Carey's Final Reef Upgrade- 180g

[Dav3]

Originally Posted by mr_X

But, they state this not knowing your application. They have no idea about whether you will have 90's or head height.

With regard to the mag drives they do specify 1.5" ID to obtain 950 gph(mag 9.5) at 0-1' head. They actually have this info in their instructions. they don't take into account elbows and other restrictions but that at least is a baseline. These pump are intended for vertical applications.

[mr_X]

I understand that, but how is this possible?

[carey]

I DO have all water from the overflow going into the sump and ALL water going back up to the tank........

[Dav3]

Originally Posted by mr_X

I understand that, but how is this possible?

That I don't know. What I do know is I got about 75% more flow on my mag 7 when I switched from .5" to 1" plumbing. "Proof is in the pudding"

[mr_X]

Originally Posted by carey

I DO have all water from the overflow going into the sump and ALL water going back up to the tank........

Oh...I misread someone's post then.

[erichm20]

This is turning more complicated than it needs to be. Carey- you have two things working against you with return flow- the check valve and head loss on both returns. If you want to use both returns you will need a bigger pump to get more flow. If you want more flow and still use the 18 you need to send it up in 1 tube, not 2.

[huma-huma]

Id never run 1.5" ID, unless its to a split. I dont care if the mags specify it or not. The output is 3/4" on the pump and the bulkheads for the return side are 3/4".... putting 1.5 on the pump isnt going to do a single bit of good unless you were to increase the diameter on the bulkhead. Id eliminate any 90's, replace the spring valve and run the mag 18. Thats it

[Dav3]

Originally Posted by huma-huma

Id never run 1.5" ID, unless its to a split. I dont care if the mags specify it or not. The output is 3/4" on the pump and the bulkheads for the return side are 3/4".... putting 1.5 on the pump isnt going to do a single bit of good unless you were to increase the diameter on the bulkhead. Id eliminate any 90's, replace the spring valve and run the mag 18. Thats it

Exactly. Which is why I suggested 1.5 from pump to T split. This will give the maximum flow to both returns.

[carey]

For now, I am going to leave it as is and use powerheads for additional flow. I am leaning towards running dual return pumps and if that isnt enough then instead of two locline outputs i will go with one on each side. I am kinda broke right now so I dont have the funds to get new plumbing pieces like the clear check valve and the slanted t connector. If it becomes an issue then I will find a charge card with enough room to buy them.

So, today I mounted 2 powerstrips on the right side wall inside the cabinet, it is 3 feet away from the sump so I hopefully wont have water issues with it. I also started playing with the rock lol, this is one of my fun things to do, I love creating rockscapes.
Also, I have 3 powerheads going right now, two on the right and one on the left. They are all koralias, just not sure which ones as the tags fell off and I have so **** many of them! lol There is good flow though and decent surface agitation, there are prob 2 1400's and maybe a 750 in there tight now. I think I will be getting another wp40 next month when I get paid so that should take care of flow.
Here are the first pictures of the rockwork, I know, I have a long way to go, lol, but the left side I am pretty happy with. I also put a compact dual 96watt 4 foot light fixture over it for now.

[huma-huma]

blah... why couldn't i have gotten the corner overflows??? whyyyyy. it looks soo much better than the dual rear overflows. the rockscaping is looking great! is that all the rock youre using or just some of it?

[carey]

That was onegarbage can full, I have another whole can of rock. I am mixing saltwater now so I can move the rock into fresh water and cherry pick some nice pieces.
Theres about 150lbs in so far, so was gonna add another 50 or so lbs. The rest of the rock will go into the 60g, the cube and anything left over after that will go into the 90g.

[TheTodd]

Looks good so far! It's funny how we are almost exactly on the same schedule. I spent hours today getting my rock in and have some of the scaping done too.

[carey]

Nice Todd, I will have to check out your thread when you post the pictures.

I rearranged yet again and I am getting happy as far as looks. I'm sure I will be changing it a bit more but this is where I am right now. There are a few stray rocks, just gotta find them a home somehwere. lol

[carey]

Oh, I almost forgot! I tested the water and its 0 across the board. I'm guessing the rock cycled out in the garbage cans. woot! Just gonna keep an eye on the parameters for another week or so and then i think it will be good to add some stuff slowly. My goal is to have all the fish from the 125g in by the end of next month. I still want to introduce a copperband and a filefish first though, they will be my first fish. AS for corals, not sure what I will move over when. I have a 10g tank full of frags that arent doing too well and would love to give them a more permanent home. They are under a 12w led par38 bulb so its kinda limiting.
I'm also torn between getting 2 more tangs OR one more tang and a foxface of some kind. lol I have some time though, unless I go with the foxface, which would have to go in before the tangs.

[redsea]

I love the rockscape Carey!

[Oscarr19]

It's looking great! Following along

[huma-huma]

def do 2 more tangs. not a huge fan of foxfaces. think you get better options in the tangs.

[TheTodd]

I would go Foxface and Tang, but maybe do something a little different for the Foxface (Black or Magnificent or Bicolor).

What were you considering for that split or if going with two more Tangs?

[huma-huma]

purple,purple,purple.... (you def should get a purple

[Dav3]

Originally Posted by huma-huma

purple,purple,purple.... (you def should get a purple

lol. My wife agrees!