New to saltwater need advice

[CoryB]

I posted this in another forum, I think it was the wrong one. Sorry if you already read it.

Hello, I have had a freshwater setup for 5 years and I'm ready to take the jump to saltwater. It will be a 75gal tank and I'm not sure if I want to attempt a reef tank just yet but I want to keep my options open. My question is I have 2 emperor 400 filters that I would like to use to help keep the costs down. Would this be possible? I have been reading that you toss out all the cartridge junk and bio filters and put lr in the filters and just run them. Is it really that simple or am I missing something? Is that and a protein skimmer all the filtration I would need? Like I said I'm new to saltwater so I don't know much.

 

[carey]

Hi CoryB.

Yes you can use your HOB filters when setting up a SW tank. With a 75g tank I would highly recommend a protein skimmer. Also, with that size tank a sump would probably be your best bet as far as a filter. Do you have room underneath the tank in the stand?

 

[CoryB]

I plan on building my own skimmer I found a pretty good diy one.

I have plenty of room for a sump under my tank the question I have is how do I get the water to flow to the sump. I have no overflow pipe in the tank and I don't want to drill holes. If I use a hod suction thing what's the best way to insure it won't overfill the sump if I have a power failure or return pump failure?

 

[carey]

You would have to have a overflow box hooked up to your tank if i'm reading right. I don't have a sump set up, just running filters and rock on my 55g and my 29g.

I'm sure one of resident experts will chime in soon. Sumps are my strongest weakness lol

 

[CoryB]

Yup the sump is what I'm most lost on. I'm in no rush to get it up and running. Just need to figure everything out first.

 

[Flake]

I plan on building my own skimmer I found a pretty good diy one.

I have plenty of room for a sump under my tank the question I have is how do I get the water to flow to the sump. I have no overflow pipe in the tank and I don't want to drill holes. If I use a hod suction thing what's the best way to insure it won't overfill the sump if I have a power failure or return pump failure?

Check valves or make sure there's enough space in the sump for the excess water it would pull.

As far as sumps go, I found this guy helpful. Maybe not what you need, but I learned a lot from it.

YouTube - Reef Tank D.I.Y. Sump part 1

 

[CoryB]

I planned on using a check valve on the return line. I don't think they make one I would need for the supply line. Still have to figure out how to get the water from the main to the sump. Hopefully someone can help me out.

That video was very helpful thanks for posting that.