FOWLR filtration design help..... 475g

V

viggen

New member
Well, I was all set to just do a FO tank with a wet/dry filter & then I had a few issues with the filter I had made. I will skip all the details.....

So I was thinking of scrapping the w/d & try the FOWLR route. I think I will order two sumps from glasscages each 36x24x17 which will be connected by two 2in bulkheads. The 2nd sump I figure will hold my skimmer (with a direct feed from overflow) & return pump.

The first sump.... should it be a refugium? Or is just the live rock in the tank enough?

Any idea how much live rock I should have in my tank? It's actually 460ish gallons, 120x30x30 are the dimensions.
 
First figure out what skimmer you what. Then design the sump around that. I've always liked one large sump with a smaller one that acts just as a fuge (if you want a fuge). The amount of live rock depends on how you plan on stocking the tank.
 
To be honest, in a FOWLR I see absolutely no reason for a fuge. In a reef, I can see how all the little critters alive in there would be beneficial, but in a FOWLR and especially a big FOWLR I dont see any point.

The reason I always wanted to have two sumps is for water changes. I'd like to have one sump down there be about 10-20% of the total water volume. Ideally, you have everything drain into that sump, then just go straight over to the sump that contains the skimmer. Have a valve you can turn that stops water from draining to the first sump and makes it just go straight from the tank to the skimmer sump. Then what you do is stop all flow to your first sump, drain it dry with a Python or something like that, and mix your new water in there for a day or two. Then all you do is switch your valves back around for your flow and BAM, you've done an easy water change.

There are lots of ways to do it, but that is an easy one. I'd much rather have that, than have a fuge.
 
Recty said:
To be honest, in a FOWLR I see absolutely no reason for a fuge. In a reef, I can see how all the little critters alive in there would be beneficial, but in a FOWLR and especially a big FOWLR I dont see any point.
Click to expand...

Macroalgae maybe? IMO it could be a great nutrient export solution, especially if the main display contains too many algae eaters like angels and tangs.
 
I always felt the one pound per gallon of live rock is just an idea of where to start. If you are going to stock a low level of fish you can go with less rock. Just put a good amount in there which gives the tank a natural reef feel and you will be fine as rock has different weight. if you buy marco you can most likely go less as its very light and filled with tons of holes.

I tried the two sump idea and it did not work as well as I'd like. I now have a 75 with baffles and a 29 as a fuge. The fuge is fed by a pump and has a 1 1/5 inch bulkhead which acts as an overflow back into the sump. I just keep a mesh filter bag (don't use felt as it clogs too fast) to catch any Cheato which breaks free from the ball and flows out of fuge.
 
A friend is tearing down a tank & can sell me some LR for $2 a lb, it's a customers tank of his..... I can probably only get 3 ish boxes at that price. I will look into the other rock, suggestions on where to buy it? Or should I offer $3 a lb for more if this stuff? It's from vanuato or something like that........ there is almost 1100 lbs to choose from

I have three openings under the tank, the 3rd area I have a sump that I am going to put there, it's only about 50 gallons (36x26x15ish) but I will use that for doing water changes etc. I just turn a valve to drain some water out of the tank & my plan was to have a pump setup to mix the salt & another valve to put that water into the tank. So my two sumps which I planned on using for filtration will only be used for that. I have a ER 12-2/RC500 that I need to mod a BB5000NW pump to run, I think that skimmer should do the trick. I was debating on using that skimmer on my 210g FO & get something else for my tank, but I would rather not spend that money now.

I think I will be on the side of a heavy bio load. I want a few lg angels, tanks & non agressive triggers. Presently I have a powder blue tang, sohal tang, passer angel & a hawian/black durgeon trigger that I plan on adding to this tank. Queen & emperor angel, naso tangs & a few others I would like to add.

So is a refuge still a bad idea? Do I just need to put some more rocks in the 1st sump with a light on it at night?? Or is there something else I should do? If anyone has pics I would love to see them to help me understand what I need to do.
 
I just checked out marcorocks site $4-4.50 a lb. There was another company I am trying to find & they make their own rock somehow.... I probably need 500 ish lbs for the tank.... ugh

any other sump manufacturers out there? I didn't see any in the sponsors listing

is glasscages the only place
 
thanks.... after looking at their stuff that's what I am going to do, a few boxes of the marco stuff base rock & some LR. The tank my friend is tearing down is a NBA player's house (he was transferred) & I was told he wants $5 a lb for the LR. He has almost 1100 lbs in one tank & just over 1000 lbs in another.....

Going to order my sumps today from glasscages, looks like 3-4 weeks for delivery.
 
Another question, how much sand should I put in the refugium? Sump is 36x24x17 tall? I thought I would order the sand from marcorocks as well as the base rock & possibly LR from them. just not sure how much I need. They state the 160# of sand is about 2cu ft, but I have no clue how deep the sand should be in the fuge..... thanks
 
correct just like not enough rock will reduce the number of fish a tank can hold due to not enough places to hide & not enough LR to help clean the water...... I should be able to put quite a bit of rock in my 120x30x30 tank & any baserock that I do not use, will simply find it's way into my 210g.....

I think I will start off with either 100 or 200 #'s of base rock & 50-100# of LR
 
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