Closed Loop on 90g Reef?

[Rcpilot]

I have a 90g Oceanic tank sitting here. It was free (thank you craigslist) so I don't have anything to lose by drilling it. But I have never had a RR tank before and I'm not really sure what to do. Not sure how to set it up.

I do not keep SPS corals or leathers/softies in my reefs. Just not interested in those types of corals. I DO keep LPS corals and zoas/polyps with some mushrooms.

I have a 29g tank that would be used as the sump. It's 30l x 12w x 18h. I was planning to section this out into 3 sections. I have attached a crude paint drawing of the plan for the sump/refugium. I like the design, if you see any flaws or reason why it won't work, please speak up.

I want to do a closed loop on this 90g tank because I LOATHE the powerhead look. I want this tank to look clean and professional. I'm thinking 25x - 30x turnover would be about right. My other (smaller) tanks all have about this much flow and it seams to work out. That means I need a 2200 - 2700GPH loop pump.

How many holes do I need for the intake and outlets on the closed loop? I'm thinking (2) bulkheads 2" would probably flow about 2700GPH for the intake to the pump. For the return lines I wanted to use those 3/4" flexible lines so that i can direct return flow, but they only flow about 150GPH, so it's going to take a WHOLE LOTTA them to get 2700GPH back into the tank.

How do ya do this? Do I need to use 1" bulkheads for primary return and only have a couple of the 3/4" flex returns?

Thanks for any help

 

[Myteemouse]

Welcome to reef frontiers first off.

 

[Myteemouse]

I used 2x 1 1/2" intakes to a "T" right above the pump and one 1 1/2" line going out to a "t"
then to two more "T"'s and those to 4 3/4" bulkheads..
So two inputs and 4 out would be good
If I were you get a REEFLO DART and you'll be set
They are 3600 GPH befor any head or plumbing loss.
If you look in my thread in the link in my sig you'll find lots of pics of the plumbing...

You'll want maximum size line till you get to the bulkheads to reduce head loss..from restricting flow and to reduce the amount of plumbing behind or under your tank!

 

[Rcpilot]

I was under the impression there was no head loss on a closed loop, since it's all under the water. I can understand losses for plumbing friction and bends in the piping though.

Thanks for the info on the plumbing. I'll read your tank build thread.

Here's my idea on the sump/refugium. Forgot to load it in my first post. I want the return in the center. With dual overflow pipes out of the tank, I can run one pipe to each end of the sump. The pipe going to the refugium will have a Tee and a valve. This allows flow control into the refugium and bypasses excess into the skimmer section.

 

[Chichas01]

If your not doing SPS and don't need high flow all over the tank, then how about Vortech? Skip all the plumbing, drilling and pumps and still get a clean look. I'd be willing to bet the closed loop will cost you close to 300 and and you can get at least the MP 20 for that. Plus you can always upgrade later to the 40 if you decide you need more flow.
My 80 is plumbed with a closed loop spraybar and I just added to Vortech MP20's. I'm probably going to pull the spraybar out and cap it off.

 

[Rcpilot]

I'm determined NOT to have any powerheads or unsightly equipment in the tank. I know the Vortech would work, just REALLY looking for a very clean look to the tank.

I love Adams acrylic tank with all the return nozzles coming up through the bottom, but thats not possible with a glass tank. I'll probably end up drilling the back of this tank until it looks like swiss cheese......... which brings me to another question.

How many holes is too many holes in the back of a 90g Oceanic?

I want to use holes for my overflows and returns from the sump/refugium. AND I want to run a closed loop. Again, this is all about how it looks when it's done. I don't want to use overflow boxes with J-tubes. Too ugly.

 

[Scooterman]

Plumb your sump return with a smaller pump like Eheim 1262, you can drop it in the last chamber submerged & just hard plumb the outlet, use 3/4" plumbing to a 3/4" BH at the tank.
Closed loop you can do two or three 3/4" outlets and inside the tank with "Y,s" on each 3/4" BH, which in affect would double your outlets, this give you lots of adjustably to optimize flow. If you want random flow put a sea swirl on the Sump return outlet.
Any more your getting costly & technical! From there If you don't like you can adjust your options.
So you need about 5 or 6 holes, 4 or 5 of them fitter for 3/4" BH's the rest will be larger holes for bigger suctions.