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View Full Version : possible 220 gallon upgrade advice needed


befer
06-10-2014, 06:47 PM
I had a 120 gallon reef tank running for the last couple of years and unfortunately had to shut it down. It was located in my basement which I rarely use but the sump and all other equipment was behind the tank in my laundry room witch made it nice for maintenance. After thinking about taking the summer off my wife and I decided to move it upstairs were we spend most of our time (2 kids in basement). So why not make it bigger?

Original plan was to get a standard 180 gallon and put a small sump underneath the tank but after thinking about it why not go for a little depth too.

So my thoughts are a 6ft by 30in by 24h 220 gallon.

Here come the questions?

can I keep my sump in my laundry room? It would not be directly below the tank but approx. 13 ft through the floor joists and then over approx. 6 feet total drop would be approx. 13 feet unless I put sump on a stand. Would I need a very large return pump that possibly would be very noisy.

JDigital
06-10-2014, 08:26 PM
You can definitely keep the sump down stairs, but yes, you will need a beefy return pump to handle the head pressure.

You're likely gonna want to look at something like this...

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/reeflo-barracuda-hammerhead-hybrid-6000-4590gph.html

daplatapus
06-11-2014, 03:57 AM
I've got a basement sump that 2 tanks go into and both fed from a common return pump. I'm approximately 13' from the top of my display tanks to the pump for head pressure. My 20 gal cube sits approximately 18' horizontally from the pump, my 77 gal only about 8'. I'm using a ReefFlo Barracuda pump and I figure I'm pushing close to 1200-1400 gph to my tanks. Most of that I've got directed to the 77 gal using ball valves.
I'm in the process of upgrading my 77 to a 210 which is at least 8' further away and I have no concerns about flow.
I love the pump, no concerns other than a wee bit of vibration that I think I could have avoided had I thought about it when I was running my piping. It also isn't the most efficient pump (power wise), I just bought a power monitor so I'm going to see just how bad it is. I bought 2 DC pumps to replace it on the 210, but now with the power failure of my friends identical pump, I am re-thinking it...
I have no doubt you'll never regret a basement sump. The only thing I do in my main displays is feed and clean the glass. Downstairs I do my water changes, water testing, making RO/DI, clean filter socks, fill Ca reactors, GFO reactors, grow mangroves, make saltwater, keep QT tanks, keep spare equipment, take a time out from my wife (really honey, I need to do a water change)... :) keep all the new equipment she doesn't know about, lol and generally keep ALL of the messy parts of owning a tank downstairs away from her eyes.
It allows you to have much more room to store stuff all in one place.

befer
06-11-2014, 04:27 AM
thanks for the replies the only thing im concerned about is the noise the pump would make but after doing some reading im thinking it might not be too bad.
what about noise from the drains would that be an issue.

daplatapus
06-11-2014, 04:42 AM
I'm running herbie drains on both my tanks and they are DEAD quiet. You'd never know there was water even moving. Only thing I hear are my MP40's.

befer
06-12-2014, 02:21 PM
thanks again for the reply. I just have to figure out how to hook up my apex when the sump is 20 ft away. Okay onto tank questions. I have never seen a starfire tank so would like opinions. does it look that much better? Is it worth the extra cost? I like the idea of 1 piece eurobracing is it needed?

JDigital
06-12-2014, 02:48 PM
thanks again for the reply. I just have to figure out how to hook up my apex when the sump is 20 ft away. Okay onto tank questions. I have never seen a starfire tank so would like opinions. does it look that much better? Is it worth the extra cost? I like the idea of 1 piece eurobracing is it needed?

Starfire is nice... I never thought I could notice the difference but I can now that my tank at home has starfire and the tank at my office is float glass, whether it is worth the extra cost depends on your wallet. A 220G tank would be expensive unless you only get the front glass done.

One Piece Eurobrace - Look AMAZING. Cost a bloody fortune, especially for something the size of a 220.. haha :lol: Not worth it IMO, Just get a regular eurobrace in Starfire with polished edges.