Scratch the 10gal..29gal with 10g sump!

[victor.m]

Hey all,

So I just posted a couple of days ago about starting a 10g reef..well scratch that! Just found a great deal on a 29g tank, so I will be building that instead! And thinking of adding a 10g sump/refuge.

I do although have a few NEW questions.. Here is the equipment I currently have:

- 1x Koralia 3 PH
- 1X Regent(?) HOB filter..seems to be about 12" wide and has 2 carbon media filters, not sure, just came bundled with the tank.
- 1x Coralife 130w PC Aqualight (2x65w 50/50)
- 1x 29g Glass tank
- 1x JBJ small water pump..not sure model/make/capacity

Now, what would I need to make the plumbing, and what kind of pump, to hook up this tank to a 10g fuge beneath it as opposed to a HOB filter? Alternatively, I remember some people making AC70 HOB filters pretty much into a hang on back fuge, how effective is that?

Also, due to $$ concerns, for NOW I will be keeping the Coralife PC fixture..but moving forward I am looking to upgrade to MH or LED. What kind of fixtures go well on a 29g? I assuming I'm looking at 30" fixtures. I also have someone in my area selling a 24" Current Outer Orbit fixture, with a 250w MH and 4x24W T5 HO bulbs, would that be a good option to hang over the aquarium possibly?

And lastly...how much sand/rock would I be looking at for an aquarium like this? I was thinking 10lbs of LR and another 30lbs of base rock would do, with 40lbs of aragonite sand?

Any and all input greatly appreciated! Here is a preliminary picture of the tank..nothing in it yet.

- Vic

 

[mr_X]

that sounds pretty good to me. as for the sump, you'll need a HOB overflow box to make it work. i would skip the sump and just use what you have. keep the 10 as a QT maybe.
the 250 watt halide fixture would be ok. you could keep whatever you wanted.

 

[victor.m]

that sounds pretty good to me. as for the sump, you'll need a HOB overflow box to make it work. i would skip the sump and just use what you have. keep the 10 as a QT maybe.
the 250 watt halide fixture would be ok. you could keep whatever you wanted.

Thanks for the input. Would it be a good idea to get another PH?

 

[mr_X]

you'll have to run it and see. it might be enough for you.

 

[Gregcoyote]

The 250 watt MH is pretty big for a 29 gallon. Good light, but will generate considerable heat in this amount of water. Hang it high with plenty of air flow and watch your water temps for sure.

 

[victor.m]

The 250 watt MH is pretty big for a 29 gallon. Good light, but will generate considerable heat in this amount of water. Hang it high with plenty of air flow and watch your water temps for sure.

How high above the tank? My biggest thing is being able to grow ANYTHING. Would I be able to hang the MH high enough and maybe have a fan setup over the water to keep it cool? I don't think i'd be able to invest in a chiller just yet.

- Vic

 

[Gregcoyote]

I'm sure you could. Just start out slow and monitor the changes in temperature until you can get a happy medium between your heater at night and the light during the day. A MH will grow about anything.

 

[victor.m]

I'm sure you could. Just start out slow and monitor the changes in temperature until you can get a happy medium between your heater at night and the light during the day. A MH will grow about anything.

Thanks.

I have finally decided to go with an Odyssea MH 198w fixture. So it's 1x 150w MH 14,000K and 2x 24w T5HO Actinic.

Now I know there's a lot of controversy about this fixture..but. I did my research and decided that it's a great deal for the money. I will admit that I am NOT impressed with the overall build quality, and it's something I might replace down the line with a higher end LED fixture, but for now I did not want to have to deal with potential heat issues from the other 250w MH fixture that was an option although I know it was by leaps and bounds a better fixture than the Odyssea.

With that being said, at the end of the day I have 198w of total lighting and 150w of MH light. Is this enough to possibly grow some of the easier SPS and clams, of course given proper maturity of my thing and extremely good water quality?

So tomorrow I will be going out to the LFS to get some sand ... I will be getting:

- 40lbs of AragaMax sand
- 10lbs of AragAlive Live Sand

Will this make for a decent substrate? I already have the 10lbs of LS so I figured adding another 40lbs of aragonite sand wouldn't hurt to have a nice deep-er sand bed.

I also plan to use 10lbs of LR and 30lbs of base rock, and will be cycling using shrimp.

I will also be ordering this RO/DI unit that I saw suggested around the forums:

- eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices

And for now a Hydrometer and later on a good quality Refractometer.

Any input/ideas/suggestions on this? Cycling with shrimp still the way to go?

Thanks!

- Vic

 

[victor.m]

Sooooo finally got the sand in..30lbs of live sand, and water mixed to 1.025 SG using Red Sea Coral Pro sea salt. I will be letting the water mix a bit more and adding my shrimp in there tomorrow and some LR!

Got my 200w Marineland Visi-Therm heater, and a really really small HOB filter on there...for now. looking to upgrade to an AC70 tomorrow, and looking into good HOB protein skimmers, anyone have any suggestions?

Here's the tank right now, have the T5s and MH on a timer.. T5s come on at 7a, MH at 11a, MH off at 6:30, T5s off at 8. How does that sound? I have them ALL turned off on the power strip for now while I cycle, but that is how I intend on having it once I get my stock in there in a couple of months.

 

[mr_X]

sounds ok to me.

 

[victor.m]

So I've decided I am going to go with an overflow system with a 5.5g sump. Thinking of doing 3 compartments, one for a protein skimmer down the road but to start with mechanical filtration, second with macro, sand, and rock rubble, and third with just a return pump. The return pump would be a JBJ SP-1300/250gph, and I'm not sure yet what kind of piping to use..how would I connect PVC to the pump's water outlet? Seems a bit tricky with the shape.

On another note, finally got my MH/Fan on the same timer, notice that without the fan the fixture was running wayyyyy too hot, I'd rather have my heater do all the work than risk my water getting too warm.

- Vic

Input always appreciated

 

[mr_X]

that's way to small to be useful. there isn't any protein skimmer that would fit in that 5.5 gallon after partitioning to accommodate a refugium and return area.

 

[victor.m]

that's way to small to be useful. there isn't any protein skimmer that would fit in that 5.5 gallon after partitioning to accommodate a refugium and return area.

Going hob protein skimmer and fuge only in sump.

 

[mr_X]

you are talking about a tank that's 12 x 8 x 10, right? what kind of filtration can you expect from that, even if it's separated into only 2 parts? you can't even fit a heater in it, unless it's sticking half way out of the water.
what is your return area going to be? after head loss you are going to be returning about 100gph. what siphon overflow box is going to stay working with that little flow going through it?
it's a waste of time. if you really want a refugium, use a modded HOB filter as a refugium and call it a day. this entire system is small enough to maintain easily without a skimmer, and besides, there aren't any "good" HOB protein skimmers for a 30 gallon tank.
you'll be using one much larger than you need.

 

[victor.m]

Advice taken..I've gone a different route and decided to "do it right" if you will.

I got a brand new 29g Aqueon tank, old one had some scratches and I wasn't digging the oak look. Also went ahead and got a stand at PetSmart, one that fits..wait for it...a 10g sump!

And of course reversed my plans to using a 10g sump and having a 5.5g quarantine/frag tank. I transferred over all my rock/sand from my old 29g into the new tank today, and since the water transfer happened in 5g buckets..some water murkiness occurred.

I will be using the old stand to hold my 5.5g quarantine and all my aquarium equipment, kind of a "work bench".

I also got some more Lexan acrylic and plenty of sched.40 PVC and all the elbows I need plus a ball valve. Tomorrow I plan on getting a clamp on light bulb fixture and using my GE Silicone 1 to create the baffles in the 10g. Luckily the 5.5g was good practice for the baffles, definitely a learning experience, but I saw exactly how the bubble trap and whatnot works. Quite nifty.

For a return pump I will be using a Rio 1700 with 3/4" PVC for the return line, and the sump will be using 1" pvc.

Here's a pic of how things sit tonight..so tired of running around and getting all this stuff. Hopefully I start the baffle-creation tomorrow so it can dry and maybe get the sump up and running by Wednesday.

Quite the journey it's been..