So it begins, 90G build thread

[fishmon]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11477690#post11477690 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by carb850
I would be feeding directly from my overflow. I'm just stating the pump I'm considering to give an idea about how much water I will have to deal with in my overflow.

You need to use a gate valve instead of a ball valve as they adjust much finer and tee on the drain to your skimmer regardless of how big the pump is to fine tune the water level in the skimmer allowing x amount into the skimmer and the excess would divert into the tee then into the sump. Post a question about plumbing diagrams for drain fed skimmers on H/s or deltec forum.

 

[carb850]

... but I already have the Koralia 3 in my 40G that I can use.

 

[radone]

That would depend on what your going to keep
If your going softies and LPS you might want to re-think that

Gotta agree with Jim though if your going with the Tunzes, I would go with two 6101's

That would give you good flow for even SPS

 

[fishmon]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11478697#post11478697 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by carb850
... but I already have the Koralia 3 in my 40G that I can use.

You didn't say that It'll work fine

 

[radone]

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=818119

I think this is what your looking for

 

[carb850]

I am planning to use a gate valve before the skimmer to control how much flow it gets. My estimate of 150 GPH can and will vary from that.

I only mentioned the pump size because whatever overflow that my skimmer doesn't take will go into my refugium. It is my understanding that you don't want too much flow through your refugium. So, if my return pump give me 500 GPH at 5' (just a made up number), then I'm estimating my skimmer will take about 150 GPH plus or minus, then the remaining 350 GPH will be running through my fuge. If that number is too high, then I should consider a smaller return and vice versa. Another piece of that equation, will be knowing how many gallons my fuge holds so then I could estimate the turnover rate in it. At the moment, I don't know what size sump I will be running.

Kicking out some numbers, say I use a 29G sump and 20G will be actually in the refuge area, that would be about 17X turnover in my refuge. I don't know if that would be too much or not.

 

[radone]

I'm running around 200gph trough my refuge and and it works great.
Basically my refuge is a chopped down 20L, I'm feeding my skimmer and my fuge from the one overflow then the it returns to the sump. I also have another overflow going directly to my sump

 

[carb850]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11478705#post11478705 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by radone
That would depend on what your going to keep
If your going softies and LPS you might want to re-think that

Gotta agree with Jim though if your going with the Tunzes, I would go with two 6101's

That would give you good flow for even SPS

Since I never keep corals before, a lot of what I keep will come down to what I can keep (alive that is). I would like to keep a mixed reef tank with Ricoridia, Mushrooms, and Zoanthids in the bottom; some LPS in the middle; then SPS up near the top.

I fear my biggest problem with SPS will be Calcium, I really don't want to get a calcium reactor. Maybe down the road my mind will change on that, but for now that is further than I want to go. With only having SPS in the top of the tank, could I get by with manually dosing Calcium? Would water changes alone provide enough?

I evenutally want to get a pair of 6101's and a multicontroller, but at this point it will cost me about $500 more than the single. So I hoped I could do the single Tunze while the tank is maturing. Then 6-12 months from now add a second Tunze and a wave controller. My only loss will be reselling the single controller and I bet I would only lose $25 on it.

 

[carb850]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11478759#post11478759 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by radone
I'm running around 200gph trough my refuge and and it works great.
Basically my refuge is a chopped down 20L, I'm feeding my skimmer and my fuge from the one overflow then the it returns to the sump. I also have another overflow going directly to my sump

If your running an external skimmer and a remote refugium, what all equipment do you have in your sump?

 

[radone]

I've got my skimmer in my sump, heaters, and more rock

 

[radone]

I've dosed Randy's Two-Part for a year before getting my calcium reactor
The Two-Part works fine as long as your consistent with the maintenance. Another reason for a reactor is the larger systems it's harder to keep up with the dosing.
What salt do you plan on using will also depend on your dosing requirements.
All salts have their pro's and cons but availabilty is the most important to me. I also like to use what my friends close by use in-case something happens I've got a backup per/say

 

[carb850]

Mini update with a few pictures.

Tank awaiting all of his other equipment buddies to show up.

Package that arrived to work today.

Contents

 

[phljess]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11478789#post11478789 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by carb850
Since I never keep corals before, a lot of what I keep will come down to what I can keep (alive that is). I would like to keep a mixed reef tank with Ricoridia, Mushrooms, and Zoanthids in the bottom; some LPS in the middle; then SPS up near the top.

I fear my biggest problem with SPS will be Calcium, I really don't want to get a calcium reactor. Maybe down the road my mind will change on that, but for now that is further than I want to go. With only having SPS in the top of the tank, could I get by with manually dosing Calcium? Would water changes alone provide enough?

I evenutally want to get a pair of 6101's and a multicontroller, but at this point it will cost me about $500 more than the single. So I hoped I could do the single Tunze while the tank is maturing. Then 6-12 months from now add a second Tunze and a wave controller. My only loss will be reselling the single controller and I bet I would only lose $25 on it.

I would not run a mixed reef. It is very difficult to meet all the needs of the various coral. I would either focus on a softy/LPS tank or an SPS tank. Their needs just contrast too much to be successful in the long run. If I were a beginner, I would probably start soft coral and LPS. They are much more forgiving than SPS. They also cost much less to maintain.

 

[MattG]

I have the same skimmer; you will love it!

 

[fishmon]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11511260#post11511260 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MattG
I have the same skimmer; you will love it!

On a 30 gallon!

 

[coralreefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11516066#post11516066 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fishmon
On a 30 gallon!

You know Matt believes in efficient skimming :lol:

I fear my biggest problem with SPS will be Calcium, I really don't want to get a calcium reactor. Maybe down the road my mind will change on that, but for now that is further than I want to go. With only having SPS in the top of the tank, could I get by with manually dosing Calcium? Would water changes alone provide enough?

Like Radone said you can easily dose two part to maintain calcium and alkalinity especially in a tank your size.
Don't forget you can't supplement calcium alone. Alkalinity is as important, if not more, than calcium. That's why you need to replenish both in a balanced fashion using either a 2-pt, Kalk, or a reactor.

 

[carb850]

So what other equipment should I be looking into for this setup? I plan on doing a Tunze Osmolator. I thought about a Phosphate reactor and a Kalk reactor. Are these must haves? Am I missing any other key components?

 

[firefish2020]

I keep a P04 reactor just in case I need to run some Phos remover or carbon they are a handy thing to have on hand in emergency situations. I always recomend a kalk reactor and eventually a Co2 reactor but thats just me.

 

[MattG]

I would recommend basically what you said.

- A topoff unit will make life easy (osmolator would be my only recommendation here).

- A fluidized reactor - Not required but makes it easy to run media. You can run carbon or po4 remover or whatever u want. I have a deltec fr509 that I run carbon constantly in. The deltec unit is definitely overkill. There are many other options that are more reasonably priced and will functionally work just as well. The one thing that is great about the deltec unit is the top comes off with a simple twist (no thumbscrews) so changing the media frequently is a breeze. You will want to run carbon in a mixed reef to keep the allelopathy in check. Mixed reefs can be very tricky.

Kalk reactor - Once again not required but i would recommend it. Tons of options here. Reeftek and Geo are good units at a reasonable cost. If i was to buy a unit for a tank your size i would also take a look at the aquamedic unit. I have no personal experience with the aquamedic though.

I personally wouldn't bother with a calcium reactor unless you start hitting SPS hard. For now, regular water changes will be just fine. You can always give a little bump once in a while with two part if its needed.

It sounds like with the addition of the tunze stream you are going to have a killer setup. I would personally stick with just the single 6101 if you plan on having lps in the tank. Even then, placement of your lps can be tricky. Your koralia will work fine in the mix also.

Also i have found that the a110 works best with about 100 gph drain fed. Any more and the turbulence in the skimmer affects performance. Your mileage may vary.

 

[carb850]

If I were to run carbon and po4 remover in a medium sized fluid reactor, how often would it need to be changed? I know it can vary depending upon conditions, I just looking for a ballpark. Once every couple days, weekly, monthly? Also, most I'm seeing do not include a pump. Do you just need a small Maxi-Jet to feed these guys?

The concept of a Kalkwasser Reactor is still not completely clear to me. It raises your Alk level which stabilizes Ph, right? I know you can tie this into the ATO and have it dripped into your tank. However, over time will this put too much Alk into the system? Over months?

Also, how does a controller come into play with the Kalkwasser Reactor? I assume with Ph probes it can detect when more Kalkwasser is needed, but it will only turn on the reactor when needed? If you use a controller, should it still be ran through the ATO?