mc82 Posted June 8, 2010 Share Posted June 8, 2010 I have an established planted freshwater tank with 4 Discus as my showpieces along with a couple Clown loaches, 10 Cardinal Tetras and a Blue seamed pleco. But I've always wanted to do a reef aquarium so away I go! Got a steal of a deal on an aquarium on Craigslist that a guy had setup for saltwater with 50G Bowfront Acrylic, hang on skimmer, eheim pro canister filter, lighting ballast...etc. All needed quite a bit of TLC but it's coming together. I want to get this right the first time - from what I gather - the Canister will work short/medium term but to do it right long term I really need to go with a wet/dry system. Thoughts? are there any graphical diagrams of plumping a system like this that I can reference? haven't found a ton of books. Assuming my direction is correct - is there a local place good to pickup a wet/dry filter system and accompanying skimmer for a 50~75G tank? I'm going to upgrade the lighting as well, found a few T5 systems with a total of ~250W of light - believe that should do me well for coral. I'm on the westside but willing to drive. I'll then just sell off the canister filter, hang on skimmer...etc and be net 0 on the aquarium/stand/pumps..etc. Thanks for any help, I'm really looking forward to getting this setup! - Matt 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grassi Posted June 8, 2010 Share Posted June 8, 2010 I want to get this right the first time - from what I gather - the Canister will work short/medium term but to do it right long term I really need to go with a wet/dry system. Thoughts? are there any graphical diagrams of plumping a system like this that I can reference? haven't found a ton of books. Assuming my direction is correct - is there a local place good to pickup a wet/dry filter system and accompanying skimmer for a 50~75G tank? I'm going to upgrade the lighting as well, found a few T5 systems with a total of ~250W of light - believe that should do me well for coral. I'm on the westside but willing to drive. I'll then just sell off the canister filter, hang on skimmer...etc and be net 0 on the aquarium/stand/pumps..etc. Thanks for any help, I'm really looking forward to getting this setup! - Matt For that size of tank the wet/dry is just gonna give you problems. They are good for huge tanks. For small tanks they are detrimental. Set up a refugium with some sand, live rock and macro algae. A good skimmer and you are ready to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald525 Posted June 8, 2010 Share Posted June 8, 2010 Welcome MC and +1 on what Grassi, the whale said! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newfisher Posted June 8, 2010 Share Posted June 8, 2010 Welcome! I have a 50g corner that ran a year(semi successfully) on a canister. It made leaps and bounds when we tore it down,drilled it(which is easy with acrylic) and installed a sump/fuge. If it is not yet set up I wouldn't hesitate to run a sump/fuge. Keep an eye open here for a skimmer in the classified area(s). Plural, because there is a member only spot when you join the forum. What are your interior specs on stand size to place a sump? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted June 8, 2010 Share Posted June 8, 2010 Welcome to the group. +1 to what they said above. dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mc82 Posted June 8, 2010 Author Share Posted June 8, 2010 wow - such quick response, Thanks for the advice!! I'll measure the stand underneath tonight - don't know off the top of my head. I'll start watching the classifieds - went ahead and paid the member fee a few minutes ago here so I'll watch that one too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald525 Posted June 8, 2010 Share Posted June 8, 2010 wow - such quick response, Thanks for the advice!! I'll measure the stand underneath tonight - don't know off the top of my head. I'll start watching the classifieds - went ahead and paid the member fee a few minutes ago here so I'll watch that one too. Welcome paid member! Now you get the cool PNWMAS banner over your name!(clap) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mc82 Posted June 9, 2010 Author Share Posted June 9, 2010 new to saltwater and the forum... What size sump do I need for a 50g tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgf86123 Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 Welcome to the club, and welcome to the perks of paid membership LOL As for your sump, well, go as big as you can, go as big as your stand will let you. Thats about the best advice concerning sumps I can give. If you can afford to have one custom built, that's always the best way to go. I know madmike, another paid member LOL he's in Vancouver, has a really nice 4' sump for sale or trade, you might want to shoot him a message an see if you can talk him into selling it to you. Or, if it's too big, get a measurement on your stand to find out how much room you have, and then shoot a message to these 3 guys, wannareef aka Charles, acrylics aka James at Envision, and Davy Jones's Locker, not sure which name to message LOL They all do nice acrylic work for a good price and really know what they're doing and can build you a really nice sump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mc82 Posted June 9, 2010 Author Share Posted June 9, 2010 new to saltwater and the forum... Looks like my measurements underneath are 29"w - 12"d - 22"h. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgf86123 Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 oooof, thats a might short stand..... Anyway you could build a new stand? 22" is a major pain, trust me, I know from experience, my current stand is 24" and I absolutely hate it, I have no room under it, and finding a skimmer that fits is next to impossible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkBirkett Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 Noob with paid membership. Two thumbs up. Welcome MC82 you will get endless advice on all of your aquarium needs. Now take pictures of your progress and post in tank build section. Welcome again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Algae Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 Great that you did paid membership right away! ! A wise investment, and a stand up thing to do! You will find great advice here. Welcome to the start of a new adventure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beckie Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 Hi Matt, welcome to the group. You will get a lot of useful information around here. It can be a pain but reading soom of the older threads can be helpful as well. It can take time to get the set up you want. Beckie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mc82 Posted June 10, 2010 Author Share Posted June 10, 2010 Looks like I measured wrong the other night. Still short stand but not as short - I have 25" underneath. I picked up a nice skimmer and it'll fit just fine underneath with a sump. Question(s) - I already have a small 15g glass aquarium that fits nicely underneath with the pump right next to it. Is this just too small to really use as the sump? I could go a bit bigger on the sump and put the pump in it - but would rather spend money elsewhere on the system if this would work for now. What is a good diameter of the pvc pipe (pump is rated at 900g/hr). Is PVC preferred for the plumbing or is flexible tubing OK? Thanks in advance! - M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgf86123 Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 Wow, that's a BIG pump for that small of a tank. I'm running a 550 gph pump on my system and I've had to dial it back cause it's just too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beckie Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 What kind of skimmer did you pick up? If the 15 fits it should work fine, I recently went with an in sump pump and love it. It is almost silent. People use both pvc and flex, personal preferance I think. Beckie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mc82 Posted June 10, 2010 Author Share Posted June 10, 2010 skimmer I picked up is a bubblemax 1500 in portland. hope that was a smart choice - locally made but not a lot of info online about them. fits in my space just right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mc82 Posted June 10, 2010 Author Share Posted June 10, 2010 and yea the pump is a pretty powerful. it's the one I got in my deal on craigslist. nice eheim pump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
undrtkr_00 Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 You will get less "head loss" using flexible, but you will probably want to avoid clear, or cover it with something, as it grows algae quickly which chokes down the effective diameter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReeFit Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 for a 50 gallon that pump will be nice. you could run a phosphate reactor with that pump as well if you decided to put one in later. I would say anything in the 10-20gallon range is fine for your tank, the bigger the sump the better because it adds more water to the overall system which will help buffer changes and swings in your parameters. but bigger always takes more room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mc82 Posted June 22, 2010 Author Share Posted June 22, 2010 thank you for everyones help and input - I'll get some pictures up before I start pulling it all together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smann Posted June 23, 2010 Share Posted June 23, 2010 You will get less "head loss" using flexible' date=' but you will probably want to avoid clear, or cover it with something, as it grows algae quickly which chokes down the effective diameter.[/quote'] You can get Black vinyl at Upscales, works really well I've been running it for years, All sizes avaiable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReeFit Posted June 23, 2010 Share Posted June 23, 2010 You can get Black vinyl at Upscales' date=' works really well I've been running it for years, All sizes avaiable[/quote'] so does ace hardware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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