planning 40 breeder sps only. thoughts and opinions appreciated

What my concern with biopellets and skimming is that it makes sense to me that you would really need to overkill on your skimmer. With the additional bacteria being skimmed off, wouldnt a "recommended" skimmer be kind of small? I think with the barebottom setup, and what I'm trying to accomplish, biopellets might be really handy. I'm using a 40 breeder for a sump. So I will have a good area for detritus to settle. I would like to have a small chamber with some chaeto to grow pods and possible help with the removal of po4. From what I'm reading is that with the biopellets po4 can easily become unbalanced and grow cyano. With no sand, it seems to me that the only place available for cyano to attach will be rock. As I keep saying, this is all new to me. I have only had a sumpless tank with DSB and lots of live rock. I have never really had a problem with high nutrients. Of course I have had to use some sort of po4 removing media before, aluminium based. This time around is going to be a little different obviously. The more I read about the biopellets, the more it seems like a better fit for this system (being barebottom)
 
planning 40 breeder sps only. thoughts and opinions appreciated

I do still have a little cyno but I have only had the pellets for 3 weeks. My po4 is at .02 on my Hanna

On the skimmer I think you would want to go with a little oversized my nac 3.5 is too small but still skims really good
 
I was going to use a small pump for return, but after thinking about it for a while I'm thinking of ugrading some, using a manifold to branch off to other equipment.
 
I guess i need to elaborate on the thought behind the design of this system. I chose barebottom so that detritus will not collect. Also with choice of 2 wp-25 go along with this concept. I think these with the high rates of flow will allow all drtritus to be lifted from the bottom and rock in the display. The choice to go with a larger sump, 40 breeder, should allow for a large area dedicated for detritus collection that can easily be siphoned out. Filter socks would also be an option and may actually decrease maintenence time. It would probably be much quicker to have 2 socks, alternate them weekly, and wash the used sock. I know that I am contradicting myself in earlier posts, but this is a plan thread. I posted this to allow myself to gain information from fellow reefers and make a more educated decision on my setup. What appeals to me about biopellets is that I have noticed how clean and tidy the sumps are of the people using them. I have no experience in having a setup like this. I had reeftanks from 2002-2006, and left the hobby until 2012. So my knowledge of this hobby is dated. I still have the mindset of KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) so I am leery to try any of these latest trends in the industry. My current tank is very basic, DSB live rock and hob filter for filtration. I set this tank up in November of 2012. For the most part I have been fairly successful. I did have a slip up involving overuse of phosphate removing media which led to losing most of my acropora. I plan on keeping this tank for the many LPS and zoa i have in it. I'm dedicating this new tank for SPS and wish to build the best setup I can.
 
I like your plan so far. You are setting something up very similar to my tank. I am running BB with biopellets. I have a mag 9 running my return and my biopellets. I also have a mp-40 and 2 mp-10's in the display. I am running a herbie style drain and it is the only way I would go. It had a durso standpipe and it was loud (gurgling noise) and couldn't handle much flow at all.

If you do decide to go with biopellets, I would definetly run them off your main return.
 
So far I have drilled 2 drains on the top corners of the tank. I couldnt drill the bottom because it is tempered. I don't think the herbie overflow will work for me. It has 1" bulkheads with strainers and the target is about 400 gph through the sump. I am going to use 1" flex tube for the drain. I have considered using a pvc tee filled with filter foam at the opening as a durso standpipe. With the amount of flow it shouldnt make too much noise. With the placement of the drains its limiting what I will be able to do.
 
Ross33 said:
I like your plan so far. You are setting something up very similar to my tank. I am running BB with biopellets. I have a mag 9 running my return and my biopellets. I also have a mp-40 and 2 mp-10's in the display. I am running a herbie style drain and it is the only way I would go. It had a durso standpipe and it was loud (gurgling noise) and couldn't handle much flow at all.

If you do decide to go with biopellets, I would definetly run them off your main return.
Click to expand...


I'm running almost this same setup and it's working well for me. I do have a very small amount of sand though because I prefer the look. I have 3 1/2" drains. 1 mp-10 and 1 wp-25. What skimmer do you have?
 
If you would have asked me a few days ago I would have said great. I am having a hard time getting the pellets to tumble with the same amount of flow It has always had. Not
Sure if it is the reactor or that the pellets are about 6 months old.
 
Sorry for the late reply Petepolyp I do have a few fish but I test for everything daily. One thing I do as well on a daily basis is check all of my corals to make sure they are happy. I forgot to mention I have 2 mp40's full blast and sea swirl I really don't have dead spots. I would absolutely without a doubt the nwb110 will be perfect for you and I have had zero problems. I tend to run my phosphates higher than most for strong colors I am not big on the pastel colors that's my .02.
-Addison
 
Well, I pulled the trigger on the bm curve 5 today. I also purchased 2 wp25 yesterday... So I have goodies in the mail. I think I did well on these purchases... all together it was less than $300 :-). Now comes more difficult decisions. gfo or no, what pellet reactor, what return pump etc. I am looking at the sicce syncra 7.0 for a main return. I was going to get the 3.0, but after factoring the head pressure, biopellet reactor, maybe gfo, something else to put carbon inside I figured 715 gph wasn't going to cut it. Maybe 1321 gph will be enough. I'm sure the manifold will also add some head pressure also. I am going to have to really think about everything I'm going to run I off this pump before deciding. I'm trying to shoot for 400gph being returned into the tank. Will 10x an hour be enough of a turnover for a sump? I'm not sure how much flow these reactors will need, I figure at least 500gph. if I have too much I can always run it back into the sump. I was thinking of drilling another hole at the top center of the tank, putting in a bulkhead and using a loc line Y for the return. I have no need to worry about the little amount of flow coming from the return because the 2 wp25 can turn the tank over 100x per hour. Another option for return would be to use a T, and run them through the overflow boxes. Lots on the plate still....
 
I will start this post off with some goodies that came in today.
enuguvu4.jpg

I have made lots of decisions in the past few days about what equipment I will be using. And pretty much have everything purchased. So there are many more goodies coming in soon. All I really have left is to receive all the equipment so that I may start building the sump. I decided it would be best to do a mock up after everything arrives before building it and configuring the layout of plumbing. I still have a few odds and ends to choose and purchase. I decided a multi faceted approach to filtration and nutrient removal would be the best for me. I will be using a skimmer, biopellets, gfo reactor and have a fuge with live rock and macroalgae. I hope I can get away with running gfo on an *** needed basis, and not continually have it in use. I am thinking with all these methods in use, if one fails I have another in its place for backup. I'm trying to set this up the best I can with the knowledge I have gained over the years. Still, I feel as if I have left things off that would be beneficial. I don't know what they are, but its always something. With the constantly evolving technology in this hobby there has to be something. I am leaving this setup very open for making upgrades down the line very easily. Building a manifold on the return is one way I have addressed this. I will probably run out of room in the stand first lol.
 
I was planning on using dry rock in the display, plan changed. Every time I see Fiji tukani rock in person I get all excited. Today was no exception when I visited lfs. I found many light weight great sized rocks. Elbow deep in the curing table it started to pile up. I ended up just shy of 29lb. This should be more than plenty to fill the display and have a few leftover for the sump.
ena9e7av.jpg


This is the same rock I used in my 29 along with some dry rock from a previous tank. I still have 10 lbs of that old rock if need be. I'm not set up yet so its doing its thing in a rubbermade. Within the next week I should have everything I need to start assembly. The sump and display are going to my acrylic guy Monday. I'm figuring I will be ready to go in about a month. The worker at the lfs told me the rock has one week left. I thought to myself, you know this how? Judging by the amount of blackened dead sponge and green plant matter I'm willing to say it will be longer. I pulled off much of the decaying matter and broke lose the tiny pieces trapped inside the rock, and the pieces only held together with a sponge.
 
A SPS 40 breeder is very possible. I had a 40 breeder SPS dom tank. 40 breeder, dual overflows drilled, 29 gallon sump, mag 7 pump, BRS reactor with 1.5 inch sandbed. It was very successful. Had RO NWB100 for the skimmer and 4 bulb T5. And JBJ overflow

Im not sure what you are questioning after reading this thread but there are many ways to do it.
 
I was just asking for peoples advice on equipmet, filtration methods and such to help with the planning. This is what I have ended up with

40b display
40b sump with 18" fuge section
48" aquarium stand
Bubble magus curve 5
Sicce syncra 5.0 return/manifold
Tlf kalk reactor 300
Jbj ato+ kobalt mj600
Bluefin reactor (biopellets)
Phosban 150 reactor
200w Jager heater
Neptune apex lite, Ph probe
6 bulb t5
Ati 3xblue+ 2xcoral+ 1xpureactinic and one 12k (not ati)
2x jebao wp25
29lb Fiji tukani rock
2x 18w t5 for fuge
lots of vinyl tubing, connectors, ball valves
2x 1" bulkhead kits

I think that's about everything. I chose to have biopellets to export.nitrate because I will not have any sand. I chose the longer stand to provide a place to put all the equipment, and so all I have to do to upgrade in the future is buy a new 75g or 90g.
 
I plan on using a manifold to pump water to the pellet reactor and gfo. I'm aiming for about 300gph for return, this will also be adjusted by having a ball valve and running it back to the return section in the sump. I wanted it to be easy to add more equipment that runs off the manifold, or upgrade to the bigger tank. I estimate the head to be around 10 feet and think I will have around 600gph return. The pellet reactor and gfo should take 100 gph (estimate) which leaves 500gph
 
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