Advice on New 250G Reef

[claudiojr]

Dear friends,

I´am mounting a new 250g reef and, well, i may use some help on some issues.
First of all, is about the overflow and the return from sump to tank.
What should be the height of the overflow tube that takes the water to the sump? Where to i should direct the water flow that returns from the sump to the tank?



Now, about the in-tank circulation. I´ve got 3 Koralia 6 and 2 Koralia 8. I know i won´t need all of those pumps. So, which ones should i use? Where i should locate them? And where i should direct the pumps flow to?





Another issue is about the substrate and filtration. Should i use a jaubert system? How much and what kind of substrate would be the better option? If using jaubert, would it be a good idea to use 3 inches of thinner substrate over the plenum, and 2 inches of a groser one?



Here is the reef specs for you to take a look if everything is ok:

- Main Tank: 960L
- Sump: 380L
- Skimmer: Tunze Master DOC 9420
- Ozonizer: 200mg Aquazone Deluxe
- Controller: Neptune Apex with Energy Bar (PH, ORP, Conductivity and Temperature Probes)
- Calcium Reactor: MRC 2
- Chiller: Tradewinds 1/2HP
- Return Pump: Mag Drive 24
- Water: Spectrapure Maxcap RO/DI 90G
- Light: 4 HQI 150W 14000K / 1 T5 Actinic 54W 420nm / 1 T5 Actinic 54W 460nm / 2 Moon Light Panorama LED.

 

[thegrun]

I keep my overflow set just below the bottom of the teeth of the overflow box. Flow from the sump should be back towards the center of the tank, away from the overflow boxes, although this is not a big issue, as the water in the tank will mix well regardless of where you aim the returns. Which Koralias to use is a little more involved and will depend on what size return pump you have and how much rock you have in the DT. In general, you should run around 10 to 15 times your tank water volume through your sump per hour (2500 - 3750 GPH) and have a total flow rate of about 30 to 40 total (7500 - 10,000 GPH) of your tanks volume including the sump GPH. The important thing is to avoid dead (little or no flow) areas in the tank. The rock formations will have a lot to do with this, so it turns into more of a trial and error method than an exact science as to where to locate the powerheads. I don't keep a deep sand bed, so I'm probably not the best person to give advice on the matter, but if I did, I would keep it in my sump, not the DT (I just don't like the look that much). I've been able to keep pristine water by using a refugium stocked with rock and cheato, so I never felt the need to gamble with a DSB.

 

[Fizz71]

First of all, is about the overflow and the return from sump to tank.
What should be the height of the overflow tube that takes the water to the sump?

As high as you can..the higher up it is the less noise you'll get from the water splashing into the overflow. If you do some kind of durso setup in there the height will be limited by that hardware so just go as high as you can.

Where to i should direct the water flow that returns from the sump to the tank?

Put it on a loc-line and deal with it later.

Now, about the in-tank circulation. I´ve got 3 Koralia 6 and 2 Koralia 8. I know i won´t need all of those pumps. So, which ones should i use? Where i should locate them? And where i should direct the pumps flow to?

Similar answer..deal with it later. If you put sand in there you'll need to keep it from blowing it all around and your rock work will also dictate where you might need it. For random flow you'll be aiming them at the walls or at each other. The previous poster gave good flow numbers to look for.

Another issue is about the substrate and filtration. Should i use a jaubert system? How much and what kind of substrate would be the better option? If using jaubert, would it be a good idea to use 3 inches of thinner substrate over the plenum, and 2 inches of a groser one?

Wow..had to look "jaubert" up. I like DSBs but I like RDSBs better and that's what I'm running this go round. I'm not a big fan of the plenum setup..I ran it for a while and it was fine I guess, IMO it just takes up too much space just like a DSB (which I also ran for a whlie).


Good luck!!

 

[VacavilleFC3S]

IMO your stand needs a hell of alot more bracing.

 

[Fizz71]

IMO your stand needs a hell of alot more bracing.

I wasn't even looking at that! A definite +1 there.

 

[claudiojr]

The stand will get more braces, that was just a previous version of it, as it isn´t my main concern right now.
I´ve decided not to use a DSB at the main tank. I will also redesign the sump so i can get a refugium there (i may use the DSB at the refugium).
What do you think about it?

 

[Fizz71]

A DSB in your sump or refugium is the defintion of RDSB (r for remote) which is what I use. I'm not sure what good it does because I've never been without it. But that's what I run.