Need ideas

[fkdenton]

I just bought a 150 non rr today. I am going to drill two 2in holes for drains and have the returns come over the top. I have been told this would be the easy way to do it. I am going to use a 40 breeder as a sump. What would you suggest I use as a return pump? What about a skimmer. It will not be heavly stocked but I dont want to under do it. As always the cheaper the better. I plan on mainly having easy sps and lps. It is a 48x24x31h

 

[panaboy95]

wow i just sent you a pm and we are very much on the same page. i have a mag 12 as my return pump i like it. i will like it more when i plumb it without the squid. it sucks too much flow away. you can never have big enough drains if you ask me.

i like my asm g3 skimmer i am going to be doing a resirc and mesh mod on it soon so it will be even better.

 

[Horace]

Just curious, but what is the point of having such large returns? There is no good reason to flow thousands of gallons through your sump. If you need extra flow, the best way is to use maxi-mods, Tunzes, or other PHs. The amount of watts the large return pumps use are rediculous as well. You will save alot of power and your fuge (if you have one) will work much more effectively. The other problem that often occurs when flowing too much flow through the sump is microbubbles. The higher the flow, the more there are and the harder it is to keep them out of the display.

I honstely do not think you need more than 1k gph through the sump, and you dont need even close to 2x2" drains to do that.

As for a skimmer, I would get an octopus skimmer rated for atleast 250g+ and do the mesh mod on the impeller (will increase its performance by about 30-40%). For a return pump I would get an external pressure rated panworld rated for ~800gph. They use less wats than a magdrive and put much less heat in the water, plus they are wisper quiet. For extra flow in the tank ,use the obove mentioned power heads.

 

[fkdenton]

I do not have any experiance with using a sump. I have no clue what would be best for it. I was told that would be best but I would be fine with smaller pumps. I like the octopus skimmers and I am using the hang on one on my 46 and it works great so I would consider another. It seems you can pick asms used for halfway cheap so I might look for a used g-3

 

[Vitaly]

Just curious...but what is the <U>detriment</U> to increasing the capacity of volume that could be drained from the display? Putting two 2 inch drains does not necessarily mean that there will be 2000+ gallons moving from display to sump, does it? I would think the only reason two 2 inch drains would be problematic in a smaller tank is the physical space that they would occupy.

I drilled much larger than I thought I would need, allowing the system to handle a much larger volume than I would ever move with my return pump. I perceived this as extra redundancy and security in case of a back-up/clog.

 

[panaboy95]

i would agree that the drains you can not get big enough. it will only drain as fast as it returns so if you want you can put to three inch drains in and only flow 300 gph.

i have heard lots of good things on the octopus skimmers.

 

[hounddog01]

It just might make more noise. more gurgling sounds.

 

[Horace]

Nothing wrong with putting large drains in, but the cost of the hole and the danger of drilling goes up as the hole gets larger. The bulkheads are also pricey, not to mention you will have huge 2" pipe to work with under the stand or however you plumb it. Not saying 2" is a bad thing, just not needed is all. I think 1.5 would even be a bit overkill honestly. My tank drains about 700g through a single 1" drain np.

As for the G3, I honestly (dont mean to hurt any feelings here) would avoid them. The G series skimmers are losing alot of ground in the skimmer world these days. Though many have them, most people still using them are modding them just to make them worth while. Also, I really dont think a G3 is big enough for a 150g SPS tank. They are HORRIBELY overrated, so dont go by the rating. You can essentially cut the rating in half or more.

If your looking for a cheap/decent skimmer check out the Octopus PS-PC-3000 found at www.customaquatics.com. They are $240. If you do the meshmod to the prop you can get that skimmer to perform like some $600+ skimmers for less than $300.