90 Gallon reef aquarium set up help

[CuzzA]

Skip the electrical thermometer. They're crap. Your Apex temp probe will be far more accurate. Just get a simple alcohol glass thermometer as a reference or back up. They cost a couple bucks.

If you're going to run a Durso drain you'll need 1x 1" bulkhead. Herbie 2x 1" Bulkheads. BeanAnimal. 3x 1" Bulkheads. I highly suggest you run the BeanAnimal. Again search BeanAnimal Ghost Overflow Box. You can find them on eBay, etc.

 

[Gomes]

I am liking the BeanAnimal design and plan on doing it. A couple of questions. If my power fails and I am using a 90 gallon tank with the BeanAnimal overflow design will it flood a 20 gallon long or 29 gallon sump tank? Also with the BeanAnimal design does this mean I need to drill 3" holes into my tank all the same height in the top right or left corner? Also did you put your overflow box on the outside or inside of your tank? I am seeing alot of tooth boxes on the inside with just 3 open holes that lead to an 'added on' mini tank glued on the back of your main tank to house the 3 BeanAnimal pipes.

 

[Mrramsey]

I am liking the BeanAnimal design and plan on doing it. A couple of questions. If my power fails and I am using a 90 gallon tank with the BeanAnimal overflow design will it flood a 20 gallon long or 29 gallon sump tank? Also with the BeanAnimal design does this mean I need to drill 3" holes into my tank all the same height in the top right or left corner? Also did you put your overflow box on the outside or inside of your tank? I am seeing alot of tooth boxes on the inside with just 3 open holes that lead to an 'added on' mini tank glued on the back of your main tank to house the 3 BeanAnimal pipes.

In a nut shell yes three holes at the same height. They can be located right , left center. which ever works best. No teeth is better as teeth are less efficient and create noise. I prefer the overflow internal, some have done external but the original design is for internal.

Here is mine -

 

[Gomes]

Thank you so much mike. 2 Questions on a 90 gallon tank should I use the 1.5" or downsize to 1" piping and 1.25" holes? Also can I use black PVC piping instead of white since my background will be painted black and I would assume it would look 'cleaner'?

Also is there a large risk in having my tank drilled 3x for almost 2" a hole? Is this going to create a 'weakness' in my back wall or is the tank likely to shatter while being drilled requiring me to buy another?

 

[Mrramsey]

Mine is a 120 and I used 1" bulkheads and 1.25" pvc pipe. You see the one flaw that I had... I forgot to paint the 3 elbows in the overflow black. Oh well the overflow will be covered in coraline soon enough.

Drilling the holes if I recall I used 2.5 times the diameter between the holes. Many people have 5 or more holes. You just don't want them too close together.

 

[Mrramsey]

Its really not that bad to do. I have all of my drawings that I made for mine. Drop me a pm if you want some info.

Here's a link to my build thread - http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2389417

 

[Gomes]

Thanks for all the input. What do you use for teeth on the inside of the tank or how do you prevent your fishies and stuff from not going over the edge by off chance and into the pipes?

 

[Mrramsey]

Thanks for all the input. What do you use for teeth on the inside of the tank or how do you prevent your fishies and stuff from not going over the edge by off chance and into the pipes?

Right now I just use a piece of black mesh gutter guard around around the drains. I am going to change that soon like I saw another reefer do in the diy section.

 

[Gomes]

Does anyone know how you clean your back wall with the BeanAnimal design? I really like doing this and plan on using black PVC and paining my back wall and bottom wall black with acyclic spraypaint [Is that fine on a glass tank?] however it seems like it would be hard to clean under that added overflow glass box design.

 

[Gomes]

Also did you guys just plumb your return pipe to come up and over the top edge on the opposite side? Just a simple up and over 180 degree bend?

 

[CuzzA]

If you want to keep the back glass clean don't spray paint it. Paint does not adhere to glass, instead use window tint. This will allow you to easily use a glass cleaner like CoralVues Flipper. Don't use a Mag Float, I guarantee at some point you will scratch the glass.

If it were me I'd skip the the idea of using a glass overflow box. For a novice this could lead to problems. Instead, as I mentioned you should consider an acrylic overflow box that is held to the glass via bulkheads. Something like this http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/cpr-retrofit-overflow-box-with-backing.html#tab-full-details I would use the 24 in version. This will give you a large surface skim and plenty of room for the 3 drains.

Another option as I mentioned is doing a ghost overflow. Basically a small profile internal box and a larger external box that holds the drains. Both boxes are clamped down onto the glass via the bulkheads. This style reduces the displacement in the display tank. Check out Reef Savy for reference. Any acrylic manufacturer can make this for you. Check out glass-holes.com, they could do it for you.

One last tip, the wider the box, the better. Doing a coast to coast overflow would be best as it provides for a full surface skim of your tanks surface.

As far as returns, yes 2 up an overs would be fine.

 

[Mrramsey]

Also did you guys just plumb your return pipe to come up and over the top edge on the opposite side? Just a simple up and over 180 degree bend?

I have 3 lines run to the front then spray toward the back But a simple over the top works just fine. Honestly I am not sure why Cuzza has the impression that glass overflows could lead to problems. If anything placing an acrylic box plus silicone plus the bulkhead is just introducing a third component to the mix that could possibly leak. The bulkhead with a glass overflow is just the glass and bulkhead for witch it is designed.

Working with glass is pretty easy. Just need aquarium safe silicone, painters tape, rubbing alcohol, razor blade. If you mess up just cut it out and redo. In the end you'll be glad you did.

 

[Gomes]

I REALLY like that acrylic overflow box I figure if my back glass is black this would blend in so well with it and would be alot easier to use. I do not want to do the ghost overflow as this tank is going in my living room and close to the wall. I think 3 pipes and a 24" box would look very nice and be most effective. So if I buy this 24" box and cut 3 holes in my tank is the box just held on there by the covers that go over the pipes for the 3 holes? No glue or anything else required? I was originally thinking a 36" box with the up and over return in the 12" section that is not boxed however I see this overflow box only sells at 24" max.

 

[CuzzA]

Honestly I am not sure why Cuzza has the impression that glass overflows could lead to problems.

That's not exactly what I said. Your DIY skills and experience working with glass and silicone may be much better than the inexperienced novice. Some people are a mess when it comes to silicone. Not saying Gomes is, but you're going to have bulkheads either way why not make it easy on yourself and just screw the box onto the glass? Not to mention, if he intends on keeping the back glass (I do) and overflow clean then you wouldn't want an unsightly glass box in your tank.

 

[Gomes]

Yes there is no question I want to buy one of these boxes the added cost is 10000% worth it to me as I do plan on keep the back glass as clean as possible [to start at least ] Also I think the prebuilt box gives an overall 'cleaner' display. I really appreciate your input tho Mrramsey I looked over your whole forum post of how you built your in wall tank and it looks very cool.
With that being said I need help picking a new skimmer out as I don't know if the reef octopus 150 is going to be ideal for my sump/under tank situation. I was looking at bubble magus but there is SO many to choose from can I get some help on good picks for a 90 gallon reef skimmer?

 

[CuzzA]

I REALLY like that acrylic overflow box I figure if my back glass is black this would blend in so well with it and would be alot easier to use. I do not want to do the ghost overflow as this tank is going in my living room and close to the wall. I think 3 pipes and a 24" box would look very nice and be most effective. So if I buy this 24" box and cut 3 holes in my tank is the box just held on there by the covers that go over the pipes for the 3 holes? No glue or anything else required? I was originally thinking a 36" box with the up and over return in the 12" section that is not boxed however I see this overflow box only sells at 24" max.

The bulkheads hold the box onto the glass. Basically a clamp. Just make sure you support the stand pipes in the back. You don't want all the weight of the water in the pipe putting pressure on the bulkhead. You can achieve this by using straps or brackets off the back of the stand.

If you don't go coast to coast you could drill bulkheads for the return lines. However, this will reduce flow due to friction and will eliminate any flexibility in where the returns go. Although, the only purpose, to an extent, of the return is to bring back filtered water to the tank... Your power heads will distribute that filtered water to all areas of the tank.

 

[Gomes]

In a nut shell yes three holes at the same height. They can be located right , left center. which ever works best. No teeth is better as teeth are less efficient and create noise. I prefer the overflow internal, some have done external but the original design is for internal.

Here is mine -

I think doing this design with the 3 holes and using this overflow box
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/cpr-retrofit-overflow-box-with-backing.html#tab-full-details
This will look the cleanest and then just a simple up and over return in the opposite corner with black PVC piping that way it can always be changed modified if needed but doesn't require additional holes. My only problem I can see with this design is that the max box length you can buy with that CPR is the '24' model which is actually only 18" in length. Will this be long enough??

Also still need help figuring out the skimmer :/

 

[Mark9]

Wow dude. I don't think you should be preaching (buy maxed out equipment it's better). There are plenty of reafers who dont spend crazy amounts of cash and still have very nice tanks. Even the best stuff can't help you with diatoms, cyano, disease or other things. The best upgrade by far is yourself read up learn and be prepared. This hobby is far from expensive.

Well, if this is directed at me for suggesting a maxscpect gyre and radion LED lights when the OP specifically asked for PH and LED lighting recommendations, then you can obviously GTH.
The gyre is actually cheaper than 2 Mp40's and proper light is critical to reef health.
Yes you can go cheap in this hobby and still be successful, but I don't think it's a mistake buying quality components.
And some people aren't looking for the dirt cheapest parts. If you are, fine, that's you, not everybody.
And as for this hobby being "far from expensive", that up for debate.

 

[Gomes]

I figure this tank will be $3k to get up and running and from what I read for quality 90 gallon tanks that is not completely out of line.

 

[CuzzA]

Gomes, for the 1262 at 5 feet of head, it will push about 600 gph. At that amount of flow you want a minimum of 9 linear inches of overflow. Because of the teeth on the overflow box you would cut it in half. So on a 32" box (including the sides) that is 16 inches of linear overflow. Which is sufficient.

As far as skimmers, every website will have the recommended tank volume designed for the skimmer. Just do the research. There is a myth about skimmers. People will tell you to go as big as possible. This is flat out wrong. A skimmer that is too big for the tank load will fail to produce a foam for removal. if you think you may have a heavy load of fish then I would size it 1.5-2 times the standard recommendation.

As far as manufacturers, it's all about money. Money usually equals quality as they've research their products and designed them for the perfect match of water intake to air intake.

A few brands to look at are ATB, Vertex, Royal Exclusiv or iTech (If you can find one) My LFS was the manufacturer of iTech, however, they no longer build them for sale. You may find sticker shock looking at the prices, but you get what you pay for. However, the Reef Octopus is a decent skimmer and is priced for the average reefer.

I'm not sure why you believe that skimmer wouldn't fit in your sump.