Starting a new tank. Need advice. approx. 380g display with 500g filtration... 880g

[ReefingBuddha]

Thanks for all the replys, I really appreciate it.

I just have time to quickly add this update which I think would work well. Both of the purple pipes are main returns from the sump. One is allowed to shoot straight up and the other is capped so that water will come out of all the flexible pipes. I hope this once again will had some circular water flow to the center.

I will reply to you messages when I have some more time later today. Thank you for all your advice thus far.

 

[Solly]

Have you considered what will happen in a power outage? If I'm seeing your return design correctly, almost the entire tank would drain back into the sump in a power outage...

-Solly

 

[ReefingBuddha]

DrBRC - I am planning on have a very high water turnover as I will be keeping mostly sps corals. The return that is going straight up should disturb the surface sufficiently to mix the entire volume. I'm thinking about playing the two closed loop intakes vertically stacked approximately 8" apart.

mcrist - Thanks for your input. I am trying to have a very large amount of water in an agecent room, I'm considering an extra 500 to 600 gallons. Do I need a lot of flow back and forth from the sump to the display to make this water extra volume as useful as possible? what is the advantage of a gravity fed skimmer? As mentioned above, my last idea for the closed loop intakes is two 1 1/2" vertically stack intakes approxiamately 8" apart.

jnarowe - I can probably draw that peace out much further as long as water will move through there face enough. Do you mean that it would be at an incline on the opposite side of the tank? That's kind of hard to explain. anyways. I also wanted to meantion that I will have two of these overflows, one is in the opposite corner with the same exact setup include the intakes to another closed loop system. Thanks far all the advice.

Solly - I will incorporate some electric actuated ballvales in the system both for safety and for water changes. I have also though about using some check valves along the way. I hope that in this way I can safe guard the tank in a couple different ways for peace of mind.

 

[ReefingBuddha]

and the pipes shown in the picture above will obviously be hidden in drilled live rock, so even the flexible pipes are hardly seen.

I also haven't mentioned that I will be using tunze deco rocks to hide the 4 powerheads in the rock structure. I am using them in the 120g reef tank I have now and they look pretty good.

 

[mcrist]

I prefer gravity feed skimmers since the water from the overflow goes directly to the skimmer without any of the proteins settling in the sump. Plus itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s nice to save on electricity whenever possible.

Personally I would never rely on check valves to protect my tank from overflowing. The electric ball valves sound nice but then they need to be on battery backup otherwise not very useful in a power outage.

 

[ReefingBuddha]

I plan on having a generator installed for the entire house anyways and they will be run on the houses power so I don't think its going to be a problem. I might also be able to put the sump at the same level as the tank so that it can't drain out and that would solve the problem anyways. I might as well as I have a lot of room anyways. I like that idea of a gravity feed for the skimmer. I think I'm going to use that.

Thank you.

 

[ReefingBuddha]

Here are some updated pictures

 

[ReefingBuddha]

 

[jnarowe]

OK...so I wouldn't use those flexible lines if I were you. I would stick with solid PVC. I capped an output in the center of my tank and the cap was drilled in the top, and has slots aound the sides that have a slightly downward skew to them. This provides some upward flow, but keeps the bottom clean in the center of the tank. Those flex lines are bound to get clogged up and I wouldn't want to have to get in there and screw with them!

As far as explaining the slope for the overflows, think about it this way: The slot in the tank would be say, 7"w x 10"h instead of 5"h, and the far end of the overflow would be the original 5"h. This way as the water exits the tank, the flow is increased (or available volume is increased). That will still give you a nice height if you decide to feed your skimmer by gravity. So what I mean is that just the overflow bottoms will incline as they leave the tank wall, but from a much larger opening.

mcrist is right about the check valves. They are seriously not a good idea in a reef system. I have a clear one on my return line, but only for visual confirmation of flow. The motorized ball valves will not work when you need them in a power outage, but if you can afford those, I would guess you can afford a self-starting generator right?

What I did was put my return manifold above the water line of my tank, and ran an open ended line to my fuge, which is also above the display. This gives me a vacuum release in the event of a power outage, and my tank won't drain. PM if you need to know more about that.

I am not criticising by any means, but want you to carefully consider redundant safety measures. I could write a book on floods dude!

 

[ReefingBuddha]

jnarowe
Thanks for all the advice, I am new at this scale of the game so I can use all the help I can get. I just began seriously designing this tank a week ago but have been researching for quite some time now.

I understand the concept of the slopped overflow now, I'll work on the design a bit. I could not due it in the program but I am planning on putting teeth on the overflow boxs and a top so that nothing can get in there.

alright the check values are peaced, I thought that I had heard some bad reviews. Having a extra sump higher has a safety measure is probably the direction I will go in.

I am getting a self starting generator because I live in florida and power outages can come at anytime and last for some time during the hurricaine season. I want to make sure my house and especially my tank will be safe at all times.

Do you happen to know a good supplied of electric actuated ball vales?

Once again and help or criticisms are greatly appreciated as it will help refine my ideas. I am meeting with the builder tomorrow so we can discuss the design further.

 

[jnarowe]

I think you have a very interesting idea for an install and I would confer with Steve Weast and Joseph Weatherson regarding the overflow idea. (as well as the tank builder!)

For a good selection of valves, go to US Plastics. Then you can pick the valve and search for the best price.