Need some help designing my first SW reef tank.

[Wildeone]

I purchased a 65 Gallon tank with stand and 380 watts of lighting. The tank will be placed on a wall in my finished basement with ample space on the other side of the wall (unfinished side of the basement) to install about anything I want, like a fish room. I have been reading for several days at the various setups that are available, but I am not sure what is best for my situation.

I would like to keep the tank as close to the wall as possible. The space I have for the display is just the right size. So if I have the tank drilled, does that allow me to put the tank closer to the wall? Would I drill in the back of the tank and how many holes (2?). I hear surface skimming (like with an overflow) is important.

My plan is to put a sump and refugium in the fish room as well as an ro/di system with auto top off. I also have plans for a protein skimmer in the sump and of course my heaters and fans and the like.


What I cannot figure out is one return line enough to provide ample flow across the reef. From what I am reading, flow is super important. I also read about a return manifold, which would give you more control over the flow and direction of flow in the display. Is anyone here doing a return manifold and how well is it working?

I am trying to get everything laid out before any water goes into my new tank. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[phenom5]

i would pull of the drywall and look into building the stand into the wall. that way you can have the back of the tank flush with the wall.

i would drill 2 holes in the back for the drains, and then add a few more holes for a closed loop for better flow.

here's a good DIY skimmer plan, you may not want something that big, but you could scale it down a bit.

what kind of lights?

what do you want to keep?

 

[mg426]

Its really up to you as to where you put your tank. If space is limited then you have to do what you have to do. As for space behind the tank, I do like to have room. its a lot easier to work if you have plenty of room. if your stand is closed in the front (with doors of course) just make sure that whatever goes in will come out . Sump / refugium etc ,etc

 

[Fred_J]

All of your flow does not have to come from the return line. You can use a closed loop manifold, or put power heads in your tank Tunze, Seio.

 

[Wildeone]

Thanks to all for your suggestions.

Phenom: Is there any problem with having the tank drilled for a closed loop and then capping off the bulkheads until I actually have it installed? Due to the amount of $$$ I am sinking into the initial setup, some things like the closed loop, the skimmer and the like will have to wait for a couple of months. Power heads seem cheap enough to utilize in the beginning to achieve flow in the tank initially.

I don't quite grasp the whole powerhead thing yet. I have never seen one in real life. Do they just submerse into the tank and suction to the back?

I like your idea about the drywall, it is even easier that that, as I have Plybead 3/8" plywood paneling on the finished side and nothing on the unfinished side. I will take a look at setting that stand into the wall a bit.

Can I get away with a powerhead and a sump with refugium for a few months? And another thing, what size pump in the sum for a 65G, head is not an issued, because I can put the sump at any height I want on the backside of the tank?

Fred: The tunxe idea is new to me, first I had heard of it. I am researching that idea as well.

Thanks to all for your input!

 

[slojmn]

While you are planning the physical aspect of the hardware, plumbing, and lighting of your little ocean in a box you must really consider what animals you plan to keep in your reef. You can save yourself a ton of money if you plan for the animals you want to keep. Is this going to be Fish only with live rock? mixed reef with lps corals? soft corals? sps corals? Do you want aggressive fish, passive fish? not good to mix the two, IMO . Are you going to keep any inverts? starfish, anemones, shrimp, etc. What kind of reef life will determine a lot about what kind of cleanup crew you will need. Are you going to run a sand bed or bare bottom? Flow will matter if you have a sand bed, or at least where you direct your flow. You don't want a sand storm in the tank. Powerheads are notorious for loosing suction, when you are at work or sleeping only and blowing your sand all over the place causing distress for your reef. Tunze's are great flow but pricey. So much to consider but doing so on this end will save you heartache and money on the other end. Be very patient and plan, plan, and plan. Go slow. There is no need to rush through, especially being new to this and this being your first tank. Throw out some ideas about what kinds of life you want to keep in your reef and many of us can help steer you in the right direction for equipment you will need to keep the life you want to keep.

Right off the bat your lighting will limit much of what you can keep. What kind of lighting is the 380W, VHO, NO, PC???

Keep asking questions and coming back here to post your thoughts and progress. Good luck and have fun . PM me and I can direct you to a great resource of tons of info from some of the most successful hobbyists, how they did what they did, mistakes, pitfalls, and successes.

 

[phenom5]

wildone,
you can drill your tank for a CL and cap it off for late...that's fine. yes, powerheads are pump that go in the tank, and you can get away will a few PH's to get by during the cycle and until your ready to setup your CL. Tunze are another great option, i'd go with a couple of Tunze streams on a multicontroller, but that is going to be pricey. the multicontroller allows you to control the Tunze's, it's got wave settings, a feeding mode, and a nighttime mode. Tunze are completely different (and better) then a standard powerhead in terms of the type of flow you get out of them. kind of depends on what kind of money you want to drop and iff you want powerheads in the tank...also depends on what you want to keep in this tank.

as for your return pump, well that depends on your drain(s). even if your sump is level with your display there is going to be some head loss, and you'll probably want the sump somewhat lower then the display so that the waterr drains from the display to the sump. the size of the return pump is determined by the size and number of your drain(s). as long as your drain(s) can handle a little more water then your pump can pump w/ head loss your good. for example, 2 1" drains can handle ~600gph (i think, double check this.) as long as you return pumps less then 600 gph your good, but if your return pumps 750gph after head loss...well, then you'd be in trouble for obvious reasons.

as for the skimmer, i just put that DIY plan out there for you. personally, i think skimmers are fairly simple pieces of equipment, and you can build one fairly easily. however, if this is your first experience with a skimmer, you may be better off buying one. with DIY's you sometimes lose adjustability & ease of operation.

also, i'd check the DIY forum for help with the stand. i've seen it done plenty of times, but i've never done it myself. check with the DIY guys and let them know what your working with, that way you can make sure everything is structurally sound. if you can get the search function going, do a search for "in-wall" tanks, that will give you a good idea of what i'm talking about.

HTH :thumbsup:

 

[PatMayo]

Wildeone,
See this thread for powerheads in the tank.

Regards,

Pat

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=780206

 

[Wildeone]

Slojmn : Thanks for the input, I guess I never thought real hard about EXACTLY what was going to be in the tank. I have not had any time to really learn about corals, but I do know I would like to have LR with a sand bed. I would like some corals in the future, but I have not read enough about them to understand the differences between SPS, LPS and soft. I guess I just figured it would take about 1 to 2 months to get the tank plumbed and the uncured LR cured and the H2O at the appropriate levels. I thought I would have enough time to do my homework, but I guess you are right, do it now and save some $$$.

I would like to have shrimp, emerald crabs and snails. Some nice fish, passive is fine with me, but like I said my initial plan was to get a tank, with a sump/refugium setup and running, throw in LR and LS, wait for cycling, toss in a clean up crew and then decide what to do next. I will take your advice and do a little more research up front.

I just purchased the tank on Friday night (used local on Ebay) and I have not even picked it up yet. I am supposed to go and get it today. The tank is 5 months old and the lights are 2 mos old. The previous owner stepped up to a 100 gallon unit. He said he had about $900 in the tank, stand lights and a enheim 2215 cannister filter. I got it for $400. I think I got an OK deal, but being new to this I am not sure. So I don't know what the lights are except he said "380 watt current light with two daylight lights and actnic lighting". So I guess I will see exactly what they are when I get it. I just assume that they will work with LR and some corals because he has that in the photo of the tank.

My head is kind of spinning because of all the stuff to think about. Powerhead or Tunze or Closed loop...and all the other stuff. In the order of price (low to hi) is it Powerheads, CL then Tunze? What about Seio? Is a CL loud, as that is what I red somewhere?

I am going to put my plans in CAD and post them here in pdf format for all to see so I can get more input. I appreciate your invite to PM I may take you up on that. Thanks for the advice and I will keep you posted!

 

[slojmn]

Yea, head spinning sounds about right . You are doing the right stuff thinking outloud and planning. Keep us posted.

 

[Wildeone]

Phenom: Help me understand something about the internal overfplow process. If I have my tank drilled with 2 holes in the corner and I install an overflow box like this:

With it being 6"X6" that would be 12 linear inches of overflow. and I use this Calculator here and determine that a 1"line can pull 600 GPH and I need 9" of overflow (per 600). SO if I get a GenX GX2400 pump that does 635 max gph ( I can dial it down I think to 600). I would be ok because I have 12" of linear overflow and I only need 10.

Is that right? What kind of flow do I want in a 65 gallon with a 30 Gallon sump? Does that depend on livestock?

As far as the skimmer, I bookmarked that page. I am very mechanically inclined so I would have no problem putting one together, do I need one right away or can I wait 6 months for one? Thanks for the link!

 

[Wildeone]

Pat, thanks for link and NICE TANK. I like the magfloat idea for the seios. I may just do that myself!

 

[Wildeone]

Drawing of proposed setup.

Drawing of proposed setup.

I have attached a drawing of my proposed setup with the hopes of some feedback on the design. I will add equipment specifications in my next post. Thanks in advance!

 

[wfrost]

Drill it dont go go with a overflow box its a major pain. I like the overflow box either in a corner or in the middle, try your LFS or glass company for drilling or DIY. Use a smaller tank for a sump holding a pump or powerhead, heater, skimmer, refugeium and whatever. Read back through old posts and youll pick up all kinds of info.

 

[Wildeone]

Wfrost, I don't understand, I thought my options for getting water to my sump was to either hang an external overflow box or have my tank drilled and have an internal overflow box. Is that not my only 2 choices? Is there a third?

 

[Wildeone]

SLOJMN: I took a look at your tank, it is nice and it does have nice lines. The dimensions are the same as mine and I like your overflow. Would you be so kind, if its not too much trouble, to get me dhe dimensions of the overflow? Also is it mirrored or is that just a refection is see on the empty tank photo?

Thanks!