Posted this in the New to the Hobby section but figured that is not a spot alot of you look. Being in the Chiacgoland area and seeing how helpful everyone is, I post this here as well.
OK, so I now know that there is only one real true thing in this hobby - it is impossible to get agreement on almost anything. This makes it real hard (VERY confusing) on us newbies! I am trying to go very slow (at this point the tankââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s first occupants are probably not until September!) and to not make a major error.
I am planning to get a tank that will be 72x24x18 (long, wide but shallow ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ lot of surface area per gallon). That is 134.6 gallons per the RC volume calculator. I plan to have it plumbed for a closed loop (see questions below) though initially the tank will be FOWLR. The tank will sit in a corner so that it will be viewable from the front and right hand side. The 30g sump (got one used though it looks nearly new) will be in the basement with a total vertical drop of 8-10 feet and a horizontal span of 15-20 feet.
However, everyone I have asked (this includes experts and tank manufacturers) tells me something different with regard to how big the overflow needs to be, whether one is sufficient etc. let alone pump and plumbing holes/sizes. My original thought was one overflow box in the left hand corner.
So:
1. Is one overflow box sufficient assuming that one of the two (?) returns goes to the right side of the tank? If so, how big does the box need to be (linear distance/volume)?
2. Drains/returns ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ some say one drain and 2 returns others say 2 drains and some say 1ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ others 1-1/2ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚Â. Pros/cons and/or calculations? Do drains clog such that having two is good redundancy?
3. Pump ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ this may affect question #2. The Blueline 70HD was one thought (this was with the caveats that due to the length of the PVC line, some pumps wonââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t cut it but also that this might be a bit too much flow). Per RC head loss calculator (and a bunch of guesses, including only 1 inch pipes) this would put the flow at 1200 gph . Is this the ââ"šÂ¬Ã‹Å“rightââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ amount of flow to shoot for? Is this the recommended pump?
4. Closed Loop ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ 2 drains, 4 returns or 6 returns or 8 returns (again varied answers). Sizes of drains and returns? Pump (Seaquence Reeflo Dart was one suggestion)? What flow is the target here? I recognize this is more for down the road (corals, etc) but the plumbing is needed up front.
Could really use some guidance so that I can order the tank (the backlogs are 4-12 weeks!) Thanks!!!
OK, so I now know that there is only one real true thing in this hobby - it is impossible to get agreement on almost anything. This makes it real hard (VERY confusing) on us newbies! I am trying to go very slow (at this point the tankââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s first occupants are probably not until September!) and to not make a major error.
I am planning to get a tank that will be 72x24x18 (long, wide but shallow ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ lot of surface area per gallon). That is 134.6 gallons per the RC volume calculator. I plan to have it plumbed for a closed loop (see questions below) though initially the tank will be FOWLR. The tank will sit in a corner so that it will be viewable from the front and right hand side. The 30g sump (got one used though it looks nearly new) will be in the basement with a total vertical drop of 8-10 feet and a horizontal span of 15-20 feet.
However, everyone I have asked (this includes experts and tank manufacturers) tells me something different with regard to how big the overflow needs to be, whether one is sufficient etc. let alone pump and plumbing holes/sizes. My original thought was one overflow box in the left hand corner.
So:
1. Is one overflow box sufficient assuming that one of the two (?) returns goes to the right side of the tank? If so, how big does the box need to be (linear distance/volume)?
2. Drains/returns ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ some say one drain and 2 returns others say 2 drains and some say 1ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ others 1-1/2ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚Â. Pros/cons and/or calculations? Do drains clog such that having two is good redundancy?
3. Pump ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ this may affect question #2. The Blueline 70HD was one thought (this was with the caveats that due to the length of the PVC line, some pumps wonââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t cut it but also that this might be a bit too much flow). Per RC head loss calculator (and a bunch of guesses, including only 1 inch pipes) this would put the flow at 1200 gph . Is this the ââ"šÂ¬Ã‹Å“rightââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ amount of flow to shoot for? Is this the recommended pump?
4. Closed Loop ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ 2 drains, 4 returns or 6 returns or 8 returns (again varied answers). Sizes of drains and returns? Pump (Seaquence Reeflo Dart was one suggestion)? What flow is the target here? I recognize this is more for down the road (corals, etc) but the plumbing is needed up front.
Could really use some guidance so that I can order the tank (the backlogs are 4-12 weeks!) Thanks!!!
