my setup that im looking at

mboswell1982

mboswell1982

Active Member
ok here's what im looking at for a set up for me an my gf's first tank set up, its gonna be a twin tank, 2 20 longs, set side by side
1x rena filstar xp4
2x koralia powerheads 450gph
40lbs live sand
50lbs live rock
1x 24w uv sterilizer
1x 100g protein skimmer
2x stealth ul heater 100w 30g
is there anything else i need to add to that, thats just the stuff i found at the local petsmart, the koralia's are only 39.99 so i was pretty stocked about that, and the canister filter is rated for 265g, i intend to split it, and use it for both tanks, i think that should work pretty good, but let me know what u guys think
 
mboswell1982

mboswell1982

Active Member
its a space issue for the 2 tanks, and me an my gf wanna basically personalize our tanks, so we're gonna do 2 20 longs
 
mboswell1982

mboswell1982

Active Member
ok, i got some questions now, cause i have just totally confused myself. on the protein skimmer, do i have to have a refugium? or should i have a refugium anyway? and what size should i have? can anyone list some brands and stuff for skimmers and what size skimmer i should have for my set up? and take into acct im going to have the backs of both tanks drilled so i can put my canister filter under the stand we're going to build. also, is the koralia 400gph power heads too much for a 20g long tank?
 
saltyfish808

saltyfish808

Member
Why would you drill the tank if your going to use a canister? You need to drill it if your going to put a sump, fuge and a return pump. I think that is a better route, but a canister runs water lines in and out of the tank. I would also say that for 2 20 longs you would not need much more than a cpr bak pak skimmer or something like it. Once again man just my thoughts
 
mboswell1982

mboswell1982

Active Member
i wanna hide everything, thats why im drilling, and im going with such an over sized canister so i can use it on my next tank without having to buy a bigger one when i upgrade :p
 
mboswell1982

mboswell1982

Active Member
wouldnt drilling the back allow the plug ins for the canister to tie into the back of the tank instead of over the top of the tank?
 
ca161406

ca161406

Member
Originally Posted by mboswell1982
http:///forum/post/2835230
wouldnt drilling the back allow the plug ins for the canister to tie into the back of the tank instead of over the top of the tank?
nope....i would run the two 20gals into a 20gal sump if i were you
 
mboswell1982

mboswell1982

Active Member
ok, here's my issue on the whole sump thing.
a) do i need a canister filter on top of having a sump?
b) can anyone give me step by step directions, since i have yet to be able to find any, just pics of the finished product, on setting one up?
c) if i dont need a canister filter on top of having a sump, what exactly makes having a sump better than a canister filter?
as you can see, im still learning lol
 
crimzy

crimzy

Active Member
Originally Posted by mboswell1982
http:///forum/post/2835252
ok, here's my issue on the whole sump thing.
a) do i need a canister filter on top of having a sump?
b) can anyone give me step by step directions, since i have yet to be able to find any, just pics of the finished product, on setting one up?
c) if i dont need a canister filter on top of having a sump, what exactly makes having a sump better than a canister filter?
as you can see, im still learning lol
Here are a couple of my thoughts for you. First, ditch the cannister and set up a sump/refugium. I would go as big as possible to add water volume to your system but for a total of 40 gallons (assuming you want one filter for both tanks), I would do no less than a 10 gallon but preferably a 20 or 30 gallon. It's a pretty simple design, the drilled tanks will allow the water to overflow into the sump. The sump will be divided into 3 chambers... 1 will be where the water overflows into, 2 will be for livesand, miracle mud, live rock rubble and macro algae, and the 3rd will hold your skimmer, heater and return pump. There are lots of diagrams on the sump setup but you basically get a couple pieces of glass cut to divide the sections and install them with aquarium sealant.
Couple questions... how are you going to run two tanks on the same system. If it were me, I'd have one on a taller stand than the other. That way, you can have one overflow into the other, and the lower tank would overflow into the sump... then the return pump would bring the water back up to the taller tank.
What kind of tanks are you going to be setting up? Not to be negative, but you'll find that you are very limited with the fish you can get. You can get larger used systems cheap on forums and craigslist. Good luck.
 
mboswell1982

mboswell1982

Active Member
we're going with the 20g longs cause of a space issue, it'll be next summer once we get our own place an get my buddy up here to wa state from ga to help build the custom tank, but, i think we're gonna keep the 20's goin permanently, she wants one of her own, and then im gonna have one of my own. on fish, on mine, im puting in a pair of black and white o clown's, and a pair of shrimp gobbies, and a pygmy angel, for hers, a pair of shrimp gobies, and some kinda anthias/wrasse, if we can find one she likes LOL. we were thinking about actually placing them side by side, but do u think putting one above the other and having it overflow into it will work better? how will that work? i mean, how should i do that, drill the one higher up in the back and the side and run a piece of pipe down to it? an say a 30 gallon sump/refugium, just buy a used tank and build it into a refugium? and is there anyway you can diagram that step by step? im the kinda builder that does better with diagrams than descriptions LOL. also, will just 1 powerhead per tank work? or should i have more than one?
 
mboswell1982

mboswell1982

Active Member
so is this kinda like what ur talking about? and lets hope this actually shows up, cause i think i figured out how to post pics LOL
sorry, had to redo the image after looking at it on here lol
 
crimzy

crimzy

Active Member
Originally Posted by mboswell1982 http:///forum/post/2835384
we're going with the 20g longs cause of a space issue, it'll be next summer once we get our own place an get my buddy up here to wa state from ga to help build the custom tank, but, i think we're gonna keep the 20's goin permanently, she wants one of her own, and then im gonna have one of my own. on fish, on mine, im puting in a pair of black and white o clown's, and a pair of shrimp gobbies, and a pygmy angel, for hers, a pair of shrimp gobies, and some kinda anthias/wrasse, if we can find one she likes LOL. we were thinking about actually placing them side by side, but do u think putting one above the other and having it overflow into it will work better? how will that work? i mean, how should i do that, drill the one higher up in the back and the side and run a piece of pipe down to it? an say a 30 gallon sump/refugium, just buy a used tank and build it into a refugium? and is there anyway you can diagram that step by step? im the kinda builder that does better with diagrams than descriptions LOL. also, will just 1 powerhead per tank work? or should i have more than one?
Take a look at the pic in post #18... this should give you a good idea for the design.
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/335050/sump-refugum
If you want the tanks side by side then I'd have each of them drilled on the side and connect them with bulkheads and pvc. That way you could have an overflow on just one of the tanks. However the livestock may go through from one tank to the other. Whether or not you need powerheads will depend on how strong your return pump is.
 
crimzy

crimzy

Active Member
Originally Posted by mboswell1982
http:///forum/post/2835391
so is this kinda like what ur talking about? and lets hope this actually shows up, cause i think i figured out how to post pics LOL
sorry, had to redo the image after looking at it on here lol
That would work except that you wouldn't need any plumbing to go from the taller tank to the fuge. The taller tank would drain into the lower one, which would drain into the fuge. Then the return would bring the water back to the first (taller) tank.
 
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