How to choose equipment

[pjwperth]

Hi all I posted this in the beginners section and took the advise to post it here. so please see the below and give as much advice as possible. All comments are taken on board.

How do you go about choosing the best protein skimmer for your set-up.

Do you look at gph? If so what ratio for your tank? Also do you include the amount of water your whole system hold or just the DT? I get back from work on Tuesday and was going to start looking at equipment so I can design sump and work out Budget if there is one.

I also am getting prices on a new tank let me know what you think.
tank 1 6x2x2
tank 2 6x3x2
Also have the free option of a 6x18x18 tank to convert into sump and refugium.

Wife wants one tank and be done with it no upgrades later. This tank will have a custom cabinets including hood by a professional carpenter and me of course, it will be drilled on the side so all plumbing will be hidden as the tank will be viewed from both 6ft sides for joy also dont want to waste cash and get ripped off by buying something that wont keep up.



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Current Tank Info: new tank about to set-up my largest so far 6ft x 18" x 18" wife said I can upgrade already to a 6x2x2


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Yesterday, 07:46 PM #2
shifty51008
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Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: NW Iowa
Posts: 3,862 deff. go with tank 2. that width of 3' is great.

as for the skimmer, I was always told to include your whole system



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75 gal. mixed DT, 100 gal. sump, 50 gal. fuge, dual 250 watt MH's icecap ballasts, XM 20k's, 2 - 110 watt super atanics, 2-tunze 6000's with a 7095 controller, ranco dual temp controller, MR2 skimmer ran with Mak 4 pump, pinpoint pH monitor, marine magic dual dosing pump, pcx 40 return pump, dual MR5 media reactors for carbon and GFO, purelyH20 optima pro RODI unit w/dual BRS Di unit, aquahub ATO

fish/inverts: 2-occ. clowns, 1-banggaii cardinal, 1 tiger tail cuke, 2 RBTA, mix of nass, cerths, and Banded Trochus snails, pair of skunk cleaner shrimp

corals: 1 elegance coral, 1-bubble corals, 1 green toadstool leather, 1 green with pruple tip frogspawn, 1 acans, 1 green cap, 2 Chalice


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Yesterday, 07:52 PM #3
pjwperth
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Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Perth W.A
Posts: 134 Sorry was going to add I need the equipment to be really reliable as I work away from home, 3 hour plane ride to one of the remote spots in Western Australia, it needs to be easy to use for my wife who has basically no experience keeping aquariums.



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crank it out hard

Current Tank Info: new tank about to set-up my largest so far 6ft x 18" x 18" wife said I can upgrade already to a 6x2x2


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Yesterday, 07:59 PM #4
pjwperth
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Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Perth W.A
Posts: 134 sometimes I feel Stupid asking all the new questions but it has been awhile since I have kept Marines or worked in the industry when I knew most answers to most questions. I know surface area is greater in the 3foot wide tank and the more water technically the more stable so to speak it will be it is just a matter of price shifty. I'm meeting with the tank builder on Thursday and he says he has the marine guru on that day and he will be able to "guide" me through the equipment but Ebay looks so tempting with the prices we face in Perth and thats why I need as much info from as many people as I can.



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crank it out hard

Current Tank Info: new tank about to set-up my largest so far 6ft x 18" x 18" wife said I can upgrade already to a 6x2x2


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Yesterday, 08:03 PM #5
pjwperth
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Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Perth W.A
Posts: 134 Also a trip to the states maybe in order as the fish and coral food we get here is crap as far as selections go was looking at utube at the HPD food showen by the AmericanReefChannel looked intersting but as per my luck I can't get it here so may have to suck-up to my family over there to get it and ship it to me.



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crank it out hard

Current Tank Info: new tank about to set-up my largest so far 6ft x 18" x 18" wife said I can upgrade already to a 6x2x2


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Yesterday, 08:06 PM #6
Mark Bianco
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Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: South Bend, Indiana
Posts: 999 I agree the wider the tank the more you can do with it. As far as a skimmer goes, I had a 75gl with a 100gl basement sump and purchased a EV240 knowing that I would be upgrading to a 210gl. The skimmer ran excellent with the 75 then after installing the 210 it was ok with a light bioload, but when I increased the load to a heavy bio load it would not keep up although the manufactre claims it would be no problem for 300gl. I have just recently purchased Ocotpus 6000 ext we shall see how that does. I reccomend buying a skimmer for 1.5 times your total water volume. One other thing to consider if you buy a skimmer that is way too big you will not get a constant skim, instead it will be be cycling.

Mark





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Yesterday, 08:12 PM #7
splateee
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Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Flower Mound, Texas
Posts: 548 The extra width also gives you more options for rock placement and coral placement if you decide to keep them. Are you wanting to keep corals?

See if you have a local marine society group in your area, you may be able to get a lot of decent used equipment from there as well as live rock and live stock and save a few dollars.





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Yesterday, 08:39 PM #8
pjwperth
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Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Perth W.A
Posts: 134 Thanks splatee i'm just going to keep softies, mushrooms and zoos at this stage I say that now lol, my design was going to be basically two drop off ledges one from each end and a bombie in the middle.



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crank it out hard

Current Tank Info: new tank about to set-up my largest so far 6ft x 18" x 18" wife said I can upgrade already to a 6x2x2


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Yesterday, 11:26 PM #9
Palting
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Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Ohio
Posts: 6,207
You're in for a ride, as you will get all kinds of opinions on recommendations on what is each posters favorite brand of each equipment .

Definitely got with the 6'x3'x2'. With this tank at 232 gallons plus the 6'x2'x2' sump at 155 gallons, you'll have a 387 gallon system.

That is a large tank and a large system. Best place for you to post and get the best opinion from people who actually own and maintain large tank systems is be at the large tank forum, here: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/fo...play.php?f=252 . In that forum, the smallest tank is 180 gallons, and the largest goes to the thousands of gallons. WOOHOO!!



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Anything I post is just an opinion. One of many in this hobby. Believe and follow at your own risk of rapid and complete annihilation of all life in your tank

Current Tank Info: Incept 3/2010, 150 RR, 30g sump, 20g fuge, 150w 15K MH x3, T5 actinics x8, moonlight LED x6, 1400gph return, Koralia 1400 x4, 300 g skimmer, 4 tangs, 2 mandarins, 2 perc, 6 line, CBA, 2 firefish, SPS, LPS, zoas, palys, shrooms, clam

 

[jjk_reef00]

You said: 6ft x 18" x 18" wife said I can upgrade already to a 6x2x2

-> IMO I don't think that is much of an upgrade.
Is this a reef, what kind of fish do you want to keep, what kind of lighting?

If I were going to upgrade from 6x18x18 I would try my hardest to push for 8' x 30" x (24-30" tall)

As for skimmer there are lots of good options. I run SRO 5000 EXT and it runs great and is very competitively priced.

 

[danfeig]

I like the deeper tanks.

As for Skimmers, I am real happy with my Deltec 3070 External!

 

[pjwperth]

I am sort of limited by the size I can get as it is going to fit under a staircase which is concrete.I have re cut the questions I have.

How do you go about choosing the best protein skimmer for your set-up.

Do you look at gph? If so what ratio for your tank? Also do you include the amount of water your whole system hold or just the DT? I get back from work on Tuesday and was going to start looking at equipment so I can design sump and work out Budget if there is one.

I also am getting prices on a new tank let me know what you think.
tank 1 6x2x2
tank 2 6x3x2
Also have the free option of a 6x18x18 tank to convert into sump and refugium.

Wife wants one tank and be done with it no upgrades later. This tank will have a custom cabinets including hood by a professional carpenter and me of course, it will be drilled on the side so all plumbing will be hidden as the tank will be viewed from both 6ft sides for joy also dont want to waste cash and get ripped off by buying something that wont keep up.
I need the equipment to be really reliable as I work away from home, 3 hour plane ride to one of the remote spots in Western Australia, it needs to be easy to use for my wife who has basically no experience keeping aquariums.

Current light I have from my last tank is a 250w MH and I still have a few 20000k bulbs brand new.As far as corals go i'm just going to keep softies, mushrooms and zoos bta or carpet and maybe a clam or two at this stage I say that now lol, my design was going to be basically two drop off ledges one from each end and a bombie in the middle.

 

[dahenley]

equipment starts out as what you like, or what brands you like. (like as in build and quality and support.)
then you can choose or narrow down a few makes and models to fit your application.

then when you build your sump or plumbing, you kind of fit those pieces in the puzzle and work around them. dont build a sump and say, OK. i have X amount of room now i need to find something to fit it. (doesnt work that way with larger/bigger builds)

also note. on smaller tanks you usually run 10X turnover through a sump. with larger tanks, its not a good idea. the theory is that you only need enough flow for your skimmer and any other equipment to process/use. anything past that is extra money and a waste.
people achieve flow through closed loops and pumps. these intank pumps produce more flow with less Watts then using a large return pump for flow. (if that makes since)
imagine you had 400gal display or what have you. you would need something that puts out 6000 GPH to handle head loss and back pressure and lift to get your 4000 GPH. and your sump will be racing fast. and your not really getting a lot from this in your tank. where you could get a few power heads that are controllable and be way more happy. (not to mention your electric bill would be lower)

 

[pjwperth]

Thanks Dahenly. So when I work out what size skimmer do I take into account the whole system or just the dp. Also how much turn over do you want through your skimmer

 

[dahenley]

most internal skimmers have an external brother for say. the external ones will say how many GPH feed pump they need. (which is how much they can process)
its not an exact science. just dont waste a bunch of electricity unless you just want to.

i run a Dart on my 240. its a little much for just a return pump. but if i were to re-plumb it, and feed my reactors and clown breeding tanks. then it would be perfect. (the sump flow would be a little slower and less splashing and what not.

if you can do something like that or use 2 small pumps one for return and one to feed all reactors then it would be nice.

as for skimmers. think ahead and see if your ever going to expand or add frag tanks or extra fish tanks.
i would size to total water volume. i know sand and rock displace water volume. but that way you get a skimmer that is a little over rated (a lot over rated is bad because its not designed to skimmer such a small load and thus would be unstable as far as head foam and what not)

im not a cone person, but some people are. i like traditional skimmers because they give more dwell time/volume which is how the water gets processed.

 

[JillNairn]

After much reading, and having a 180 gallon prior with a euroreef that was rated at 250 gallons and it more then keeping up, researching companies that are making skimmers for big tanks, I came to the conclusion that most companies who are making quality big boy skimmers are pretty much realistic in their ratings anymore. The oversize by double what the manufacturer rates a skimmer for isnt valid anymore, imo.

External or internal, how tall it can or can not be, and other such things that are specific to your build, are probly things need to look at before trying to decide on the skimmer itself. I sized my return based on my skimmer and am running about a third more then what my skimmer is rated for through my sump after headloss.

 

[pjwperth]

Thanks guys will take some measurements on Wednesday when I wake up from the flight home.

I had a look online and found these lights, http://reefbreeders.com/it2080.html has anyone used them or know anyone who has?

 

[dahenley]

After much reading, and having a 180 gallon prior with a euroreef that was rated at 250 gallons and it more then keeping up, researching companies that are making skimmers for big tanks, I came to the conclusion that most companies who are making quality big boy skimmers are pretty much realistic in their ratings anymore. The oversize by double what the manufacturer rates a skimmer for isnt valid anymore, imo.

External or internal, how tall it can or can not be, and other such things that are specific to your build, are probly things need to look at before trying to decide on the skimmer itself. I sized my return based on my skimmer and am running about a third more then what my skimmer is rated for through my sump after headloss.

you said things they way i think in my head.... but i can never make it sound like that when i type.... hahah
+1

as for the lights. i think in the lighting and equipment forum, there is a thread about reefbreeders lights.