Need some Advice on 110gallon Filteration

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Cunch

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Feb 10, 2004
Messages
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Location
Champaign, Illinois
Thanks too all that take a look at this post, I am sure this topic may have been covered in the past...

I have a (48" x 19" x 31") 110 Gallon tank, I am going to have about 6"-8" DSB in the tank and now this is where I have questions;

I have a spare 33 gallon tank (48" x 12" x 13") -- Leaving me virtually with no room for length in the stand but about 12-14" clearance from the top of the 33 inside the stand to the bottom of the tank, above.

I can see space being an issue if I want to make additions to the filter below. Or is it...

What would be my optimal way to filter this tank, refuge & Skimmer, Wet Dry?? A guy at work his father owns a plastic's place :twisted: actually he primarily works with LEXAN is that SW safe? I would assume its pretty inert, but please let me know if it is not. If it is, I was going to get him to cut some partitions for inside the 33 to create the refuge and dividers etc.... Am I better off getting a smaller tank for the refuge, or is this going to be okay for future maintenance and filtration accessibility.

I am pretty much overwhelmed with research information and now want to narrow it down so I can get this tank started. How many powerheads should I have in the tank and what should the flow (which kind of pumps should I look at) from the tank to the sump/refuge below be?? The total height from bottom of sump to top of tank is 55."

What I would like to do is - Please feel free to give thoughts on this part:
2 x 150w heaters
light the tank with 2x400w MH lights and two 96w PC.
6-8" DSB
Euro-Reef ES6-2+ or CS6-2+

So looking at filtration options and water flow options..


THANK YOU FOR READING this article, I appreciate all your comments and advice given to me -- I THANK YOU IN ADVANCE.

CUNCH
 
A correction here, my 33 gallon measurements are: 36" L x 18 1/2" H x 12" W -- Boy was my guess at work off.. :?

Plus my plans for this tank is a reef tank holding an assortment of hard and soft corals along with polyps and mushrooms etc... and a nice assortment of fish.. Again thanks for your help!

Cunch
 
Okay..from what I gathered, your basic question is what is the best way to filter your reef tank.

My suggestions..First take some of the sand out and move it to the fuge. An idea DSB is in the neighborhood of 3-4 inches. More than that is over kill and can acutally be detrimental to the effectiveness of the DSB. In your fuge, I would divide it in half. One half for macro algae and the other half for reef rubble and sand. This will give you an area for macro filtration and an area for pod cultivation. You will definately want a skimmer. This is one of the most important parts of your tank. The skimmer can also be fitted into your fuge. HOB filters dont work nearly as well as the inline skimmers. (they dont nessisarily have to fit in line..they can sit in the sump or fuge)

Did that help?

Squishy
 
OK, as long as you're going to have a sufficient amount of LR in the tank (1.5-2lbs per gal), you won't need and don't want a wet/dry. The LR and DSB will handle the biofiltration. A fuge with a skimmer should do the trick. I see no problem using Lexan for the dividers. Be warned that it can be difficult to get this stuff to stick to glass though. You'll probably want to silicone both sides of each divider...sort of like caulking a window in place. The silicone won't stick to the Lexan very well, but it'll stick to the glass well enough to hold the Lexan in place. You want a minimum of 1100 gph in this tank. I would probably shoot for 1000 gph (pump rating) or so through the sump/fuge and make up the rest with either a closed loop with a SQWD or a few powerheads...the closed loop would be preferable. Are you going to drill the sump for an external pump? If so, I'd suggest a Blueline 30 HD-X for the return pump. If you're going to use a submersible pump, I'd go with a Mag 12. A Blueline 40HD at 790 gph (pressure rated) would work well with the SQWD on the closed loop. JMHO. I would probably go with two 250w heaters instead of 150's.
 
An idea DSB is in the neighborhood of 3-4 inches. More than that is over kill and can acutally be detrimental to the effectiveness of the DSB.
Squishy, where did you get this information? I've always read that a DSB doesn't start till you have at least a 4" depth.
Next, why would more be detrimental? The ocean sand depth is a little deeper.
 
The general rule is 3-4 inches. Excessively deeper than that and the in fauna have trouble aerating the sand and the water flow is pretty much stagnant which can mean a build of sulfides. Basically it would be the same thing as a DSB with no infauna where "Lumping" occurs.

An excerpt from an article by Dr. Ron
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Lump formation is a disaster for the biological filter. The lumps restrict water flow and trap organic material where it can rot. Additionally, lump formation shuts down the biological filter by covering the bacteria and preventing them from metabolizing nutrients. This, in turn, causes the tank nutrient levels to skyrocket.
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From this we can gather that the two factors that can be detrimental to a DSB is lack of water flow and a non exsistant infauna crew-(front another part of the same article.

That make sense? :wink:
 
Sorry for the convoluted message, working night shifts (6pm-6am) throws the system in a loop! I was tired this morning.

Yes, the message was intended for me to find out filtration and water flow etc, as well as is using the 33gallon sufficient.

Thanks for everyones quick responses!!! Keep them coming!!!

Cunch
 
From this we can gather that the two factors that can be detrimental to a DSB is lack of water flow and a non exsistant infauna crew-(front another part of the same article.
I believe that Dr. Ron is referring to the nitrification that takes place in the first few inches of a DSB. Denitrification takes place below that level in the anoxic zones.

Anthony Calfo states in this article that:
"... When nitrate control is your primary ambition, use deep fine beds of sand. Smaller aquaria (under 75 gallons) should employ at least 3” of media; larger aquaria will benefit from 6’ (15 cm) or more. "
 
So if I have a bed 6" or 7" is that going to be harmful as stated in the earlier messages.. or will this be a safe height for the substrate? Is it typically the same depth for refuges as well??? Thanks


Cunch
 
So if I have a bed 6" or 7" is that going to be harmful as stated in the earlier messages.. or will this be a safe height for the substrate?
That will be fine. From Dr. Ron Shimeks article (click here to read it),
"The surface area for bacteria and microalgae in live rock or on other surfaces is insignificant compared to the area in a sand bed four or more inches in depth. "
Boldface is my editing.
 
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