coralreefer's 75 gallon build

coralreefer

coralreefer

Active Member
Originally Posted by Posiden
http:///forum/post/2983283
How many feet of horizontal run will you have in addition to the 4 feet vertical?
How many 90's?
How many 45's?
How many returns? Will it split at the end?
How many unions?
What size pipe?
Any ball valves on the return?
maybe 2 or 3 inches horizontally. it will have 2 45s, 1 90. it will not split at the end. sorry, what are unions?
the pipe is either 3/4 in or 1 in. no ball valves.
i will have 2 ball valves on the pvc that goes into the sump, so i could reduce the flow rate right? if i can, i would like to because i dont need that much flow for my sump.
about the tank, im going to the place this weekend to see if/how badly the tank is scratched
 
posiden

posiden

Active Member
Okay, with the,
2-45's
1-90
horizontal-6 inches
vertical-4 feet
1-union
3/4" return pipe
no ball valves
With a Mag 9 you should get 653 GPH. Should be just about right.
Unions give you the ability to take the plumbing apart. You plumb into them and they give a fitting in the middle with an O-ring to seal the connection. It is recommended that they be used. They will make plumbing and maintenance easier.
The Mag 9 with 1" return pipe will give about 751 GPH
 
coralreefer

coralreefer

Active Member
Originally Posted by Posiden
http:///forum/post/2983320
Okay, with the,
2-45's
1-90
horizontal-6 inches
vertical-4 feet
1-union
3/4" return pipe
no ball valves
With a Mag 9 you should get 653 GPH. Should be just about right.
Unions give you the ability to take the plumbing apart. You plumb into them and they give a fitting in the middle with an O-ring to seal the connection. It is recommended that they be used. They will make plumbing and maintenance easier.
The Mag 9 with 1" return pipe will give about 751 GPH
ok,
i dont exactly know what my plumbing will be like, so well figure this out later. if you noticed in the pic of the overflow, it has 2 different hole sizes, so i dont know until i get it.
also, could you guys correct the sump design if it needs it? thanks.
Oh, and about the tank, the seller said it wasn't that badly scratched, but ill take a look at it when i go this weekend
 
E

eric b 125

Guest
i think one of those holes if for a drain, and the other is for the return. that way you dont have to wrap the plumbing over the back of the tank. you should put the ball valve on the return line. it's the return line and pump that determine the amount of flow going through the tank. you dont want to restrict your drain.
 
coralreefer

coralreefer

Active Member
ok thanks. which one should i use as the return? the bigger or smaller hole?
also, how should i go about putting the return pipe to the other side? like this?:
 
posiden

posiden

Active Member
Yes you will want the bigger one to be the drain and the smaller to be the return.
How do you plan on setting this tank up? It looks like to me to be viewed from three sides. Will you be setting it up this way?
If not then I would use both the holes for the drain. I would use one for the primary drain and the other the smaller one for an emergency drain. Now I know what you are thinking, how would the smaller one work as a drain when it isn't as big. Easy the emergency will be set up as just that, so when or if it should ever have to be used it will go full siphon and it will easily handle the flow required.
I also say this because the tank is acrylic, you can drill it pretty easy. You can drill the back the side or the bottom and not have to worry about it being tempered.
Well that's my nickels worth.
Oh yea the sump design. Do you plan on going with a scrubber? If so will it be at the start of this tank? If so will you be putting in a skimmer right away?
 
coralreefer

coralreefer

Active Member
Originally Posted by Posiden
http:///forum/post/2984203
Yes you will want the bigger one to be the drain and the smaller to be the return.
How do you plan on setting this tank up? It looks like to me to be viewed from three sides. Will you be setting it up this way?
If not then I would use both the holes for the drain. I would use one for the primary drain and the other the smaller one for an emergency drain. Now I know what you are thinking, how would the smaller one work as a drain when it isn't as big. Easy the emergency will be set up as just that, so when or if it should ever have to be used it will go full siphon and it will easily handle the flow required.
I also say this because the tank is acrylic, you can drill it pretty easy. You can drill the back the side or the bottom and not have to worry about it being tempered.
Well that's my nickels worth.
Oh yea the sump design. Do you plan on going with a scrubber? If so will it be at the start of this tank? If so will you be putting in a skimmer right away?
1. it might be set up to view from three sides but probably not. if not, im going to spray paint the back black
2. i dont really understand the emergency drain concept, sorry, could you explain it in more detail?
3. if i drill it for return, i will probably drill it on the back close to the bottom, so i dont have to spend so much money on the return pump
4. i am doing this with a scrubber. i am splitting the pvc from the drain in 2, like a "v" and one end is going to the scrubber. i am putting a ball valve on the scrubber pipe, so i can adjust the flow as needed. i will start out with my skimmer, and see how it goes
here is the scrubber design:
 
posiden

posiden

Active Member
Drilling a return at the bottom wont get you anywhere. Reason being two fold. Water pressure is a funny thing, it doesn't matter if you have 2 gallons or 90 gallons. Resistance on the pump will be the same at the same depth. It is rated in PSI.
The second is, even if you did drill lower you would still have to run the return up to the top because of back siphoning when or if the power should go out, or a pump failure.
 
posiden

posiden

Active Member
Originally Posted by coralreefer
http:///forum/post/2984269
do i have to upgrade to metal halide or not? btw, its a 24in deep tank
It depends on what you intend to keep for corals. I also depends on how high up in the tank you keep the high light or light demanding corals.
Do you have to.......the short answer is no. However you will need to keep your lighting in mind whenever you buy and place your corals. Your pocket book has a lot to do with this decision also. The ability to upgrade is always there.
The desire to not spend money twice is always there too.
 
coralreefer

coralreefer

Active Member
i checked the site and the tanks come with overflows, but the site doesnt say how many gph the overflows are rated for
can i just estimate based on the hole size?
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
You might want to do some investigation into glass cages and the quality of their tanks. Seems people have had problems with them in the past.
 
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