Stupid Newbie Questions

[darkwolf29a]

Ok, I'm new...I admit it, but I can be taught, so I'm not dumb, just ignorant. LMAO

I do, however, have a few questions that I have been searching in vain for answer to.

So, with that stated, on to the questions:

I have a 55 gallon tank and a 20 gallon sump that I am building. I would like to build a reef tank with clowns and anenomes, some corals, and a good cleaner crew.

1) Is there a good gph I should be aiming for? I'm looking at overflows right now, since I have to buy one, so I want that and the pump to match, gph-wise.

2) Can you mix manufacturers of sand? I bought 20 lbs from my LFS, but they don't stock a lot of it, so i have to wait until they get more in, or purchase some online. The sand I bought is Nature's Ocean, which I have heard is pretty good, with minimal amount of cycling required. According to their web site, it's fire and forget, i.e. no cycling.

3) I have heard that with a good cleaner crew and some mangrove plants, I won't need a skimmer, or not a big one, at least. Is that true?

Any help to this newbie you can give would be greatly appreciated.

:strooper:

 

[drummereef]

1. Life Reef makes good siphon overflows. http://www.lifereef.com/frame.html Aim for 3-5x of the display for sump flow. So, for a 55 gallon it would be between 165-275gph. Then just calculate, minus headloss, the pump size you should need. Just make sure your pump doesn't exceed the maximum gph of your overflow. Safe to be on the low side. Perhaps a Mag 3 or 5 would be fine.

1a. You will need to suppliment the flow in the tank with powerheads. I'd recommend at least 20x flow including the return gph. So your total gph with return and powerheads is approx 1100gph (give or take).

2. Sure you can mix sand no problem. The Nature's Ocean sand is ok, but you'll find it isn't all that it's cracked up to be. But, it will definitely cycle the tank.

3. I would invest in a good skimmer regardless. :thumbsup:

 

[juniormc8704]

IMHO always taker your time, and cycle your tank. some things may speed up the process, but nothing and i mean nothing is plug and play. patience is the key to a sucessful tank. good luck.

 

[jnb]

The idea of mangroves is nice to envision especially if they truly pulled no3 - but they grow too slowly to effect that - I go with the skimmer idea
a tunze 9010 would be nice in the sump for skimming

I agree with the flow thru the sump discussed above - perhaps an ehiem 1260 which you could branch off of and/or throttle down - branch to feed a carbon and/or phosphate canister of sorts down the line (in the sump), throttle down to eliminate too much turnover in the sump which may or may not be an issue as far as noise - you may not need to throttle it down depending on the turns it takes. I had a mag and while ok - the ehiem has been really nice for me - its all I run. run externally to eliminate heat not that it puts out much - its just good to eliminate items which make heat as best you can.

I agree with flow discussed above

I most agree with taking it slowly and having patience galore - most say (and I experienced it) a system goes thru all sorts of seemingly bad stages (mostly having to do with small things dying in the rock at first and working out of the system in the meantime making unwanted algaes growing - this is where a skimmer, from the start, is nice to have.

And get a refractometer

 

[BayAreaReefer]

drummereef is accurate but i'd like to reitterate some of his points.

1. The gph for the return flow is generally calculated as such. Turn over rate of the tank should be at least 10x meaning you can get a return pump that pumps out (according to your tank gallon size which is 55 gallons) pumps out 550gph at 4 feet. Meaning that a pump that has to pump water more than 0 feet will lose some of its power as you pump water up from the sump to the top of the tank. So you would have to get a more powerful pump. I recommend you use a Mag 9.5 which pumps about 950gph at 0 feet and about 750gph at 5 feet. Rule of thumb, the more water turn over you have in your tank the better, but don't over do on the current. some corals like a lot of current, some don't. You can add multiple returns for your tank to lower the amount of current and to reduce the number of powerheads needed in your tank. Try adding the SQWD return to create a low cost wavemaker.

2. You can mix any brand of sand, but I particularly like the live sand that comes in a 20lb bag that's already precleaned and full of live bacteria to start off your tank quicker. And absolutely no cleaning. They go for about $23 for a 20lb bag. Not a bad price for convenience.

3. Always invest in a good size skimmer for your tank. Remember, no such thing is overkill on a reef tank. The cleaner the water the better and happier your inhabitants will be.

Good luck!!!

 

[jnb]

Not sure - about the flow issue - most people these days seem to be passing less thru the sump so the skimmer has more time with a certain volumn of water and to eliminate such a rush of water causing noise, etc - and putting powerheads up top to make the flow which most people are advising more than 10x - and you can point multiple powerheads in different areas to get the most wash and put them on timers to alternate which you would not want to do with your return.

just my observation and experience.