00W's AIO Smorgasbord

[tbrown]

Got it. So the overflow is responsible for getting water into the sump?

Yes

 

[cdemoss01]

Gallons per hour

Yes but what did you mean by it? Just how much gph I want?

 

[tbrown]

@cdemoss01

Water from the sump fills the display (main tank) until that tank reaches a specific level. At that point water enters the overflow where piping takes the "extra water" from the display and drains it back into the sump below.

If it were me, I'd look at a 1000 gph (gallon per hour) overflow and a 1200 gph return pump. OR upsize the pump to 1500-1700 gph and plumb a tee into the plumbing slightly above the pump with a ball valve on the part not going back to the tank. From that valve, run a line to the reef mat if you're adding one.

 

[tbrown]

Yes but what did you mean by it? Just how much gph I want?

Yes

 

[kingranch2003]

I will get a smaller container and some of that knitting mesh stuff.

Me too man. Im going to remove a bit of dirt until I cut the amount way down, then im going to start over with a much smaller culture. When I got the worms from Wes, the culture looked like Kevin's. Then I added too much soil lol

 

[tbrown]

What's your budget?

 

[kingranch2003]

Thanks for growing this out for me.

You need one of those Paul. It fits your style. I could totally see that in your tank.

 

[cdemoss01]

@cdemoss01

Water from the sump fills the display (main tank) until that tank reaches a specific level. At that point water enters the overflow where piping takes the "extra water" from the display and drains it back into the sump below.

If it were me, I'd look at a 1000 gph (gallon per hour) overflow and a 1200 gph return pump. OR upsize the pump to 1500-1700 gph and plumb a tee into the plumbing slightly above the pump with a ball valve on the part not going back to the tank. From that valve, run a line to the reef mat if you're adding one.

Jeez this sounds expensive and very complicated.

 

[cdemoss01]

What's your budget?

400$

 

[kingranch2003]

Whats picture 1?

That is a colony of Fathead dendros. They're a non photosynthetic coral. They have orange polyps and pink skeletons.

They have to be spot fed. You usually dont see a colony that big, usually its a couple of heads. VintageReefer found this one for me.

It's a certified alien and is actually bright in the dark, lol

 

[Üter]

Got it. So the overflow is responsible for getting water into the sump?

yes. some tanks have more than one as well. mine has 3. you let the water drain between the lowest and the middle. if there's ever an issue, the 3rd is the emergency. you just tweak the valves and try and balance so you don't hear a gurgling. Where it drains into the sump you have that flow go into the filters (sock, floss, mat etc...) and if you place a perforated plastic panel under the water fall it will quiet it even more. all I hear on mine is the skimmer.

 

[kingranch2003]

I wanted to run this idea by you guys:
Switching to sump. I wanna try and ditch HOB filter and go with a sump for a multitude of reasons. However I have 0 idea how sumps work and how I'd set one up. How exactly would I do this? I already have an idea of a Fiji 20 gallon sump. Just make it simple. Im tired of HOB because I seem to not be getting good results etc. As I've matured I've realized that hob was a shortcut as a kid. I wanna keep the Remora though, no point in buying an in sump skimmer.

You could add a canister filter (dont shoot hear me out).

But you'd have to repurpose it. I wouldn't add any mechanical filtration like filter floss. Fill it with live rock rubble or biological filtration medie like brightwells or maxspect. If you add floss you're going to have to go into the canister often as it'll become a nitrate factory if not changed.
But that frees up the top racks in the canister filter for things like carbon or phosgaurd/rowaphos.
Keep the hob as mechanical filtration. Just an idea for a more simple approach. I may filter my hopefully soon to be frag tank.

 

[Üter]

That is a colony of Fathead dendros. They're a non photosynthetic coral. They have orange polyps and pink skeletons.

They have to be spot fed. You usually dont see a colony that big, usually its a couple of heads. VintageReefer found this one for me.

It's a certified alien and is actually bright in the dark, lol

Are you going to get some black ones too?
I think my next purchase may be a chalice. thinking Avatar or Raja?

 

[Üter]

You need one of those Paul. It fits your style. I could totally see that in your tank.

I can totally see you putting that in my tank for me

 

[kingranch2003]

Yes they actually blend in quite well and while they don't contribute anything to your bio-filter other than their surface area they look natural. My Foxface would beat me silly if I took them out.

You can see all three of mine in this shot. They are all on the backwall and for the fish, provide ledges to hide under or cruise over, for the corals mounting points and for the viewers a more natural looking back wall. I am probably going to buy a couple more just to help disguise the back wall.

Yes, that is definitely what I need. It'll give me room for a little bit of grow out space for my favorite spa frags. Right now I have them kind of crowded. Thanks for the pics. Those look great.

 

[kingranch2003]

Yes the magnets are very small and incredibly strong. I had to switch to carbon fiber tongs to clean the fuge because the magnets kept pulling the tweezer out of my hand.

Oh definitely haha. Tink! Right to the back of the wall.

 

[00W]

I'm NOT going to Montana today...

 

[tharbin]

Yes but what did you mean by it? Just how much gph I want?

You need to figure that based on the size of your tank. As an example let's say you have a 40 gallon tank. Then you need to decide how much turnover you want. I usually aim for somewhere between 5-10 turnovers per hour. Let's say 10. So you want an overflow that can handle 400 gallons/hour (gph). That is 40 gallons times 10 times per hour equals 400 GPH. Then you would want to buy a return that is close to 400 GPH. Now you need a return pump that can put out at least 400 GPH AT THE HEIGHT of your return.

Pumps are usually rated in the specs at zero head and if you check around, you can find a chart. Let's say your pump is three feet below the return pipe. It can get complex depending on how you plumb it but try to have a relatively straight pipe from the pump to the actual return (there are commercial ones available.

Pick a pump that has somewhere between 25-50 percent more GPH than you need at three feet (from the chart). That will probably be a pump you see listed as a pump with a 600-700 GPH rating.

 

[Üter]

You need to figure that based on the size of your tank. As an example let's say you have a 40 gallon tank. Then you need to decide how much turnover you want. I usually aim for somewhere between 5-10 turnovers per hour. Let's say 10. So you want an overflow that can handle 400 gallons/hour (gph). That is 40 gallons times 10 times per hour equals 400 GPH. Then you would want to buy a return that is close to 400 GPH. Now you need a return pump that can put out at least 400 GPH AT THE HEIGHT of your return.

Pumps are usually rated in the specs at zero head and if you check around, you can find a chart. Let's say your pump is three feet below the return pipe. It can get complex depending on how you plumb it but try to have a relatively straight pipe from the pump to the actual return (there are commercial ones available.

Pick a pump that has somewhere between 25-50 percent more GPH than you need at three feet (from the chart). That will probably be a pump you see listed as a pump with a 600-700 GPH rating.

I think we are going to lose him in this part.

 

[ShakeyGizzard]

Are we still showing off our flowers? Just wanted you to see how well my black eyed Susan’s came in this year.

you said something about flowers, what was that