thread:

http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forums/showthread.php?t=45861&page=2">http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forums/showthread.php?t=45861&page=2</a>

and for skimmer, im not familiar with the bubble king, but have only heard GREAT reviews, so i say go for it

 

[snowmansnow]

You mentioned the Bubble King Mini 180. This is actually an area that I have some exp in. Overall the BKs are extraordinary skimmers. The build quality is superior to anything Ive owned, the ease of maintenance is awesome (everything snaps apart for cleaning... even the cup just lifts off the skimmer with no screwing latching or anything). The 180 is rated up to like 200 I think, like you say, so you're getting up to the top of that BUT the performance of the skimmer is VERY good.

That being said, I run a BK mini 200 on my 120 display, so its your call if you think the 180 would be strained to do what you want.

One thing you DO WANT TO CHECK, is if the BK is gen 1 or 2. Its EASY to tell. If the vlout (spelling) is grey or black then it is gen 1. If it is white then it is gen 2.

If the 180 is gen 1 I would go another direction.

hope this helps.

B

 

[mustangcaleb]

actually i just looked the bubble king up and it says for aquariums for 100-200 gallons. with your display being on the upper end of that, not to mentiuon the sump, you might want to get a bigger one. if you run the 180, and a bigger sump, id assume youll be in the 250 gallon'ish range. then depending on how many fish/coral/etc you have, alot of guys try to double the volume, for instance with 250 gallons, you may want a skimmer rated for 400-500 gallons

 

[crewdawg1981]

Hey guys thanks for all the responses.

I just sent Rob a PM to see about his sump.

I'm definitely on the fence about the BK. I know its a Gen 2 (or so i'm told) and looks to be in very good condition. I KNOW I couldnt afford to buy one new. $1,000 for a new BK 200 skimmer isnt on the menu. Thats why I was looking into this one.

Hmmm... decisions decisions!

 

[mustangcaleb]

keep ur eyes open for like a mrc-2 or mrc-3 skimmer, they are much cheaper and GREAT skimmers

 

[gmpolan]

I have a 150 display (total volume is 230) set up and i run a blueline http://www.myreefcreations.com/BL-55-HD-(PW-150PS)">[B]<span style="color: #464741">BL-55 HD (PW 150PS)</span>[/B]</a> externally and its extremely quiet for a larger pump. It does a good job a moving the water as well. Now im not the most educated in this area but i assume you want to get a pressure rated pump but someone will have to chime in to provide more info on this ....just my two cents.

Update: FYI, i also run a mrc 2 skimmer pushed by a mag 18

 

[crewdawg1981]

I'll look into the MRC skimmers for sure. I guess I'm just seriously considering the BK because I've only ever heard great things about those bad boys. And according to mojo~ on RC they are actually capable of handling their rating so no need to double up on them. Ugh!

I'm definitely going to want a pressure rated pump in the basement. I imagine its going to have something along the lines of 10-12 feet of head, but also has to travel over 20 feet horizontally. I've already got 4 Vortechs for flow in the tank, but its always nice to had more

 

[rbredding]

An MR-2R (recirculating) skimmer would also work for you..

buy more pump than you need and valve it down if you have to...

horizontal runs (straight) 20' or less won't really impact your performance curve.. (less than 5%)

 

[acroholic]

A good way to help decide what to use for your system is to visit ARC Members/Users tanks and see for yourself what they use. Nothing helps you get ideas like that. I can't tell you how many people have decided to use a PVC manifold after seeing he one I use on my system. This was because they came by to see my tanks, not necessarily my equipment.

You can get great advice from retailers, but remember they have product to sell as well. You can see objective equipment choices made by someone like yourself at a fellow Reefer's house.

 

[crewdawg1981]

Acroholic;549299 wrote: A good way to help decide what to use for your system is to visit ARC Members/Users tanks and see for yourself what they use. Nothing helps you get ideas like that. I can't tell you how many people have decided to use a PVC manifold after seeing he one I use on my system. This was because they came by to see my tanks, not necessarily my equipment.

You can get great advice from retailers, but remember they have product to sell as well. You can see objective equipment choices made by someone like yourself at a fellow Reefer's house.

Agreed... though looking at others tanks can be a very dangerous practice though. My dream system now looks like Stevewest's from RC (http://www.oregonreef.com">www.oregonreef.com</a>). That is the most stunning, well thoughout, whateveryouwannacallit tank I have ever seen. Granted... it cost about 50K. I've also been getting ideas from Drummereef over on RC as well.

I've already got ideas on adding a manifold to my system to run my BRS Dual reactor and just because.

I think I'm going to go with the Reeflo Wahoo pump I found on ebay. Its from a reputable seller and its spankin new. Supposed to give me roughly 1,466 GPH at 15' which should be PLENTY. I think ;)

This skimmer decision will be the end of me :P

And I completely agree with the retailers so I always take those recommendations with a grain of salt. I've only ever heard good things about the Reeflo pumps so thats what pointed me in that direction. And of course BK needs no introduction. MRC is new to me, but thats probably because I dont search for a new skimmer all that often and always tried to be as cheap as I possibly could (trying to avoid that mentality on this build). My budget is much better for this system, but I still need to be very conscious of it. I'll need to get new ballasts too as I dont think my 3 175watt MHs are gonna cut it.

In the interest of energy savings I've decided to go with 250s I've looked around and like the Lumatek dimmables the best. I like that I can set a 250 down to 175 for a few weeks to acclimate everyone and then turn it up to 250 and then even to HQI if I want to run Radiums. I know 400w would be better... but given everything... not practical.

 

[crewdawg1981]

Hmmm... What about a Deltec AP 701?

Its rated for a 250 gal heavy stocked system? Its not exactly apples and oranges when compared to the BK I guess.

My experience with skimmers is pretty limited. A CSS and a Vertex... bout it.

 

[johnr2604]

Crewdawg1981;549308 wrote: Hmmm... What about a Deltec AP 701?

Its rated for a 250 gal heavy stocked system? Its not exactly apples and oranges when compared to the BK I guess.

My experience with skimmers is pretty limited. A CSS and a Vertex... bout it.

Have you looked into the reef octopus line of skimmers? As far as 250w halides go I think you will be plenty happy with them. I haven't seen 400w par readings that totally blow away a quality 250 setup anyway.

 

[crewdawg1981]

Actually my dad has me looking into the Hurricone series skimmers right now. I see where reef specialty has a deal on them where a Cat 1 would be $500. But I dont see a Tank rating.

Anyone here use a Cat 1 before?

As for the 250s. Yeah I think they'll do just fine. I've got two Lumenmax Elite reflectors and will be ordering a third, so I should get some good pop from the light... hopefully.

 

[mustangcaleb]

really any of the bigger skimmers would work; mrc, reef octopus, asm, bubble king, etc. i used to have a asm, it was the most simple design ever and i LOVED it

 

[crewdawg1981]

Well... after talking to a number of individuals, taking everyone's input here, Mike at Reef Specialty, and the man himself Mojo~, I'm going to go with a Super Reef Octopus XP 3000.

I'll try and keep everyone updated as I go ... if anyones interested I guess. Eh. I'll do it anyways for fun.

 

[johnr2604]

Crewdawg1981;549397 wrote: Well... after talking to a number of individuals, taking everyone's input here, Mike at Reef Specialty, and the man himself Mojo~, I'm going to go with a Super Reef Octopus XP 3000.

I'll try and keep everyone updated as I go ... if anyones interested I guess. Eh. I'll do it anyways for fun.

Great choice :up:

 

[acroholic]

I think the SRO line is a good choice between the Mercedes Bubble Kings and the Yugo el cheapo ones. Decent build quality and they work well.

 

[crewdawg1981]

Yeah, that was what I got from a lot of people I talked with today. Again, thanks everyone for your input. Its always great to have others point you in directions you may not have been looking.

Def couldnt afford a $1,000 skimmer and didnt want to go too el cheapo.

From everyone I talked with it sounds like this skimmer is the right mix of quality and budget.