DivingTheWorld's Custom Leemar 80g Rimless Reef

[DivingTheWorld]

I've had a 29g Tru Vu set up for about 10 years or so through several moves, kids being born, etc. It's mixed fish and soft corals. But I've been putting aside some $ for a nice new set up and the space the wife has approved is limited.

So...the plan is for a custom Leemar tank. It will be a heavy load SPS/Fish setup. Here's the planned specs:

40" x 24" x 24"
3 Side Starphire, 1/2" glass
Black Back, Black Silicone
1/8" recessed Euro Bracing
Rear Center Internal RR Overflow
Two 1.5" Drains (Bean style with one being dry backup)
Two 0.75" Returns

So I have a few questions on the tank order...

Does that sound like a good flow for a tank that size (one 1.5" drain with two 0.75" returns)?

I'm a little confused on the bulkheads. So if I request a 1.5" drain drilled, what size would they actually drill? When I look on Marine Depot's website, it says that a 1.5" bulkhead requires a 2 5/8" hole?

What size return pump would you recommend? I've been looking at the new Diablo DC pumps. Thinking of either a DC-3500 or DC-5500...

So far here's what I have planned for other equipment:

Trigger Systems Ruby 30 Sump
Reef Octopus SRO-2000INT
2 MP40w ES (already have these)
Reef Breeders Photon 32 (already ordered)
And lots of other stuff yet to be determined...

Let me know your thoughts & suggestions, thanks!

 

[Dapg8gt]

Sounds like it's gonna be a nice build.. I'm pretty sure you will have enough flow with the 1.5" drains on a 90..i only have a single 1" running about 700gph through it on my 105g and it's throttled way down.. And fwiw a bean animal has more than 2 drains.. You will have what's referred to as a herbie with only one drain and one dry.

Unless you are going to be running other things off the return like a manifold you may need the larger pump but honestly I'm quite sure the 3500 will be more than enough unless you are going to have the sump on another floor.. No need to run 1000+gph thru a sump.

Good luck on the build =).

 

[DivingTheWorld]

Thanks, yes, I mistyped. I'm planning a Herbie style drain, not Bean.

Do you think a 1.5" drain with two 0.75" returns are a good match? Or should I go with smaller, like a 1" drain with two 0.75" returns?

 

[Maximus]

Two 1" drains should be ok, but I would stick with the 1.5" drains. There's no reason to go smaller, unless it negatively effects the size of your overflow chamber.

 

[DivingTheWorld]

Two 1" drains should be ok, but I would stick with the 1.5" drains. There's no reason to go smaller, unless it negatively effects the size of your overflow chamber.

Yeah, that was one thought I had, size of overflow. A smaller drain might give me more tank space.

I want to make sure that I can keep the main drain on full siphon though. The lfs I'm ordering from is recommending changing the drains to 1" and leaving the returns as 0.75". But I don't want that to turn into the emergency drain being used because the main drain can't handle the flow. My goal is silence as this will be going in our family room.

 

[Maximus]

Which return pump are you going to use? I'd say for a 90g tank, anywhere from 400-600 gph would be ok.

 

[DivingTheWorld]

When I had the tank quoted, it was for two basic designs, both 40 x 24. I quoted Eurobraced as well as Rimless.

The rimless size would be 40" x 24" x 22", so a little smaller. Based on my calculations with 1/2" glass and a 22" water height, I'm looking at about 77g, not including the overflow? But I think it might make for a much more dramatic tank since I'll be hanging LEDs above it.

What are your thoughts on Eurobraced vs Rimless, price being the same?

 

[DivingTheWorld]

Which return pump are you going to use? I'd say for a 90g tank, 400-600 gph would be ok.

I was thinking either the Diablo DC-3500 or DC-5500. The lfs is recommending the DC-5500, but I think that might be too much? I'll be splitting the return in two with gate valves on each. In the future I may add another split to a reactor. I just don't want to overdo it though.

 

[Maximus]

I've had a few eurobraced tanks made by Leemar and a rimless Leemar as well. Personally, I feel that rimless looks better but eurobraced is more practical. I remember one thing I hated about rimless is that when you're using a cleaning magnet, you have to go real slow near the top because water will splash out, where if it's euro braced, water will stay inside the tank.

 

[DivingTheWorld]

How does everyone feel about the 1.5" drain with dual 0.75" returns? I plan to put gate valves on the returns (and probably the main drain as well) so I can dial them back slightly if need be. I want to keep the drain on full siphon to keep it quiet (Herbie). It looks like the pump I'll be going with will be the DC-3500 which by my estimate will be approx. 750gph at full head.

Just second guessing myself I suppose. The tank is custom so I can make them any size. But once made, it's a done deal.

I see that usually on RR tanks with one drain, the return is sized about 2/3 the size. I see a 0.75" return for a 1" drain or a 1.5" drain with dual 0.50" returns. But I'm assuming that with Herbie style (having a second equal size dry drain for backup), I want to more closely match drain and return?

And as far as bulkheads/drill holes, I should just let them know my pipe size (above) and drill accordingly?

 

[dattong]

1.5" is too big, go with 1". I'm running my 100g system with 2 X 1" drain and 3/4 return which works pretty well. It's Herbie style as well.

 

[DivingTheWorld]

1.5" is too big, go with 1". I'm running my 100g system with 2 X 1" drain and 3/4 return which works pretty well. It's Herbie style as well.

What's your gph head rating? I'm estimating that I'll be 600-700 if I go with the DC-3500 pump. I think I'm going to stick with the two 0.75" returns since it seems that the wider the pipes, the more flow you get out of the pump.

One thing I was thinking I could do is stick with the 1.5" bulkheads, but reduce the drain pipes down to 1"? That way if I needed more in the future, I could always just swap out the pipes?

 

[DivingTheWorld]

I did the Reef Central drain calculator, and based on a 750gph flow rate, they're recommending a minimum 1.13" drain. I also did some searches and it sounds like the max capacity on a 1" drain is around 600gph? That seems to mesh with the calculator.

If that's the case, I think it might be safest to stick with 1.5" and just control the main drain flow with a gate valve? That way I could dial it back a little if I'm having trouble keeping the pipe full.

Any thoughts?

 

[nanomarine]

The eurobraced provides a handy ledge when placing corals during regular maintainence.

I went with the 1.5" drain and 2 returns with pumps rated at 700gph each. Not quite sure about the return size though.

 

[dattong]

What's your gph head rating? I'm estimating that I'll be 600-700 if I go with the DC-3500 pump. I think I'm going to stick with the two 0.75" returns since it seems that the wider the pipes, the more flow you get out of the pump.

One thing I was thinking I could do is stick with the 1.5" bulkheads, but reduce the drain pipes down to 1"? That way if I needed more in the future, I could always just swap out the pipes?

900gph and I still need to dial back a little bit to get a complete siphon.

 

[DivingTheWorld]

New Custom Leemar 80g Rimless Build

New Custom Leemar 80g Rimless Build

Ok, I pulled the trigger and ordered the tank. I went with Rimless. The tank will be 40x24x22 with a water level at approx. 20". Here's the drawings:

 

[Robert4025]

Tank inhabitant real-estate optimization seems not to be in the design plan. Overflow design doesn't make sense to me. Many classic over design features. The holes are unnecessary large for tank this size. And the depth of the overflow box is unnecessarily deep. Why would you need 6" for just four holes that are in line anyway?

 

[DivingTheWorld]

Tank inhabitant real-estate optimization seems not to be in the design plan. Overflow design doesn't make sense to me. Many classic over design features. The holes are unnecessary large for tank this size. And the depth of the overflow box is unnecessarily deep. Why would you need 6" for just four holes that are in line anyway?

I agree, but I was told that Leemar makes their overflows a minimum of 6" deep and that I couldn't order it any less than that.

 

[Dapg8gt]

Can you do an external overflow in those dimensions to save that space internally? The middle of the tank will only be 18" I agree that doesn't seem right.. And 2" pipe and an 1 1/2" return? Or is it gonna be a bean animal syphon? .. I would think since the tank is "custom" you should be able to make it how you want.. But then I've never ordered a custom tank so I don't know how it goes..

 

[DivingTheWorld]

Can you do an external overflow in those dimensions to save that space internally? The middle of the tank will only be 18" I agree that doesn't seem right.. And 2" pipe and an 1 1/2" return? Or is it gonna be a bean animal syphon? .. I would think since the tank is "custom" you should be able to make it how you want.. But then I've never ordered a custom tank so I don't know how it goes..

It's going in our family room so I wanted it to be as clean as possible (no exposed pipes). The drill holes are for Sch 80 bulkheads (Two 1" drains and two 0.75" returns). The drains will be set up Herbie style, one siphon and one dry.