Golan's 90G Reef

[Gooli]

My 90g megaflow aquarium finally arrived and the furniture is on the way to. ( I will post photos of the stuff as soon as it is delivered to my new apartment)

I plan to keep mostly soft corals with some LPS. I want a quiet setup, no microbubbles, and about 800gph flow - with NO powerheads.

I have been going crazy trying to decide how to plan out the sump\refuge with the tank and this is what I came up with (attached photo)

In summary:

1. The megaflow will have TWO dursos in there for 1" drain and 3/4" drain, and the holes on the sides of the overflow box will be punched out to increase flow. (they will be covered with eggcrate to avoid sucking in inverts and small fish)

2. Water will flow down to the return aread where the skimmer will be positioned.

3. Water will flow through the baffles and reduce bubbles.

4. The refuge will be used to grow algae etc... for export of nutrients.

5. Water will flow back up over another baffle setup \ bubble trap - and water will be pumped back up with a mag 9.5 pump to a 3/4" seaswirl.


---- All feedback with be greatly appreciated -----


gooliver

 

[Gooli]

bump

 

[Entropy]

Looks ok to me. I ended up seperating my refgue and sump completely but before I did that I had it set up so the 3/4 drain fed the refuge and the 1 inch fed the sump where the skimmer was. The refuge fed the sump return chamber as well, so in effect I had a skimmer chamber cleaning the water, and a refuge chamber cleaning the water and then both returning to the return chamber and back to the tank. I will see if I can dig up a pic of it when I get home tonight.

 

[Entropy]

Like so...

 

[Entropy]

Well except my AGA tank has the overflowon the other side and the 1 inch drain fed the sump directly, while the horizontal piping went to the refuge and was fed by the 3/4 inch drain. Also my return chamber was in the middle and the skimmer on the right (swap the two chambers). This way would work well to, except your refuge water will then be skimmed, but since you didn't mention pod prodcution that shouldn't be an issue anyway.

 

[sjm817]

I have a 90G/30G and did similar. I have dual overflows, L&R so I split it like shown below. I like the middle return design.

 

[Gooli]

you know...now that i think about it...why should i drain from both holes...i understand the 1" hole can get 1000gph which is more than enough for my megaflow box...i wonder if i should use the other 3/4" for something else...closed loop? or...?

 

[jjwarfly]

You may want to put the sea swirl on a closed loop and get something bigger than a mag 9.5 i have one on my 90 and its not nearly enough flow, have added 3 powerheads to compensate,(more costley in the long run) when i should have just got a bigger pump. You will prolly be ok having more flow if you are using both the wholes as drains. Just my $.02.. good luck with it!!

 

[Entropy]

Nice pic! (and workmanship)


The only draw back to this is that you really need a auto topoff or it will drive you nuts. This is one of the main reasons I redid my setup. The middle return chamber just doesn't hold enough water to allow evaporation over a couple days (can you say vacation?). So I ended up using my whole 60g (45g effective) for the sump. Now the return chamber is about 25 gallons and it is even with the drain chamber (another 20 gallons) so the level drops about 1/4 of an inch per gallon. It will go a week without adding water now.

Of course adding the 110g refuge is not easy for everyone, but I had the space.

 

[Entropy]

I doubt you will get 1000gph from the 1 inch drain. I would use both for drains regardless, because the 3/4 drain will not flow enough water to make a worthwhile closed loop IMO. Plus your overflow wall (even modified) will have a hard time keeping up. You can try it though. On a brand new bare tank is the best time to try everything. You have nothing to lose really and PVC is cheap!

 

[sjm817]

Nice pic! (and workmanship)


The only draw back to this is that you really need a auto topoff or it will drive you nuts. This is one of the main reasons I redid my setup. The middle return chamber just doesn't hold enough water to allow evaporation over a couple days (can you say vacation?). So I ended up using my whole 60g (45g effective) for the sump. Now the return chamber is about 25 gallons and it is even with the drain chamber (another 20 gallons) so the level drops about 1/4 of an inch per gallon. It will go a week without adding water now.

Of course adding the 110g refuge is not easy for everyone, but I had the space.

Thanks for the compliment!

Yes, the return section is small (intentionally). For one, just needed the space for the skimmer and fuge sections. For another, flood prevention. Even if both overflows failed (unlikely), there is not enough water in the return section to overflow the display. Auto topoff is a must with this design. I've had auto topoff for awhile and dont see how people live without it.

I WISH I had room for a big sump/fuge! The tank is in my living room against an outside wall with a finished basement underneath. No place for a fish room. Gotta cram everything underneath in the stand.

And yes, 1000GPH with 1" PVC? No way.

 

[Gooli]

guys...so one feedback i got here from jjwarfly is to go with a Mag 12 instead. (thanks jjwarfly) - amyone want to second that?

and yes..i will stick with draining from both holes. I have an auto top off resovoir and float switch

Here's another question...can i just use flexible hose for the drain to sump? should i use a filter sock ?

 

[Gooli]

i should mention...the pump will pump water about 4.5 feet up

 

[Entropy]

If the return pump is going to be your only tank flow, yes I would go with Mag 12. I am using a Dolphin 1200 which is very similar and it was a big improvement over the Mag9.5. You can use flexible hose, but I prefer hard PVC (scd 40).

Yes to the filter sock, but only if you are going to clean it often.

 

[sjm817]

Couple things
I'm not a big fan of big return pumps. That much flow through a 30G sump has its share of issues.
Why do we assume a large return pump is needed?

If you want a big return pump flow, that 3/4" isn't going to cut it with a Mag pump. A Mag 9.5/12/18 needs 2x outlet size for max flow which is 1.5". I've used 3/4" and 1.5" on a 9.5 and it does make a big difference. So, you might as well use both for drains and go over the top for the return(s).

 

[Gooli]

Mag 12 will pump 1100gph....wont that overwhelm my overflow box? i guess i'm trying to understand what will be the visilbe and functional difference between the 9.5 and 12 in my setup.

before i ask this question, let me fist say that i am a complete ignoramous when it comes to plumbing...

what plumbing parts to i need to hook up flexible hose from the overflow and what other plumbing parts will i need to do this myself (including dursos)


thanks so much
gooliver

 

[Entropy]

You will be lucky to get 1000 gph back to the tank with a Mag 12 IMO. I am using 1 inch pipe to return and it works fine using both drains.

For the drain you will just need a bulkhead fitting and a either threaded or slip connector (depending on what type bulkhead you choose), and then the pipe. For the return you will need a 3/4" to 1" or 1.5" adapter for the pump and then whatevery kind of connectors for the return you choose.

 

[Gooli]

Entropy...thanks so much for your patience with my questions...

so i guess i gotta go with 1" seaswirl with a mag12 - i hope this strong of flow wont cause spillage once the seaswirl faces the front if the aquarium - 18" front to back in this tank.

if i do use PVC...do you recommend installing any ball valves, or whatever other special things in the piping? Don't I need to do something special with pvc pipes to accomodate water changes?

gooliver

 

[Gooli]

one other thing...can i throttle the pump back with a ball valve without damagiing the pump?

 

[Entropy]

You can throttle the pump back, but you have to do it on the output side with a gate valve (accurate) or ball valve (not so accurate). I have never used the sea swirls so I don't know if that will be too much flow for a single unit, but you can always split your return to the sea swirl and to another return like a simple locline fitting. That would give you more spread out flow and still the randomness of the sea swirl. The only special fitting I would add somewhere between the pump and the return is a union coupler so you can disconnect the two pieces if you have to do maintenance.