75g setup questions

[chimmike]

well, looks like I'm going to get the old 75g back that I was using as a frag farm last year.

Unfortunately it has a bright blue piece of acrylic for the drain pipes. Anyone know who can bend some black acrylic for me? I might even make a wide drain up higher on the tank, like a coast to coast. Only problem is the stand pipes stick up from the bottom of the tank......so I'd have to paint 'em black....which isn't so much of a problem. I could run twin dursos this way. Unless of course I used one as a return and the large as a drain, of I decide not to use my little giant pump.......which I may not because that thing has way too much flow for a 75g and I don't like dialing 'em back that much.

Anyways, this is what I was thinking:

Suggestions?

That being said, this is a 48" tank, so I'll have limited space underneath for a sump/skimmer/return.

Any suggestions for the sump design? I'd like to have a ssb and macro area as well as space for future reactors. I've done some typical using-a-tank-as-a-sump stuff before with homemade glass baffles, but I'm not sure I want to ghetto-fy this setup so much..........

 

[tcwayne]

That being said, this is a 48" tank, so I'll have limited space underneath for a sump/skimmer/return.

Any suggestions for the sump design? I'd like to have a ssb and macro area as well as space for future reactors. I've done some typical using-a-tank-as-a-sump stuff before with homemade glass baffles, but I'm not sure I want to ghetto-fy this setup so much..........

I have a 4 foot 120 and recently was trying to figure out how to get more out the space under the tank. Since my tank is in a corner I was able to run my sumps from front to back on platforms that I built and it worked out great. If your going to run the bean animal than your going to need the tank to be a few inches off the wall (if your going to be on a flat wall). I measured how far my setup sticks out from the back of the stand and it's only 8 inches. So if you think you could do 9 or 10 inches off the wall and it won't look weird than do this....

 

[chimmike]

So you have a split drain to the refugium and sump? I'm having trouble following your piping but I do see what appears to be two drains on the right side with valves into the sump, but I see that flexible hose into the refugium on the left, with a pvc pipe behind the whole setup

 

[moongoddesss007]

i forwarded you the original link

 

[tcwayne]

What you see is the 1 inch drains tied together and going into 1 1/2 and into a tee and gate valve into the sock. The flex hose is on both sides and is the 3/4 inch old returns which are now E- drains. I ran my returns 1 inch over the back of the tank.

The two sumps are connected by 1 inch bulkheads and 1 inch pipe. I would do it with larger pipe if I did it again.

 

[chimmike]

hmm okay, I see now. so you've just got the return pump set to flow back enough to keep that water level in the fuge and sump.

So how do you get flow into the fuge portion since the sock is in the right hand side, and just a 1" pipe connecting the sump and fuge portion together?

I guess my thinkin is, you'd have the drain to the filter sock on the left side with a baffle, then your sand bed, then flow thru the pipe to the sump where the skimmer is (and you could foreseeably add reactors) then to the return pump. I wonder how a setup like that would work for me.

also, yours are acrylic, your sumps? Did you make 'em yourself?

 

[tcwayne]

Actually because my drain is a siphon (herbie) my return is cranked. Originally I had plumbing going into the left side from the pump and I had a hell of a time keeping the two level, so I just threw a couple of small PH's on the left.

Yes I have reactors on the right but you can't see them.

Those are both old wet/drys that I busted apart and did some cheesy baffling, crappy looking but they work.

 

[chimmike]

I guess my big question is, how is there return flow through the single pipe in the back, if the drain goes to the right side tank and the return pump pulls from the right side tank?

 

[tcwayne]

It just does. It's more like a remote that somehow is not affected by the drain or the return. It stays constant without any return or drain. Perhaps somebody can put it into words better.

 

[chimmike]

I'm not critiquing, I'm just trying to understand is all. My concern would be that there's enough exchange of water/new flow over the dsb and macro.

I think what I'll end up doing is draining into a filter sock, baffle, ssb, baffle, skimmer/return pump.

 

[tcwayne]

I'm not critiquing, I'm just trying to understand is all. My concern would be that there's enough exchange of water/new flow over the dsb and macro.

I think what I'll end up doing is draining into a filter sock, baffle, ssb, baffle, skimmer/return pump.

I didn't take it that way. Anyways that's a good point. Maybe the reason I pull it all and go to two inch to connect the sumps.

 

[chimmike]

I do like the design though and I'm definitely considering it.

 

[somdinwong]

if you are going to do a ssb dont even bother, go bb or dsb for a fuge unless its a show fuge. you want the cryptic zone in the fuge and the only way to get that is with a dsb

 

[chimmike]

I've done a lot of reading on DSB's and there's evidence that the oxygen-free zone in the deepest layers allows growth of bacteria that actually convers the ammonia converted by higher level bacteria right back into nitrates that would go right back into the water. They say that keeping aerobic layers in the sand bed allows for growth and thriving bacteria much more so than a dsb where there's a point that oxygen cannot reach.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1863834

 

[chimmike]

So, what would you guys go for ? 6 bulb t5 setup or twin 150w halides? I'm thinking 300w of lighting is plenty for a 75g, right? Of course, the 6 bulb 48" T5 setup will provide a little more wattage, but the Halides just, well, they shimmer and with the right (but expensive) bulbs, they can just POP!

I've never done T5's before. I've had halides and loved the color from 'em. Wasn't super fond of the heat developed, but I'm planning on likely not using a hood and just hanging the reflectors off the ceiling. Hoods are too much of a pain to me now and I like the clean look of a hanging reflector. Maybe. haha.

 

[steelcity]

I have the 6x54 sunpower on my 75 hanging from the ceiling. Its quiet, looks good, and a quality fixture.

 

[chimmike]

What kind of corals do you have? Growing SPS/LPS with ease?
I'm concerned about getting enough PAR throughout the depths of the tank.

 

[steelcity]

More than enough. All LPS with one piece of orange cap that is doing great. Hanging from the ceiling using the wire kit allows you to easily change the height. I had John order it for me. I plan on using it on an upgrade in the future as well. Don't get a tek elite. Too new and people were having some problems with them.

 

[chimmike]

I'm not planning on getting all spendy with the fixture. A basic 6 light fixture would be enough for me.

 

[chimmike]

Anyone think the back of this tank (or any sides at all) are tempered? I'm guessing not. I'm thinking of having the back drilled on either side for a coast to coast, and just using the center standpipes as returns. Hmmmm...