My new 55 set up, advice please

[WarDaddy]

I have a 55gallon that will have about 20 gallons of sump/refuge.

I plan on fish, softies, shoorm, zoos something like that, I have yet to figure this part out. I will be placing about 90lbs of live rock in it and the sump/fuge. DSB in the fuge, shallow sand in the tank.

I am thinking of pushing about 800GPH though the sump, from a 12gph overflow box, that would be just over 10X of my total volume. Does that sound correct? I will also have at least one powerhead in the tank that will have a swivel flow. the sump will pump up to 4 outputs ranging from right at waterline to about 6" deep. Streams will cross to create turbliance. Flow will be directed with 3/4" loc-line parts.

Should the line up from the tank be 1" or 3/4" pvc?
Is 800GPH too much? It is my primary water movement.

my lighting will be 4 odno (2x) 4ft 6500k lights for about 256 watts and 2 VHO actinac bulbs powerd my NO balasts powering themat 50% or qbout 100watts total blue. This gives me about 350 watts I guess, for about 6 watts a gallon... may be too much, but it is not MH, so I wetn with High Numbers. The bulbs will rotate on though the day, with all 6 only on for a few hours a day.

How does this sound?

 

[wrightme43]

Ok lets see if I can help any. Up from the pump you will want to go as large as possible, so 1" would be right. 800 gph spread between 4 3/4" loclines is not going to be a lot of force more than likely the first two will spit out most of the water with the last two doing almost nothing. I am asumming you meant a 1200gph overflow, what kind if I may ask. I prefer cpr though other people have thier own favorites. Anything but a U-tube type if you ask me. Ok having a deep sand bed in your sump is a interesting idea. I have to ask though have you ever seen the stuff that ends up in a sump after about 3 months? If not I can say it is a large large amount of junk. A clean bare sump is easy to wipe out every few weeks. A sand bed with all that junk in it is going to be a algae fueling party place. If you want to put a deepsand bed seperate from your sump that is another way to do it that you could have some controll over the amount of junk it sees.
On the swivel flow powerheads if it is the azoo powersweep it is total junk in my experince. They only last a few months and then fail. I have bought many of them because I am hard headed. LOL
I have a hagen 802 or 70 series now (400gph) with a hydor rotator on it. I like the hydor it just has to be superglued in the output nozzle of the powerhead. Dont worry its easy to remove the glue. It just kind of peels off when you try. It doesnt stick to the plastic very well.
I dont know anything about powering vho with no ballasts so I can share no advice there. I will say the price of metal halides in the long run is very very reasonable compared to any other lighting option.
I mean you can get a P.C. fixture with 4x 96 watt bulbs for 300-500 depending on brand, case, fans and the like but when its time to replace the bulbs they are 30-40 each.
You can get 2x250 m58 ballasts with mogul sockets and reflector from ebay for less than 300 delivered new in box. and the bulbs are 60-70 each for 2. Its basicly the same price for the best light. This is coming from someone who has spent hella money on pc lights, and finally relized I was not using my brain for doing it.
I hope this helps you in some way. There are many people on here, who do this many different ways. Steve

 

[wrightme43]

As a matter of fact I just looked up the reciept for my 2x 250 watt M.H. purchase and is was $220 delivered for the ballasts, and sockets, $69 each for my hamilton 14000k 250w M.H. bulbs, and 19.99 each for my reflectors. I spent about 100 on the canopy I built myself so I have $498 in a canopy, lights, and all. Here are some pics.

 

[WarDaddy]

Thanks. I actually have my sump and fuge as seprate tanks. the sump will get 2/3 of the water from the main directly, fuge gets the rest and then overflows into the sump.

The sponges will be replaced by either nothing or a nylon catch bag to catch the crap, probablly sitting in a plastic Collander for kitchens. The bioBalls are going to be replaced by live rock rubble. Something like 50 pounds of small rubble in the sump.

So should i look to get closer to 1000 GPH? seems like a lot for a 55 gallon, or do I reduce the output to 2 and maybe go with 2 powerheads?
Oh, Iam planing on the CPR 1200 gph model overflow box. I figure it is best to go big!

 

[wrightme43]

Well the reason I said that is I have a 1506 gph pump at tank height it was pushing about 1000 gph, I had 4 3/4" locklines and it would of been better with 2 or 3. I T-ed at the top of the tank and had it feed both sides of a spray bar with the lock lines in it. It would of been much better with 3 or even two instead. That cpr is cool. Mine is the the one with 2 x 1" down pipes.
Have you got the aqua lifter pump? it works great to keep the air from building up the cpr and causing it to lose siphon. Here is a photo of it. Many changes since it was taken.

 

[WarDaddy]

ok, I will go with 2, If need be, adding more should not be too hard. I wonder if having 2 few will creae extra head itself (water not getting out fast enough)?

So much I have no cole about.

I am mounting the lights and my home made refector now. Started the hood Thursday, should be complete tomorrow 4 day hood, from conception to production, not bad.

I have no pump yet, I am going to order the aqua lifter with the cpr .

 

[WarDaddy]

I changed my theory all around...
For the sump/fuge I got a PanWorld 100Px-x which should give me around 800 GPH with my head pressure calc.

I then got a Quiet One 3000 for a closed loop that will have a SQUID alternating current in the tank. This will give me good reef like surge I hope. I figure this will get me about 500 - 700 GPH on the surge.

Now I have to get the glass cut so I can build the Sump and Fuge.

 

[gio17vani]

500w metal halide is a bit much on a 55 unless you plan on keeping shallow water acros and other extreme light demanding sps and even then might be a bit overkill. You'll surely bleach and possibly kill most softies unless placed under overhangs or out of the direct light. I use 440w vho on my 55 which consists of 2 50/50 and 2 super actinic bulbs so not alot of white light or par and I keep alot of deep water sps, chalice, anemones, acanthastrea, cup corals and various yumas, hairy mushrooms, and zoanthids in the tank with great growth and colors especially on the lps and anemones. IMHO water conditions and flow play as much if not more of an important role than lighting and for what you said you're going to be stocking less really is more in terms of lighting and would go with vho or 175w halides if you're set on mh.