Tuduku Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 Well I'm pretty sure I know what I want for my tank, but not quite sure how to get there. Having spent the last 4-5 months gathering info and reading sites like RC, nano-reef, ect. I've come to the conclusion that, everyone is wrong... because everyone else is right. Luckily I discovered this group here, and found more usable info in 3 days than RC in 3 months. (Maybe its just because the PNW is just that awesome.) So I figure I'll just post what I have so far, and hopefully some gaps can be filled. My bedroom is a long rectangle, and my GF and I have decided it will be really cool to separate the room in half the tank projecting out into it. Way better than the privacy divider she wanted imo . However with the tank being just 5 feet from where I sleep, I would really like it to be as quiet as humanly/aquatically possible. I'd also like to make it SPS/clam friendly. So from what I know, a slower fuge is beneficial to algae. So I want my return pump to split the sump. Also a reactor is better than just dumping carbon/gfo into a bag and sinking it. Tanks-30g / 20g or 29g sump. I'm leaning 29 just for extra overflow room and a taller fuge area. Return Pump - Thinking of using a Eheim 2000 or 3000 compact. Not sure if the 2000 would have the power to run a reactor + fuge + 4.5'head return. Powerhead - Koralia 425, maybe an MP10 when its in the budget. Skimmer - *Shrugs* They all look the same to me. Something quiet? Reactor - BRS Controller - RKLite Dosing Kalkwasser with ATO until dosing unit is really required. Lighting will be LEDs from ledgroupbuy .com [ATTACH]12581[/ATTACH] So that is what I have come up with so far, if you notice something missing, or something that would be better please let me know. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smann Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 Looks like a good design, I like the fuge side, are you going to do a DSB in there? seems like a good set up for one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tuduku Posted April 15, 2012 Author Share Posted April 15, 2012 I was thinking about it, and had the idea of doing a DSB without the bed part. Instead if would be more of a deep sand bucket. Or use some 3in - 4in" diameter pvc capped at the bottom. Also had the idea of using several 1in pvc tubes filled with sand, then laying them on the bottom with 2 90degree elbows, one on each side. Next burying them under a layer of sand/rocks. That should create an anaerobic area in the middle zone of the pipe while hiding them. So DSB without being the deep. Not sure if it would actually work that way, or if anyone's tried it like that. But might be an interesting experiment. With the fuge on the side, I was thinking 2-3x turnover would be a nice flow. And if I ever want to, I could just open the gate valve and surge it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tuduku Posted April 16, 2012 Author Share Posted April 16, 2012 So another question. I've never drilled a tank before. I would like to try a bean style overflow. Would 3 holes drilled into the 12in side panel be too much and weaken the glass? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wegotjs Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 You should be alright with 3 holes but might want to consider doing a 40 breeder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burningbaal Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 I'm looking forward to my bean animal setup (working on my 90 build right now)...my thinking is that for whatever the size of a hole, you should have as much distance around the hole of good glass as the diameter of the hole. so if you're doing 3/4" holes, have 1.5" between holes and at least 3/4" between a hole and a siliconed edge. of course more is better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burningbaal Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 +1 on the 40b, having 18" front-back (or side-side in your peninsula's case) is way super better... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omarortiz Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 +1 on the 40B. It's always a pleasure to see someone do their due diligence when it comes to SW tanks. With that said, I have a few of tidbits (sorry, I got carried away). I think I would suggest getting/making the widest overflow box you can (one of my own personal regrets). Small overflows will limit the efficiency of your sump skimmer. In my case, I see oiliness accumulate in a particular area at water's surface and just hang out and not make it to the overflow. It's always there and it annoys me. If you make your own stand, make sure you have lots of space under it because some skimmers tend to be tall (some are 23" tall). Some skimmers also have different water level requirements, so take that in consideration with sump design/head space. Find out what other people use on similar sized tanks with respect to skimmers. If you want a top off, don't get an independent one. Take advantage of the RKL. Have it set up with your reef keeper lite, an SL1 and a float switch and a small water pump (Tom's Aquatics pump works just fine). Note: LED drivers and small pumps have what they call poor power factor. You need to use certain plugs on the PC4 for the RKL in order to get your items to work properly. You can read up on that some more, but knowing where to look for troubleshooting is the most helpful thing IMO. Other things you may already know... Auto-top off can just be RO for a while until you have some stony corals. Kalk is only a part of dosing. I like it because I am lazy and I can use the pH controller option in the RKL to dose it. But, I still have to dose other things occasionally (magnesium, carbonate, bicarbonate) to bring other levels back within the proper range. I think BRS has a whole Kalk kit and it includes more than just Kalk. They also have some videos on how to use it, too (I think). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burningbaal Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 good points from omarortiz. +1 on the wide overflow, in a 40b, I'd make it span the entire 18". the one on my 90g is the full 4ft length of the back of the tank. definitely excited for the high quality skimming. think of it this way: protein skimmers work because the oils/proteins accumulate on the air/water interface (bubbles). this is also true in a tank, they accumulate at the surface of the water. the wider the overflow's edge (weir), the thinner the layer of water that is flowing over the weir. thinner layer means more water surface turnover per hour, means cleaner water surface, means better oxygen exchange and better light quality, it also means the organics are getting into the sump more quickly which means the skimmer sees them more quickly with means that they get removed more quickly. also, with the inlet for the return pump underwater, you are going to tend to leave any organics missed by the skimmer in the sump... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tuduku Posted April 16, 2012 Author Share Posted April 16, 2012 I have definitely done a lot of homework and like the idea of having a full length overflow. Ive thought about trying a horse shoe design to increase my surface skimming potential. Unfortunately a 40b isn't in the cards. Originally the plan was a nanocube, but talked the gf up to a 20g long aio and now its a 30g + sump... I don't dare press for a bigger tank again lol. Plus the stand is almost finished. I did plan ahead for a skimmer and the stand is 36 inches tall with a lot of open height under there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burningbaal Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 horseshoe is probably overkill...12" weir should do a lot on a 30g tank. if you think about it, I'll have an inch per 2 gallons of DT water, you'll have 1"/2.5g. most people with 90g tanks have more like an inch per 5-8 gallons and do ok. bummer about the 40b not being an option, but I understand the 'other half'...my wife definitely gets a say in these things. good plan for the skimmer's height. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tuduku Posted April 17, 2012 Author Share Posted April 17, 2012 I'm looking forward to my bean animal setup (working on my 90 build right now)...my thinking is that for whatever the size of a hole' date=' you should have as much distance around the hole of good glass as the diameter of the hole. so if you're doing 3/4" holes, have 1.5" between holes and at least 3/4" between a hole and a siliconed edge. of course more is better[/quote'] Hmm, so a 3/4 return is actually a 1.5in hole (for the bulkhead) so 4.5 inches needed per hole. so thats actually 13.5inches, which is longer than my side panel. Unless I did 1/2 inch returns. I know a 1/2 pipe with full siphon will be more GPH than what I want to run, so the math is good. I've just read/heard that anything less than 3/4 on a beananimal is unstable. Any one else hear of / experience this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burningbaal Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 dunno about the size...but I am surprised that a 3/4" bulkhead is twice that in width...maybe look for a different one? it should need to be more than about 1" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tuduku Posted April 17, 2012 Author Share Posted April 17, 2012 Looks like the uniseal style is the slimmest at 1.25in for a 3/4 hole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burningbaal Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 I think you'd be fine. definitely important to keep it about an inch from the edge of the glass, and just be careful when drilling... and: make sure your plumbing is supported, if you have the plumbing hanging on the glass, it'll make the issue more nerve-wracking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omarortiz Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 I would stay away from uniseals on a tank. If you ever need to replace it, you have to pry it off or cut it. You also stuff the pipe into the uniseal and that might also damage the tank. Very risky IMO. They are cool for a lot of other applications though. Also, there is a huge drop off in GPH between a 1/2" continuous siphon and a 3/4". It might still work, but I would do a search for it and find out if others have tried it. You could mix it up and have your continuous siphon be a half inch and and your emergency and vented pipe at 3/4". You could also stagger the heights of the holes so they are far enough from each other to reduce stress on the glass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeramy Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 Or you could do 2 and a herbie drain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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