New Member - getting back into the waters. Lots of questions!

[bzb]

After 15 years of no fishy smells in my office, I've finally convinced the wife to allow me to start a new tank. I'm planning on keeping mostly softies and a handful of small fish.

Current sitch:
A friend provided me with a pre-drilled 90 and a stand that I'm probably throwing up on the Free Stuff forum soon. In the process of building out the stand to match (as well as I can) our built-in cabinetry. Got a new RO unit off Amazon, TDS measured under 5ppm. I've got about 40 pounds of dry rock sitting in a tub with circulating water. Lots of plumbing and other supplies en route for the basic setup.

I've got a lot of questions, as this game has changed SO much since I left! Looking forward to meeting some of yall and sharing some information (and hopefully frags soon!) Definitely have way more patience now than I did in my early 20s, so I'll be taking my time setting everything up to my liking!

1. First off, looking at sumps. I think I want to stick with a 20-gal long, not sure if I want to split it for a refugium (not certain the limited volume is even worth it). I need to be able to keep supplies inside the stand, so I'm a little limited on space. The footprint is approximately 45x15". Is the 20G sufficient for my needs?

2. Return pump - the thoughts on this seem to have changed significantly! It makes complete sense to me to limit the flow so the skimmer can work, but then I'm relying on more powerheads in the tank. Any suggestions here on a return pump?

2. Secondly, looking at skimmers. I think I've narrowed it down to the SCA-302 vs the Coral Vue AC202087. I think either will fit in the sump without an issue, but again, this limits my ability to split a refugium off. If I'm way overkill with either of these, would love suggestions.

3. Sand - not doing a DSB, but want some sand in the tank. Back in the day, we used to be able to get sand from Home Depot that worked well for DSB, but I assume that's probably a rarity now. Aragonite the way to go? Just keep buying bags and washing it cup by cup (ugggggh!)?

I think that's it for now! Maybe!

B

 

[bhodges82]

First off, welcome back!

I would suggest a dc controllable pump that way you can tune it for your needs.

For sand i use special reef grade from carib sea, it's large enough that it stays in place for the most part.

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[ActiveAngel]

First off, welcome back!

I would suggest a dc controllable pump that way you can tune it for your needs.

For sand i use special reef grade from carib sea, it's large enough that it stays in place for the most part.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

Ditto on all of this!

Also; I have an SCA-302, and love it. I’d rate its quality as 4.8-9/5 stars, plus it’s super cheap.

For Sand: I know what you mean. Southdown Play Sand used to be available at Home Depot. It was Aragonite-based, fine grain, white sand, and cost $3-4 for 50 lbs if I remember. Sadly, this sand has been off the market for many years. Carib Sea is the big name now. They have lots of options with Special grade being most often preferred. And $20 for 20 lbs is the new norm.

For the sump; 20g will be do-able... but probably no room for a fuge. You’ll really want to go as big as you can. I find the limiting factor is often getting the sump through the stand’s doors. Keep that in consideration. For my first tank; I used 2 plastic storage containers and plumbed them together with 2 pipes. It wasn’t pretty; but it fit everything under my tank and allowed me to have a large fuge.

The biggest updates lately have been lighting! Lots of updates and things to research and learn. Welcome back!

 

[Steve Burton]

I made my sump from a 20 long, it was the largest I could fit in the cabinet for the 72 Bowfront, and had to be put in from above before the tank was placed. I used the SCA302 for quite a while, great skimmer, until I ran into a great deal on a Vertex 130. There's room for a refugium and return too. Drain section with skimmer is 11 1/2", middle section with Chaeto is 7 1/2" and return pump section is 7 1/2", with room for a few baffles too.

 

[bzb]

Also; I have an SCA-302, and love it. I’d rate its quality as 4.8-9/5 stars, plus it’s super cheap.

This is the kind of response I was hoping for! The reviews look great, but you know how that goes

For Sand: I know what you mean. Southdown Play Sand used to be available at Home Depot. It was Aragonite-based, fine grain, white sand, and cost $3-4 for 50 lbs if I remember. Sadly, this sand has been off the market for many years. Carib Sea is the big name now. They have lots of options with Special grade being most often preferred. And $20 for 20 lbs is the new norm.

Haha, I'm glad someone else remembers that! Yeah, I figured it's all silica sand now, but hey, worth a try.

Is this the same stuff? On sale for half price at Petco right now. https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/caribsea-aragonite-aquarium-sand-10-lbs-2153529

The biggest updates lately have been lighting! Lots of updates and things to research and learn. Welcome back!

Oh, yeah, forgot to list that. I have a Reef Breeder 48" on order - LED all the way for me!

 

[bzb]

I made my sump from a 20 long, it was the largest I could fit in the cabinet for the 72 Bowfront, and had to be put in from above before the tank was placed. I used the SCA302 for quite a while, great skimmer, until I ran into a great deal on a Vertex 130. There's room for a refugium and return too. Drain section with skimmer is 11 1/2", middle section with Chaeto is 7 1/2" and return pump section is 7 1/2", with room for a few baffles too.

I think I'm going to have to go with the 20L as well, unfortunately. Looking at baffle kits on eBay... they seem pretty simple and I have access to a laser cutter or CNC. Any chance there are good plans out there somewhere for these?

 

[ActiveAngel]

That sand you found should work! Also, regarding sand, CaribSea also offers all their sands in their Arag-Alive product line as well. These sands are already wet and Alive with beneficial nitrifying bacteria. You may prefer the Arag-Alive to help get started.

 

[jcook54]

It has certainly changed a lot. I agree with everything that's been posted but wanted to share my experience on a single point. IN item #2 you talk about a return pump. I've recently changed my approach and started using a Jabao pump. In the past I've always used Danner's and throttled them back some with a valve. It's harder on the pump but when I got in the hobby, there weren't really any good controllable pumps. I've stuck with them because they do work. They're hot and loud but I've never had one fail and could always get replacement parts for things that wear out. However, the days of limited return pump selection are gone and the DC controllable pumps are very, very popular for a good reason. A LOT of people run Jabao's and I'm happy with my first.

As far as flow goes, I've always used powerheads (MP40's) to get the tank "flow" rate and used the flow through the sump as a tool for dealing with nutrients. I keep the sump flow somewhere around 3-5x tank volume. Making up the rest of the required flow with in tank powerheads. It allows for more dwell time in the sump for skimmers and refugiums and end up being quieter.

 

[bzb]

Thanks for the replies all!

I do remember those wet bags of sand... I think I'll just get a scoop or a rock from a friend locally to seed my tank with a table shrimp. I can have a little patience

Great tip on the new pumps... I had heard the DC pumps were the way to go, but hadn’t gotten a suggestion yet.

With the 60” of lift, would the smallest Jabari work (845gph)? Feel like I should go higher and use the control to throttle back.

 

[bzb]

Looking at this one:

Amazon.com

smile.amazon.com

 

[ZapataInc]

I think I'm going to have to go with the 20L as well, unfortunately. Looking at baffle kits on eBay... they seem pretty simple and I have access to a laser cutter or CNC. Any chance there are good plans out there somewhere for these?

I was actually going to design some baffles using what i saw on ebay for a 29gal. I have access to Solidworks and a cnc router here at my job. I could possibly do yours for you. Just give me dimensions of the tank.

 

[ZapataInc]

Thanks for the replies all!

I do remember those wet bags of sand... I think I'll just get a scoop or a rock from a friend locally to seed my tank with a table shrimp. I can have a little patience

Great tip on the new pumps... I had heard the DC pumps were the way to go, but hadn’t gotten a suggestion yet.

With the 60” of lift, would the smallest Jabari work (845gph)? Feel like I should go higher and use the control to throttle back.

As far as the return pumps are concerned, i watched a video that BRS produced about Low Maintenance tanks and they pointed out that having two return pumps going just in case of a return pump failure that you still have one working while getting a replacement for the other. So you would do two around the 450-500 gph for your 90. I think that is what im going to do with my new 90gal setup.

 

[bzb]

I was actually going to design some baffles using what i saw on ebay for a 29gal. I have access to Solidworks and a cnc router here at my job. I could possibly do yours for you. Just give me dimensions of the tank.

Appreciate the offer! I actually ended up grabbing a 29 gallon at Petco at lunch - they're running the $1/gallon sale! It's same dimensions as the 20L, just taller. If you figure out a good design, I can certainly get it cut here in Suwanee.

 

[ZapataInc]

Appreciate the offer! I actually ended up grabbing a 29 gallon at Petco at lunch - they're running the $1/gallon sale! It's same dimensions as the 20L, just taller. If you figure out a good design, I can certainly get it cut here in Suwanee.

What are the dimensions of the 29g that you got?

 

[bzb]

Glass to glass:
29-5/16" width
11-1/2" depth

Bottom glass to black frame:
17-3/4" height

 

[ZapataInc]

Glass to glass:
29-5/16" width
11-1/2" depth

Bottom glass to black frame:
17-3/4" height

Did you want a refugium as well?

 

[bzb]

I do - but maybe just glass bottom to grow some algae.

 

[ZapataInc]

I do - but maybe just glass bottom to grow some algae.

Ill draw in a refugium section for you. One last question for your skimmer what is the footprint of it? Ill need to know that if i were to draw up a refugium section.

 

[bzb]

So looks like the footprint of the Reef Octopus I was looking at is 13x9 (!!) and the Jebao return pump is 7.2 x 10.3

Really only leaves 8" or so for the refugium part in the center, correct? Or is there one more baffle section, so four chambers?

 

[bzb]

Alternatively, the SCA skimmer is 9x9.5"