New Setup with Sump problem

[fishymo]

Hi everyone,

I will be starting a new SW tank soon. I've had some good advice about getting running (the tank was used before so I will be giving it a good clean with vinegar and running polyfilter).

I have been advised to drill the tank and use a sump (ditch the trickle filter in the hood).

The problem I face is a partition in my cabinet which serves as bracing also it seems. I really dont want to mess with the structural integrity of this cabinet. but will do if need be.

My idea was to run two sump tanks on either end and drill the partition.

I've made a revised plan (have been advised to use 2 drains between the sumps in case of power cuts etc.)

Thoughts and comments are welcome as I want to plan this out correctly. Tank is about 300l and partition size is about 45cm Long x 38cm Width x 57cm height on either side. So perhaps 2 90l tanks?

 

[Gweeds1980]

Could you not cut an arch into the partition? Would keep 90% of the structural integrity and would allow you to have one sump running the full length.

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[fishymo]

I suppose that depends on the sump size. An arch is possible but not quite sure how big an arch i can get away with.

Cabinet space totally escaped my mind when buying as i didnt know too much about sumps at the time. The previous owner only used the trickle filter and an in tank skimmer...

Ill have a look if its possible though. One other thing i considered was to remove the partition entirely and screw in some bracing. But id need to calculate loads and im not sure what this cabinet is made of yet lol.

I wonder if i could just get away with a smaller sump on one side?

 

[Gweeds1980]

I suppose that depends on the sump size. An arch is possible but not quite sure how big an arch i can get away with.

Cabinet space totally escaped my mind when buying as i didnt know too much about sumps at the time. The previous owner only used the trickle filter and an in tank skimmer...

Ill have a look if its possible though. One other thing i considered was to remove the partition entirely and screw in some bracing. But id need to calculate loads and im not sure what this cabinet is made of yet lol.

I wonder if i could just get away with a smaller sump on one side?

How big is each compartment? You could run all the equipment as stand alone... skimmer, ***ers, reactors, etc and cut a hole in the partition to run pipework through... that way you'd leave the one smaller sump free for chaeto etc.

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[Gweeds1980]

How big is each compartment? You could run all the equipment as stand alone... skimmer, ***ers, reactors, etc and cut a hole in the partition to run pipework through... that way you'd leave the one smaller sump free for chaeto etc.

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Or better still, remove the partition completely and use box steel to make a frame to replace it... then you'd only lose the thickness of the box steel and it's be stronger than what was there.

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[fishymo]

Unfortunately because of the door hinge its 45cm length x 27cm depth x 65 cm height max.

Yeah i wanted to cut a smaller section to run pipework between 2 sump tanks. If you see the diagram i posted ive added a couple of connecting pipes between each tank. But not entirely sure if its efficient or viable

 

[fishymo]

Box steel sounds like a good plan tbh. Id brace the front top and back nicely.

If i go with a single sump setup could anyone recommend a good diy setup. I planned to get the biggest tank i can and run a skimmer, refug?, bubble trap and return pump.

 

[McPikie]

I'd research the tank first to make sure it's possible to drill as some will just shatter.

Probably be easier to sell it on and buy a sumped one to start with

 

[fishymo]

That's a point but I got it for a decent price (I think) and will ask a glass shop to see if its tempered or not. I have even considered replacing the pane.

I'll remove the tank off the stand this weekend and try to fit a sumpin after getting some steel bracing in.

Any powerhead recommendations for a 300l?

I plan to do a starboard and marco rock build. After reading a bit this seems like a decent setup that will mature after a while.

 

[Gweeds1980]

Good luck!

When you say powerhead, do you mean return pump? Assuming so, personally I like to aim for around 5 times turnover per hour. Imo this gives enough turnover to filter the water sufficiently but enough time for chaeto and skimmers to pull the rubbish out of the water.

So, I'd look for something around 1500lph... that's actual performance though, most pumps are overrated and you need to adjust for head... so I'd go for something rated at 3000 to 4000lph.

You'll want contollability too, in case you need to bump up or slow down flow to and from the sump so make that 3000lph somewhere in the middle of the range of flow on a dc pump.

Something like a Vectra M1 or at the other end of the budget a jebao dct5000 would be fine... from there, the choice is yours.

On the rock front, again just imo, but I wouldn't do anything without live rock... the biodiversity it brings is worth the potential bad hitchikers as far as I'm concerned.

Tank thread
http://www.thesaltybox.com/forum/large-tanks-101gal-/164069-gweeds-challenge-tank.html

 

[Gweeds1980]

Box steel sounds like a good plan tbh. Id brace the front top and back nicely.

If i go with a single sump setup could anyone recommend a good diy setup. I planned to get the biggest tank i can and run a skimmer, refug?, bubble trap and return pump.

Here's a couple of pics of my set up... a right mess really, but works for me.

The tank drains down to the fuge (1) which is packed with caulerpa some LR and a DSB... this does my mechanical filtration too.

Then over into skimmer intake (2).

Under via a sponge into the chamber (3) where my ato, intake for a 3 stage reactor (running gfo x 2 and carbon), intake for a biopellet reactor (which feeds back into the skimmer intake in 2... the closest I could get to a diy recirculating set up lol) and heaters.

Then into the return chamber (4) via a bubble trap.

Tank thread
http://www.thesaltybox.com/forum/large-tanks-101gal-/164069-gweeds-challenge-tank.html

 

[fishymo]

Wow that's a pretty sound setup. I'll be honest though, i am limited for space on the sump here. I reckon I will end up having to use a simplified setup involving a 100l tank and whatever can fit in there.

I've been looking at doing a small refug but may have to forego depending on the size of skimmer, bubble trap and heating section. Is a DSB needed for the refuge? I was planning to just run Chaeto and rubble.

Will look at the return pump you suggested. Poweheads I actually meant to be used for keeping water flow in the tank (wavemaker?). I heard atleast 2 should be used in the display tank?

 

[Gweeds1980]

Sorry for late reply!! For some reason wasn't getting notifications...

Anyhoo, for wavemakers, yes, ideally you want 2 as a minimum, one at either end on alternating pulses.

The idea is to try and recreate a 'wave' or tide effect. It does depend a lot on what animals you want to keep... acros need mad, strong, random flow whereas euphylia and seahorses need more gentle flow with regular 'in / out' periods of stronger flow to mimic the tidal lagoon environment.

For a pretty standard mixed reef, a simple alternating flow is fine.

Take a look at tunze and eco tech marine (vortechs) if you're feeling flush... for a more wallet friendly wavemaker solution look up the all pond solutions controllable kit or the new Jebao wavemakers.

An alternative is the gyre pumps. Again jebao make a few but Maxspect are the original and best. They also license a few others on the market - icecap and another I can't remember the name of lol.

I use a mixture... a jebao cp55 gyre, 3 x 6000lph reef octopus wavemakers and 2 x 20000lph reef octopus wavemakers.

You want to be looking at having a total tank turnover of 50 x volume per hour, roughly.

So if your tank was 200l, you'd want total wavemaker power to be 10000lph. So you might go for 2 x 5000lph or to be on the safe side and make it a bit more future proof, 4 x 5000lph and run them all at 50% power.

A third option is a closed loop system using a controllable dc pump and pipework.

Tank thread
http://www.thesaltybox.com/forum/showthread.php?t=164069

 

[Gweeds1980]

DSB isn't needed for a fuge... just depends what you want it to acheive. You can have it with just chaeto and nothing else or fill it up with loads of macroalgae, miracle mud and mangroves.

I'd look up the various options and see what makes most sense to you and your wallet / time you have to maintain it.

I went with Caulerpa and a DSB because it's minimal maintenance (I have a full time job, a wife, 3 children under 8, a dog and a local pub!). I had a bit of spare live rock so chucked that in too and I put in a few nass snails to keep the sand turned over.

Tank thread
http://www.thesaltybox.com/forum/showthread.php?t=164069

 

[Gweeds1980]

Here's a video of the flow set up in my tank... I'm currently missing one of the 20k wavemakers as it's awaiting a new impeller...

Tank thread
http://www.thesaltybox.com/forum/showthread.php?t=164069

 

[MissM]

0.00of 0.00 on video ..?

 

[Gweeds1980]

Sorry... not with you... does it not work?

Tank thread
http://www.thesaltybox.com/forum/showthread.php?t=164069

 

[Realist]

I'm getting an error message?

 

[Gweeds1980]

Oh... odd, works just fine for me even if not logged in to YT.

Vid is set to public... I have no idea lol.

Tank thread
http://www.thesaltybox.com/forum/showthread.php?t=164069

 

[Realist]

So your tank thread link above works for you?