55 Gallon equipment setup advice

[joshyross70]

Hi all, Im currently in the process of purchasing a standard 55 gallon and need a little help with the equipment for it. I plan on having some soft corals, small amount of sps, and about 5 fish. Currently have a 34 gallon I will be converting to my sump. I need some help/advise on the equipment needed to have a healthy reef. Below is a list of what im thinking of purchasing and some equipment I currently have on my 34 gallon. thanks

overflow - Eshopps eclipse S overflow box 600GPH
return pump - ???
BRS carbon & GFO reactor
skimmer - ????
currently have 1 MP10 would another MP10 be enough? or go for a MP40?
currently have 1 Maxpect razor, im assuming I would need a second?

 

[gbpackers]

I basically just built a system similar size to yours. 40 gallon breeder with 20 gallon sump. After much research I got the refoctopus 110 INT skimmer. Working great so far.
I also got the Sicce Syncra 714 gph pump. I had about 8 ft of head loss based on my calculations and my overflow is a drilled overflow from gl*******s.com. It is a $750 gallon per hour overflow but the skimmer I think only handles 250 gallon per hour. The pump is a bit stronger than I thought and I had to use my ball valve ( couldn't find a gate valve) to dial it back quite a bit . That skimmer is overkill for this size of tank but I'd rather have something good that works well.
I have a lock line on my return into the tank. That actually limits the flow quite a bit. I have a union and another option to just have one and a quarter inch PVC coming into the tank and that creates quite a bit more flow if I want it. I have a jaebo wp25 wave maker dialed about 2/3 of the way up and that seems like a pretty good amount of flow for me. I have soft corals and at times have felt like I needed to dial it down.
Currently the picture of the tank I'm showing you looks empty that's because I had a mishap with caulk with antifungal in it killing my tank off (so that's why it looks empty) but that was an 8-year-old reef that I'm talking about.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[vlangel]

Jabao DC pumps work very well and are variable speed which is quite helpful with an overflow box. The variable speed will help you dial in the flow to perfectly match the overflow box's capacity which help prevent bubbles from building up in the U tube. They also are quiet, do not run as hot as magnetic pumps and are electrically efficient.

 

[joshyross70]

Jabao DC pumps work very well and are variable speed which is quite helpful with an overflow box. The variable speed will help you dial in the flow to perfectly match the overflow box's capacity which help prevent bubbles from building up in the U tube. They also are quiet, do not run as hot as magnetic pumps and are electrically efficient.

they seem like good pumps. I can't seem to fine the GPH for each model, any idea on that?

 

[joshyross70]

I basically just built a system similar size to yours. 40 gallon breeder with 20 gallon sump. After much research I got the refoctopus 110 INT skimmer. Working great so far.
I also got the Sicce Syncra 714 gph pump. I had about 8 ft of head loss based on my calculations and my overflow is a drilled overflow from gl*******s.com. It is a $750 gallon per hour overflow but the skimmer I think only handles 250 gallon per hour. The pump is a bit stronger than I thought and I had to use my ball valve ( couldn't find a gate valve) to dial it back quite a bit . That skimmer is overkill for this size of tank but I'd rather have something good that works well.
I have a lock line on my return into the tank. That actually limits the flow quite a bit. I have a union and another option to just have one and a quarter inch PVC coming into the tank and that creates quite a bit more flow if I want it. I have a jaebo wp25 wave maker dialed about 2/3 of the way up and that seems like a pretty good amount of flow for me. I have soft corals and at times have felt like I needed to dial it down.
Currently the picture of the tank I'm showing you looks empty that's because I had a mishap with caulk with antifungal in it killing my tank off (so that's why it looks empty) but that was an 8-year-old reef that I'm talking about.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

I was looking at the sicce but was thinking of going with the 357 GPH. How noisy are these pumps?

 

[gbpackers]

I was looking at the sicce but was thinking of going with the 357 GPH. How noisy are these pumps?

I was worried about the noise, but they get such good reviews. My tank is in my living room which is about 20 feet wide. I can hear a low hum from across the room from the pump vibration on the glass. I do not have a trivet under the pump, and I have the pump plumbed directly to pvc. I know some use vinyl for the first couple feet to dampen vibration. For me this set up is way more quiet than my old one with a HOB aquamaxx skimmer, so I'm very happy ( and my wife likes it much better too). IF you want it absolutely silent, at least with mine, that's not the case. I've read many people complaining about how loud their overflows or return pumps are, and like I said for me this set up is a huge improvement, but I guess it's all dependent on your expectations.
:beer: