Rate my new system please

[dcombs44]

Hi everyone...as i've posted before, I'm moving to the springfield area and i'm upgrading from my 29 gallon to a 55 gallon hoping that it will involve less maintenance. I would've loved to go bigger but a recent college grad starting a new job doesn't quite have the funding for much more.

Anyways, I want nothing more than a successful aquarium, so if you could all share your opinions on what my new system lacks or needs, etc., or if there is something that i have that you all don't agree with, please share that too. I just figured i'd get an idea about what the people in the central part of the state are doing in comparison to where i'm from.

System is as follows....

55 gallon rectangle perfecto drilled aquarium
all glass corner 1" megaflow overflow
29 gallon sump (ecosystem miracle mud substrate in fuge with calupera algae and a couple peaces of live rock)
60 pounds aragomax substrate for main tank
euroreef cs-80 skimmer in sump
quiet one 6000 (1506 gph) sump return
magdrive 700 closed loop
dual 250w 14k hamilton metal halides
40 watt 50/50 standard fluorescent (supplemental lighting)
Planning to use Bionic 2 part calcium/alkalinity buffer and Dt's Phyto

I'm considering an RO unit, but wasn't sure what a good brand was, I don't think I'll have the space for anything like a Calc. reactor, the only other thing i could really think of would be uv to run when adding new livestock to tank....I greatly appreciate any advice.

 

[Benny Z]

personally, i would swap your quiet one and mag drive. that quiet one is going to put a ton of flow through your sump. i would definately opt for the lower flow pump through the sump...and probably even a smaller pump than a mag 7. maybe a mag 5.

standard florescent lighting isn't going to make any difference whatsoever. if you want more florescence, go vho or t5. if that's not an option, i'd just drop the florescents altogether and save the electricity (albeit not a lot).

a 29g is going to make a frustrating sump. you might want to consider a 20 or 30 long instead. i'm not even sure if a cs-80 is tall enough to be in a 29g. you may want to see what size asm skimmer you can get for the equivellent dollar. if you can get a bigger asm, i'd do that. the euroreef is very nice skimmer. but you are paying for the quality materials/construction.

then again, i'd say scrap the substrate altogether, add more flow, and go bare bottom.

can't wait to see the replies in this thread. everyone has a different idea of the "best" tank setup.

cheers!
- ben

 

[dcombs44]

See that all sounds good (other that the bb setup....i'm still not totally sold on it) but the "closed loop" that i'm talking about isn't typical....the glass is tempered so no drilling, so i actually have the mag in the overflow and plumbed to the opposite corner of the sump return...the quiet one won't fit in the overflow...the euro isn't quite tall enough, but i planned to make some sort of platform to make it work....do you think the sump will be awkward just because of how tall it is? The reason i got one that big is due to the fact that i'll be away from home for sometimes up to 3 days, therefore i won't have to worry about top off or power outtage while i'm gone...thanks for the input, if you have any ideas to add to what i just said please fire away.

 

[cioutlaw]

If i read it right the 1 overflow is supposed to handle the water from a Quiet One 6000? You might want to check to see if the overflow can flow that much water.

The 29G will work for a sump but think you would be happier with a 30G long like Benny suggested. With the height of the 29G it will be difficult to work in the sump If you have it below the 55G & the 55 isnt 4ft off the floor. I have a 40 Breeder & love it for a sump.

Looks like you have a good start...good luck

 

[dcombs44]

i've already filled the tank and tested the quiet one on it....runs like a charm and is extremely quiet as well...i will look in to the 30 long

 

[Sloeber]

Re: Rate my new system please

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7878971#post7878971 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dcombs44
Hi everyone...as i've posted before, I'm moving to the springfield area and i'm upgrading from my 29 gallon to a 55 gallon hoping that it will involve less maintenance. I would've loved to go bigger but a recent college grad starting a new job doesn't quite have the funding for much more.

Anyways, I want nothing more than a successful aquarium, so if you could all share your opinions on what my new system lacks or needs, etc., or if there is something that i have that you all don't agree with, please share that too. I just figured i'd get an idea about what the people in the central part of the state are doing in comparison to where i'm from.

System is as follows....

ok, here we go

55 gallon rectangle perfecto drilled aquarium

awful aquarium. you'll regret getting a 55g. if money is tight, get a 40g breeder. if you can splurge, get a 75g.

all glass corner 1" megaflow overflow
29 gallon sump (ecosystem miracle mud substrate in fuge with calupera algae and a couple peaces of live rock)

29g sump is ok. ran one myself. not ideal, but works. never did the miracle mud, but then again i never needed a miracle.

60 pounds aragomax substrate for main tank

i'd get varying grains of sand.

euroreef cs-80 skimmer in sump

never owned one but everyone seem to like them.

quiet one 6000 (1506 gph) sump return

better pumps exist for the money. runs hot.

magdrive 700 closed loop

i'd probably swap this with the return pump.

dual 250w 14k hamilton metal halides

i love mine!

40 watt 50/50 standard fluorescent (supplemental lighting)

icecap VHO or bust!

Planning to use Bionic 2 part calcium/alkalinity buffer and Dt's Phyto

bail on the bionic. i used it, liked it, but it was daily work. get a kalkwasser reactor.

I'm considering an RO unit, but wasn't sure what a good brand was,

all the same filters on the inside.

I don't think I'll have the space for anything like a Calc. reactor,

do the kalk and forget the calc. with kalk you eleminate daily top-off requirement, get stable SG, add calcium, and stabilize alk.

the only other thing i could really think of would be uv to run when adding new livestock to tank

i don't like them myself, but many people do. i wouldn't concern myself... many more important things out there.

HTH

 

[dcombs44]

Hey thanks for the advice....problem is, i've already bought all of the things listed, so some of this can't really be changed....bottom line is, it has to be better than my 29 gallon tank....i will be adding some live sand of various grain sizes to the aragomax....ecosystem actually recommends 1000-2000 gph flow through a sump containing miracle mud, and if you read the rest of my posts, there really is no way to swap the two pumps...The main reason i posted this was for opinions, and ideas that i may put to use in the future if not applicable now....can someone tell me the purpose behind less flow through the sump....is that for skimming purposes?

 

[Benny Z]

yes... you will skim better sending less flow through your sump.

imo you want the flow through the sump to be less than the flow through the skimmer.

 

[Sloeber]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7894389#post7894389 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Benny Z
yes... you will skim better sending less flow through your sump.

why does water flow in a sump translate to better skimming? i'm not sure i can see the correlation.

imo you want the flow through the sump to be less than the flow through the skimmer.

i think it has nothing to do with skimming IMHO.

some of us (myself included) run needle wheel skimmers. if i followed benny's theory, my sump would have a turn over rate of about 75 - 90gph. obviously not realistic, especially for a system of nearly 400g.

IMHO the idea of slowing water down in the sump is to allow for micro-bubble dispersal. if the aquarium wate ris flowing through the sump at a high rate of speed the micro bubbles will not be given the chance to rise to the surface. a slowed water pace allows the micro-bubbles to rise and thus be eleminated from the system.

HTH

 

[dcombs44]

That makes sense, but with enough diffusing panels in the sump, i would think that the bulk of the microbubbles would be given enough time to disperse. For instance, in my sump, i have 4 chambers...Two of these contain crushed live rock through which the water must pass to get to the next chamber, and it also has a refugium section that ends in a small "waterfall" to the 3rd chamber containing rock....IMHO there is plenty of chances for the bubbles to diffuse.....but again, i'm not expert and that is just an opinion....plus there really isn't anything i can do about it now but use my gate valve to control the flow.....again, thanks for the input

 

[dcombs44]

[/IMG]


This is a pic of my old 10 gal sump...i will replace the bio balls with crushed live rock in the new 29 gallon sump.

 

[dcombs44]

i had 950 gph running through the above pictured sump and not a bubble in sight....keep in mind, that was a 10 gal. sump on a 29 gal. tank....that's quite a bit of flow.

 

[cioutlaw]

Im with Henry I dont see less GPH increasing the quality of skimming..if anything you will have a better chance of skimming the same water twice before it gets out of the sump with less GPM. I use the pump in the sump to provide circulation in my main tank(1600gpm) but I also do not have a fuge. I have had a Yellow Tang living in my sump for the past 4 months & the flow doesnt seem to affect him.