My New tank arrived, looking for advice

rudy · #1 07-06-2006, 01:12 PM

This will be a FOWLR

Tank is 4 feet by 30 inches wide by 24 tall. Eurobraced with no trim.
It has one center overflow on the back wall with one 1.5 inch bulkhead to be used as the drain and two 1 inch bulkheads to be used as returns.

Sump is 4 feet by 23 inches wide by 20 tall. Chambered firstly for live rock and then a sand bed and then the returns. I also have my skimmer in the return chamber with the overflow going back into the sandbed chamber to prevent bubbles.

For the first return I have a mag 1200 going straight one of the returns on the tank.

The second is one the one I have the question about. I am planning on running a mag 5 with a lifeguard 25 watt U.V. My issue is that the sterilizer has to be mounted beside the tank so I am going to essentially have to run the return to the side of the tank and back up to the return. Is this going to be too much for the mag 5 to handle? Is there another way someone could suggest?

My other thought was to use the other 1 inch return as an additional drain and run the mag 500 return either back into the tank, or just back into the sump and forget about trying to mess around with the return.

Any thoughts, or suggestions?

rudy · #2 07-07-2006, 12:56 PM

52 views and not one suggestion. I will do it my way I guess.....

mr_alberta · #3 07-07-2006, 01:56 PM

I would just put the mag 5 on a closed loop with the sterilizer as you don't really have to have the water that has gone through the sterilizer to dump back into the display.

muck · #4 07-07-2006, 02:19 PM

Why must the sterilizer be mounted beside the tank? Space Issue?

midgetwaiter · #5 07-07-2006, 05:20 PM

The lifeguard stuff is really designed to fit together rather than be added to a system piecemeal. I agree that a closed loop running off the sump would be the easiest way to do it. You could run the loop out of the display I suppose but then you'll have to consider how to do a decent siphon, in the sump you could just have the pump in the tank.

Having it working a second return from the sump would have it's advantages, it might save you if your primary pump fails. This isn't going to be much fun to plumb, it would be easier if you can lift the unit to a level just above the top of the sump than you can go out, in to the UV then up to the tank. With the unit on the floor you're going out, down, elbow into UV, elbow out of UV and up 4', that's big head pressure. You could lessen it with sweeps and spaflex but I bet it would still be a b*tch.