As i embark upon my 40 gallon journey. T-minus 5 days till sump install...pray for me

[Somethings Fishy]

Hello all, just thought id throw up a couple of pics of my new 40 set up. Adding a sump in 5 days and thought id would be fun to document. I am going to have somewhat of a ghetto setup, but i think it will work. This is basically my first saltwater setup (other than my Fluval edge nano) and thought it would be fun to post the festivities of adding the sump and protein skimmer in somewhat of a unique way. I will warn you, my methods to my madness may be somewhat perplexing and on the verge of alarm to some in the aquarium world, viewer discretion advised (just kidding).
Questions-comments-concerns-praise all welcome and hope you enjoy. tank has been running for a couple of months and realize i am doing this a bit backwards.

I will be adding a 20 gallon sump with a
Reef Octopus NWB 110 skimmer
what i already have
utilizing my fluval 305
My lighting is a 250w MH 14000k, 4x39w actinic T5, 2x7w Led moon light
powerhead is a Aqueon Circulation Pump 950gph
Have about half the rock i need and will be getting more.


would love to add pics you could see without clicking on links and will attempt to figure that out....

 

[rainydave]

Looks like you have a good start. Can't wait to see the final product.

 

[Krish]

Nice start!! Good luck with the sump addition!! As for posting pictures, I've seen quite a few people have problems adding their images so I will start a thread with a little tutorial of how I add mine incase it may help someone else. I'll post a link here to it when I get it up.

 

[Krish]

Here you go. Hope this can help you get your pictures up.

http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/f14/how-post-photos-images-not-attachments-59241/

 

[Somethings Fishy]

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thanks a ton for that explanation of how to upload pics!!! The tank hasn't been aqua sculpted yet. hopefully next time you see the tank ill have another 30 lbs of live rock and the sump installed. thanks for the comments!

 

[Somethings Fishy]

Yesterday got the project 95 percent done ill take some pics and post them soon!!!!

 

[Somethings Fishy]

It holds water so i guess thats half the battle!

still have some finishing touches to do but this is a rough go at it, am planning on adding approx 20 to 30 more lbs of rock with some in the sump. Its a quick and easy setup that seems to be working. first skimmer i have ever used but seems to be working great! any ideas or tips welcome!!





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[Chichas01]

It looks like you are using an overflow from your tank to supply water and a canister filter to return the water. Correct? If so, it would probably work better to raise the sump up about 8-10" (maybe on a small platform? Your skimmer probably needs to be in 6-10" of water to run efficiently), add a baffle (maybe 3) in the middle of the sump so that the section the skimmer sits in always has the same water level, then use a small feed pump as your water supply and have the water return to your main tank though an over flow by gravity. Your design is basically a hang on the back sump/refugium. It will be harder to maintain your water level and flow if you are using a pump to return the water since you are left trying to balance the flow in to the sump to the rate of the canister filter pump. Also, without at least one baffle between the skimmer and the return, the water is going to fluctuate as your water evaporates which will also keep the skimmer from working as efficiently and consistently as possible.

 

[Somethings Fishy]

Hey just thought id throw up a couple of new pics of the setup some a few new additions with my a aqua sculpting almost done! let me know what you think! i am calling the right side zoa mountain haha.
i am going to try to keep my softy and hard corals separate if possible.


Jawfish hiding behind the copper-band


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yellow assessor


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[Somethings Fishy]

probably the last pic before i swapped to the 120!