Questions?

[ReefWaters]

1. The last reef tank I had set up ran all the drain water through a bio filter before it entered the sump. This stopped any and all bubbles from showing up in the sump. I am setting up a new tank and am NOT using any bio tower or skimmer. My question is how bad will the bubbles be from a 1 inch drain pipe supplying the sump from a spill tower? Will I need to baffle the bubbles with a filter bag or some kind of baffle box. I am splitting the sump into a sump/fuge combo therefore I would like to save as much space as possible. What are some mechanisms that have worked for you in the past?

 

2. I am concerned about heating the tank too much. I am going to build a tall hood (at least 15") with a 250w MH and 2x75w VHO Actinics. This will light a surface area of about 420 square inches and a water volume of about 25-30 gallons. I plan on putting at least 2x4" fans on the back of the hood and have not decided whether I will keep the back open or not. The sump/fuge will be under the main tank and be around 20 gallons or more. There will be around 32 watts of PC light on top of the fuge for macro algae and will be on opposite the main lights. Has anyone set up a similar system? I would like to know if anyone thinks that this system will get too hot when the lights are on. I also want to keep my temp steady. The Ice Probe chiller is right in my price range but seems to be too small for the system. Should I pre-drill a bulkhead and then patch it incase I need the chiller later. I don't want to spend the money if I don't need it but I don't want to be unprepared and have to knock down my "perfectly designed" tank just to install a chiller.

 

Please HELP!

[tinyreef]

tank dividers are a cheap and effective means of baffling out bubbles. a wall/pile of rock afterwards should eliminate any bubbles that make it after that. depending upon your flow rate you may not get a significant amount of bubbles. you wanted a sump/refuge combo so i would think you're keeping it <100gph based upon the 20g config.

 

if you do go with the ice probe you could just add it to a tee in the 'overflow to sump' line. set up the system but plug the tee. if you need to add the IP then simply stop the system long enough for you to substitute the plug with the IP's probe's.