Revised tank setup: comments?

[scubasteve]

Ok. First, thanks to everyone that contributed after my first post. After more research here is my newest design for the new 300 gallon tank. My thought process behind this revision is as follows: (1) my current 50 gallon tank has a well established sand bed (has been operational for 2 years), so it would make a great refugium (and i have all the powerheads and lights for the system already) (2) since i don't want 3000gph thru my fuge i figured i should have a sump which i can place equipment in and use to reduce my bubbles and possibly add a second fuge area in the future (maybe add more algae to the sump fuge area) (3) i don't need a huge sump just to cycle 3000gph if not being used as the main "natural biological" filter (4) the sump/pump combo will be responsible for a 10x turnover of water while additional turnover will be from a closed system or additional powerheads (5) by setting the fuge above the sump i can use a gravity fed overflow as an outlet into the sump and use a t-joint with a ball valve to provide new water to the fuge at a rate that will not cause too much turbulance (6) i'm hoping that the 50 gallon fuge will provide enough algae to naturally filter the water with better results than having a huge sump and using more water to dillute any pollutants. As for the main return and main tank circulation i'm still up in the air. I'm trying to ballance a good turnover rate, minimum visisble equipment, and variable flow (preferably flow from rotating 90 and 180 degree sources). My original plan used the 4 port oceansmotions system with 6 revolution heads for the return water, but didn't provide anything in addition to the 10x turnover, which has me reconsidering since i don't want 10 visible powerheads in the tank. Any comments and suggestions would be welcome. This will be my first attempt at a system this complex (I currently have a hang-on skimmer and 2 powerheads for the 50 gal and that's pretty much it). So tell me what you think, and if you have a specific part of your setup that you love and think would work well for me, let me know and i'll check it out. Thanks everyone. EDIT: Pic below is my first idea, the next reply is the new setup.

 

[scubasteve]

sorry posted wrong pic on the first one

 

[msd2]

wow looks impressive for sure. While I am not a master plumber at all why not put a scwd on the return to give yourself some extra motion and toss a few of those ph's? someone has a project on here like that and it is pretty discreet.
the one thing that could be an issue is putting the pump above the ref. if you do this and the power goes out how will it restart the water up? I dont see the advantage of putting the pump higher than the fuge. I would put a baffle and put the inlet for the pump low in the ref.
Looks like a great project though! good luck and take lots of pics!

 

[scubasteve]

I'm new to this too. The point was to decrease the head pressure needed to push the water up. Won't the pump automatically pull water up and prime itself as long as the intake pipe is below the water level? Stuff like this is exactly why im posting here :joy:

 

[adhoc]

Not all pumps can do that. In fact, I think most pumps would not. You'd be safer keeping the housing of the pump below the water surface IMHO. More of your pump's capacity will be lost thru pipe fittings than the extra couple inches of vertical rise.

 

[scubasteve]

bump

 

[msd2]

I can understand wanting to reduce head pressure but I dont know of any pumps that are self priming like that for tanks. You probably will save yourself a lot of headache by making it level and reducing flow a bit.

 

[robchuck]

Steve,
The new diagram looks great! Nice choice going with the Iwaki for the return pump, though I would maybe consider the MD70RLT instead. I also agree with msd2 and adhoc that you could have trouble with the pump drawing water up. Besides, Iwakis can work agaist ALOT of pressure, and the 18" of head loss you will see because of lowering the pump will hardly be noticable.
For in-tank movement, maybe consider using one of the Sequence ReeFlo pumps or such on a closed loop, emptying through a well-planned, hidden, and discreet manifold. Or Tunze Streams may even be more of an option now. Their extremely low electrical draw, high flow capability, and flexible controllability sold me on them. A magnetic holder is now available to mount them to the tank wall, so it's even easier to hide the pumps in rockwork if you don't want to use the intrusive rail mount or hide them in Deco Rocks.
By the way, nice choice on the skimmer!!!

 

[msd2]

I use the Iawki pumps and they are great, I would suggest them w/o any hesitations.

 

[scubasteve]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the advice. I'll rework the plans to lower the pump, and after talking with Andy from myreefcreations I'll probably add a second pump to the skimmer and add some more ball joints for easy removal of equipment if needed. I've heard only good things about the tunze streams, so I'll also keep them in mind. The big things now will be to decide on the size of the sump and what to do for the main tank circulation system (i thought of even using epoxy to build a rock structure to hide the tunze inside my LR for a more natural look). The tank should be here this week or next, and we close on the new house on the 22nd, so this project will kick into high gear very soon. I'll post the final plans soon for those of you who are interested, and I'll make a post detailing the move, and step by step setup once that starts so people can follow the process from start to finish. Thanks again.

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