|
|
|
#1
10-07-2015, 12:36 AM
|
|||||
|
|||||
Newbie looking for feedback
Hey Canreef!
After reading through a couple threads online where someone new to reefkeeping has made mistakes on their build and could have avoided it by posting their plans to all the experts out there, I've decided I would do that. I hope this is the correct section to post this! I'm currently in the process of shutting down my 180g African Cichlid tank and converting it to my first reef tank. My goal with this reef tank is a combination of SPS/LPS (I'm not a huge fan of most softies) and some fish. Fish stock I'm leaning towards a few tangs (I'm thinking an Achilles, Powder Blue and a Blonde Naso), some chromis or cardinals, a mandarin and maybe some others like firefish and/or flame angel. I'm also open to suggestions. Equipment (planned):
The plan is to pick up some cabinets from Ikea (1 on each end of the tank) for storage and I'm building a custom stand with higher clearance than the Aqueon stand I have now. Inside one cabinet will have a water reservoir for ATO, RO/DI and whatever other various equipment that I need to store/hide. The other cabinet will have a second water reservoir for the Auto water change, Apex+modules, battery backups, etc. I'll plumb the auto water change to drain down my kitchen sink which is close by. The closed loop system will be split into 2 returns and one line will go into a couple spray bars underneath my rocks and the other return will go into 4 outlets on a 4-way wavemaker (something like the oceans motion) so that only 2 outlets will be "open" at a time, alternating. I do have some questions that maybe some of you can answer... Should I plumb my UV inline with my overflow or sump return and slow my sump flow down to between 500-800gph? I ask because this was my original plan. I thought it was most efficient to run close to the same flow rate through your sump as your skimmer can process and increase flowrate in the tank with other means (like the Gyre's or CLS). I just called BRS today about something and they said I should increase my sump flow to between 7-10 times my display volume and the SRO3000INT or Vertex Alpha can handle the increased flow rate and still do their job as efficiently. The person I spoke to thought it was better for nutrient export to have a higher flow rate through the sump (I'm guessing via reactors because the skimmer can only process so much so fast). Is my CLS way overkill and is a Reeflo barracuda/hammerhead hybrid way too much pump for a setup like that? At between 4590-6000 gph that is a lot of flow and I'm not sure I can drill so many holes in the back of my tank without affecting the structural integrity. In total I count 11 holes just for the overflow and CLS. I plan to have the sump return lines coming over the top so I don't need to drill those. If you're curious, the idea for the spray bars came from a thread over on TheReefTank forums about trying to prevent nutrient build up under your rocks. One person used some polypropylene sheets to create a platform for their rocks and ran a spray bar as well. It seems that many people have great success without this so I'm open to other ideas. That's it for now... Sorry for the novel! lol ~ Sid 
|
Threaded Mode
