40g Breeder bulkhead

[shinosuke]

Hello,
I've been out of the hobby for a while (not by choice!), and I'm getting back into it now. I want to get a 40g Breeder tank as my main display, and I'd like to get it pre-drilled, as getting a working overflow in my undrilled tank was a huge hassel last time.
I'm thinking I'm going to have a 20-30 gallon sump, with the majority of it given over to a refugium, and possibly a small section for a skimmer.
My questions are:
What size bulkhead do I need to have drilled into the display if I want moderate to heavy flow going through the sump/refugium?

Does it make a difference if the over flow is center, off center, or in a corner?

What size/gph rating would I need on the return pump for the sump/refugium?

Does anyone know of a good place to buy a good, sturdy stand online?

Also, does anyone know of any good place online to get pre-drilled, reef-ready GLASS tanks online? It'd be nice if it had a star-fire front pane, but that's not really a neccesity.

Thanks in advance for answering my multitude of questions.

~Adam D.

 

[shinosuke]

bump

 

[rustybucket145]

I'd lean toward a Mag 7 or 5. With 1 1/4" bulkhead overflow and 1" return.

You do know that you can easily drill a tank yourself... right? I was just suggesting this if you still have your old tank. You could just drill it and save a litte $$.

 

[shinosuke]

I no longer have my old tank. I had that thing for over a decade, but I moved out of state and had to give it up.
What kind of flow would I have with a mag 7 or 5, 1.25 inch bulkhead (what size pvc would go with that size bulkhead?), 1 inch return, with maybe 4-5 feet of overhead?
Also, I still need to find somewhere online to buy the tank and stand.
Thanks!
~Adam D.

 

[rustybucket145]

1.25" bulkhead uses 1.25" PVC pipe. Depending on the type of bulkhead some have slip fittings, some have screw on male/female.

You should be getting around 500gph+ with a mag 7 and probably 400gph+/- with a Mag 5.

Buying a tank online can often be more expensive than buying one locally. Shipping really gets you. allglasscages.com is one I've heard of before but have no experience with them.

 

[shag26272]

why are you trying to get so much flow from your overflow? if you put a 1 .25 bulkhead , your durso would have to be 1.5. I just set up a 40 breeder that I got from Petco for 45 dollars. I drilled 1 hole in the bottom corner for a 1 inch bulkhead and put a 6in x 6 inch corner overflow that my LFS made, I drilled a 3/4 in for the return. A 600 gph pump was too much for mine, it was just too loud, I had to put a valve on it and throttle it back. You should make your flow with a closed loop or powerheads.

 

[rustybucket145]

I'd have to disagree with most of what shag said. In my opinion you can get plenty of flow in a 40breeder from the sump pump. There's just not enough room in a 40 to be hanging powerheads everywhere. I drilled two holes side by side in the back of the tank. No noise unless a snail crawls in the overflow .

600gph through a 30gal sump is nothing. If properly baffled you will not have to worry about micro bubbles or anything like that. Since you're going with a larger sump than what people would normally use on a 40gal tank you have the liberty of being able to provide adequate flow through the sump and keep the equip out of the main tank.

 

[shag26272]

but what about contact time if you add a refugium or for your skimmer? I have one koralia 3 in mine and it looks great it bloends in with the background, I am adding another soon.

 

[shinosuke]

Thank you both for your opinions. My tentative plan is to have a decently strong sump-return pump, then plug that into a scwd (non electronic wave maker thing.. I've seen one on melevs site). After the scwd, 2 sets of pvc will run over the edge of the tank (or I might drill it into the back wall of the tank.. I'm undecided on that part.. I don't know how much it might cost, and I don't know if it would weaken the integrity of the tank) on opposite ends. Once in the tank each side will "T" off into 2 openings, one pointing towards the back wall of the tank, one pointing towards the front.
That way I won't need to do a closed loop for water flow, my sump can provide all of my flow needs. I won't need to buy extra pumps or powerheads or make closed loops or anything, it'll be all right there in one place.
Here's a VERY ROUGH, inexact little picture of what I'm talking about to give you an idea.

Does anyone have any experience with these SCWDs?

How much does it typically cost to get your tank drilled?

Does drilling the back wall of your tank weaken the integrity of the tank? The main reason I'm going with such a small tank is so that I can easily (hah!) move it when my lease runs out, as I'll still be renting apt.s for years to come, I'm sure.

Thanks!
~Adam D.

 

[shinosuke]

bump, and another question..
Does anyone have any experience with these SCWDs? Do they work well?
~Adam D.

 

[Liquid Hobby]

I've got a 40G breeder (all DIY plumbing, overflow, drilling etc) with a mag 7 return pump dialed pretty far back (click on my red house to see my entire build thread). 1.25" overflow with 2X1" returns split in sump with a SCWD. I was paranoid about putting the SCWD device outside the tank with clamped on tubes... When it fails, which it will do, I will upgrade to an ocean motions 2 way. The SCWD works as intended, but realize it is a price point purchase.

I did not want to run a lot of flow through the 20G sump. I'd say I'm getting around 300GPH from the return and the rest of the flow is via a closed loop fed by a panworld pressure rated pump, approx 1150GPH with 4 outlets in the tank, 2 down low and 2 mid height. Softies, LPS and SPS seem to being just fine 5 months in.

With a LOT of baffles you might get away with 600GPH thru the sump, but why run that much flow through there? I thought conventional wisdon said high flow in the tank (30X+ turnover) and low flow in the sump (10X+ turnover).

So, now you have several opinions to choose from! Such is the way in reefing...

 

[K9]

FWIW, my 40 breeder I'm setting up will have a 1" BH drain down to the 20g sump, with just a Maxi-Jet 1200 for the return. For flow, I will have a Quiet One 3000 on a closed-loop making about 750gph through two returns.

 

[shag26272]

a maxi jet return? I would get a mag 3 or use the Via aqua 350GPH pump if you wanted to save money

 

[K9]

Nope, MJ1200 is just fine for me. It is only $16 and will serve my purposes well.

 

[oregonanenome]

How much flow can a maxi jet 1200 get when it has like 3 or 4 feet of head? I thought powerheads had little or no head to speak of.