Setting up a 20 Long-where to drill?

J

JonK

New member
I am setting up a 20L with a sump. I want to drill the tank. I was thinking a 1 inch drain in the center and two 3/4 inch returns on opposite sides of the tank. Does that sound reasonable?

I think I'm going to use a SCWD on the return line to get that wave type effect in the tank. Would a mag 9 have enough push so that's all the circulation I would need? Thanks for any input. I'm trying to keep this tank as "clean" looking as possible, I don't want a lot of equipment visible in the tank.

If need be since I might be going SPS. If I need more circulation. How would you guys set up a Closed loop in addition to the return thru the SCWD? Again I'd like to drill the tank for the CL.

Thanks.

Jon
 
your plan sounds reasonable and a 9.5 should be plenty of flow to start.as your corals grow you may need more if you plan on keeping alot of sps.another two or three holes would be needed if you want to run a closed loop and not go over the top with it.i would be careful drilling so many holes in a 20,the thin glass makes a crack very possible.if you drill it as planned i would stay at least two inches from the all edges of the glass panes.and do not overtighten the bulkheads or the tank will crack.i dont like drilling the smaller tanks because of this.i have had a few crack over the years.over the top closed loops can be hidden if you build a canopy to conceal it.but your plan will work.i have done a very similiar 20 long several times and it worked out nicely
 
Thanks Dan.

I ordered 38mm and 45mm diamond hole saw bits off ebay. I remember watching the guys drill some holes at an NCPARS swap a few years back. I have an old 10 gallon I might practice on.

Trying to do things perfect this time. I want a nice tank that's not too much maintenance. I also ordered a new membrane and filters for my RO unit.
 
Don's advice is all right on the money. Especially where he offers concern about too many holes. Just make sure whatever hangs from those holes is supported in some fashion. I'll only offer something to think about on the pump selection to drive the scwd. The smaller version actually has a maximum flow that it was designed for. I believe it's 500gph. Much beyond that, in some cases will actually make the drum stop rotating. A 9.5 may be too much flow to push though the smaller version. The new ridiculously-priced larger version should deal with a 9.5 according to what I've read.
 
Thanks! I'll check on the SCWD maximum flow.

I decided that if I need more circulation I'll just use those small powerheads. Koralia or whatever they are called. I'm hoping I'll have the bits by this weekend to start drilling. It would be nice to be ready for corals by the time the swap rolls around.

Maybe a Mag 7 would be more appropriate, figure head loss it would probably be around 500gph anyway.
 
A 7 was where I was thinking too. The shortest interval is something like every 5 seconds at the maximum flow it can handle. It's tough to call that random.
 
I won't say my setup is similar, but I do have a 20 long with one 1" bulkhead in the floor of the tank. It drains down through a couple of 90's behind the wall and into a 55 gallon sump. It is returned over the top of the glass and branches off into 2 outlets with a mag9 that I have dialed back just a hair. I'd say I'm somewhere around 600gph. I didn't think it seemed like enough flow for my mostly softie tank so I added a Koralia 1. I like it alot better now.
 
the max flow on the squid is 1400 gph.this is off there web site

Features
"Tested & approved for use with pump applications not to exceed 1400 GPH and a maximum of 5 psi with a minimum rating of no less than 50 GPH. "

i run 1200 thru mine with no problems except for them only lasting 6 months to 1 year before needing a good cleaning.the one inch model is said to handle 3500gph but i have not tested one yet so i can not say for sure on that.

Dan
 
If I am not mistaken, I read somewhere that the smaller sqwd offers 90% efficiency on 700 aned 900 gph. Ill have to do some searching to verify that.
 
i do see that joe,but i push a blue line 40x thru it on a closed loop and it switches at about 7 seconds.that pump is rated at about 1200gph.the maxium pressure and flow rating is on this info page and that is the same info i got from talking directly to the company on the phone.here is the page with the maxium flow spec.




http://www.3iqventures.com/buynow.html
 
I wasnt going against what you were saying, Dan. I just put that in there to show coralnut and Jon the manufactors info since they thought 900gph was too much. I wish they had tested at the higher flow rates.
 
yea,i hear you there.i did not see that info before.i am not sure how accurate it is considering that it says it was provided by a user of the unit and not the actual manufacturer testing.it does not match what i am coming up with on the two i run.anyway i like them.for the money you cant beat them .they do create random flow and some turburlence.
 
Thanks for the info, and setting me straight guys. Like I said, I was going from memory, that's a bit distant now, and wasn't sure what the pressure max. was on the smaller ones. I had used a bunch of them a long time ago on smaller systems, but took them off-line when I consolidated a bunch of them into larger tanks. I had a few stop switching, one running on a 9.5 When you can't open the thing it's tough to figure out what the problem is. There is a pretty simple mod to them where you cut the top off and glue on an ABS trap on the top. I got to cutting the top off of one, and just ran out of time for it. Baseball commitments eat up my life 9 months out of the year!
 
you are right coralnut.after a while cleaning will not fix them.also if you run unusually high alk and cal like some people do they freeze up and are not repairable.the one inch model is out now and it has the removable top and replacable internal parts.the only thing is they do not switch very quick.greater than a minute in most cases.i like the quick switching on the smaller unit for a CL.it creates a nice wave action with plenty of turburlence and swirling.i am researching them a bit now .there is options available,i believe for changing out the drum and gear assembly to dial in the switching time.
 
I've been looking at them too, but I still can't get past the price. There's more than one "motorized" option out there, that by the time you're done, the prices aren't that far apart. I'm still riding the $ fence on this one.
 
i hear you there.the thing with me is i do not want to plug one more thing into the wall.my electric bill is crazy and i am running out of places to safely plug into.also my breaker box is out of empty space so for me i probably will stick with the mechanical switching devises.they are still more than half the cost as far as i know and the motorized units also fail some time.
 
The electrical spaghetti maze is what I used to call my fish room when I had stuff in smaller tanks. It was horrible, not to mention dangerous. I'm exactly where you are on my breaker box, but thankfully, my electric bill isn't breaking the bank yet. I run a woodstove in the basement during winter and that helps a lot. Acts a perfect "balancer" to the humidity.
 
I never received my diamond bits so I wasn't able to start drilling this weekend. I know they were shipped but by postal service so I can't track them. I know I should be receiving my new RO membrane and carbon and sediment filters tomorrow by UPS.

It was a pretty busy weekend anyway so I probably wouldn't have gotten much done even if I did get them.

I noticed ODOG said he drilled thru the bottom of the tank. I checked the tank and the bottom pane isn't marked tempered so I might do that instead for the drain. Put an overflow box around it and use this:Hofer Gurgle Buster

I was checking out some skimmers and the Octo one looked decent and it's not that expensive. I might order one in the next couple of days.
 
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