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40 Breeder Project


koteckn

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Strike up Date: Starting November 2013

Display Tank: 40G Breeder.
Display Lighting: EcoTech Marine Radion XR30w Gen 2
Stand: Plan to do a DIY
Sump: 30Gal DIY
Total System volume is approx 60G.
Overflow: Plan to have dual overflows, 1.5" and 1"
Refugium Lighting: LED nano clip on
System Water: hoping for RO/DI system

UV Sterilizer: Turbo-twist UV 6x 18w
Display Water circulation: Vortech MP10ES and 1 3/4" return from sump (split into three nozzles in-tank)
Controller: N/A
Return Pump: Mag-Drive 18.
Skimmer: Coralife super skimmer 125
Evaporation Top Up Unit: JBJ A.T.O. water level controller

Chemical Support: N/A; as of now

 

Well everyone, my brother and I are making the plunge from freshwater to saltwater and plan to use this 40 breeder as a learning experience and gain the specific knowledge on the way. We know some but will most likely rely on this community for a vast amount of help. So far we've purchased the radion XR30w, the super skimmer and 18w turbo twist UV sterilizer. We're in the planning stages of building the stand and sump, as well as buying the 40b and drilling it. Giving the mag-drive 18, we should be able to get away with purchasing the Vortech down the road once the tank is cycling. I know this is too much flow through the sump to make the refugium worth while so we plan to plumb the main entry into the sump into a filter sock and have a smaller input drain into the refugium at a much slower rate.

 

Does this list of equipment look ok to you guys that have much more experience than me? Any problems that you could spot? Any input at all would be greatly appreciated. Are you able to drill the petco 40 breeders that you purchase at the dollar per gallon sale? I'm really torn on how I want the overflows/drains to look and what technique to use.

 

Honestly, anything you guys have to say would be greatly appreciated as I said, this journey has just begun and we plan to take our time and do this the correct way.

 

We plan to document our build from start to finish so please chime in on anything that you notice to be good/bad/ugly etc so that we can either continue to move in the direction that we're going or make some changes along the way.


Thanks for any input,

Nate

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Just responded in the 40 breeders club also :)

 

Looks like you've chosen some great equipment :) Looking forward to seeing pics as your build progresses :)

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  • 2 months later...

Well, better late than never. Over the Christmas/New Year's break some things have been started/bought. We decided to go with a 20L sump and use the stand we already built, but refinish it and add doors etc. We've also bought our 40B and new 20L for the sump ($ per gallon sale is in effect as far as I know still...).

 

I will update with pictures etc as progress is made. Looking forward to this build and most likely will need a bunch of issues answered as this is my first saltwater tank.

 

The first question I have as of now is... What size holes should I drill from the intake and outtake? I plan to use a MagDrive 18 (or 12 depending on which would be better for a tank of this size) for my return pump so any information in regards to this would be greatly appreciated.

 

I drill my own tanks, so I only need to know the drill bit and bulkhead size for both the intake and outtake.

 

Thanks!

- Nate

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Are you able to drill the petco 40 breeders that you purchase at the dollar per gallon sale?

Yeah, you can drill the sides of the Petco Aqueon 40Bs. I don't know about the bottoms, though . . .I don't know if that is tempered glass or not.

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Why a MAG 12/18? Those are pretty massive for a 40B. I'd imagine you'd most definitely want to restrict those.

 

I personally just used a glas sholes.com kit for overflow and it works well.

 

Get an RO/DI for sure or you may end up with loooots of unwanted algae.

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+1 with Sunar

 

Mag 18 is pretty big for a 40G Breeder. I had a mag 7 and 9 on mine and it was ok. You already got the MP10 for additional flow in the display. How are you splitting into (3) 3/4" nozzles? Loc-line? I have dual 3/4" returns with a SWCD.

 

On my 40G breeder, I have (2) 1" drains and (2) 3/4" returns. The overflow is a herbie style.

 

I closed the 1" drain by almost 50% but I'm using a DC-5000 (1320gph before head losses) then it goes into a SWCD which knocks down the flow too.

 

I don't use the glass holes overflow. I just make a acrylic overflow box and drill 2 holes with elbows/ strainers.

 

I am in the process of upgrading to a 57 rimless and I'm probably going to do the same thing but I upsized my overflow box to 12" W instead of 8" on my 40G. Was planning to go bean animal but I think I'll stick with the herbie.

 

I'll upload some pictures if you want to see what I did.

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Mag12/18 was the plan because I was under the impression the more flow the better...? A smaller return pump is fine with me as it will save a little money. Any recommendations? I was also planning to drill the back of the tank, not the bottom. I'll have to look into the glass holes overflows as I currently use a CPR on my 75gal freshwater tank. I also plan to install an RO/DI system in the next few months.

 

How many times should I be turning over the display water quantity through my sump per hour? I run my 75 (freshwater) through my sump about 10-12 times per hour for example.

 

Also, Any pictures of plumbing for my project would be an awesome tool to use as I design my sump, plumbing etc.

 

We are almost finished with our stand and once that is done we will start to plan out the sump. I will post pictures and document everything we do for this build once we complete the stand (I figured documenting the stand would be boring to most). Here's an example of my 75 and what I plan to do again. I'll post pictures of it just to show our game plan but didn't want to bore anyone.

 

I'll update as progress is made. Thanks again everyone for the input.

- nate

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Most go from 2-10X flow. You only count the display into that also...so even 40x10 = 400GPH. The 12 is probably 800GPH or so after head loss....which would be 20X. I'd go with a smaller MAG or a Quiet One unless you have cash to burn then an Eheim probably.
http://www.melevsreef.com/make_a_sump.html has lots of great info on sumps.

 

No worries about boring people...personally I post lots of 'boring' stuff people may not like in my tank thread but it reminds me of what happened and all too. :D

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Ok great... I'll do some more research before I purchase anything in regards to my return pump and plumbing. But here's an example of some of the work my brother, friend and I do. Let me know what you think...

 

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=246505

 

And as I said, I'll start updating now more frequently as our stand is almost finished and most of the essentials that we need to start the next steps are already sitting in our work space.

 

-nate

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Here's a little teaser as of last night. The stand is basically finished, minus the back piece once we plumb the tanks. Notice that the front and both sides also have doors for easy access to the sump in order to clean, fine tune etc. The right side of the sump is also boxed in if you didn't notice. This is our electrical box that will house most of the wiring, ballasts, and everything else that will be better off away from the sump/water. The sump has been painted and the baffels were ordered this morning. All of the plumbing was thought out and a parts list was drafted. Online order for Locline, bulkheads, new drill bits etc. will be placed this weekend so hopefully in the next 2-3 weeks, we'll be testing and fine tuning the final project before moving it into the living room.

Stay tuned for more to come.

- nate

 

 

post-82079-0-88297700-1389362212_thumb.jpg

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Right right. That was back in November when I wasn't sure. The RO/DI unit will be installed prior to buying corals/fish.

Not much progress this weekend as we helped our other buddy set-up his new tank Sunday and Saturday was an adult beverage day. Hoping to have the sump baffles siliconed in by the end of the week and the last online order placed to hopefully have everything else we need for next week. Skiing this weekend so no progress will be made over the upcoming weekend either.

- nate

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Equipment list looks awesome, good luck. IMO 40Bs are great tanks to use as a learning experience, but can also be turned into an expert aquarium.

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Just a little update. First two baffles have been siliconed in. Not much more will be completed until next week because of a ski trip this weekend. Have a good one.

- nate

 

 

post-82079-0-01564900-1389800075_thumb.jpg

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duncan-junkie

I will be following this thread!! I'm also in the works of putting together a 40B, and was just curious which brand of tank from petco you'll be using. They have the $1/Gal deal going on right now, and I was gonna go snag one.....I just wanted to make sure I get the correct tank that can be drilled on the back side. So far they only have the Tetra 40B, and I'm unsure if the sides can be drilled. Can anyone tell me if the sides are tempered?? It's got a sticker on the bottom saying tempered, but I'm unsure if that means all four sides are too?

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I will be following this thread!! I'm also in the works of putting together a 40B, and was just curious which brand of tank from petco you'll be using. They have the $1/Gal deal going on right now, and I was gonna go snag one.....I just wanted to make sure I get the correct tank that can be drilled on the back side. So far they only have the Tetra 40B, and I'm unsure if the sides can be drilled. Can anyone tell me if the sides are tempered?? It's got a sticker on the bottom saying tempered, but I'm unsure if that means all four sides are too?

 

It's just the bottom that is tempered. I just bought one (40B) and had it drilled a week ago. Check the tank over good though and do a leak test. The quality control on the $1 per gallon tanks are horrible. Mine had 2 leaks and I have to reseal it because I Had it drilled immediately after I bought it. It's Still worth the really low price, just be wary.

 

 

On a brighter note That build looks like it's starting to come together; good work koteckn! I am about a month away from having my 40 breeder up and running. Seems like this size is incredibly popular lately. I wonder if it has anything to do with this sale. :)

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duncan-junkie

It's just the bottom that is tempered. I just bought one (40B) and had it drilled a week ago. Check the tank over good though and do a leak test. The quality control on the $1 per gallon tanks are horrible. Mine had 2 leaks and I have to reseal it because I Had it drilled immediately after I bought it. It's Still worth the really low price, just be wary.

 

 

On a brighter note That build looks like it's starting to come together; good work koteckn! I am about a month away from having my 40 breeder up and running. Seems like this size is incredibly popular lately. I wonder if it has anything to do with this sale. :)

Thanks for the heads up! I went ahead and picked up the tank, and I'll do a leak test tomorrow

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4 baffles installed. Hoping to have the sump basically complete by the end of the weekend. Once that is the case, we will begin drilling and installing bulkheads to the main display, painting the back dark blue and then plumbing both tanks together. Once plumbing is complete, the in-tank return will be installed. I'll update with pictures as progress is made.

 

One question I have is... Has anyone used an in-line pump? I'm trying to save space in my sump and thought this may be a great idea to use with my UV sterilizer...? Any thought or opinions?

 

Have a good weekend.

- nate

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bump about the inline pump. I'm hoping to make an online order for some equipment we still need this weekend.

thanks

 

One question I have is... Has anyone used an in-line pump? I'm trying to save space in my sump and thought this may be a great idea to use with my UV sterilizer...? Any thought or opinions?

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I am using an external very old school Little Giant pump on my 55g quaratine tank. I also have a Fluvel Sea SP2 that I like alot I use for my water changing station. That said I have a 40b that I am running a Mag 7 in sump for my return, which can de run externally. I am using a Herbie overflow dual 1" drains with 1/2 return. Drains can handle the MAG 7 unrestricted with no problems.

 

The thing is with a UV you will want to run a tee off the return to the UV since the flow directy from the return pump will have way to much flow through the UV. UVs need low flow to keep the water in them longer to kill the nasties going through them. Check the flow rate for ghe UV unit you are considering.

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My plan is to run a separate pump for my UV so that I do not have to T of Wye the return line anymore than geting the water from the sump to the main tank.

 

My question was, has anyone used an inline pump for this type of application? I would rather make some additional room in the sump by running the cobalt 210gph inline pump through my UV and back into my return chamber of the sump. Here's the links to the inline pump and UV sterilizer that I have. Any input would be great.

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/Coralife-ENE15601-Turbo-Sterilizer-18-Watt/dp/B0064JHVOE

 

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=26070

 

 

On a side note, we have 6 total baffles installed and plan to get the last one completed in the next two days. Once that's complete, we will begin to work on the main tank.

 

- nate

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