100 Gal Tank setup

acez28

acez28

Member
Ok I am working on setting up a 100 gal saltwater tank. The real question i have is I am wondering if the drainage hole is big enough. In the back of the tank in the very bottom it has a 1/2" hole. I talked to some of the places that make saltwater tanks and they say I might be able to make it work but they say that I prolly wont be turning over enough water. So i want to get some other peoples opinion. The return pump is going to be a Rio 2100 which with the length of tubing it is going to have the box says it will move about 350 gallons an hour. Plus I want to make sure that i dont flood the 100 gal by pumping to much water from the sump. The sump is going to be a 20 gallon tank that I will put dividers in to make the water flow or do yall think that it would be a problem to leave the 20 gal as it is and just have a hang on filter. I have a 30" US Acryllic??? protein skimmer also. Any suggestions will help greatly.
 
melbournefl

melbournefl

Member
Good day! I'm FAR from an expert here but I thought I'd throw out my .02 (remember you get what you pay for) ... On a 100 gallon tank, depending on what you're planning on keeping I'd say a 1/2" 'overflow' is way too small. You're probably going to want at least a 4-500 GPH turnover and then another 5-600 GPH of internal circulation. You're probably going to have to go with either another overflow drilled in the tank or an external overflow box. If you go with the external overflow, do a search on what brands are best over on the Equipment and D.I.Y. Forum.
Good luck whatever you decide!
Later,
Paul
 
acez28

acez28

Member
they said u cant make the hole bigger but they did give me the option of making another 1/2" hole in the tank to compensate. I think thats what i am gonna have to do. I prolly by another pump to return water back into the 100gal and use the Rio2100 to circulate the water in the sump. Thanx for the info peeps. Still wouldnt mind more suggestions.....
 
melbournefl

melbournefl

Member
Again, just my opinion, I'd have the drill another hole but I'd make it a minimum of 1" don't waste your time and money on another 1/2", it just can't handle a decent flow. As for the pumps, from what I've read on the boards (i.e. no personal experience) the rio's are just plain bad pumps. I use 2 Mag-7's a Mag-5 and a Little Giant, all work fine for me. Of course they are all new so I can't say how they'll hold up over time.
HTH
Later,
Paul
 
acez28

acez28

Member
i have an overflow box already and this is going to be a FO tank with some live rock......but i doubt i do any reef. But I am going to go to the hardware store today to see if they can make the hole any bigger or if they can put another hole in it. I was gonna just run tubing back to the top of the tank to make the return. That 1/2" hole they put in it is in the middle of the return box. I might be able to get another 1/2" hole but a 1" or bigger hole will be too big. The LFS made the suggestion of getting the 1" hole on the back of the tank instead of the bottom. But hopefully they can just make that hole bigger.
and thanx for the input.....guess either way i am gonna have to turn over more water than what that hole can pull out.
 
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