20>>46 upgrade. few easy questions

[tnice17]

i have had my 20L set up for 10months, no problems, great tank.

i live in the north east and from that last storm, i lost power for 2 days. i did everything i could and i lost everything (200$ worth of coral & fish) the only things that survived was my shrimp, turbo snail, and 2 polyp corals

instead of starting over with my 20 gal, i got the deal of the century!

a co-worker gave me..
-46g bowfront
- stand/hood
- 4 bulb (33w each) t5 light fixture (built in fan/LEDs)
- 2 bulb (33w each) t5 light fixture
- aquaC skimmer with all parts
- glass top for tank
- UV sterilizer

-----

questions

1. my 20gal tank has a fluval 305, i would like to use my 20 as a sump but i have no idea where to start. my fluval would be a easy no cost filter that i had great success with, but i know sump is way better. what are the costs to get the sump going? can i do an overflow box with success/reliability?

2. lighting... what would you suggest i do? use both fixtures? my 20 gal has a 24" T5 fixture, can i put that in the front section of the tank and the 4 bulb fixture in the rear? im clueless on this area on what to do. two of the bulbs do not work so i need to get new ones, so maybe ditch the 2 bulb fixture and use the 24" fixture? or get new bulbs and use both 36" fixtures? id like to keep the basic-intermediate corals.

3. should i start 100% over with the 46g tank? i mean... all new water, get more sand/LR and do the cycle. would using some of the water from the 20g help in anyway? again... no idea what direction to take.

4. what would you do? disregarding all my questions but knowing what materials i have. id like to keep all costs as low as possible, but i would pay for something that would help lower the maintenance.


here are pics of my current tank, about 2 months ago (everyone love pics!)

 

[tnice17]

also i forgot to add... what do the bulbs...idk how to ask... mean?

i have

- 2 sun coral bulbs
- 1 blue bulb
- 1 coral bulb

 

[CleverBs]

personaly all i can really help you with is light and I would tell you to use 6 bulbs, get new bulbs for the one that doesnt have them it will really help. Another thing IDK about the GPH the 305 has but you could use it to pump you water back into the tank thats what my buddy does. hes got a 20gallon sump, the overflow fills the tank gravity feed, goes through some filter flose with some bio balls, then goes into the skimmer area of the sump and then the fluval sucks up the water runs it thought itself and back into the tank. this could be a cheaper way to do the sump beings you would basicly have all the parts and would just need to build dividers in the 20gal tank. IDK if you could maybe to a refugium in that size tank, idk how large the skimmer is or anything.

 

[tnice17]

off the top of my head, i want to say the Fluval 305 has a flow rate of 180GPH.

but thats not a bad idea, since it would be on the clean water side of the sump.. would i still have to clean it as much?

i found a these articles are pretty helpful

Refugiums,fuges or refuge

UV Sterilizers and Their Use in Aquaria

Sumps Explained


anyone else have opinions on what i should do?

 

[tnice17]

anyone else have suggestions on what i should do?

 

[tnice17]

anyone else have suggestions on what i should do?

ttt.....

 

[tnice17]

anyone?

 

[jjamontan]

I am running a 405 on my 55 gallon and am in the process of building a sump. I think I may do what he was telling you to use the filter to return the water to your tank. If you do use it take out all of your filter media and fill with rubble rock.

 

[tnice17]

Well I already have this pump (pic) and I wanted to use this. I was going to preform some bench tests to see what my flow rate would be with 4 feet of tubing to the top of the tank.

I would like to have the Fluval as an emergency pump or if I decide to start another tank.

I have a few design ideas from doing some research about sumps.

Does anyone have good ideas about where to put the fuge placement should be in a 20L tank?