In over my head?

[Greneis]

Please be nice. I am doing tons of research and I am asking for input on here, not just setting this up and hoping for the best.

I currently have a 32Biocube set up as a reef tank. I am purchasing a 150gal (48x24x31) drilled tank that I plan on setting up as a FOWLR and using my 32 for just corals. I am getting the tank, stand, canopy, 2 sets of Aqueon lights w/LED's, a 5gal ATO res, a blue line pump and 100lbs of rock from the seller the first week of June (see, I have time to figure this out).

I am going to be ordering a 4 stage RODI from BRS. For my weekly water changes in the 32, it wasn't bad transporting the water from the LFS, but now it would be a bit silly.

I know that for this size I will need a min of two powerheads. Recommendations?

I have never had a sump and I do not know where to begin. The more I am reading, the more lost I am getting. My saltwater tanks have been BioCubes and my other larger tanks have always been fresh.

The inside of the stand is 47x23x22.
I plan on putting the heater and the skimmer inside of the sump.
Can I use just one heater in the sump, or do I need to have a separate one in the tank as well?
I was looking at the Ruby 36 Trigger, but I am thinking there has got to be a cheaper one out there.

I have a sterilizer running in my 32, and with the cost of fish, I plan on running one (insurance) in this one - but where? In the sump? And how big? Do I need to have the skimmer right away, or can I wait a bit?

In my 32 I have the InTank media basket running floss, Purigen, and Chemipure Elite - what should I run in the sump?

Should I put a grounding probe in the sump?

What else do I NEED? If there are things that I can slowly add over time, it would be nice not to have to cough up extra $ all at once. The money tree is going to be a little bare with purchasing all of this. ~ Jen

 

[hdsoftail1065]

Hi Greneis! It sounds like we have taken almost the same paths on tanks. We had several biocubes in the past, our latest is a 32 and we set up a 144 which happens to be my first tank with a sump. I have never owned a trigger sump but the look really nice. I ended up with going with a eshopps at the time of purchase, it was a sump that would fit in the cabinet. But I ended up placing a tank along a wall that had a room behind it so that's where I placed the sump. The sump is nice but I wish the fuge area was a little bigger, but it seems to be doing a great job. There are some great DIY threads you can check out on sumps and build one. Power heads, there are tons of options. I ended up going with 2 icecap 3ks and just added a pair of Eflux wave pumps for a little more flow, mostly due to my tank being 1/2 moon shaped. I also run 2 heaters but I had to place mine in the DT due to the length of the heaters (way to long for my sump) but a sump is a great place to put them. The beauty of the sump is having the ability to hide all of your equipment. In my sump it's just set up with a filter sock, rock rubble and cheato. I have a carbon reactor tied to it if/when needed and a skimmer. Pretty simple setup but it works for my tank. I hope I touched on all of your questions and this little bit of info helped. :)

 

[Auquanut]

Welcome to R2R! I'll just touch on a couple of things.

Please be nice.

Count on it. You've found the nicest, most helpful group of folks around.

I am doing tons of research and I am asking for input on here

You've already set yourself up for success! I'm sure you will get lots of great advice. May not all be the same. Unfortunately, there's not always one best way to do things in this hobby. In the end, just go with what you're most comfortable with.

If there are things that I can slowly add over time, it would be nice not to have to cough up extra $ all at once.

You absolutely can. It's going to take a lot of time to get your reef rockin. My only advice here would be that on the big, expensive items like sump, etc... Go with what you think you will need down the road. Could save money on making large investments twice.
I started with a biocube 29 (still doing great). Now I'm running a 125 that's flourishing thanks to all of the help I've gotten from the R2R family.

P.S. The Reef Squad is amazing!

 

[Jeight]

Welcome to R2R!!

 

[MrsBugmaster]

My advise would be to know what skimmer you want (even if purchasing it later) so you know if it will fit in the sump you choose. And then on the sump, I would get the biggest one that will fit in your space and accommodate your skimmer. One heater in the sump is fine, but many will have a second one just for redundancy in case one fails. A second heater is something you can add later too. Sterilizer is something you can also add later.

 

[reef lover]

#Welcometor2r !

 

[FishyFish]

Hi, welcome to R2R! I'm also a beginner who's trying to wrap her head around sumps and how they work. I started with a 28g cube and I'm upgrading to a 75g long, the biggest thing I can possibly fit in my house! I just finished ordering all of the equipment that I need and I'm currently in the process of writing up a plumbing map. Everyone here is always really nice and helpful, even when I've screwed something up or I feel like I'm asking a really stupid question, the R2R community is always patient and understanding so please don't worry. Setting up a new sump when you haven't done it before is really intimidating but we'll get through it! :)

I know that for this size I will need a min of two powerheads. Recommendations?

I don't want to make recommendations on equipment I haven't actually used but check out Maxspect Gyres if you haven't heard of them before. They operate a little differently than other pumps and seem to have really good reviews for the most part. Plus they look pretty slick imo.

I have never had a sump and I do not know where to begin. Can I use just one heater in the sump, or do I need to have a separate one in the tank as well?

I feel your pain!!! I ended up picking a Trigger 34. It wasn't cheap but a lot of the sumps that I found have the refugium section before the skimmer section which means that less copepods from the fuge will make it into your DT. The refugium size in the Trigger was also bigger than a lot of competitors which was important to me since I know I want to keep pod eating dragonets. Plus they look cool! Changing your sump seems like a major pain in the bum so that's one piece that I decided to spend more on now so I know I won't have to upgrade it in the future. If you want a cheaper route, you can buy baffle kits and make the sump yourself. This way you get to pick the features and measurements that you want. Also, @MrsBugmaster gave you great advice, if you end up buying a sump, make sure you check the measurements for the skimmer and return chamber to make sure they will fit. I came THIS close to buying a return pump that wouldn't have fit in the sump I had already bought.

Edit: I forgot to mention, heaters are notorious for going bad. A lot of people here recommend having two of them so that if one goes bad you have a backup. Heater controllers are also good, they will save your tank if one of them overheats. IMO you can wait to add a controller until later, but it's something to consider.

What else do I NEED? If there are things that I can slowly add over time, it would be nice not to have to cough up extra $ all at once. The money tree is going to be a little bare with purchasing all of this.

The only thing I didn't see you mention is an overflow box but maybe your tank already comes with one since you're getting it pre drilled. Well just in case you do need one, I opened a thread on that same topic a few days ago and got a ton of great recommendations, maybe that advice will help you too. Does your tank come with the plumbing needed to get the water from the DT to the sump? If not, that's something else to start considering.

Do some research on other pieces of equipment that you might want to add in the future too. If you plan the space for them now then you won't have to move everything around to accommodate them when you are able to pick them up.

Best of luck with the new setup, make sure you start a build thread when it's all done! I'd love to see it!!

 

[Captain Quint]

Great thread with helpful info imparted already. :)

All I can add for the moment in a warm welcome to R2R...you're doing great.

 

[Greneis]

My advise would be to know what skimmer you want (even if purchasing it later) so you know if it will fit in the sump you choose. And then on the sump, I would get the biggest one that will fit in your space and accommodate your skimmer. One heater in the sump is fine, but many will have a second one just for redundancy in case one fails. A second heater is something you can add later too. Sterilizer is something you can also add later.

So I really do not need to put the Sterilizer in until I eventually add fish, correct?

 

[Greneis]

Hi Greneis! It sounds like we have taken almost the same paths on tanks. We had several biocubes in the past, our latest is a 32 and we set up a 144 which happens to be my first tank with a sump. I have never owned a trigger sump but the look really nice. I ended up with going with a eshopps at the time of purchase, it was a sump that would fit in the cabinet. But I ended up placing a tank along a wall that had a room behind it so that's where I placed the sump. The sump is nice but I wish the fuge area was a little bigger, but it seems to be doing a great job. There are some great DIY threads you can check out on sumps and build one. Power heads, there are tons of options. I ended up going with 2 icecap 3ks and just added a pair of Eflux wave pumps for a little more flow, mostly due to my tank being 1/2 moon shaped. I also run 2 heaters but I had to place mine in the DT due to the length of the heaters (way to long for my sump) but a sump is a great place to put them. The beauty of the sump is having the ability to hide all of your equipment. In my sump it's just set up with a filter sock, rock rubble and cheato. I have a carbon reactor tied to it if/when needed and a skimmer. Pretty simple setup but it works for my tank. I hope I touched on all of your questions and this little bit of info helped. :)

The shape of your tank is very cool! I love the pieces of shelf rock too.
I like simple, I just want to start with something I will understand and can build as I go along.

 

[Greneis]

Welcome to R2R! I'll just touch on a couple of things.
Count on it. You've found the nicest, most helpful group of folks around.

:)

I don't want to make recommendations on equipment I haven't actually used but check out Maxspect Gyres if you haven't heard of them before. They operate a little differently than other pumps and seem to have really good reviews for the most part. Plus they look pretty slick imo.

I will look at those.

I feel your pain!!! I ended up picking a Trigger 34. It wasn't cheap but a lot of the sumps that I found have the refugium section before the skimmer section which means that less copepods from the fuge will make it into your DT. The refugium size in the Trigger was also bigger than a lot of competitors which was important to me since I know I want to keep pod eating dragonets. Plus they look cool! Changing your sump seems like a major pain in the bum so that's one piece that I decided to spend more on now so I know I won't have to upgrade it in the future. If you want a cheaper route, you can buy baffle kits and make the sump yourself. This way you get to pick the features and measurements that you want. Also, @MrsBugmaster gave you great advice, if you end up buying a sump, make sure you check the measurements for the skimmer and return chamber to make sure they will fit. I came THIS close to buying a return pump that wouldn't have fit in the sump I had already bought.

The Ruby talks about preventing unwanted algae later on, but there really isn't that much red plastic on it compared to the Crystal for a lot less $. Do you think it would really make a difference?

Do I HAVE to do a refugium?


The only thing I didn't see you mention is an overflow box but maybe your tank already comes with one since you're getting it pre drilled. Well just in case you do need one, I opened a thread on that same topic a few days ago and got a ton of great recommendations, maybe that advice will help you too. Does your tank come with the plumbing needed to get the water from the DT to the sump? If not, that's something else to start considering.

I will need new plumbing, but it does have a built in overflow box. :)

Thank you for all of your advice!

 

[hdsoftail1065]

The shape of your tank is very cool! I love the pieces of shelf rock too.
I like simple, I just want to start with something I will understand and can build as I go along.

Thanks @Greneis! There is nothing wrong with keeping things simple and understanding what's going on as you build it up! That's how I try to keep things as well. Looking forward to pics of that 150 when you start that build thread! :)

 

[Greneis]

Should I begin with the skimmer, or add it later?

 

[Peace River]

Welcome to R2R!!!

So I really do not need to put the Sterilizer in until I eventually add fish, correct?

Yes, you can reasonable wait on the sterilizer.

Should I begin with the skimmer, or add it later?

This question may have more of a mixed response, but IMHO - yes, you can wait on the skimmer. How long to wait is going to depend on your bio load, but I would suggest getting the skimmer within a couple of months (I would get this before the sterilizer). As was mentioned earlier, it is highly recommended that you think about what skimmer you plan to add and consider where it will fit as you decide on what sump to purchase.

 

[Greneis]

Only a month from next week Wednesday till I get the new tank! Parts are slowly starting to come in, today I was super excited when I came home to these...
I scheduled to have my carpets cleaned in three weeks because once that tank is up, it's not moving. ;)
I've picked up the salt mix and sand and I've been working on my fish/wish list which I will post a bit later for input. I am pretty sure that I have decided on the Ruby 36 for my sump, just waiting for my next check. I am leaning towards a Reef Octopus for my skimmer. I'm still researching power head options...
I am going to purchase a grounding probe to put in the sump. Are there any favorites out there? They all look pretty similar.

 

[Greneis]

I also wanted to post a picture of the setup that I am picking up :) I am purchasing some of the rock that was in the tank as well. It has been power washed and is dry.

 

[Greneis]

Will the Reef Octopus Classic 150 be sufficient for the FOWLR or should I go with the 200??

 

[Peace River]

Will the Reef Octopus Classic 150 be sufficient for the FOWLR or should I go with the 200??

IMHO, the 150 will be sufficient for low to medium stocked FOWLR.

 

[Greneis]

I am also pondering whether to get one Maxspect Gyre 350 or for $100 more getting two 330's... unless someone has a better suggestion.
I am not looking to go cheaper and then have the quality compromised. Everything that I have been reading seems to make me lean towards the Maxspect.
Could I get away with two IceCap 3K's?
Thoughts??

 

[Greneis]

A wish list that I have been working on. I plan on doing a FOWLR as I have said, I did not pick fish for that reason ~ it just sort of worked out that way.