New 150 Gallon Tank

[rbjohnston]

I haven't been active in the reefing hobby for about 10 years and a lot seems to have changed.

I am planning to build a 150-gallon mixed reef tank.

This is what I have already Purchased:

150 Gallon 60x24x24 from Planet Aquariums with a classic stand and raised canopy with a front open.
Ice Cap 36 V2 sump with fleece roller
Maxspect SK400 Skimmer

Planned Purchases:

Kessil A360xe Tuna Blue (3 OR 4)

I have a friend that has temporarily left the hobby so I will be getting some APEX Equipment.

I am looking for some advice on return and circulation pump. I would love to find a want to mount all of the pumps on the back side which will be black.

 

[tzabor10]

Ecotech makes the best products imho. Easy to operate, great design. MP40’s would get the water moving. One or two vectra return pumps should work. The battery backup is my favorite feature.

 

[rbjohnston]

Ecotech makes the best products imho. Easy to operate, great design. MP40’s would get the water moving. One or two vectra return pumps should work. The battery backup is my favorite feature.

Is there a way that these could be hooked up onto the black back wall of the tank to create sufficient flow? I was thinking a couple gyre pumps initially towards the front, but the more I read, the more they seem like a potential pain to cleaning regularly.

 

[tzabor10]

Ab

Is there a way that these could be hooked up onto the black back wall of the tank to create sufficient flow? I was thinking a couple gyre pumps initially towards the front, but the more I read, the more they seem like a potential pain to cleaning regularly.

Absolutely. They do this nicely. And in a black background, they appear invisible.

 

[rbjohnston]

Is this what you had in mind. I also was thinking about Tunze since they had solid equipment in my past reefing

 

[JumboShrimp]

I have a 150 (actually two of them). I have my return nozzles pointed at (almost skimming) the surface for aeration and to keep the sump from overflowing if the return pump cuts out. Then deeper in the tank, three gyres for flow. I find them simple to clean-- I usually don't even have to disassemble them, just drop them in some hot-water citric solution for a few hours, and use an old toothbrush/rinse.

 

[rbjohnston]

I have a 150 (actually two of them). I have my return nozzles pointed at (almost skimming) the surface for aeration and to keep the sump from overflowing if the return pump cuts out. Then deeper in the tank, three gyres for flow. I find them simple to clean-- I usually don't even have to disassemble them, just drop them in some hot-water citric solution for a few hours, and use an old toothbrush/rinse.

So you are pro gyre. My original thoughts were two strong ones horizontally on the black back

 

[lbacha]

I have the newer tunze eco power heads and I like them more than my Vortech’s as they are super easy to clean, they are Tunze so high quality and you can direct the flow which is hard to do with vortechs ( Vortechs are great but the flow is not directional) Since you will be mounting them on the back wall the thin cord that the Tunze have will be nearly invisible anyways.

I also have a GHL versia (sicce rebranded) and Apex COR for returns and they work great. I have Vectra L2’s for my closed loops and they are nice as well.

 

[rbjohnston]

My tank is arriving in the next week, so it's almost showtime.

Does anybody have thoughts related to using Tunze 6075 as opposed to 6095. The power usage is much less for the 6075.

https://www.tunze.com/US/en/details/6075.005-turbelleR-nanostreamR-6075.html
Do you all think the Sicce Syncra SDC 7.0 is the appropriate sized pump?
https://us.sicce.com/en/products/multifunction-pumps/syncra-sdc.html

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Following along!

While I am not an expert on wave makers, this thread might give you some insight on which one to get!

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/tunze-6075-reviews.1112331/

 

[rbjohnston]

Tank arrived today and the sump have the sump under the tank now. Exciting day.

 

[rbjohnston]

Here are some pictures. I had to convert them from the apple format.

 

[dsh92056]

I have a IM 150 ext. black background with 4 MP 40’s on the back wall. I loved them. I hate seeing wires so these made perfect sense.

 

[Turbo5150]

Are you going bare bottom or sand? It might be nice to have 2 mp 40’s on the back wall and lower. Would help send stuff down the overflow. And 2 gyres up top. One one the left and on the right pointing across the tank.

 

[X-37B]

This is my 60×30×22- 150.
2 Sea Sweeps with Tunze 6255 powerheads. Cord runs through the sweep. All the flow I will ever need in this system with only 2 powerheads.
Tunze has the ORCA now with the 6105. They are worth a look too.

 

[Turbo5150]

I have the same size tank and the jebao MCP 150 is awesome

 

[JumboShrimp]

I never owned a Sea Sweep, but I like the concept. Very colorful looking tank!

 

[rbjohnston]

Are you going bare bottom or sand? It might be nice to have 2 mp 40’s on the back wall and lower. Would help send stuff down the overflow. And 2 gyres up top. One one the left and on the right pointing across the tank.

I am going to go with sand. I like watching the critters that cruise along in it.

 

[rbjohnston]

This is my 60×30×22- 150.
2 Sea Sweeps with Tunze 6255 powerheads. Cord runs through the sweep. All the flow I will ever need in this system with only 2 powerheads.
Tunze has the ORCA now with the 6105. They are worth a look too.

I love your tank. Everything looks really happy.

 

[rbjohnston]

I was looking at VCA Random Flow Generators. Would these be something that should be considered as part of overall flow? The return lines are 3/4 in.