planning 40 breeder sps only. thoughts and opinions appreciated

[PeTe PoLyP]

So I have decided to build a 40 breeder for sps only. Of course the wheels in my head have hit overdrive. So far I have decided to drill overflows, and considering drilling a return at the bottom of the tank. I want to use a 20 gallon for a sump to put equipment and to have a fuge. It seems pretty traditional to put the fuge at the beginning of the sump, with the equipment coming after. I have thought about this and am thinking, what if I reverse this? What if I put the skimmer in the first compartment followed by a larger area for the fuge filled with live rock, deep sand bed and macroalgae? Being the first tank I have set up with a sump I don't really know the ins and outs. Will there be any problems that could surface from this? For equipment I have thought of using reef octopus bh90 to free up some space. I'm thinking of using a mag drive 5 for a return, along with 2 jebao wp25 for water movement. I would like to have substrate in the tank for visual purposes, but would like to have the convenience of a bare bottom. I'm thinking of cutting some acrylic, using silicone to seal it to the bottom also using silicone as an adhesive to attach some sand to give the appearance of a sand bed. For the return, I want to build a spray bar that will keep any detritus off the bottom of the tank. I'm sure I have left some out, but this is all I can think of at the moment. Thoughts and opinions are greatly appreciated.

 

[PeTe PoLyP]

Of course seconds later after posting this thread I remembered a couple things. One is what to use for a sump. If I use a 20 long it will not leave much room for any equipment. I do plan on using a kalk reactor. If I use a 20 show my concern is clearance for the skimmer. There is the option on using an internal skimmer. I was just wanting to free up space pin the sump for the biggest fuge possible. I guess another option would be to build a sump from the ground up to accommodate all of my concerns.

 

[ridetheducati]

Is the sump required to be inside the stand?

 

[ridetheducati]

So I have decided to build a 40 breeder for sps only. Of course the wheels in my head have hit overdrive. So far I have decided to drill overflows, and considering drilling a return at the bottom of the tank.

You mean drain. Install a ghost overflow box.

I want to use a 20 gallon for a sump to put equipment and to have a fuge. It seems pretty traditional to put the fuge at the beginning of the sump, with the equipment coming after. I have thought about this and am thinking, what if I reverse this?

Small refugiums are not very effective at reducing nutrients, but very effective for harvesting pods. Personally, I would not rely on the refugium for nutrient export, a proper skimmer will carry the load.

What if I put the skimmer in the first compartment followed by a larger area for the fuge filled with live rock, deep sand bed and macroalgae? Being the first tank I have set up with a sump I don't really know the ins and outs. Will there be any problems that could surface from this?

Place the skimmer in the chamber that receives the "dirty" water first, generally the first chamber with the return pump in the last chamber.


For equipment I have thought of using reef octopus bh90 to free up some space. I'm thinking of using a mag drive 5 for a return, along with 2 jebao wp25 for water movement.

Sounds good. Although, I dont know much about the BH90.

I would like to have substrate in the tank for visual purposes, but would like to have the convenience of a bare bottom. I'm thinking of cutting some acrylic, using silicone to seal it to the bottom also using silicone as an adhesive to attach some sand to give the appearance of a sand bed.

Use starboard, not acrylic.

For the return, I want to build a spray bar that will keep any detritus off the bottom of the tank. I'm sure I have left some out, but this is all I can think of at the moment.

Use a SeaSwirl or regular nozzle and mount another MP25 lower in the tank for stirring detritus. Three MP25s will provide more than adequate circulation in a barebottom tank.

Thoughts and opinions are greatly appreciated.

Good luck with the build.

 

[PeTe PoLyP]

Yes I mean drains, I have an acrylic guy that I will be using to build the overflow boxes. The bh90 is rated up to 100 gallons and has an air draw of 420 lph with a water draw of 92 gph.

 

[DCReefer1964]

SOunds like a plan to me

 

[DCReefer1964]

I would Google 40 Breeder SPS builds> I have found that this is the best way to get an idea of how to address your build. Believe me if you are thing of it, it has already been address before. Tagging along.

 

[Chris Lakies]

One thing i always wish for: more room in the stand. If you can build a larger foot print of a stand to house calcium reactors or top off it will be a +

 

[Dapg8gt]

I would Def look into other people's builds for ideas on sump configuration and overall ideas. I have personally owned the bh90 and it's a good skimmer but visually I wouldn't want it hanging off the back of the tank. If you have a sump imo you should get an internal skimmer. It will look a whole lot better.

I second not relying on a fuge so heavily. You would need a whole lot more space than you have for it to be super beneficial. I would personally use the space for a larger skimmer and a few reactors for gfo and carbon.

Good luck with the build and I really recommend searching for sump designs on here and Google in general and just looking at other builds to get ideas to incorporate into yours. Filter socks is one area to research. If your going to use them make the sump in a way it's really easy to change them so you will do it as often as necessary. I have mine sitting on a plate with all the water going from the herbie into a small settling chamber and then overflowing into both so I dont have to remove anything to change them

 

[Ross33]

Lots of good advice already. I agree with everyone that is saying don't concentrate on the fuge so much. Biopellets are more effective at reducing nitrates and phosphates.

As far as the substrate goes, I have read that gluing sand to a bare bottom is a nice idea in concept, but quickly becomes very dirty and ugly. (algae grows in the sand and its difficult to scrub without the sand just coming off. ) I would either do a shallow sand bed, or no substrate at all. If you go BB it will quickly become covered in coralline anyway.

I also agree with building the footprint of the stand bigger than you need it. At least a few inches on each side. If you build it to the dimensions of the 40 breeder, you are going to have almost no room inside for dosing pumps, ATO, etc after you put the sump in. If you can work with acrylic or have a guy that does, I'd build a custom sump with an ATO resovoir built into it.

 

[PeTe PoLyP]

I plan on using a tunze osomlator nano connected with a kalk reactor for ato. I wish to have all of the equipment in the sump. I was thinking if using a pump with low flow for return to give detritus to settle and not use any filter sock. This is why I'm looking at using the mag drive 3 for a return. I have been toying with the idea of putting an inline gfo chamber in the return instead of using a powerhead.

 

[PeTe PoLyP]

Oh, I will have to do some research about biopellets. I know practically nothing about it.

 

[Ross33]

A mag 3 is not quite enough IMO. After head pressure you might be getting 150gph, which is weaker than an old maxijet powerhead. I'd do a mag 5 if I was you.

 

[PeTe PoLyP]

Thanks Ross. I'm aiming for around 300 gph.

 

[tripdad]

I have this exact set-up right now. A few points to consider.... The 20 long is a short tank so have your skimmer in hand before setting baffle hieght in the sump, also in order to accomodate drain down when shutting off return pump or power outage you have to make sure all the water will fit and not swamp your baffles so I used a skimmer with a low required water level. Some require as much as 9 or 10 inches and this gets a little full when drained down....next is flow thru the sump, speed of flow, as this is not an exceptionally long tank(20 long) you can drive detritus thru all the baffles if flow is too high.... it gets full real fast when adding equipment and be carefull to make a "long" enough compartment for a submerged heating tube if your going that way. Good luck and enjoy.

 

[bdsage]

do a search on ''bomber/barebottom'' im doin similar to his system in my 40b... imo/experience its very effective...jus say no to detritus lol

 

[PeTe PoLyP]

What if I scratch the 20 gallon sump, use a stand for a 75 gallon and use another 40 for a sump?

 

[ridetheducati]

Provided the stand is properly built, yes.

 

[loganlemaster]

You may not want your return at the bottom of your tank. Power outage will back siphon.

 

[PeTe PoLyP]

That's a great point that I didn't consider. It would be a bad day to come home to an empty tank. I did a little research on biopellets and it seems a little risky. I'm not really interested in having a ulns. I'm considering a calcium reactor, but that too seems a little risky. Especially in such a small system. Again, I have no experience with any of this type of equipment. Maybe I'm playing it too safe. I'm leery of having equipment that may fail leading to a nuked tank. I would much rather prefer to have a system with as much natural filtration/nutrient removal as possible.