Is my plan ok?

[LadyClown]

Could you guys foolproof these plans for me? I'm really good at it.

The refugium would be under the tank.

 

also, how big of a pump would I have to buy?

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU :happy:

[LadyClown]

...

[MattGecko]

I sure hope that works, because that's exactly what I'm setting up. Except I'm making the dividers adjustable.

[tinyreef]

for the overflow (to the sump) i would think about a gravity drop versus a U-tube. simpler and no worries of suction loss. con: need to drill tho.

 

the return pump needs to be sized for the height & turns (each turn~1' head) for the target gph outflow into the display tank. my pers pref are mag pumps. hth

[LadyClown]

whadda ya mean by height and turns?

 

also, I don't think this should overflow any of the two tanks.. I mean, if the power goes out the pump stops and then the suction reaches the air and stups... right?? ??? ???

[tinyreef]

here's a link to marinedepot.com's mag pump page.

www.marinedepot.com/a_ph_danner.asp

it shows a chart defining the abilities of each pump model to pump water to a specific height (head limit), after which the pump cannot pump past. each right turn in a pipe adds the equivalent to a 1' in 'head' height.

 

true, the suction and water stops but the problem develops when the power re-starts. the u-tube suction is broken (unless automatically re-startable, it will fail X) ) and the entire water volume of the sump ends up in the display tank and your floor.

[LadyClown]

arrrgh!

how do you fix that?

[LadyClown]

RELAY SWITCH

 

the guy at menards will try to make me one "one the side"... we'll see

 

Other Q:

 

How do I match the incoming water flow with the outgoing pumped water?

[tinyreef]

the guy at menards will try to make me one "one the side"... we'll see

SW conducts electricity very well. i confirmed this recently, twice. X)

 

i usually size the outflow 3x~4x the diameter of the inlet. not really scientifical but i do it that way to figure in the eventual scale buildup and crud (e.g. vermetid snails, mini-feather dusters, various forms of bubble algae and so on) to impede some of the flow. it really depends upon the eventual gph you shoot for tho. (1-1/4"~1-1/2" is good enough ime for most setups, that's a ballparker tho) hth

[bertz_maru]

why dont you just drill the tank and have no worries about overflowing???

[LadyClown]

tinyreef- the relay switch is where the plug in is.. it should fry anything. The guy works with Christmas lights displays, so I'm assuming he knows what he's doing

 

bertz- I'll be moving in about 4 months, I might drill the tank then. I don't want to empty my tank now and then have to redo it in december.

 

[wetworx101]

I dont see how a relay switch would uncomplicate things really. Even if you were able to rig it up, what's the point??!!! Just do an overflow, if it's the over the side with the two boxes or you end up getting your tank drilled...either one will do. The premade boxes can be bought for as low as $50 for a nano. Heck, I made one out of all PVC for just over $5. But the simplest way is to buy a bulkhead and have somebody drill one of the upper corners of your tank to mount it. I can even post pics of how to if need be. Or just to go the local glassshop: they might charge you like $20 for the hole, but the best $20 you spent...because FYI: simpler is better with reefs! Less failure. And BTW, it is almost impossible to get that dual pump system you tank about running right according to fluid dynamics, not to mention, piontless. You would need not one relay switch, but 2 float switched as well..just for the overflow pump.

[flaunt]

LadyClown,

 

Have you considered placing the refugium over the display tank instead of under it? I did that on my 10g with one of those cheap plastic critter carriers or whatever that you can get at petsmart. That way you only have to drill the critter container instead, which is plastic and fairly easy to do. Also, if you're like me you'll find yourself staring at all the life in the refugium almost as much as the main tank with the corals. If it's under the tank you won't be able to look at it as easily.

JM2C

 

I can take some pics of mine if you might want to try that kind of setup instead. Let me know.

[ralegen]

I dont see how a relay switch would uncomplicate things really.

 

I hope this isn't too late, but I'm with Wetworks. I ran into a full proof way, when using an overflow box. (I hope the previous posts didn't already mention this because I just skimed through the reading) Anyways.. I bought my CPR overflow from marinedepot. And I learned on accident that there is this pump. (the rep tried to upsell me.. and I bought it.) It's quite simple acutally:

 

Power fails, power comes back. Then your return pump starts up, but your overflow's siphon is broken. Uh oh! display is going to flood and water is ending up on your floor. UNLESS, you have this special "overflow pump" attached to the overflow box. Basically, whiles it's on, it sucks water from the siphon (U tube area) and spits it back out into the tank (or where ever you want it). If the power goes out, the siphon might breaks. Let's say it did. When the power comes on, the "overflow pump" will suck out the air that is present then continue sucking water back into the tank. In otherwords, this additional pump that you can purchase for $12 more, will fix siphon breaks. It's pretty much full proof IMO, unless you have a bad "overflow pump" in the future. But how often will the power go out, and how often can this pump break.... all at the same time!? Chances are very very slim. I went this way because I couldn't drill through my tempered glass. Whew! Hope this helps.