as newbie as they get....

[chunkofocean]

Hello all......ive been looking at lots of post for the past 2 weeks...(sore eyes)
Im wanting to start a fowlr and gradualy get corals...

with all my reading, i think ive come up with a plan for my set up. Id like to run it by u and some questions i have(if thats ok)
I bought a 125g (long) none drilled tank. I plan on drilling it myself(handy guy)
im going to have a 40g sump.......intake(with skimmer>>return>>refugium.... wll be my lay out.

-ll be drilling two holes in both upper corners of my tank for draining.
-myreturn will be up and over with pvc
- going to be using power heads for movement in the tank(3 mj w/1600gph mod)
-

my questions are:
-how much flow do i need ciculating in my display tank
-how do i calculate sump flow
-how do i know what size pump i need in the return section of my sump.
-what size plumbing pipe do i need for the drains and the return up and over pipe.
-what size holes do i drill in my tank for the drains
-

i know its lots to ask on my first post im sorry but im so confused...

Thanks to all for any advice...
ill be starting a build thread once i get everything lined up.

i know u like pics lol

 

[Coolhand&Cshell]

You want about a 300 gph pump to run your sump. The flow in the display depends on the corals you want to keep and preference.

The hole size for the tank depends on what size bulkheads you want to use.

 

[iroll253]

Where'd you learn so much about reefing luke? :lol:

 

[chunkofocean]

thanks for the reply coolhand...
what do you mean the size of bulkhead??? i dont get the size of bulkhead to go with the size of pipe i need coming out the tank??


thanks

 

[Skimmy]

welp, for a 125g,
i would look at al least 1 1" drain, or 2 if it makes you feel better... your target for sump thoughput should be about 3x-5x so 375gph to 600gph @ 4' of head...an eheim 1260 would be a perfect pump for a return pump.
EHEIM1260 Premium Aquatics

for flow in the main display, i would suggest doing a laminar gyre set up of powerheads, and for fowlr-fowlr w/ soft corals i would prolly start at about 30x the total volume of the display tank, so you should be looking at about 3,500gph of flow....

maxi jet mods are pretty lame... and koralia/tunze powerheads are fairly inexpensive for the flow and power consumption;
HY-P19901 Premium Aquatics
T6125_000 Premium Aquatics

 

[Skimmy]

also, here's a good diagram for plumbing ur overflow:

 

[chunkofocean]

wow thanks for the info....
what do you mean (laminar gyre)???
Thanks again

 

[bens63imp]

I always thought it was skimmer/fuge/return? why the return before the fuge? Ima newbe myself and have the other way am I wrong?

 

[iroll253]

No The most common layout is

Drop>Skimmer>Fuge>Return, it would make no sense to put the fuge on the right unless you had a pipe dropping to each side, and the return in the middle.

 

[Ichthys]

just go with the flow

wow thanks for the info....
what do you mean (laminar gyre)???
Thanks again

Laminar Gyre is a type of flow that some hobbyists use to create water movement in their tanks. In a non-techy nutshell it means a circular, layered stream of water circulating around the tank. Considering that most of us have large live rock placements in the tank, true laminar gyre would be almost impossible to achieve due to the obstructions in the water stream. (Think toilet bowl after the flush)

The other type of flow some people recommend is chaotic or turbulent flow where you use powerheads/closed loops/ wave makers to randomly run flow in opposite directions creating a more chaotic water stream. To my simple mind this seems more like what might happen on a real coral reef, but hey, I’m a newb.

I spent an afternoon at a hobbyists house looking at his 180 reef and his flow was awesome, and i think what you would classify as chaotic or turbulent. He used 2 Tunze 6305’s and 2 Tunze 6205’s positioned at opposite sides of the tank and all controlled to ramp up and down, on and off using a controller. He also has 2 Tunze 6055’s to move things in the middle. The flow in that tank was incredible.

One of the coolest looking flow things i have seen is a surge system where a very large amount of water is surged into the tank rapidly and then slowly subsides.

Here is a good article on water flow that is worth a peak.
Feature Article: Water Flow is More Important for Corals Than Light, Part V | Advanced Aquarist's Online Magazine

Hope I helped a little..
Ichthys

 

[bens63imp]

No The most common layout is

Drop>Skimmer>Fuge>Return, it would make no sense to put the fuge on the right unless you had a pipe dropping to each side, and the return in the middle.

makes sense now that I have a bigger return pump my drop/skimmer section is at the brink of overflow!

 

[Skimmy]

Considering that most of us have large live rock placements in the tank, true laminar gyre would be almost impossible to achieve due to the obstructions in the water stream. (Think toilet bowl after the flush)

The other type of flow some people recommend is chaotic or turbulent flow where you use powerheads/closed loops/ wave makers to randomly run flow in opposite directions creating a more chaotic water stream. To my simple mind this seems more like what might happen on a real coral reef, but hey, I’m a newb.

not necessarily true... as long as you keep the rockwerk in the middle of the tank and allow the gyre to travel down the lenth of the tank, turn the corner and come back it's good.
here's a vid: 1200 tank with a line of vortecs on both sides of one end alternating on and off creating a reversible wave.
YouTube - 1200 gallon reef at 9000 feet

 

[chunkofocean]

heres an update.....
So taking some advice from here and looking threw littarally 100,s of posts ive come up with a plan and already began my build.
i have a 125 gallon long(6 feet). ive drilled it succesfully yesterday
im going with diy overflow boxs(built) for a drilled tank system. ive drilled (2) 2 1/2 inch holes at either end of the tank on the back wall. only one will be in used at a time. second is there incase the other blocks for some reason. My drain tube going to the sump will be 1 1/2 inches. im still looking for a forty gallon tank to build my sump. my sump design will be drop>>skimmer>>refu>>return.
i allready have my live rock. got a GREAT deal on it and its sitting in a tub now awaitng the tank. its looking good from what i can tell (dont know much ). Its got beautiful coral alge on it from what ive seen pics of.

thats it for now.....ill post pics up tomorrow.

cheers

 

[Krish]

heres an update.....
So taking some advice from here and looking threw littarally 100,s of posts ive come up with a plan and already began my build.
i have a 125 gallon long(6 feet). ive drilled it succesfully yesterday
im going with diy overflow boxs(built) for a drilled tank system. ive drilled (2) 2 1/2 inch holes at either end of the tank on the back wall. only one will be in used at a time. second is there incase the other blocks for some reason. My drain tube going to the sump will be 1 1/2 inches. im still looking for a forty gallon tank to build my sump. my sump design will be drop>>skimmer>>refu>>return.
i allready have my live rock. got a GREAT deal on it and its sitting in a tub now awaitng the tank. its looking good from what i can tell (dont know much ). Its got beautiful coral alge on it from what ive seen pics of.

thats it for now.....ill post pics up tomorrow.



cheers

Welcome to RF!! Sound like you've made quite a bit of progress! Looking forward to seeing the pics as you put this puppy together. Good luck!