Ok i am so lost

[camothor]

Hello Everybody


I was wondering if all of you could help me i'm new to the game of fish keeping and am trying to set up my tank but my local fish shop isnt very helpful and im trying to get some answers but the internet has just as many things saying do it it one way as they do saying not to........ Confusing much?? haha

so anyway to begin with i live in New Zealand and dont know anyone with a marine tank and have tried to join the NZ marine forum thing but i have to wait fro them to accept me so i was wondering if you all could help me?

I brought a tank second hand and might upgrade once i get the hang of it and know exactley what is required but for now i got a tank that is 120cm long 43cm wide and 68cm high then there is a 12cm high rim around the top of the tank with an inside lip that is 7.5cm wide. The tank hold 350litres(90G) i have tried to take some photos to help explain what i mean......

So i have a fluval 404 that came with the tank and i have got 1.5kgs of coral rock inside(NZ doesnt allow live rock into the country so i have to cure coral rock and wait for it to grow all the bacteria) I also have 18kg of coral rock in the tank and a aragonite sand bed of 5.5cm deep.

My question is I want to set up a sump, firstly I can only fit a 28 litre tank in the cabnet underneath my tank is this an ok sized tank?

Secondly how do i calculate how fast the water will flow into the sump from a siphon to calculate the size pump ii have to get to put the water back into the tank? I also really want to get a uv lamp to help me keep my water good there is a new cannister filter that has one built into it and i was thinking is it ok to use the canister filter with just floss or something to polish the water in it as the return pump? then i would give my sister the fluval for her freshwater tank.....

So my plan is to have a siphon bringing the water down to my sump which i would have in three, the first compartment would be the inlet and would have a sponge or something to catch the big stuff then as much coral rock as i can fit into it in there. Second compartment would have my protein skimmer(need to find one suggestions??) and bubble trap, the third section would have another set of coral(or anyother suggestions? i have no idea what to put into a sump really) and the intake of the new canister filter. In the canister filter i could even maybe put the phosphate and calcium media stuff?? once my tank is cycled.

Sorry for the wall of text im trying to get it all sorted now so that i dont ahve to re cycle my tank, i wasnt told about a sump at my fish shop so i am one and a half weeks into my cycle


Thank a million to anyone who helps me

Cam

 

[kdogg85]

For the sump to work(if the tank is not drilled for an internal overflow) you will need an overflow box. A 1000gph box should do. Then get a 1000gph return pump. Swc, octopus, and asm make some great skimmers. If you are rich then look at bubble kings and things like that. Get a skimmer around double the size of the total system. As for the cannister, somebody else will chime in and tell you what to do with that.

I am going to highly suggest an ro/di unit since you have rock in there. It will give you the cleanest water for pwc's and top off's.

 

[melosu58]

Ok first of all welcome to AA Cam. Glad you are here. We will get you along here. First read this for equipment needs

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f14/stock-list-and-tips-for-maintaining-your-sw-tank-73477.html

It looks like you have a 90 gallon tank. I`m pretty poor on the metric system but your sump looks like it`s roughly 7-8 gallons??? I would say that is too small for a 90 gallon tank. I had a 10 gallon under my 55 when I first started out. I sure wish you could get a twenty under there. You should be able to get a bigger one under there unless it`s all shelves under there. Also it does not have to ge a glass tank. It can be a rubbermaid tote on the side or under. You definitely dont want your corals in the sump. They need to be up in the main tank where your intense lighting will be. Good luck with the tank. When I get home from work I will post some good links on sumps.

 

[Wy Renegade]

Indeed welcome! As Mike said, that 28L (or 6.5gal) tank is not nearly big enough for your tank. You will constantly be refilling it because of water evaporation.

I've seen corals grown out in the sump as kind of a frag tank set-up, but that is not generally what is recommended - and as Mike said would require very high lighting on your sump.

Here are some pictures of one type of sump set-up, hopefully they will help you out a little (please understand this is only one of many ways to design or build a sump);

(water disperser - sits in sump on top of blue filter pad - disperses the water over a larger area)

Hope that Helps (HtH)