280 tank setup

[murphysfish]

280 reef tank with built in overflows 72 x32x 32
planning on keeping hard and soft corals with less than 8 fish
not sure of how to design the sump with a fuge and big enough skimmer.

have a 75 gallon in garage but not sure if it is adequate for the long term nutrient removal. wanting some chaeto and dsb in fuge.

the actual order of flow in sump.. drain- fuge- skimmer- return ? pros and cons of different setups

i have a 30 gallon sump that was used as a wet dry filter that i could use as a sump and have a remote fuge in a smaller tank and return it back into the return ? this way seems less complicated but i would think it would be less effective?

needs some input from vetern reefers ... trying to do it right the first time

 

[fatdaddy]

I'm not trying to run you off, but you may want to look at the large reef tank forum. There are lots of good hints for people there.

They do make skimmers for that size, and there are some DIY designs for large skimmers. I usually double size of my tank to get the right rated size of the skimmer.

The 75 sounds like a nice refugium to me.

 

[Elan L.]

Shouldn't the order be drain- skimmer- fuge- return instead of drain- fuge- skimmer- return?

 

[fender4string]

Yeah the skimmer should come before the fuge as I've heard it will suck up the copepods in your fuge that are beneficial for the fish. This is second hand knowledge from a friend with a tank-I have no hands on experience yet.

 

[crvz]

but the other train of thought is that the skimmer will rob the fuge of potential nutrients. These days i run the skimmer, then prop area, then return.