Newbie to sw

[RedCoralEdmonton]

Hi Kimmi,

If you want come down to the store and I can give you the crash course in salt water keeping and setup options! As well we have a brand new predrilled eurobraced 90 for sale for $315, and predrilled eurobraced 75s for $247.50! this week only!

Steve

[Edmonton newbie]

bout time one of you piped in here steve lol kimmi go see steve and if you watch the posts on here we have meets just about every month and you should really drag the hubby out for a breakfast and or lunch with the reef crew next meeting

[marlincoral]

if you have patience get everyting you need on canreef it is alot cheaper and when you go to pick stuff up you can look at their tank and get ideas. My wife and I just started back up in the hobby and we just got rock a little while ago and paid $3.00/lb the stores want $8.00/lb and it is not half as good as a reefer that is selling rock.We just upgraded out lights from t5 to halide we paid $275.00 for the light the same light at an unnamed store was $895.00 on boxing day.If there is something you want just post it and wait someone will respond. Good luck and I hope you enjoy the hobby

[sully08]

I spent a good part of 2011 changing my 220g from fresh to salt. I had lots of fun doing it and got some great ideas from can-reef members. I had my tank drilled and I use about 480w of T5 H/O lighting to answer your questions. I have some pics. posted in one of my postings from June. Take a look if you like and feel free to ask any questions.

[Kimmi7]

Ok so I have a question about powerheads. How many do you guys use? I see there are some made for bigger aquariums and they arent badly priced. I was thinking tho that having two one on each end would be good to help with feeding corals better then having one going one way. Correct me if I am wrong. Also I will be having everything under the tank and am honestly thinking of a 120 gallon, 48x24x24. So I am unsure how big of a return pump I would need.

[sully08]

Originally Posted by Kimmi7

Ok so I have a question about powerheads. How many do you guys use? I see there are some made for bigger aquariums and they arent badly priced. I was thinking tho that having two one on each end would be good to help with feeding corals better then having one going one way. Correct me if I am wrong. Also I will be having everything under the tank and am honestly thinking of a 120 gallon, 48x24x24. So I am unsure how big of a return pump I would need.

I flow about 6000-6500 gallons an hour around my 220g. My return pump is 1500, my closed loop is 2000 and 2 tunze's, one at each end of the tank, for a total of 2700 between both. I find that this is more than enough for me. I have adjusted the flow direction many times to get it perfect to eliminate dead spots. I have talked to some people that would come close to doubling the flow that I have. I don't know how they do it without blowing sand all over the tank. I have found the best way is to bounce flows off of each other and off the glass also helps. My 2 cents

[Kimmi7]

So i am thinking a 20 gallon sump is as big as i want to go. I would go bigger but I need places to store my other items as my puppy chews anything and everything lol. So heres the question of the day. The tank I am wanting to use is a 20 gallon tall. So I am thinking intake, refugium, return pump. All seperated by 2 baffles from intake to refugium, then two more to the return pump.


As for equipment I am thinking, a bubble magus skimmer, hydro koralia power heads and mag drive pump.

Powerheads will be at least 750gph each, pump 1800gph. That should give me at flow rate of close to 20x's in a 77gal. Should this be enough to keep a reef tank and not just a fish tank. Also I am not sure I want to buy a RO/DI unit yet so I am wondering if I use prime and let the water sit for awhile in a holding barrel, would that be ok? Just we need a new window in our livingroom before a RO/DI unit.

[gregzz4]

If you want to learn more about overflows and such, I did a write-up on another site ... this is it

I recently sold my Freshwater gear and started a long research project about overflows as I am going Saltwater. I learned a lot over the last couple of months, so I hope you read my entire post and it's included links

First, you shouldn't try to completely replace your in-tank flow with just a return pump. You may end up with low-flow areas or dead-spots you don't want or didn't plan on.
You could get very involved with a manifold return, with many outputs pointing every which way, but you are also then relying on just one pump for the health of your charges.

The 'U' style overflows work, but rely on a 'lifter' pump to restart when the return pump is powered back on. Relying on the pump to restart when, say, you aren't home, could starve your fishies and beneficial bacteria of oxygen.
You also have to consider the risk of your overflow becoming slowed or blocked and your return pump draining your sump while it is subsequently overflowing your DT

There are DIY PVC pipe setups
My DIY PVC OVERFLOW TUBE

And there are DIY overflow boxes
DIY Overflow Box

Now, about drilling and so on...

Be very careful where you drill your tank as many, or even most, tanks have tempered bottoms and you will destroy it as it can't be drilled. Drilling the back is a great option. I have included for you some links so you can explore your options. I suggest you take your time and absorb all 3 options I linked as they all have their benefits and drawbacks, such as;
noise, placement, tank-to-wall clearance, flooding, and cost.

This first link is cheap and quick
Complete Overflow Kits - Glass-Holes.com dope aquarium stuff

This second link is to what's known as the 'herbie method', and I have provided for you the designer's original post. You can find compressed explanations if you search the web for Herbie Overflow
This method is nearest to fail-safe
NEW plumbing method for an ULTRA QUIET REEF TANK!!!! LONG !!!! - Reef Central Online Community

And the fail-safe, no flooding ever method...barring your overflow box doesn't leak
BeanAnimal's Bar and Grill - Silent and Fail-Safe Overflow System

Once you thoroughly read through these, and others you find on the web you should have a better idea what you really want to do.

Take your time planning this as it's a big decision.
Good luck,
Greg

[Doug]

http://96.31.76.198/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=40

Perhaps some useful info here also.

[marlincoral]

When we first started we didnt have RO water the mother-in-law worked at a carwash and they used RO for the spot free rinse and we used to fill up jugs and bring them home