My Turn.....

[suasati]

It is my turn, I guess....

I want to thank Andy of myreefcreations, for making the tank and Tim for the improvised backdrop, It looks real nice.
It is going to be a long and slow process, I want to thank in advance for all those that will be willing to give me some advice and help, I am going to need it. So here it goes.....

Tank Specs,


84"x30"x29" - ~volume is going tobe about 250gals
30 gallon sump..... That is all I have now....

Planning on 2x400W, MH - need to purchase...
and 2x250W MH - will be moving from the existing 100gal... Both HQI's

Tank is going to be predominantly SPS and some acans

For Skimmer.... currently I am using BM250.... on my 100gal, probably will use it on the new ones as well, until I decide BK300 is worth the money..... probably nextyear once the tank is up and running...

Flow will be accomplished by 2 x 6200 and 2 x 6000 on multi controller and a wavebox.

Return will use a Mag18 or Mag24, not sure yet, Will probably get a 1/2HP chiller, not sure if I can get away with a 1/4HP since my basement where the tank is, is not complete.


No Fuge, Nutrient export will be handled by zeovit reactor.

Will post some pictures...... All suggestions and critics are well come... I am looking for all sorts of ideas.... Will post some pics of the tank later tonight.... WiSh me luck....

 

[matttvi]

SuAsati, this sounds like a very cool tank! The only advice I would give is to get a much bigger sump, at least a 55g that you can syl. baffles into yourself!

Also, I'd go for the Mag 18 or even a Mag 12 for the return pump, only because noise may become an issue w/ so much water running throught the sump, esp. a 30g one and even if you do upgrade to a 55g, with all that in-tank turnover from the TUNZE's, I don't think you need to have a lot of volume going through the sump.

hth,

Matt

 

[glxtrix]

you'll have to let me know when its up so i can swing by and check them out, I love your tanks!

 

[matttvi]

of course, if you've plummed your sump through the basement to the display and calculated the head loss on that mag 18 or 24, then my advice changes! Except for getting the bigger sump, I'd post in the want to buy section and see if you can't get a good deal on a used 55g or even 75g tank!

good luck!

 

[suasati]

Thanks matt, I do have a couple of 50's I could use, I am going to try the 30 and if that doesn't work I am going to switch out to the 50's. DO you think 30's would be too small to hold enough water?

The main reason I was looking at the Mag24 was, I was thinking about feeding the chiller through that as well... but I will have to play around with that, maybe Mag18 would work.. Also, the tank and the sump are in the basement, Idea is to finish the basement eventually and make this is to a inwall setup. Thanks for the input.

 

[matttvi]

SuAsati;43472 wrote: Thanks matt, I do have a couple of 50's I could use, I am going to try the 30 and if that doesn't work I am going to switch out to the 50's. DO you think 30's would be too small to hold enough water?

The main reason I was looking at the Mag24 was, I was thinking about feeding the chiller through that as well... but I will have to play around with that, maybe Mag18 would work.. Also, the tank and the sump are in the basement, Idea is to finish the basement eventually and make this is to a inwall setup. Thanks for the input.

How far will the pump have to push the return water? You may be better off w/ a smaller, pressure rated pump for the return, but I think most of those are plumbed external (iwasaki, gen-x, etc.).

Additionally, I'd fed my chiller w/ a seperate pump just to reduce wattage.

Say you use a Mag 7 to run the chiller, that's 70w, and a Mag 18 to do all your return work. That's a total of 215w compared to the 265w it takes to run one mag 24. That 55w difference adds up because you run both pumps 24/7.

hth,

Matt

 

[suasati]

Return is just about 6ft, so it won't be that big of a push, But the double pump idea makes much sense. I will have to use one to run the Zeo reactor anyways, I will put some thought in to that.

 

[suasati]

glxtrix;43466 wrote: you'll have to let me know when its up so i can swing by and check them out, I love your tanks!

Thanks, Ofcourse, I will let you know when I get things rolling.

 

[cameron]

SuAsati;43463 wrote: 84"x30"x29" - ~volume is going tobe about 250gals
30 gallon sump..... That is all I have now....

Assuming you plan on running the skimmer in sump, I would probably increase sump size as Matt suggested. You don't really need too, but you might be glad you did down the road. That is a lot of water to be running through a 30 as well.

SuAsati;43463 wrote: Planning on 2x400W, MH - need to purchase...
and 2x250W MH - will be moving from the existing 100gal... Both HQI's

Tank is going to be predominantly SPS and some acans

I think that is plenty of lighting especially since you are running HQI ballasts.

SuAsati;43463 wrote: For Skimmer.... currently I am using BM250.... on my 100gal, probably will use it on the new ones as well, until I decide BK300 is worth the money..... probably nextyear once the tank is up and running...

No doubt moving to a BK300 would be nice, but for the money I would probably stick with the BM250 as it will have no problems skimming this setup very well.

SuAsati;43463 wrote: Flow will be accomplished by 2 x 6200 and 2 x 6000 on multi controller and a wavebox.

Personally for that money I would go with the big stream kit that comes with multicontroller and 4x6100. About the same price and flow plus you get the multicontroller thrown in.

SuAsati;43463 wrote: Return will use a Mag18 or Mag24, not sure yet, Will probably get a 1/2HP chiller, not sure if I can get away with a 1/4HP since my basement where the tank is, is not complete.

If you need an external pump, go with Dolphin or Panworld over Mag. If you need an internal, I would look to a Sedra or OceanRunner before a mag.

I would also consider creating a section in the fuge if nothing more for some chaeto or expansion down the road, but I guess you can always put in a new fuge. If you have the money, an MRC standard built fuge would be nice.

Sounds like an awesome tank.

 

[suasati]

Cameron;43483 wrote: Assuming you plan on running the skimmer in sump, I would probably increase sump size as Matt suggested. You don't really need too, but you might be glad you did down the road. That is a lot of water to be running through a 30 as well.

I will have to check that out... I have a fifty I could use maybe go that route....

Personally for that money I would go with the big stream kit that comes with multicontroller and 4x6100. About the same price and flow plus you get the multicontroller thrown in.

the 6000's and multicontroller will get moved from my existing tank, that is why I am just adding two 6200's.... If I was buying all new, I probably would have waited for the new ones that will replace both the 6000 and 6100...

If you need an external pump, go with Dolphin or Panworld over Mag. If you need an internal, I would look to a Sedra or OceanRunner before a mag.

I haven't decided yet, I am trying to use existing equipments first before I decide to get newer ones...

Sounds like an awesome tank.

Tks, I hope it turns out like I plan.

 

[cameron]

I would also add an Aquacontroller 3 to my list of really nice to haves.

 

[xyzpdq0121]

Ya, Increase the sump/fuge size there and lower the flow though it to about 3-5xs per hr. Running 1800 or 2400gph through a sump/fuge does not give enough time for your skimmer to work or macro (in a fuge) to do its job, IMHO. Use a CL or intank pumps for your water movement and a return pump for what it is good for, just returning water from the sump/fuge. You will be glad you did down the road.

 

[tsciarini]

my concern lies with the sump size as well... microbubbles will be a problem and adding baffles will force you to have a small final chamber. I would be most worried about having enough water in your final chamber to start your overflow in the event of a poweroutage; otherwise you'd be running your sump water level dangerously close to your pump intake.

 

[suasati]

Guess I should go with the 50 then, What is the easiest way to get rid of the center brace? Will it cause any problems?

 

[xyzpdq0121]

Yes it can cause problems, It is there for a reason! Why do you need to rid yourself of the brace?

 

[suasati]

Xyzpdq0121;43561 wrote: Yes it can cause problems, It is there for a reason! Why do you need to rid yourself of the brace?

It would be easier to use it for sump... that's all...

 

[suasati]

Here are some pics...

1) current tank.... that will get moved...

2) new tank....

3) The FO butterfly tank.... I want to get 4 more of those goldens and have a small species tank....
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[matttvi]

SuAsati;43588 wrote: It would be easier to use it for sump... that's all...

If you removed the center brace from a 50g to use as a sump, you will probably be fine so long as you have some baffles in the sump and the sump isn't filled to the top and that is likely to be the case because most people have baffles in their sump and don't fill it completely full.

 

[suasati]

Okay First set of help!!! I am trying to figure out how to mount the lights, it is going to be 2 400MH's in the middle and 2-250's on the ends, I was looking at a few alluminium racks on reefcentral, I wanted it to be easy to lift when doing maintenance, I have no idea where to start, can I get some ideas? tks.

 

[suasati]

Here is a big rock I got a few days ago, to start things off.... waiting on bulkheads to start with the plumbing....

And the top of the tank which shows the four openings, above each a single MH pendant will go on...
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