RigPie Posted August 6, 2003 Share Posted August 6, 2003 Hello I am new to saltwater aquariums, I have been doing quite a bit of reading and am about ready to start my tank. I came accross a tank 20x12x12 and wanted to ask for opinions on what type of lights to use as well as filtration and water circulation. I am thinking of using one powerhead at each end of the tank for circulation, as well as a sump, and a protein skimmer, I want to put the heater in the sump. what do you think about this system and what size pumps should I use to and from the sump which would be about 2 1/2ft below tank. Thanks ahead for the info and for this great forum. Jon Link to comment
SLOreefer Posted August 6, 2003 Share Posted August 6, 2003 i dont know if i read this right but you ar eplanning a pump to and from teh sump? if so you dont want to do that as you cannot match pump speeds and if one goes out or power outage or a million other things will cause a flood. you need to use either an external overflow or drill the tank with an internal overflow and for that size tank id say go with a mag 5 and you can probably cut down on one of the pumps inside. if you want it to be a fuge or somethign use a mag 3. as for lighting use 2x36w a 96w powerquad or mh. it really depends on twhat you want to keep. you dont really need to use a skimmer but if you want to that is fine. your live rock is your filtration so you will be good as long as you get about 15 pounds or so for that size tank. hope i helped/ Link to comment
RigPie Posted August 6, 2003 Author Share Posted August 6, 2003 What type of external overflow would you recommend? and would the size/type of external overflow determine the size of the pump in sump to return water. With this type of setup you think I will only need one powerhead in the tank. Link to comment
SLOreefer Posted August 6, 2003 Share Posted August 6, 2003 i have never run an external on my own so you would have to check with the manufacturers for flow rates and stuff like that. the bigger the pump the more flow it will pull but there are also flow ratings on the externals. i personally like built in overflows on a drilled tank because there is nothing that can go wrong. i have heard good things about the cpr overflows as they are really quite and can be hooked to a powerhead to make sure air doesnt get stuck in the chamber so it cant break siphon as easily. hopefully someone with more experience here can help you out with a brand though. Link to comment
RigPie Posted August 6, 2003 Author Share Posted August 6, 2003 Thanks for the info SLOreefer. Jon Link to comment
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