I am setting up an all glass 125 gal reef tank and want to use tunze products for my water movement. I like the idea of the wavebox. The only water movement I would have so far would be the 1100 gph from my sump.would a wavebox and my return pump give enough movement? any ideas? also . what would be the best set up with the return pump with any ideas you provide.
What to get????
- Thread starter salreus
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What route would give me the most flexability? I don't really want to end up with stuff later that I can't use. so, if you say to go one route then if I add this. then get an added part. I dont mind. but I dont want to get something and not be able to use it later on.
my lighting is 3x250 watt 14,000 Kelvin HQI double ended metal halide lamps with four supplemental 96 watt actinic blue compact fluorescents. So, I don't think I am limited with what I can put in the tank.
another concern is a post you added about using a wavebox on an older tank or one that has sat outside or in a garage. My 125 gal I am using was outside for about 2 years. yeah yeah, enough about it already. anyway, I had to contact all glass and replace my top and bottom stock pieces because they cracked. And The tank itself is maybe 7 years old. I have been running it as a Tanganyikan tank for about 7 months now with no problems. I am moving my Tanganyikan tank to one of my 55 gal and making the 125 a reef tank. Is it still recommended to use a wavebox?
thanks in advance.
my lighting is 3x250 watt 14,000 Kelvin HQI double ended metal halide lamps with four supplemental 96 watt actinic blue compact fluorescents. So, I don't think I am limited with what I can put in the tank.
another concern is a post you added about using a wavebox on an older tank or one that has sat outside or in a garage. My 125 gal I am using was outside for about 2 years. yeah yeah, enough about it already. anyway, I had to contact all glass and replace my top and bottom stock pieces because they cracked. And The tank itself is maybe 7 years old. I have been running it as a Tanganyikan tank for about 7 months now with no problems. I am moving my Tanganyikan tank to one of my 55 gal and making the 125 a reef tank. Is it still recommended to use a wavebox?
thanks in advance.
It just doesn't work that way. The most successful hobbyists build the tank around what they will keep, not the other way around. If I recommend Streams for SPS you will have a very hard time with LPS and softies in that tank. I need more info. The wavebox is not something I would recommend for a tank in that condition.
ok. more infomation. I plan on having 250 lbs of live rock in my 125 gal tank and will be having SPS corals.
So, if I am wanting to set up a live rock sps tank and I will be having 1100 gph water from my return. What additional amount of water movement do you recommend and where to add them in relation to my return. also. if suggested, I have no problem dividing my return to more than one output.
So, if I am wanting to set up a live rock sps tank and I will be having 1100 gph water from my return. What additional amount of water movement do you recommend and where to add them in relation to my return. also. if suggested, I have no problem dividing my return to more than one output.
I can understand that. I wasn't looking for return for flow increase but just taking it into account. I don't want to use the return to run any devices. That is why I was looking at using the 6000 for water movement. any device added to a return just increases back pressure on the return pump and makes it work harder and shortens the life of it.
OH....my question about the return is where do you recommend I have my sump return outputs in relation to the 6000's. I dont want the return flow to mess with the water movement of the 6000's. Sorry for the confusion.
Well using a PCX-30 (825 gph) instead of a Gen-X PCX-40 (1190 gph) for my return pump would save me about $30 bucks.
Reading your post again brought me to another valid point. I am not using the overflow/sump/return for a filter. I am only using it for water changes, hide stuff and increase water volume. So, with that I guess any size return pump would be the right size. It doesn't matter how many times you are turning the tank over if you are not turning it for filtering reasons.
OH....my question about the return is where do you recommend I have my sump return outputs in relation to the 6000's. I dont want the return flow to mess with the water movement of the 6000's. Sorry for the confusion.
Well using a PCX-30 (825 gph) instead of a Gen-X PCX-40 (1190 gph) for my return pump would save me about $30 bucks.
Reading your post again brought me to another valid point. I am not using the overflow/sump/return for a filter. I am only using it for water changes, hide stuff and increase water volume. So, with that I guess any size return pump would be the right size. It doesn't matter how many times you are turning the tank over if you are not turning it for filtering reasons.
True but the cost of a pump is well beyond what you pay for it, most of it is in the electrical consumption over the years you will have it, it often pays to buy a much more expensive pump because you can reduce the energy consumption and in turn the heat added to the room/ aquarium and this saves even more electricity from AC and chillers. The return flow position will be rather inconsequential put them through the overflows or use a sea swirl, against the streams it will be a water pistol in a water fall.
I was considering running cost when I chose the Gen-X MK4. From what I have learned. The Gen-X pumps have the lowest power consumption. The MK4 only uses 70 watts for a 1190 gph pump. I also took external/ internal into the mix. I really dont want a chiller. So, I would rather have my heat of my pump disapate into the air instead of into the water. Same reason why my light canopy has eye hooks. I plan to suspend the lights instead of having them sit on the tank.
So, is the Gen-x not as great quality a pump than what was told to me? You have the 21 years experience. What is your pump of choice? I haven't bought the pump yet and am still willing to change brands and water flow if needed. Like i said, I am not needing the water volume for a filter so the pump rate doesnt matter as long as the head is enough to return it to the main tank.
I find your infomation invaluable and thank you very much for your steady responses.
So, is the Gen-x not as great quality a pump than what was told to me? You have the 21 years experience. What is your pump of choice? I haven't bought the pump yet and am still willing to change brands and water flow if needed. Like i said, I am not needing the water volume for a filter so the pump rate doesnt matter as long as the head is enough to return it to the main tank.
I find your infomation invaluable and thank you very much for your steady responses.
I don't think it is possible it uses 70w, maybe 170w. I don't like them, they constantly throttle up and down and the flow is not consistent and I am not alone in noting this. My favorite pumps at the moment are GRI. They are the most energy efficient I have found and quieter, dissassembly is also much easier. I will say I saw the dolphin pumps at IMAC and was impressed by the fact they use Baldor motors. Their simply is no better motor and they use them for most high end bench grinders and power tools. GRI uses Fasco (this is what they used to use on the old Vortex Diatom filters if you have ever used one) which is another well made American motor. I haven't used Dolphin but after seeing how they were built I would consider them in the future.
