Thinking of a new tank

[Baxreefs]

Well, I got the 20l tank for the sump from Olivier! Once I get the tank from Mr. Bax, I will be well on my way to the mini-upgrade. Still considering lights for it. The center brace complicates things a little though. One MH pendant seems like it would cast a shadow. Then again, we noticed that with Fengs LEDs that CJ has, they don't cast a shadow from the brace so I may go that way too. Any ideas/suggestions? Also thinking about a pump too. Would a Mag 12 (1200 gph) be strong enough?

Jonathan

A Mag 12 should be plenty of pump. If you do change it look at the Tunze Silence line and new Sicci return pumps as they are way more watt effiecient. A 1,000 gph is probably plenty of return on a 65.

What are you using for a skimmer and internal circulation?

Lighting is such a personal choice. In a tank this size, DIY LEDs supplemented by T-5 or smaller MH is a really good idea IMO. I am LOVING my Feng LEDs (they run 10+ hours a day)with a single 400 w MH as supplementation (runs 4 hours a day). Best of both worlds!

 

[reeferwanabe]

my choice would be t5 or led. I agree with bax on the mag 12 reliable but such energy hogs. anything 700 gph or a little more you dont want your tor to be from return pump get some good powerheads. without baffles how will you address micro bubbles in your display coming in from drains?

 

[reeferwanabe]

I might as well say it. I'm one of the owners from that garage in freehold. (captivating coral)we plan on being a sponsor here but are not fully set up yet and are waiting to have a grand opening.

 

[howze01]

Bax,I will look into the other pumps you mentioned. As far as a skimmer I have yet to decide. I have been looking around and haven't had any luck yet. I am actually looking into fixtures like Feng's but my problem is with the center brace. I would need 2 and not only is that pretty expensive but I would think it's overkill on a 50. (you still have that 50 right?) I have been looking at some 36" 2x150w halide fixtures. Some with T5 supplementation. I haven't really looked into just T5's yet though.

reeferwanabe, I have a 20L for a sump and once the tank is closer to getting ready I am going to go to Olivier and we are going to build the sump up baffles and all.

 

[shipwrecked]

I have a mag 24 running my setup and I think the mags are great pumps and very reliable.I didnt notice any extra heat buildup.Not sure on the energy use.But who cares about energy use anyhow...lol

 

[Fish Brain]

I think I might ditch the SCWD and run two Sicce Syncra 2.0 pumps on the 65. One to each return for a bit of redundancy should one fail, 5 year warranty is kinda nice. I'll run the SCWD on the 40B with a single 2.0.

 

[howze01]

I never really looked into the Sicce pumps. From what I see, they really aren't expensive compared to the Mags but they seem to be better. Now, which one would I use? 951gph or 1321gph? I would always have gone with the bigger and just dialed it back if need be.

 

[downbeach]

I'm not a proponent of having to dial back the flow of a return pump when you can get a pump that will maximize the return flow without the addition of other plumbing fixtures, to say nothing about the wasted energy. There are always a few factors to consider when setting up your return, but the one that is the most limiting is the size of your bulkhead fitting. The recommended "safe" flow through a 1" BH is 600GPH, I think this is a conservative figure, since I'm pushing 750 through mine now without a problem, and I think you could do a little more. But you need to take some precautions, i.e. a good strainer, since you wouldn't want to have any overflow issues because of potential blockage. So, after you've calculated your head loss look for a pump that will give you the most bang for your buck without having to dial it back, and get other pumps, i.e. vortech, tunze, etc. for the amount of circulation that will be best for your particular set up.

If you don't already have it, here is a good tool to use:

http://www.reefcentral.com/calc/hlc...Couplings=0&CheckValves=0&Exits=1&Entrances=1

 

[Baxreefs]

Jonathan

downbeach makes some good points.

The calulator on RC does not have all the new pumps listed, but you can still use it to enter all your plumbing, pick a dummy pump (like your Mag 12) and get a calculated value of the head the pump will face. Use this caculation to match up to the published performance curves that are ususally available on line. This will help you to estimate the "real world" flow your selected pump will deliver.

In smaller tanks, I am a huge proponent of a return manifold that loops the top of the tank with lots of available outlets. You can use the calculateor to figure out how many outlets you can run at one time. But, by having many available you can change outlets as the tank matures and maximize return flow in the tank.

I'll try to find a pic of the loop off my old 75, it worked out great.

You would be pleased with either of those Sicci pumps. You will be amazed what head loss from pipe and fittings as well as vertical lift will do yo your selected pumps performance. A 951 gph pump can reduce to 600 gph very quickly with only a few bends, unions and valves in line. Especially if you run any form of a manifold or split outlets.

Also, are you planning any supplemental flow inside the tank from PHs?

.... And one more thing, if you have not slected a skimmer, look at the Bubble Magnus line. They have some seriously kick azzzzs skimmers at "reasonable price points" for tanks in this size range, the NAC 6 comes to mind.

 

[reeferwanabe]

another thing to consider is if your going to run any reactors off your main pump ie carbon/phos or bio pellets.I like doing this cause I hate to hook up more pumps. it starts to get really busy in the sump with wires all over the place. If you do this you have to take your pump size into consideration.

 

[howze01]

Bax, You probably mean like the manifold that you gave to us with the 30 sump right? That thing was a beast and it would be nice to have extra outlets available too. I was planning on a powerhead or 2 also. Everyone talks up the Vortechs and they are awesome but it's hard for me to justify dropping that kind of loot on a powerhead. The MP10 isn't overly expensive so I may look into one of them to start and see if I think I need another. That Bubble Magus looks pretty good Bax and $175 doesn't seem expensive to me. Like I said before, this is going to be a long process and if that skimmer is a good investment for the tank, I'm all for it

I would imagine that the 1350gph Sicce would be enough even if I tossed a reactor or 2 into the mix and I may not even have to dial it down. Thanks for the link downbeach. Once I get more into the planning stage that will come in handy!

Thanks again to everyone for their suggestions and help