New to posting on SDReefs. Sump Ideas

[shockaman88]

Hi, I've been browsing the site for probably about 2 years now, and I have a biocube set up that is running decently well. Now that I'm more experienced and know that the smaller the tank, the more of a pain it can be, I'm starting up a new FOWLR tank to replace my biocube set up. I am curious of what people though about my sump idea.

The tank is a 45 gallon breeder tank and I'm planning on drilling for an overflow and at least 1 return. I'm going to be using a 10 sump that I was using for my nano tank for this tank. I'm planning on getting about 40lbs of live sand, 30lbs of dry rock, and 15 lbs of live rock. I already have the sump glued in the configuration it is in the picture, and the equipment that I'm going to be using from my other set up is the Osmolator, the tunze 9004 skimmer (rated for 65 gallons), and the GFO reactor. All of the plumbing will be 1" pvc.

I had a fuge on in the sump for my biocube set up, and it was working, but not as well as I would hope. I attribute that to the size of my system which would have been around 25 gallons in total. This time around, since I'm not planning to put any livestock in that would require a pod population, would like to try out biopellets.

Ok, so the big questions here are would a biopellet and GFO reactor be overkill, and (I would like to use a external pump because of heat reasons) would my manifold idea work when it comes to powering both reactors and returning the water to the display tank?
The pump I was looking at was the Reef Octopus Diablo Water Pump DC-3500.

Thanks for reading the post, any ideas are helpful.

Jon

http://s17.postimg.org/dj6nchg23/Sump.jpg (http://s17.postimg.org/ovj8u9or3/Sump.jpg)

[HumanMachine]

I've never heard anything good of running both Biopellets and GFO together. I'd suggest you pick and stick with one. GFO limits the effectiveness of the pellets.

If you run good pellets, (I suggest Warner Marine EcoBak) run a slightly oversized skimmer, and you should have reasonably good results.

[DaveMorris]

Actually, there are a lot of people that run GFO with Bio-pellets. I don't know why, but they do with much success. Just goes to show you how many differing opinions there are out there.

[Funkateer_1]

Make sure if you run an external pump you drill a hole in the sump for it. You'll want to place unions and ball valves on both sides of the pump to allow easy service as well. Also, the reef octopus DC pump can only be run internally.

There shouldn't be any contradictions to running pellets with phosphate remover, in fact the combination seems to jive pretty well. Make sure to slowly add the pellets (1/6 of your total media at a time every month) and frequently add a bacteria culture formulated for probiotic systems (KZ Zeobak, Microbacter 7) to inoculate the pellets. I found running a small bag of carbon with pellets seems to really help with water clarity too.

[keepswimming]

I would plumb your biopellets or gfo back into your return so you get optimal return pressure. Beside that water is "clean" already way not pump it back into your display.

[shockaman88]

Thanks for all of the replies. So I'm going to plumb for the gfo to return into my return line BUT won't use it yet. I'll just plumb it for future use if I want to. Also, I should plumb the biopellets return to before my skimmer to be more effective right? Also, should I look into getting a more powerful skimmer since mine is rated for a 65 gallon? I have also read plumbing the biopellets return directly into the skimmer intake increases the removal or over laden bacteria.

Also, I was thinking about drilling into my sump for the return intake, but was thinking having the loop above the edge of my sump provide water level inside of my return line do that if I did loose power, that all of my water wouldn't drain into my sump. I was planning putting the manifold below the loop to prevent draining from my reactors. Idk, that might not be the right thought process since it might just make a siphon and pull all the water down anyways. Thoughts on this?

Also, I am looking for a a pump that would be able to handle the load for all of my equipment. I'm trying to shy away from internals because of heat build up, but since I would just have one pump, an internal might fly. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free (http://tapatalk.com/m?id=1)

[keepswimming]

Eheim 1260 and 1260 are internal but they are super quiet/reliable and I don't notice heat! Just my opinion on what you should run.http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/eheim-1260-universal-pump.html

[shockaman88]

I feel that I would need a pump that has an output of at least 1200 gph. I'm thinking maybe mag drive 18?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free (http://tapatalk.com/m?id=1)

[Funkateer_1]

That is a lot of flow. 600ish GPH should be more than adequate to run your sump and reactors. Also i'd definitely drill for your return, it would be impossible to prime a pump if it ran up and over like that. Lastly, make sure to incorporate the biggest tank you can fit for your sump, 10 gallons is really tiny. I would have any baffles in it either.

[keepswimming]

1262 but that's a lot of flow for 45 gallons.

[shockaman88]

Thanks everyone for the reply. My roommate moved out and I had to put my project on hold until these last two weeks.

Anyways, I went with the Sicce Syncra Silent 5.0 Pump (1321 GPH) because of a cyber Monday deal. It does have the ability to scale back flow via dial on the front. I ended up not needing to, because after plumbing and diverting the two flow to the reactors, I would say it was just enough. I will post pictures soon on the project because I think it turned out well. I will be replacing the tunze skimmer that I have in there because it is only rated up to a 60 gallon system, which mine is.

Also, I'll will be needing to get lights for inside my canopy. I've been trying to figure out the best way to do this. Right now, I'm looking into a 4 bulb t5ho set up, but the prices seem to run the gamut. I was looking at two Glo t5ho 2x39w ($49.95 each) ballasts. I haven't heard too much about these, and the seem cheap. Also, they don't come with bulbs or reflectors. On BRS, I found a 4x39 LET miro-4 kit for $215.99 that seemed like a good price but couldn't find too many reviews on it. I think I would just want to keep softies, maybe LPS.

If anyone has any good suggestions for the kind of lighting I'm looking for, it would be much appreciated. Also, any suggestions for a skimmer, I really like my tunze, so I was considering the larger version. http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/12/20/gadejevu.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/12/20/uhasyje4.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/12/20/9ure7y5u.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/12/20/unu8ubuz.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk (http://tapatalk.com/m?id=1)