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SWAPPED: 20h swap to 20L


righttirefire

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righttirefire

Here is my build thread, http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/357755-20h-starter/,

 

I've decided it was a mistake to build a 20h. So in the next few weeks I'm going to start the transition to a 20L. I'll be picking up an old 20L that my buddy had for his son. They're moving and will be breaking it down.

 

The plan, break down the tank, trade in the "poop factory" a pelco and a cichlid to my LFS. Clean up the tank, drill it, and swap everything from my 20h into the 20L.

 

This is the question. How many and location of the holes. I'm thinking 2 or 3 drain holes 3/4" one durso style drain and 1 "emergency overflow drain" also 2 return holes 1/2. Maybe 2 drain on one end 1 on the other and 2 return in the center. Any suggestions?

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You only need two drains for a tank that size. One would be the full siphon and then the other one would be the emergency overflow. The return is up to you. You can either do a single return or a double return but it really depends on the layout. If you put the overflow in the middle then I would do two returns with one in each corner. For a tank that size, 3/4" or 1" bulkheads would be more than enough.

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righttirefire

Thanks for you input vw. That's definitely my thought. 1 full siphon and 1 emergency. I was just thinking 3 so if I got the urge to set up a closed loop circulation I could. And 2 returns so I could run a "wavemaker" . Am I thinking too large scale for such a small system.

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Thanks for you input vw. That's definitely my thought. 1 full siphon and 1 emergency. I was just thinking 3 so if I got the urge to set up a closed loop circulation I could. And 2 returns so I could run a "wavemaker" . Am I thinking too large scale for such a small system.

Yea, you definitely do not need that for this small of a tank. On my 20 long I have one return and a Jebao RW-4. The Jebao is only on 4/10 and it's more than enough flow when combined with the return.

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righttirefire

I have a 240gph hydor and an AC50 (200gph) on my 20h. Thinking an ehiem 1250 (317gph) with head pressure about (200gph)

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righttirefire

So, the 20 long is currently in the garage getting a bleach bath. A little less than 3 cups to 20 gallon. So less than 1:100 with a 150 gph power head... another couple days it'll get a drain and extensive rinse out

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righttirefire

The drain and rinse out will start today. The plan is to drain. Rinse, and fill. Let the power head flow and turn the hose to a tickle and let it flush for a couple hours. Maybe I'll use the bathtub. After the rinse it'll be relocated to the garage again. Filled back up and dosed with prime. To cycle for another week.

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righttirefire

I can confirm bleach was still in the water after 6 days. Some had evaporated out. But you could still smell it. A good rinse out and its it's bathing trickle flow and powerhead. 8 hours from now I'll drain, move, fill, and dose

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righttirefire

Can anyone else feel my frustration?

I'll need more sand when I change to the 20 long. Reef central calculator says my 20 high would have 1" sand bed with the 15lbs of aragonite. I like my sandbed now but I know I'll need more. So another 15lb bag will get me to about 1.5" sandbed. And my sump will have about 12x12 refugium and a 4" deep sand bed would be 28 lbs. So I guess I'm buying a 40 lb bag of aragonite and mixing 10 lbs into my tank swap

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righttirefire

Irregardless, the tank is back in the garage. The powerhead "blowing" the tank is full to the brim with a double dose of seachem prime. Dosing as per bottle recommendation. For excessive chlorine. I believe a bleach bath could constitute high chlorine. It's set for another week water cycle. I should have a finalized overflow design and drill layout

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righttirefire

So curiosity got me. I did a basic freshwater test on my tank. Ammonia nitrites nitrates all tested at 0.0 ppm. Big suprise, water only, no organics, no light. But the pH tested at 8.2. That's surprising being city water and a double dose of prime. Plus whatever the bleach left behind after an 8 hour rinse

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righttirefire

I'm finally back to this build. I formed an acrylic overflow. Not sure I'm going to use it, but I proved I could do it. I chickened out and used holes instead of slots. And accidently bought "smoked" acrylic not black. So I may still slot my overflow and change to black. What's your opinion on the smoke?

 

20150410_102439_zpslgo0ep83.jpg

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I have been reading this thread and wondering. All your talk about the sump and drains and overflows, etc. I've had a couple 17 gal tanks and never used a sump (mainly due to space). Why not just throw on an AC 110 HOB and be done with it. You can put your heater and even a small skimmer in that along with filter media, Chaeto, etc. I'm not knocking the sump idea, just trying to offer an alternative.

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I have been reading this thread and wondering. All your talk about the sump and drains and overflows, etc. I've had a couple 17 gal tanks and never used a sump (mainly due to space). Why not just throw on an AC 110 HOB and be done with it. You can put your heater and even a small skimmer in that along with filter media, Chaeto, etc. I'm not knocking the sump idea, just trying to offer an alternative.

I know that I don't like having stuff hanging on the back of my tanks. Also you're severely limited on what you can fit in an AC 110. Obviously it is more complicated but I think it's also more fun getting to mess with all the different parts and equipment.

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righttirefire

Aviator, currently I'm running 2 AC50's on my 20 tall. Added the second this weekend. This is fun for me and a little experimental. I'm new to hobby and want to play with things. Check out my tank thread, http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/357755-20-gallon-starter/I'm sure I don't need a sump, but I'm slowly investing in things and experimenting. I like the idea of a larger water volume and a sump is the compromise of keeping the appearance of a smaller tank, but having a larger water volume. I'm tired of the bubbles in my display from the HOB filters. I want the longer footprint of the 20 Long and need the shorter water column due to lighting. I want to make sure I'm capable of maintaining a system long term. And prefer more smaller tanks than 1 large tank. Ideally I'll have a 40 breeder reef, 20 long coral/frag tank and keep the 20 tall sump refugium. I might not be doing it "right" but I'm doing it my way and that's what matters to me. I appreciate your input and ask for your continued comments and suggestions. I'm constantly reading/ researching and will ultimately choose my own path.

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whoa, whoa, whoa. Just giving my opinion on an alternative. Both ways are neither right nor wrong, they're just different. Good luck on your build and i look forward to reading about it.

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righttirefire

Well... tax refund aquarium proportion spent. Which means no new livestock for weeks... like 2 months. Got some piping parts to finish my sump, sand, and my pump. So this weekend no tank swap, but big time prep for sway, next weekend is busy. Might get a swap done a week from Friday. But the sooner the swap the better I'll feel... a couple weeks later and I'll start cycling a my sump refugium!

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