Mike's 45 gallon mushroom tank build.

[Hondatek]

Well this will be my first reef tank. It's a standard 45 gallon with wooden stand. What I have so far on this tank is an emporer 400 and a maxi jet 500 for now. I'm still up in the air as far as a sump goes . A 20 long may not fit in the stand so I might be stuck with a 10 gallon sump. That brings me to my first question is a 10 gallon sump even worth it? Will I even be able to run a skimmer? Maybe a turf scrubber will be more beneficial ? Anyways things I still need to buy are another powerhead , overflow, dual t5 ho fixture and build a sump or turf scrubber and get a return pump. I'm thinking CPR 700 gph overflow and mag 7 pump. This will be a slow build since I have the tank setup in hypo to qt my last addition for my 180 fowlr setup.if anyone can steer me in the right direction as far as my sump issue goes that would be great. Thanks

 

[boardsurfer]

I would measure your area to be absolutely certain before you make a decision on sump size. I would maximize the space for the largest sump that will feasibly fit under there. If you can fit a 20, go for it. If you have the 10gal as a sump and you find out later that a 20gal fits, you'll eventually end up going bigger (you always do).

 

[Hondatek]

Yea I know it will fit in there but I don't know if I will be able to maneuver it in there unless I drain the tank and take it off the stand and put It through the top. I'm going to pick up a 20 this weekend and see how it goes.

 

[FTMMWS]

Definitely go with a scrubber ,,you'll love it..My very first scrubber only had a 10 gallon sump under it ,,,NP's at all..
If you wanted to though,you could take off the side panel of your stand and make it hinged for a door,then slide in a 20 and have access ..I put in side access to my current stand and its great ..I think all stands should have it

 

[Hondatek]

That's a cool idea . I'm leaning towards a scrubber just because I have not done it before. Would I still be able to use a hob overflow and return pump just like I would a sump? Also where do you get the right algae for it?

 

[FTMMWS]

That's a cool idea . I'm leaning towards a scrubber just because I have not done it before. Would I still be able to use a hob overflow and return pump just like I would a sump? Also where do you get the right algae for it?

You grow it...Nice green hair algae is the best ...Sometimes you'll get brownish or reddish but it still filters just fine..Just means you have higher excess nutrients in the system ..The first couple growths will be brown but thats the normal process .
You won't need the HOB anymore,and yes ,the return pump is still used as normal..The water for the scrubber is from the overflow,its not always set up this way ,but i think its the easiest way to do it..

 

[Hondatek]

Cool deal I will be doing a lot of research on the scrubber . So you basically start of with the bare grid and wait until the algae just starts growing? That's really cool.

 

[FTMMWS]

Cool deal I will be doing a lot of research on the scrubber . So you basically start of with the bare grid and wait until the algae just starts growing? That's really cool.

Yep,, in a couple days and you'll have patches here and there..In the time your growing your screen i would still use the HOB.

 

[Hondatek]

Ok I think I'm more excited about the turf scrubber than the actual mushrooms and fish lol

 

[FTMMWS]

Ok I think I'm more excited about the turf scrubber than the actual mushrooms and fish lol

,nice...You'll be amazed at how efficient they are and how easy they are to build and maintain..

 

[Hondatek]

Hey ftwmms is there any way you can post pics of your scrubber for me? The whole system from the dt to the scrubber and back would be great. I have been reading about it but there are somethings I'm unsure about . I'm kinda a visual person so that would help me so much. Or if anyone else has some pics of theirs feel free to post them.

Still haven't done anything to this tank really. It did start cycling on it's own . Ammonia is at 0. Nitrite is at 1.0 and trate is about 40ppm. I'm rethinking my stock from clownfish and goby / shrimp pair to having just one angler . I just have to let my girl know that she might not be able to get her a goby haha. We will see what happens . I still have to leave the tank 5 more weeks fishless since I did put some rock from the 180 in there.

Can someone help me with lighting . I was going to get a dual bulb t5 ho but I might just want to do LEDs so I don't have to change bulbs. It just has to be enough to keep mushrooms in a 2 ft tall tank .

 

[FTMMWS]

Sure ,NP..ANGLER FTW ,,that would be super sweet!
Heres my current one on the 280,I T'ed the overflow to to have both down flows feeding the screen on the one now..
algae scrubber - YouTube

Heres one i had on my old 125,,

 

[Hondatek]

Thanks ft. Im glad you posted a video instead of a picture . It's very loud and I think I would never be able to sleep since the tank is in my bedroom. I was excited about a turf scrubber but after hearing that I may have to go with a standard sump and skimmer.

 

[FTMMWS]

Well,remember the cam is nearly inside the cabinet and everything always sounds louder on video..Notice my kids in the background ..TBH its not really loud at all...I don't think its any louder than a skimmer pump running and making bubbles..If your still interested i'll make a vid later of the tank from a foot or so away then you can judge

 

[Hondatek]

I'm still interested but I'm still stumped on making it work without having a drilled tank .edit I should have watched the other video before I posted lol. So with my 45 how many gph should my overflow be and also gph on the return pump?

 

[FTMMWS]

Flow to the screen depends on the size of the screen..For a 45 and a light bioload(if doing only the angler) i would shoot for 150-200 GPH over an 8x8 screen ..I'm gonna be honest ,i never sat down and figured out all the flow rates and stuff for mine ..Kinda went by the looks of the flow..
Remember a ball valve is a must

Have you ever checked out the thread in the DIY section by flloyd... Its very good and detailed

 

[Hondatek]

I have looked but i just can't look at the pics without a connection error. I guess since the smallest overflow that I seen CPR make is 300 gph just matching that with a 500gph return pump and a 10x 10 screen might be the way to go

 

[FTMMWS]

Does the CPR overflow have 1 or 2 outputs..You could use one and get the 150 GPH...,,but it won't hurt to do it your way either ,,better to have a little more flow than not enough

 

[Hondatek]

That model has one pipe. I think if I do it my way with ball valves I should be good just will have to adjust the valves.

Ok time for an update . I just checked the parameters and the cycle has finished 0 ammo 0 trites and 40 trates. Time for a big Pwc tomorrow. I still don't know what I'm doing for lighting for the shrooms so I need some help there. I can't add my angler for another 4 weeks because I did use rock from my 180 with ick but i would like to throw a few shrooms in there ASAP . Just need my lights and I will add my scrubber whenever I finish it.

 

[TLTGF]

That is good news!