60 gallon diy AIO

[bigbugoutfitters]

I am looking at getting a 60 gallon breeder and getting back into the hobby. Due to issues of both space and $ I will not be installing a sump. I have put together some plans for a DIY sump at the end of the tank. I have made a couple sumps in the past but not for a few years now and never an in-the-tank sump. Been maybe 5 years or so now since ive had a tank. I will include my designs but I have a few questions I would really appreciate some help with.

- This tank will have a large bio load. One big concern I have is the balance between fuge size and skimmer. The z8 is rated for 75 gallon with a heavy bioload. I went with this skimmer to help deal with the bigger bioload. The z6 is built for a 40 gallon heavy bioload, however it takes up a much smaller footprint which would allow for a larger refugium. My question is would you stick with the larger skimmer or would a little extra space in the fuge be more valuable.

-Where do I put the heater!?!? (I am thinking about the aqua el ultra due to its slim nature)

- Any tips for how I should cut out the inflow? The pump is rated for 357 gph so I want to make sure that it circulates properly.

- If this sump idea is garbage, let me know!

 

[blaxsun]

With your desire for a large bio load, two things jump out:

1. Skimmer placement is not ideal.
2. There is no option for pre-filtration, ie: filter socks or media baskets.

I think you might be further ahead if you went with HOB systems for your filtration, skimmer and refugium.

 

[bigbugoutfitters]

Hmmm, possibly a HOB skimmer instead? I had been reading a bit on running a tank without filter socks if you plan on having lots of filter feeders and are willing to do daily changes. I do plan on having a couple mangroves in the tank and a few types of macros as well. Should help with the bioload. As for the bioload, maybe i should get a confirmation that it is as heavy as I think it is?
1 mombasa lion
1 central american sharpnose puffer
1 pixy hawkfish
1 ornate leopard wrasse
Wife wants 2 clowns... maybe

I had originally planned on putting in a small ghost ribbon eel as well but that might be a bit much for this tank. Maybe if I did have the room for a big ol sump.

how would you recommend changing the skimmer placement?

As for doing everything HOB I really just don't think we would have enough room.

 

[bigbugoutfitters]

also, maybe instead of the aquamesh I could put together a media basket?

 

[welsher7]

I'm a fan of the simple method. I don't think a filter chamber is really needed. I would just add a tunze 9004 internal skimmer and a HOB power filter, Aquaclear or seachem tidal, then call it a day. Your rock will do your heavy lifting when it comes to biological filtering and the HOB filter will allow to add chemical filtration if needed. There are a lot of successful tanks ran this way.

 

[bigbugoutfitters]

Hmmm, I had discounted the idea originally, but I actually kind of like that... So what I am looking at now is perhaps either the tidal 110 and the tunze 9004. Because I am wanting all filtration to be on the end of the tank where it is 18.5" wide. the width of the tidal and the tunze 15 inches so that would work just fine.
Now that I am looking into the hang on back options I am curious about possibly doing the tidal 75 for chem. filtration and add on a DIY refugium with an aquaclear 70, and have the skimmer off to the side of the 2 items. It might be a little crowded? I would imagine that the combination of the three should be a bit of a powerhouse. I just figure that if I am going to want a leopard wrasse a refugium will be moderately affordable. Additionally, the GPH of both filters is 550 rather than 450 with the tidal alone. Thoughts?

 

[welsher7]

Either option would work. if your goal is the leopard wrasse then do the fuge mod on an AC110 and run the 9004. You can always add a bag of whatever chemical filtration you need under the macro in the HOB. Don't focus on GPH so much through your filters as the rock and sandbed will be the biological filtration. you just need to keep the water moving, so plan on adding at least one powerhead/wave maker at the other end to add flow through the tank.

Either option will work though. The 2 HOBs will be good redundancy but also added maintenance and more things to plug in. Where the single HOB is less maintenance and only one plug, but you lose the redundancy.

 

[bigbugoutfitters]

Hmm, alright. Perhaps what I should do to ensure a healthier tank is hold off on my plans of leopard wrasse for now, go with the tidal 110 and have a cleaner tank. If I find that after a year or so that the bio load isnt too high, I will either switch the tidal out for an ac 110 or if I find I can fit it maybe put a small HOB fuge of some sort on the tank.

As for flow I am looking at the IceCap gyres. Additionally, I think that this thread no longer belongs in the DIY forum. Moving onwards I will have to start a new thread I believe. Thanks for the help welsher and Blaxsun!