Are you new to the hobby?

[Michael7979]

.......................

[mister crabs]

mmmkay i will start...i am building a 40 stretch hex and am planning a 250w MH 14k with a 15 gallon sump and an overflow box cuz i dont want to drill til i move and have a more permanant tank setup.

soo....is 15 gallon sump enuf? what skimmer would u reccomend? how many powerheads and what kind? anyone got any ideas for baffles in sump? this is my first reef tank....so any pics of correct sump setup appreciated. I am planning on getting one of flyguy's kick@ss rock lifts! How deep of a sand bed should i go with? I want fish that will sift it and keep it clean and i hear they need like 4-6 inches of sand which is alot to me. All help appreciated!

[mister crabs]

ps> a 15 is all that will fit in my stand....just checked....lol

[Michael7979]

A 15 is fine for your 40 gallon display. Thou baffles will take up valuable space it can be done.

 

You can look into Aqua C skimmers, they have hang on skimmers, check the sponsor page for a link.

 

Number of powerheads?.... What do you want to keep? Polyps, LPS, SPS?

 

As for sand I would do 2-3" of sand, (5-6" is alot and can become a problem if not cared for with the proper animals), and have the acrylic rods be just a 1/4-1/2" tall then the sand

[mister crabs]

thanks for quick reply! i dont want to be limited as to what i can keep although i will probably start with zoos and other softies until i get all the dosing pumps and such for kalk so i can keep clams. baffles are bad? thought they helped with microbubbles? and how do i do a refugium in the sump without the baffles? i figured i needed some rubble and sand as well as some chaeto in the sump to help keep nitrates in check.

[Michael7979]

If you want to do clams later you should plan on that now and start think of what you will need. Mostly lights, clams love light, and the proper levels in the tank. Get that stuff and then read about clams as you save up some more $$! lol

 

If you want a fuge in your sump then you will need baffles but remember a 15 is only so big and that will take up space. maybe look into getting an old hang on the back style filter and making it a fuge. I have never done it but its not real hard. There you can put rubble and cheato.

[andy]

You should expect to evaporate up to a couple of gallons a day. If the return section of your sump is too small, you'll be topping up every day and even then might run your pump dry, inject bubbles, etc -- unless you go with an auto topoff system.

 

I am using a 20gal long for the sump off my 60gal and I had to give up on the idea of having a 'fuge section; I evaporated too much for the tiny return section I had planned on, so had to expand the return into the space reserved for the 'fuge.

[Michael7979]

Auto top-off...good call Andy!

 

Like I say look into a H.O.B. filter to convert to a fuge.

[SnowboardKid26]

hey mister crabs... i live here in central oregon and have built 4 or 5 sumps... id help you out if you'd like.

[mister crabs]

that would be cool...i will be out of town this weekend but will pm you when i get back....i may be able to fit a larger sump....but would have to get it built out of acrylic. and if i hang my skimmer on the OUTSIDE of the sump it would leave more room for a fuge correct?

[mister crabs]

i thought about doing an auto topoff with a dosing pump like i saw another member with....out of a 5 gal bucket probably. would this work? and do you think i will really evaporate 2 gallons a day? that worries me about going out of town for weekends.....its going to be a 250w MH with a phoenix 14k

[CCR]

i thought about doing an auto topoff with a dosing pump like i saw another member with....out of a 5 gal bucket probably. would this work? and do you think i will really evaporate 2 gallons a day? that worries me about going out of town for weekends.....its going to be a 250w MH with a phoenix 14k

 

Have you already bought the bulb. If not, or you haven't fired it up.. Take it back and get the XM15K

 

I was at a supplier and was going to buy the phoenix, had 5 of em ready to go. But i had the oppertunity, at my request to compare the 2 on the same ballast i use. It was interesting for all of us as they had never tried it either. In severall of our opinion's the XM was hands down the better

[Michael7979]

... and do you think i will really evaporate 2 gallons a day? that worries me about going out of town for weekends.....its going to be a 250w MH with a phoenix 14k

 

 

I have a 100 and I lose about 3 gallons a day, so it might be a reasonable estimate.

[mister crabs]

its only 40 gal tho....so there will be that much evap? plus i was planning on keeping the glass top on to keep my planned fish in....and i havent ordered the bulb...havent even picked up the fixture yet....gettting it from impur on sunday on my way home from coast

[DChemist]

I replace about a gallon a day on my 40 breeder... No glass though- I'm using egg crate.

[nu2reef-n]

You don't want to leave the glass top on your tank if you're going to run M.H.s. It will cause condensation and reduce the light into your tank.

If you're concerned about critters jumping out, try that plastic egg crate stuff. It's sold at Lowe's and Home depot.

[R-3]

Have you already bought the bulb. If not, or you haven't fired it up.. Take it back and get the XM15K

 

I was at a supplier and was going to buy the phoenix, had 5 of em ready to go. But i had the oppertunity, at my request to compare the 2 on the same ballast i use. It was interesting for all of us as they had never tried it either. In severall of our opinion's the XM was hands down the better

 

 

Are you talking about color spectrum, Par, or what is better about the XM15k than the Phoenix 14k? Just wondering because I havent heard one good thing about the 15ks yet but everyone I know that uses Phoenix bulbs loves them. The XM15k have a really low par also, even lower than the 20k's. Later Ryan

[reefboy]

well im not sure if this question was answered but depending on what type of auto top off system u get i use to use a type called tsunami it had a float swich that u put in sump at desired level u wanted to keep at and u pluged in your power head to it that sat in your top off res so normaly i ran it with just five gal but when i went on trips i just lengthen hose and would set a 30 gal rubbermaid be outside of tank for the extra time id be gone then when i got back go back to the five gal bucket, if your gone who care's if you have this ugly ben sitting outside your tank also if you have animals like cats or dogs just put lid on bin and cut hole exact size and that will keep them out and safe.

[mister crabs]

great idea reefboy! and for the bulbs the reason i was going with the phoenix is i have seen that with a 14k bulb you dont need actinic supplementation and since i am going with a pendant and no canopy it serves my purpose better...if i can only use a 15 gal sump is it possible to use an aqua c skimmer as a hang on my skimmer and a aquaclear 100 or so modded into a fuge hanging on as well?

 

my stand may be wide enough to house two ten gallons side by side with about 4 inches hanging out the back....what about a seperate sump and refugium that way? i would need another pump to transfer water tho between the two correct?

[Reefin']

MAYBE TRY THIS....very cheap setup ...no need to worry about pump burn up due to low water level

here is a list of supplies need:

 

timer

air pump

airhose

airhose couplers(2)

rigid tube.....found@LFS

3-5 plastic water storage container...something that can be airtight

 

picture show how to assemble

 

set timer length depending on output amt/minute

top off water / dose kalk

if adding kalk and run this at nite early morning

[Barelycuda]

I have a pdf file of the air pump design & instructions on how to buid the one that is referenced above. I did not use it because I found an inexspensive electric top off system but I could email you the one that uses the air pump.

 

Let me know,

 

Cuda