Thinking of jumping into the reef...

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Mrc8858 said:
Honestly if your really wanting to get into reefing. Do it right the first time around because you'll regret it until you fix it lol. I would say either empty the tank and drill it or find one that is drilled or can be drilled. From there on just start piecing it together to fully suit what you want. This will spread your total cost out, give you plenty of research time (very important in SW), and lastly you won't be "settling" for anything.

Yeah I'm debating over starting over with the tank and just buy the same size tank to fit my stand and sell the other one. Only reason being is because I am 100% certain that it is tempered glass. :/ so I can't drill it. Or just get an other tank all together so I could fit my sump at the bottom. So many options. But I'd have to get rid of mine before hand. But I'm weighing my options and keeping an open mind about it
 
Sgc1107 said:
When I first was intrested I bought the saltwater book for dummies! Currently retreading it now after a few months of having my tank I understand more. IMO it was a good start, you may want to look into it :)

Thanks for the recommendation. Might look into it after I finish reading this other one. :)
 
Dreamsound1 said:
But if you go to petco or pet smart or walmart I would not even bother to ask someone who works there unless you really trust them

I only have one guy I trust at petsmart everyone else is really wishy washy... But I like to inform myself prior to getting things started anyway. I've been delving into YouTube, AA, fish sites... Friends trials and errors.. So I'm slowly learning. Hence the messier amounts of questions... Lol
 
Mrc8858 said:
You can check out bulkreefsupply.com too. They offer great videos on a lot of their products which will help give you an idea of what it is and how it works for SW equipment. YouTube is also a great location to learn from. Just remember there's more then one way to do it right so except all the different methods and opinions until you feel comfortable making up your own mind on how you feel about certain methods.

Thank you! I'll give this bulkreefsupply a whirl tomorrow. :)
 
But be careful talking to people in your LFS here they all run off part commission so not very good advise other that to get you to buy something, in most cases there's an easier & cheaper fix. I wish I had a good reliable person at me LFS but all the care about is $$$! Don't get me wrong, not all LFS are like this but just beware. I did find a great hook up 30mi away at a LFS. Just research what there telling you, you'll learn quick!! And AA is THE BEST forum I've found!!!

You will learn to be crafty! :) good luck!! I'll be looking forward to hearing about your progress! Everyone here will help you!!
 
Sgc1107 said:
But be careful talking to people in your LFS here they all run off part commission so not very good advise other that to get you to buy something, in most cases there's an easier & cheaper fix. I wish I had a good reliable person at me LFS but all the care about is $$$! Don't get me wrong, not all LFS are like this but just beware. I did find a great hook up 30mi away at a LFS. Just research what there telling you, you'll learn quick!! And AA is THE BEST forum I've found!!!

You will learn to be crafty! :) good luck!! I'll be looking forward to hearing about your progress! Everyone here will help you!!

Thank you!! I appreciate it. :)
 
Question: Can you use an HOB filter and a canister filter in an aquarium? Other than it being an eyesore... What are the challenges in that vs a sump? I'm trying to weight out my options. I'm wondering if I have tall enough rock would I be able to hide my tubing. I have black background so it blends in nicely with my tank.
 
Ok so I found a YouTube video on an overflow system without drilling a tank that goes to a sump with a valve and return pump. Not sure if I could post a link but it looks pretty simple and fairly easy to do. I think I could pull it off. :) any suggestions on that DIY overflow system?
 
Update... Going to work on getting my PVC pipe and I'm going to measure all the necessary measurements. Buying my sump this weekend. :) going with a glass sump.

Two questions:

should I wait on placement for my skimmer when I get my sump or is it a better idea to buy the skimmer and start on measurements?

How much Gph should I have for my return pump? Might go with 1" PVC pipe.
 
Your return cannot exceed the overflow capacity or your sump will be pumped dry. A 1" drain should provide about 600 gph depending on your DIY syphon. So if your return is more than that (after headloss) you will need to use a valve to reduce it a bit.
 
Ingy said:
Your return cannot exceed the overflow capacity or your sump will be pumped dry. A 1" drain should provide about 600 gph depending on your DIY syphon. So if your return is more than that (after headloss) you will need to use a valve to reduce it a bit.

My syphon will look like a HOB type bc I can't drill my tank. I will put a check valve and a couple of valves to reduce the water levels.
Kind of like this guy...
http://youtu.be/Cmhu7uxPIm4
 
Question on the overflow box... What does it do necessarily? Is it just syphoning the water from the aquarium to the sump? The only reason why i am questioning an overflow box is because wouldn't a canister filter be useful in a sense? For example... If I kept the intake bar in my tank where it's at and I placed the spray bar in the sump and placed a return pump inside my sump to the tank. Wouldn't it be doing the same thing? Granted I'd be using the canister filter as extra filtration or just as a water circulator. Does that make sense? I mean I'm utilizing the things I currently have rather then making more of a mess. Is this possible or does it sound like a headache ?

image-1134166295.jpg

Sorry for the bad drawing but can you see what I'm saying? Or if you need water to just be skimmed off the top I could just reverse the tubing of the spray bar in tube. What are you thoughts????
 
If you would do that then you would have to match the two pumps EXACTLY or else one will be working harder then the other causing one of your tanks to flood. The reason we let gravity take care of the overflow is because it will be able take more water if needed as the pump returns the water to the DT. Do you get what I'm saying?
 
Mrc8858 said:
If you would do that then you would have to match the two pumps EXACTLY or else one will be working harder then the other causing one of your tanks to flood. The reason we let gravity take care of the overflow is because it will be able take more water if needed as the pump returns the water to the DT. Do you get what I'm saying?

Ahhh I get it. The Gph on both the return and overflow has to be the same... I guess that makes sense. In order for me to have the same Gph on the return would be madness. Haha.. Ok I give in to the overflow box. Lol
 
Eshoops vs CPR overflow??? What Gph will be suitable for my 60 gallon tank? Which one should I go with? Any recommendations?
 
Question on the overflow box... What does it do necessarily? Is it just syphoning the water from the aquarium to the sump? The only reason why i am questioning an overflow box is because wouldn't a canister filter be useful in a sense? For example... If I kept the intake bar in my tank where it's at and I placed the spray bar in the sump and placed a return pump inside my sump to the tank. Wouldn't it be doing the same thing? Granted I'd be using the canister filter as extra filtration or just as a water circulator. Does that make sense? I mean I'm utilizing the things I currently have rather then making more of a mess. Is this possible or does it sound like a headache ?

View attachment 131342

Sorry for the bad drawing but can you see what I'm saying? Or if you need water to just be skimmed off the top I could just reverse the tubing of the spray bar in tube. What are you thoughts????

In addition to what Mrc said, if you have a power outage in that configuration, you'd actually creae a siphon through the canister filter until the siphon broke at the canister filter intake, likely overflowing your sump.

As far as the Eshopps v. CPR, I've heard good things about both. I've used one that looks a lot like the Eshopps version on my 37 for years with no issues. I beleive you have to use some kind of pump on the CPR version like an aualifter or powerhead with a venturi to maintain siphon.
 
Eshoops vs CPR overflow??? What Gph will be suitable for my 60 gallon tank? Which one should I go with? Any recommendations?


I am using a CPR and so is my roomate. They work great! You will want to get a aqua lifter though to keep the air out of it so it doesnt break suction. I have the CP90, I run a MAG drive 7 pump on mine and it handles it running wide open and could take more.


The overflow you will want...

http://www.marinedepot.com/CPR_CS90...or_Aquariums-CPR-CR1511-FIOFEB-CR1513-vi.html

The aqualifter...

http://www.marinedepot.com/Tom_Aqua...flow_Boxes-Tom_Aquatics-OE1137-FIOFOA-vi.html
 
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