Help building a 60gl system

[Loke]

Hello to all the stop by and help and or just to see whats going on. I have a 40b display with a 20 long sump. I bulit my own stand. And i have decided to drill 1" holes for the overflow and the return pump. I am looking for ideas for lighting, skimmer, return pump, controllers, power heads. and any help with unforseen problems. thank you everyone for yor help. To anyone who this thread looks like another one I did have it somewhere else i couldnt figure out how to move it to the spot. so sorry for the double post.

 

[Krish]

Your design concept is nice and simple! For the bubble trap I'd add in one more baffle just to make sure you don't have an issue in your return chamber with bubbles making it into there. As for which pumps, lighting etc you should go with, we'd need a bit more info on what you plan to keep in this tank. The reason why is because for example, there would be no sense with you going with MH's if you don't plan to keep corals like SPS's etc that require intense lighting and so forth. So a bit more info would be needed.

Good luck!

 

[Chichas01]

I would recommend adding a backup drain to your sump. Not worth the risk should that single drain get blocked.

 

[ac7av]

I would recommend adding a backup drain to your sump. Not worth the risk should that single drain get blocked.

That’s always a good idea to have two but this is a glass tank and it’s only a 40. Too many holes are really going to weaken its integrity.

 

[Loke]

ok i would eventually like to keep sps, clams and or anything that sparks my interest. as for the return pump I was told that a maxijet 1200 would be fine. I was thinking of a swc skimmer for the sump. i have an etss skimmer with a mag 9.5 but that would be too much. Or can i put a smaller pump on it and make it work. For water flow in the tank i have two k4 laying around. I think that would be enough at first or should i put more? I was also thinking of making a rock wall with great stuff. I kinda like how that looks but Im not too sure about this choice. I only plan on having a 1/2" of sand on the bottom.

 

[Krish]

I would look into a different pump than a maxijet for a return. Maxijets IMO, are more of a powerhead (in tank circulation) than a pump you would use to return water from a sump back to the tank. You probably wouldn't get anything to talk about by the time that pump tries to pump from the sump up to the tank. I'd look into a pump with atleast 500-800 gph of flow for a return. Maybe look into Eheim, mad drive etc. Where flow itself is concerned, the more the better IMO. I may be a little over the top though when it comes to flow. I once had almost 5,000 gph in a 38 gal :lol: Seeing you already have 2 K4's, maybe try them out with your return and see how the flow looks to you. Maybe drop a small pinch of flakes in the tank and see where the flow takes it and if there are any deadspots. If there is, slight adjustments in the positioning of the powerhead may do the trick, if not, then you more flow may be required

 

[Krish]

Maybe look into Eheim, mad drive etc

I meant mag drive not mad drive

 

[Loke]

AT the most I only want to be moving 200gph through the sump. thats why i was told the maxi would be a good pump.

 

[Loke]

5000 thats alot of flow for a 38g tank. how did you corals and fish deal with that much flow?

 

[NaTe R]

those small ehiem pumps are nice and they last forever look in to one of those you can use the head loss calculator on RC to figure out witch one. I am becoming a beliver in those ehiem pumps i have been running the one on my cal rx for two years only turned it off twice to move it and to refill media and still fires right up and dead silent

 

[keener1830]

As far as a skimmer goes I don't think there is such thing as too much of a skimmer for a tank that is your main filitration I just put a skimmer on my 76 that others are using on a 200 gallon system. Look into a Mag 5-7 for a return pump a maxi jet is not rated for the head and will burn the pump up over time have to push water up that high. Like Krish75 said make sure there's no dead spots or you could have a red slime problem trust me they suck. Good luck with the tank.

 

[ac7av]

200 gallons threw your sump is fine. Save the flow for the tank. 3000 to 6000 gph sounds good if you want to do the type of stuff you’re looking at. Slow flow threw the sump is better then too much. I would agree about the maxi jet being more of a power head then a return pump. They really loose a lot of flow with even a few feet of head pressure. I would look into an actual pond type pump or quiet one 1000 or some other small circulation pump like that.

 

[Krish]

5000 thats alot of flow for a 38g tank. how did you corals and fish deal with that much flow?

They were never happier

 

[dtd87]

I want.. to upgrade my 36 bow to a set up like you're doing. How much have you had to spend so far!

 

[Loke]

with wood, screws, water seal( this will get you) and tanks and drill bit and bulkheads so $200. give or take $20 bucks. It would have been like 30 bucks cheaper but when i went to buy the water seal then only had the gallon size and that was like 20 or 30.

 

[NaTe R]

hey joseph i forgot, i have a a small quite one pump might get you going i think it runns 350gph?? your welcome to it. i think it would lose pressure to around 200gph hooked up

 

[Loke]

That sounds kool. I'll take it. Thanx. The hole cutter should be here monday.

 

[vinny2261]

Just to let you know a 40 Breeder can also be drilled through the bottom...

 

[Loke]

Dirllbit and bulk heads are here today. Yea. So I'm going to drill the bulk heads today. Wish me luck all.

 

[Loke]

Not too bad for my first time drilling glass.

the holes are not even but im still happy with the product. Next time i will make a template and it will look better.