Setting up a 110G in wall tank

[cbashaw]

I'm setting up a 110G in wall tank for soft corals and LPS

Here's what I have so far:

For the overflow I drilled the tank and put a 1.5" bulkhead on the side and set up a 29G tank as a sump/fuge.

The skimmer is an Aqua-c EV-180 with a Mag7 pump.

The return pump will be a Quiet One 4000 connected to a scwd.

The bottom of the tank is about 42" from the floor and the top of is at about 75"

For additional flow in the tank I plan to set up a closed loop with a mag 3 and 2 modified MJ1200's (propeller mod)

Lighting to start off will be 2 150W hqi 20K mh lights and I will add 2 vho or t5 tubes in the future if needed. I think the 2 150's should be enough light since I will not be keeping clams or SPS.

And now the questions.

What size heater(s) should I get?

Is the Quiet One 4000 a good choice for a return pump or should I get something bigger/smaller?

I'm thinking of going with a 3" deep crushed coral substrate. Is this a good choice?

Any suggestions on what fish to get?

 

[ste6168]

i would get like 3 heaters two in your sump and a titanium one low in your display tank. As for the crushed coral, def wouldnt do it, never had it but i have never really heard anything good about it, i would go with 2-4" LSB.

edit- if your going to be using an scwd i would increas the return pump as i have heard they reduce flow greatly.

 

[Blown 346]

I would think that 2 heaters should be fine, One to back the oter one up in case one fails. I dont see a need for three.

The quiet one 4000 will be a little small, I would go with a 5000 or a 6000 pump.
The crushed coral is a bad idea as it will hold and store detritus, food, and waste and can and will cause a nitrate problem.
I would go with a fine grade sand.

 

[cbashaw]

Would Southdown be a better choice for sand? I have enough of it to do about a 2.5" sand bed and I'm sure I could find a little more if I need to.

What Wattage heaters should I get? I was thinking of getting a Hydor 300W in line heater to connect to my closed loop so it would never run out of water if the pump failed.

I could put a titanium heater behind the rockwork. What wattage should it be?

If I upgrade return pumps I might as well go with a better quality external pump. Should I go with a Little Giant, Iwaki, Gen X and what one should I use?

Will I be ok with the Quiet one 4000 for a few months until I have the money to upgrade to a bigger pump?

Thanks,
Chris

 

[ste6168]

i would go with the iwaki return pump over the other two, supposedly they are very good, reliable pumps.

i wouldnt get an inline heater, but thats just my opinion- i would go with one 300w titanium watt heater in the main tank, and two marineland deluxe 250w in the sump. The titanium would be set like 1 or 2 degrees lower than the other two.

2.5 inches of southdown would be perfect IMO

 

[cbashaw]

Why would you stay away from inline heaters?

 

[cbashaw]

Considering the sump is also going to be my refugium would upgrading to a bigger return pump be too much flow for a fuge?

After head loss from the return pump I should be getting about 800GPH and I'm assuming the MAG7 for my skimmer will probably pump another 500GPH I am going to have about 1300 GPH going through the sump.

If I use a bigger return pump would that be too much flow for a fuge?