Newbie with too many questions

[dwl]

Hello all,
First off, I am new to reefs, and already bought most everything.
I have not set anything up yet.
Now, of course, I am second guessing everything.
I have a smallish 24" x 24" X 18"high almost cube. I think that calculates to about 45 gallons, but there is a false back across the whole tank so the front to back distance is about 18". I think that calculates to about 34 gallons or so. The bottom is drilled and I have 2 1" bulkheads.

Lighting wil be handled by a Coralife Pro 24" MH(10K)/actinic/moonlight retro-kit. Hopefully this will be fine for just about anything I would want to keep in the tank, no?

The stand is taller than most, so there is good vertical room, but it is only 21" wide. I have a 10G and a 15H tank, and am planning on using the 15H for the sump, and was thinking about using the 10 for a refuguim later. There should be enough room to set the 10 above the 15H and use some of the overflow water using a Tee and a ball valve to control the flow into the refugium and have it gravity feed into the sump.

I have an ASM G1X skimmer, this came with no instructions at all. How deep should I make the skimmer section of my sump? How do I adjust it? I assume there is a general water depth at which it runs best, but what is it? Is this a good skimmer?

I also bought a Mag 12 for the return pump. I will have about a 5 foot head without considering bends or valves, etc. in the plumbing.
Of course AFTER I bought (ordered) all of this stuff, I read that most people recommend only about 3x to 5x flow through the sump, why is that?

Thanks for any help.

 

[bertoni]

What wattage is the lighting?

I don't know anything about ASM skimmers, sorry!

Higher flow rates through the sump waste power and can cause noise issues. Mag pumps aren't very efficient, if my memory is correct. I'd get an Eheim.

The 15g and 10g for the sump and refugium sound good to me.

 

[wizzbane15]

excessive flow rates through your sum inhibit your sumps contact time with the water. you are looking to maximze the flow through whatever filtration system or parts, biological or chemical, you are using. you should start by looking at what you are using and what kinds of flow is good for the particular unit or media, ect...

 

[dwl]

The retro kit has 1 150watt MH, and 2 65watt actinics.

Will higher flow rates in the sump negatively affect the skimmer's functioning?

I did not want to have powerheads in the tank.

Thanks.

 

[dwl]

wizzbane15
I was only planning on having a skimmer in the sump. Do I need additional filtration?

 

[papagimp]

The sump water volume is made up primarily with surface water from the display tank, you'll want to maximize the time that THAT particular water has with your skimmer since surface water tends to build up more proteins and "film". So I would definatly suggest a lower flow that a mag12. My return on my 55g pushes maybe 500gph to the display. If you do not want powerheads, consider a closed loop system for flow.

 

[Nano Chris]

I think that Mag 12 is a bit to big for your tank, i would suggest a smaller pump, i have an Eheim its quiet and good quality id say a Eheim 1048 or a 1250 would do the trick.

 

[dwl]

papagimp,
Would I still be able to use the overflow and my skimmer with a closed loop? Do you mean a closed loop in addition to the existing overflow?

Criminal,
I guess I will look at the eheim's.

Should I look at Hydor's or something?

Looks like I should have taken more time up front.

Thanks.

 

[papagimp]

Yes, closed loop in addition. I have a 29g I'm in the process of setting up, finished my drilling and almost all the plumbing anyways. have a centraly located overflow box (will once I get the acrylic pieces back from a friend) and on either side I have two holes bulkheaded for a closed loop. So my fuge will have about 300gph but the closed loop will run close to 400gph. Give my tank around 20ish x turnover. A closed loop would allow you to have more flow in thetank without powerheads being present while still having a low flow through a sump/refugium.

 

[dwl]

So, at least 2 more holes would need to be drilled, right?

Where would be good places to return the water inside of a cube, and how much flow would be too much?

 

[dwl]

Does anyone have any input on setting up the skimmer?

Thanks.

 

[bertoni]

For a 34g tank, I'd want 340-1000 gph total flow, depending on what was going into the tank. Instead of drilling, powerheads could do the job, but I agree that a closed loop usually looks nicer.

 

[dwl]

Alright, how stupid would it be to put a pump in the overflow area, since it is about 5" front to back, and 24" wide and about 18" deep.
I assume with my durso drainpipe, I can have the level in this about as high or low as I like, right? Anyway, if I were to put a pump in this area and run pvc over the overflow and into the tank, would this be OK, or just a bad idea?

 

[dwl]

OK, I am probably being a pain, and too stubborn, but woud something like this work to allow me to still use the too big Mag 12 until I replace it? SHouldn't I be able to limit how much water flows into the skimmer area, giving me the contact time needed, yet still flow enough water through the tank to not need any power heads?
Thanks.

 

[jus10kase]

I have that skimmer, but I couldn`t tell ya how I figured out how high water level. But I did just run it in the sump tank for a practice run, so that may be how I decided. The Eheim is a good recommendation also.

 

[bertoni]

You can put a T on the output of the pump, and run the extra circulation back into the pump chamber. Should be easy to do.

 

[dwl]

I was thinking about that too.
I am also thinking about adding a DSB bucket as well. If I do, I will split the output from the mag12 to feed it as well. That is part of the reason I am trying to keep the mag12.

It sounds like if I move slowly, I will be able to make this work.

Thanks.

 

[badfish]

I have a cube tank also. As far as the sump, I bought an acrylic cube tank from glasscages.com. I cut baffles and made it to my liking. This way you can fit the refugium into the sump. I wanted to keep it clean looking instead of running hoses to several tanks.

 

[dwl]

badfish,
Interesting idea. What size is your tank and your sump?

How many compartments do you have in your sump?
How big is your fuge, and what do you have growing in it?