I am going to start plumbing my new 100 gallon tank and have a couple of questions.
1) If the main tank is suppose to be circulated 5x per hour, does that also mean that 5x of the display tank also needs to be circulated thru the refug/sump/skimmer?
2) if that above statement is correct, then any overflow that is 600 gph or above should work fine?
3) also, what diameter PVC is normally used to move 600+ gph?
Hey the Dan, dunno if you have recieved this already, but welcome to the forums.
I will do my best to help you out with your questions, so we'll all get out safe and alive lol
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If the main tank is suppose to be circulated 5x per hour, does that also mean that 5x of the display tank also needs to be circulated thru the refug/sump/skimmer?
-I think that 5X circulation would be really low? i;m not sure what your planning, but for a reef you'll want a little bit more. For example, on my 120 reef tank, i have a mag12 running the return from my sump/fuge, and then a dart (3600 gph) for strict circulation. So put everything to gether, with head loss, and thats like 4500 gph. Do the math and thats 37 and a half times its being circulated an hour. well, prolly not that much, as i have my return pump turned down a bit.But to answer your question, say the average is about 35 times an hour is good for being circulated, i would run aroudn 10 times through the sump, and everything else through powerheads or recirc pumps. Of course, i might be thinkin a bit too high, so other TR members will come in to correct me.
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if that above statement is correct, then any overflow that is 600 gph or above should work fine?
For a 100 gallon tank, i would probably run around 800 gph thru the sump/fuge?? if you cant work that out, 600 will be adequate for said setup. IMHO, the higher you are planning the bio-load of the tank, the more often id want it through the sump/fuge. Anyway you plan it, with a 600 gph pump, the head loss will make it lower than labelled, so the 600 gph SHOULD handle it.
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also, what diameter PVC is normally used to move 600+ gph?
Personally, i dont know. But run whatever diameter coming out of the overflow as the Bulkhead in it starts at. (if a 1/2" piupe comes out the overflow, run no smaller than a 1/2" pipe the rest of the way)
In the same way, if the pump output is 1 1/4", then run a pipe that is 1 1/4" to the tank.
HTH, feel free to ask any more questions if needed.
i run almost 50x turnover in my display, but only about 10x turnover goes through the sump and refugium. 2x1200gph Hydor Koralias, 1 x Sieo 1500, 1 x maxi mod (900gph), and 1200 gph GenX pcx 40 return pump. my frag system is on its own return so all of that flow does not really count for the display tank, but if you are interested ... mag 7 return (same sump), 2 x Sieo 1100, various PH's.
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thanks for the response. What I ment by circulation, was the water coming from the overflow to the sump/refug (at 500+gph).. But I'll up that amount, as I haven't purchased any pumps, skimmers, etc yet..
As I currently have my tank diagrammed.. I have an overflow that is "T"ed to feed the refug and the skimmer. both the skimmer and refug flow into the sump which contains the return to the tank. And in the tank, I have various Powerheads pertaining to 20x tank circulation ·(but I can up that, no problem). Does that sound like a resonable setup for a reef? Am I forgetting anything?
i try to keep the overflows and sump flow to about 10-20x an hour. 20x may be a little high, but it is better than to low, IMO.
what are you planning on keeping in the reef ?? lighting is a KEY factor in a reef setup, if you want to keep SPS corals eventually, i would suggest going on and buying a metal halide setup or kit.
__________________ Bobby
"I FORMERLY glued animals to rocks" NO TANK RIGHT NOW, but you never know when I might throw one together !! I have everything I need but the time!!
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i try to keep the overflows and sump flow to about 10-20x an hour. 20x may be a little high, but it is better than to low, IMO.
what are you planning on keeping in the reef ?? lighting is a KEY factor in a reef setup, if you want to keep SPS corals eventually, i would suggest going on and buying a metal halide setup or kit.
Currently i'm planning on just stocking some fish for the first year, then add some invertebrates. Down the road possibly corals, but I want to gain some experience before diving into that. My lighting current consists of Blue Actinic, and 50/50 (half white/half blue actinic). with some moonlights at night. It was part of the combo I bought, 100g Tank, Stand and Lights.
Definitely agree with reef keeper, corals depend highly on light, and to a lesser extent flow (their food has to come to them somehow) I think you're fine on upgrading the lights later, but reccomend going highe-end flow right off the bat. It could be hard to switch aroudn once you have LR and fish in the tank IMO
But the flow does sound reasonable to me at this point, if i could give you one piece of advice, it's that once you have a beautiful reef setup, you are going to hate those powerheads..... I would always advice drilling the tank for a system strictly for circulation ( i like the natural look myself, )but often times it is more expensive and time-demanding.
Not a bad skimmer for the money. I think it would be a little under powered for a tank that size. I have one on my 75 that I have modded and I find it lacking. Some time in the future I plan on an upgrade and just using the CSS on the rock curing tub.
Not a bad skimmer for the money. I think it would be a little under powered for a tank that size. I have one on my 75 that I have modded and I find it lacking. Some time in the future I plan on an upgrade and just using the CSS on the rock curing tub.
PSH, what types of modifications did you do? Would you recommend getting the next size up skimmer (coralife 220)? That would be probably 100 gallons more then my tank and sump. Or just going with a different brand?
I did the fishing line mod. I also modded the outlet. I took a quick picture of the outlet mod.
If it were me I would get something better right now. ASM, Euro reef, AquaEuro USA or the Octopus skimmers are some I would look into. If it was a choice between no skimmer and the CSS I would go with the CSS, but if you have the money go bigger and better.
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