New tank setup Ideas please

king_neptune

king_neptune

Active Member
I now have the foundation for starting my first ever reef tank. I was just hoping to get some Ideas.
I have 2 tanks I purchased today on Craigs list. 55gal each. 48x12x18. Payed $140 for the 2 and also got a descent stand that lets one of the tanks fit snugly(little room to spare) underneath.
I'm pleased with my savvy purchase and feel that I cant possibly have gone wrong. My post is to get ideas of where some of you think I should head when it comes to the lower tank. Right now I am building an idea in my head as to what I want to do and with your input I feel I can make a well informed decision.
Since I have a 55gal underneath I feel I'll have more than enough room for the sump/fuge system I plan to put in. My Idea was to put a plexi/plastic divider in the middle and seal it. allowing me to have 1 55gal turn into 2 smaller tank...therefore allowing me to have not 1 filtration system underneath...but 2. Now the question is...what 2 should I go for.....
I was thinking a live rock fuge system on one side....fed by a siphon feed, and a small lip allowing the water to flow from that to a tray with holes to allow dispersion of the water to a wider area that will have a filter of some kind(I seen spongy looking pads in bioball systems I'm assuming they are filters)directly underneath the tray. Below the filter/dispersion tray I want a bucket of bio balls. And finally a water pump that will constantly cycle the filtered water back up to the main display.

Am I getting too complicated? Should I just stick with a simpler Fuge system that involves utilizing the entire tank to hold Live rock. I appreciate any input. Thanks.
I am pleased I got the 55gallon tank to use as a filtration system. I am confidant I have plenty room to work with, and am open to all ideas.
Thanks.
PS....please appreciate that I am most likely using improper terms and descriptions...but I hope you get the gist of what I'm saying.
 
mboswell1982

mboswell1982

Active Member
helluva deal neptune, helluva deal, and i honestly have no idea LOL hopefully people like Mr X. will chime in, he's pretty good at this kinda stuff :p and he has one awesome reef tank and is in the process of rebuilding a tank at his local gym LOL
 
nigerbang

nigerbang

Active Member
Make sure the stand is tall enough to be able to work in the sump..I had a 55 sump and hated it..My stand was about 26" inside and still was a PITA to work inside....make the stand tall as can be...
 
mr_x

mr_x

Active Member
hi. a few things need addressing.
1. the return area- it's very small. unless you have an auto top-off, you'll be topping off twice a day.
2. the dispersion tray and bio balls aren't necessary. you are much better off using live rock there.
3. niger brought up a good point. i know your diagram isn't to scale, but just make sure you have room to work under there. i would make the stand high enough to add a skimmer in one of the areas.
4. i wouldn't have the drain running directly into the refugium. i would use the 1st compartment as the skimmer compartment, and let the DT drain into that. then the refugium after, then the return.
 
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dennis210

Guest
Try dividing the sump 55 into 3 equal sized compartments. I just built a few of these and with the first compartment being live rock rubble underneath a drip thru blue filter pad (this is where your DT water enters the sump). The middle chamber will be fore your skimmer, heater(s), filter, drip area, etc.. The last chamber is your return area for just a pump sending water back to DT. The reason for three equal sized chambers is water volume in each is important. You want as much as possible in each. To make the baffles work you will need to have the glass shop cut you 1/4 inch stock glass not plexi in 17" x 11 1/2" (2x) and 12 x 11 1/2" (2x). Get some of the all glass aquarium silicone in a caulking tube. Decide placement for 2 double walls to make equal chambers. Silicone in tall wall by shimming beneath it and raising it up to top of tank, tape accross the top to help steady it then glue the side with silicone. Water will pass under this first wall. The next day resilicone these two walls and then place the second walls in so that they sit tight on the bottom of the sump. You will have to make a line of silicone where you want this wall and then place it there. I suggest using spacers to keep the opening between at least 3/4" and then taop to wall behind it. Next day resilicone from accessible side and let dry. Your 12" walls have set the depth of your sump so measure 12 1/2" up in the first chamber and glue in strips og glass to sides that will hold eggcrate / diffuser grid to place blue filter pad on.
Once built you can decide if the water falls into top or thru the glass. I take mine to the glass shop and let them drill 1/2" down from the top band a 1 3/4" hole for a bulk head.
Hope this helps as they are really easy to maintain after!
 
king_neptune

king_neptune

Active Member
Originally Posted by NigerBang
http:///forum/post/2859389
Make sure the stand is tall enough to be able to work in the sump..I had a 55 sump and hated it..My stand was about 26" inside and still was a PITA to work inside....make the stand tall as can be...
Yup I stuck the scratched tank underneath...and its far to cramped now that I think about it. I'm going to make a deluxe one out of 2x4. Something with an end door so i can slide the sump in/out length ways. With 2 frontal access doors so I can do maintenance from the sides. I'll make it taller and wider so can fit my hands/head and shoulders above, and have room to add tubes and control boxes and other misc stuff at a later date. By making a larger stand Ill have a system that will allow me plenty room for upgrades in the future.Lucky for me my old man is a master carpenter and we can build something with a super nice stained finish, and custom doors. Oak...ya Ive always loved Oak paneling.
Originally Posted by Mr_X
http:///forum/post/2859416
hi. a few things need addressing.
1. the return area- it's very small. unless you have an auto top-off, you'll be topping off twice a day.
2. the dispersion tray and bio balls aren't necessary. you are much better off using live rock there.
3. niger brought up a good point. i know your diagram isn't to scale, but just make sure you have room to work under there. i would make the stand high enough to add a skimmer in one of the areas.
4. i wouldn't have the drain running directly into the refugium. i would use the 1st compartment as the skimmer compartment, and let the DT drain into that. then the refugium after, then the return.
1. Meaning too shallow?
2. Since I already have a section for LR are you suggesting doubling the size of it?
3.Ya I agree hence building a new stand.
4. Ill make a smaller skimmer compartment first for the initial catch. a 6x6 pocket in the corner is plenty right? By adding the skimmer first you let it do most of the filtration before the LR.
Is that the intent?Make less work for your LR, and therefore making them more efficient?
Also...was "DT" a typo? I didn't find it in the Acronym sticky...Display tank mabee?
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
DT = Display Tank, the one where you will keep everything you want to be looking at, the top tank.
 
king_neptune

king_neptune

Active Member
Originally Posted by Dennis210
http:///forum/post/2859445
Try dividing the sump 55 into 3 equal sized compartments.......The reason for three equal sized chambers is water volume in each is important. You want as much as possible in each.
It makes sense for 2 of the three...but why have a large return area? It does nothing. Why not a larger LR section?Also the return area....filling it to the top is ok?I only showed a shallow return area in the diagram because the wet/dry I saw in the pet store had a shallow return area. I thought that was for a reason.
Originally Posted by Dennis210
http:///forum/post/2859445
To make the baffles work you will need to have the glass shop cut you 1/4 inch stock glass not plexi
Is it bad to mix plexi in a glass tank? should it matter?
Originally Posted by Dennis210
http:///forum/post/2859445
Silicone in tall wall by shimming beneath it and raising it up to top of tank, tape accross the top to help steady it then glue the side with silicone. Water will pass under this first wall.
I have seen this double wall on a lot of tanks. I don't understand the reason for an under/over system? please explain why its seen so often.
Once built you can decide if the water falls into top or thru the glass. I take mine to the glass shop and let them drill 1/2" down from the top band a 1 3/4" hole for a bulk head.Hope this helps as they are really easy to maintain after!
So a 1 3/4" hole to allow drainage into each section. Why do you choose to do this rather than letting it spillover a wide brim? Doesn't it accomplish the exact same thing? Water going from one chamber to the next.
 
mr_x

mr_x

Active Member
like that, except, reverse the last 2 baffles. you don't want the water splashing over the last baffle creating more bubbles, you want the water to end up in the return area from the bottom. the water goes down, and the bubbles stay at the top.
you want the skimmer before the rock area because you don't want to skim any pods that are going to get sucked up in your return pump and go back to your display tank.
the return area is where you will see all of your evaporation. if it is too small, you'll be topping it off frequently. i would not make the chambers all the same size though. you don't need a huge return area, and you don't need a huge skimmer area, you need just enough room to fit your skimmer, and no more. the return area needs to be just large enough to accomidate for evaporation, and to hold the return pump.
to get the correct size for the skimmer area, i'd buy a skimmer and build the sump around it. you will need more than a 6" suqre area for any skimmer. do some research on skimmers and find out the footprint of the skimmer you will need.
 
king_neptune

king_neptune

Active Member
Yar,
Today's topic of research for me has been all about skimmers.
I'm beginning to see 6x6 wont cut it. I will buy the skimmer first and plan around it. When choosing the skimmer do you buy according to your DT size? or overall water volume(tank and sump combined). According to what I've read needle wheel are among the best. 150-250 seems to be the price range...I'm totally comfortable with that kind of investment. How do I choose a size?
 
mr_x

mr_x

Active Member
go twice the size of your total volume with a decent brand name. you are looking for an in-sump skimmer that can handle about 200 gallons. there are many choices. even a used one can be an option for you, if the higher priced ones are out of range.
 
D

dennis210

Guest
The reason for a large return pump chamber is so when evaporation happens you don't suck air. Your chamber volume will be roughly 7 gallons so allowing for a submersable pump you have about 5 gallons to play with.
Plexi bends over time with constant pressure and silicone holds glass better than plexi. Long term failure rate on plexi / glass combinations is greater than glass / glass.
Double wall baffle allows water movement one way and prevents air bubbles from moving through the system.
The 1 3/4" hole was drilled just in the first chamber where I pipe in the inflow water!
 
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