Help with set up on a 180 dual drill???few ???Big tank pro's

[kidkameleon3]

Well I managed to get a 180gal glass w/ stand and a 10lb LR w/duster and red mush for $300.I am stoked.

Anyway now comes the issues I have never set up a sump etc.. it has 2 overflows one in each corner 2 holes in each. I was gonna try to run a sump/fuge with a 55 I have , but I dont have any of the plumbing yet etc...

Now the questions:

1) I want to ge the tanbk out of my truck,but I need to put the 55 in the stand from behind bbefore I do this. I assume if I put it in the middle or to one side I can run both overflows from one sump? Is there a better way.

2)what kinda pumps will I need to get the overflows working properly?

3)When does halide heat become an issue enough to get a chiller? I can;t afford one so this will detirmine which kinda lioghting to get. I was think 2x400w MH and 2x 110 VHO 03's. You htink that will need a chiller if I add some fans etc....?

4)skimmer can run out of the sump right?

Is there anything I am missing thus far that needs to be addressed?

thanks ahead of time.
Jake

 

[Atari]

You got that for $300 ?!! 8O

 

[kidkameleon3]

ya get this , the guy put it on ebay stocked for liek $1500 local pic up.Of course he didn;t sell it. 1 week later i am browsing and I see the tank and stand 1 day auction,lol.So I call him and tell him I'll give him the minimum bid cash next day if he throws in some LR I got a 10lb piece w/ a duster and some red much on it too.I geuss he started getting mad emails after he took down the auction,snooz you lose.I am about ready to get another 150 Reef ready for $250 w/80lbs of rock.I am gonna part it out and keep the skimmer and pumps.Probablly be selling the rock in here for cheap so keep an eye out.

Still needz help !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[dansemacabre]

How deep is it? What do you want to grow? It'll depend on what you want to grow. 400W will produce a LOT of heat. I've got 2x250 (the 3rd is coming soon) and it can raise my tank temp by 8° if I let it. To assist w/ cooling, you can run space fans mounted SECURELY over the sump to aid in evaporation.

As far as pumps, you could use a Mag12 or 9 for a return. In my 125, there's one overflow in the back-left corner. It flows through flexible tubing into the sump, positioned under the tank, off to the side, bottom-left. It goes through the skimmer (A RedSea Berlin XL) and about 50lbs. of LR. It hits the Mag12, goes through a ball valve that restrict some of the flow, and in through a bulkhead in upper-right corner, which connects to a 90° elbow, which runs a 1" PVC homemade spray bar across the length of the tank.

Good luck!
I'm currently looking on plans to build a 200+ =]

 

[kidkameleon3]

that did help a bit, I want o grow most corals hard etc.. and maybe some clams reef tank style.

 

[dansemacabre]

How deep is the tank? 24"? 26"? I've got 250W. The dude at the LFS has 400W on his 300gal, but he grows SPS. He says he's thinking about dropping back down to 250s, so he can grow ricordia shrooms, lps, & sps. He thinks the 400Ws are just too bright. Remember, anything that's not a hardcore light-lover will need places of shade/reduced light in a 400W tank.

 

[kidkameleon3]

oh ya sorry, it is 72"x24"x24" ya I never thought about that either to much light lol. Maybe I should go like a 250 or 400 on one end and then some vho on the other side of the tank.So assuming that the light is going where direct (prob nit but still) that would give me enough room to place what I want in the tank 4.5w of MH on half and maybe 4 vho on the other half .This is sick.Thats why I am getting thinking now so I have it all planed out first I dont want to rush into anything.Thanks for all the vice

 

[dansemacabre]

np. I wouldn't go with MH on one side and VHO on another though. It'd look really really weird. I think that with 250s in that tank, you could do a few of the higher-lower light (make sense? Kinda like how ricordia are higher light shrooms...but shrooms as a whole are lower light) on the bottom, others mid-range, and SPS mid-top. You may have to rule out any LPS that need to rest on the substrate though. But, you never know. Any reason you're for VHOs over PCs?

 

[kidkameleon3]

not really I want to be able to keep zoo's etc.. though also.But from what I undetstand they love the light so well see. So how many 250's are you talking about anyway?

 

[dansemacabre]

PCs are a bit more expensive to begin with, but bulb quality lasts longer.

Well, you said it was 72" long...my 125 is 72" long and I have a hellolights.com 72" reflector w/ 3x250W 10,000K MH, and 4x96w 03 PCs. The MH give a coverage of about 2 square feet. So on a 6-footer, you're going to want 3 of them. I then have 2 96x PCs in front, and 2x96w PCs in back to supplement actinic. I use the coralvue ballasts and bulbs. I like them both so far, going well. =] For my PCs, I bought two Workhorse 7s, 4 moisture-proof endcaps from marine depot, chopped the ends off the endcaps and wired them to the workhorse. It's way cheaper. I got my coralvues from www.captiveraisedcorals.com Great prices and loganj is great to work with! I've also heard good things about www.captivereefs.com and Darrin's customer service is said to be top notch as well.

 

[kidkameleon3]

again thanks , I got a guy from another forum that offered up a hell of a sump link that alm ost sovled that disicon. I' will most certainly buld the non -mh aspect of the light and I hope to build the mh part ,too.So much cheaper

 

[fishfreek]

1) I want to ge the tanbk out of my truck,but I need to put the 55 in the stand from behind bbefore I do this. I assume if I put it in the middle or to one side I can run both overflows from one sump? Is there a better way.

2)what kinda pumps will I need to get the overflows working properly?

3)When does halide heat become an issue enough to get a chiller? I can;t afford one so this will detirmine which kinda lioghting to get. I was think 2x400w MH and 2x 110 VHO 03's. You htink that will need a chiller if I add some fans etc....?

4)skimmer can run out of the sump right?

1) Place the sump in the stand how ever you wish. If the overflows dont have true unions pickup two from your hardware store. Plumb the overflows down a few inches below the stand top and install the true unions one on either side and then plumb the drain lines into your sump how you want. If you want to plumb them to either side of the sump or if you want to plumb them to the center it dont mater.

What size plumbing does the overflow have? 1"? 1.25" 1.5"? I would get either a pair of Mag 12's or if you want to drill the sump you could use an external pump like a pair of littlegiant 4-MDQX-SC pumps. One pump per return and have a SQWD on each return so you basicly have 4 return outlets that alternate. If you do the mags in a submersible setup then install a true union after the pumps so you can easily detach the pumps from the return plumbing should the pump need service replacement. Also install a ball valve above the true union on the return so you can throttle the pump if need be ( I dont think you will need to) or you can close the return off if you need to detach the pump.

When your water temp is steady above 83F during the day and fans dont cool the water down enough is when a chiller would be needed. For a 180 thats 6' long you need 3 MH bulbs if you go the MH route. Honestly I wouldnt do a 180 without MH's. Instead of going for 400W MH's go with 250W variety. The 250W MH's each centered over the three openings above the tank and if you want you could get a pair of 6' VHO ultra actinics to supplement the MH's. This will give you ample light for just about any softie and LPS and you could easily do SPS in the top half of the tank.

You should place your heaters as well as skimmer in the sump. If you go with a 55 gal tank you could put two glass dividers in the 55 to partion it out and form a sump/refuge. You could split it up so you had a 10 gal area on the left where water entered the system. Have a glas partion that was about 3" shorter than the55 is tall that allows water to flow over into the refuge area. Then install a simular glass partion on the right side where you have 5-10 gal for your return pumps. Then the middle area ~30 gal is a refuge where you can put sand and macro algae and your heaters. The skimmer can run on the left side where your water enters the sump.

If you lived closer I would loan you my services in helping you set this up.

 

[kidkameleon3]

appreciate it I'm gonna go measure those ports now and see what I need to get it going. A guy at another local forum I frequent gave me this link I think I'll do my sump/fug this way in my 55 seems to be the best way no extra syphons etc....

http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/tank/sumps/sump_f.html

when I plumb the intake for the fuge should I run it all the way up just below the overflow level so the over flow stays full of water or just leave a open port?

 

[fishfreek]

Yep that looks great. A local person did something simular except his refuge is in the middle and his return zone is on the right. He has a topoff float switch connected to an RO unit to keep the water level in the return zone where it needs to be.

when I plumb the intake for the fuge should I run it all the way up just below the overflow level so the over flow stays full of water or just leave a open port?

I would recommend for the overflows you construct a standpipe. See more info below.

http://www.dursostandpipes.com/

 

[kidkameleon3]

ok that looks do able