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Getting back into it. Gone bigger. Need some advice.


Kyle99

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So heres to getting back into the hobby and everyone who still making it. 

 

Long story short i was able to pick up a 75 gal custom reef ready tank stand,light, and a reef octopus protien skimmer. 

The best part payed 150 for it. 

 

So here comes the newbie ish questions. 

1. Im going from a 20L to this behemoth. So i need help on rock structuring. What are the basic dos and donts for place ment. I want a wall like structure. 

2. My 20L is now my sump whats the best way to set it up to have a skimmer refugium, buble trap, and the option to put a filter sock on it. 

3. The light is florescent light with 3 night time bule led arays what should bulbs should i place in the tank for a mixed reef.

4. Other than a protien skimmer i have nothing for the sump. I still need a return pump heater and what ever else i add to it. Out of what is named what should get for the return pump and heater. 

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Christopher Marks
3 hours ago, Kyle99 said:

Im going from a 20L to this behemoth. So i need help on rock structuring. What are the basic dos and donts for place ment. I want a wall like structure. 

I would recommend placing white plastic 'egg crate' grids at the bottom of the tank before building your rock aquascape if you're planning on a wall style, built against the back. The grid can be covered with sand later, but it provides a rigid foundation for all the stacked rocks to lock into. Egg crate is found in the florescent lighting section of most big box hardware stores, or where you might find ceiling tiles. They're traditionally used as grids for ceiling lights, it's a low investment per sheet.

 

2 hours ago, Kyle99 said:

Also adding to this. will the sum be able to handle the tank if i cut the pump off. 

20 gallons doesn't sound like you'll have enough overflow area, it would make me nervous.

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A rock wall requires a decent amount of rock.  I'd probably figure on adding at least 40 lbs of reef rock to what you had in your 20 gallon tank.

 

The size upgrade gives you the opportunity to frag many of your existing corals and spread them out.  Having multiple specimens of the same coral looks very natural.

 

As Christopher mentioned, you just want to make sure the back flow doesn't overflow your sump when the return pump is shut off.  A 20L is a fairly shallow tank, a standard 38 gallon tank would give you a bigger buffer.  It also depends on how high you want you water levels to be for a skimmer (10" baffles might cut it too close on a 20L; however, with 8" baffles, it might still be doable).

 

You can either cut your own glass baffles, or have a glass shop do it for you.  You can place the skimmer in the drain overflow section, then a refugium, followed by the return chamber.  Again, a 20L would be cutting it close, but I expect it could work.

 

The sump for my 100 gallon is just a 40B with a single glass partition.  It's super simple (without a fuge).  You might consider a similar setup for your 20L.

 

I assume you have a four bulb T5HO fixture.  I'd probably get two ATI Aquablue Special and two ATI Blue Plus bulbs.  T5's are great fixtures, but you do need to change the bulbs regularly.

 

The return pump supplies flow to the sump, you'll still need a powerhead in the display.  A Syncra 2.0 would probably be adequate for a return pump.  You'll need at least a 200W - 250W heater.

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Thank you for the reply. I will be adding the grid in the bottom of the tank. Now for my rock i have a lot of rock from my dads old 100 gal (didnt set it up because i dont have the room) so i have more than enough rock. I have read a bit on return pumps and it seems everyone is going with the jabo (im not sure on the name) or the syncras. Im probably  going to up grade my sump size. I did some maths yesterday and the pick up is 5.5" from the rim of the tank. At 5.5 inches it will equal around 19.7 gallons. Now this would be pushing the limits of the 20 gal.i may go grab a 30 gal because they are on sale at petco $1 per gal in my area. For the sump i also plan on buying one of the kits off ebay or something just because i like how clean they look. 

@Christopher Marks @seabass

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@seabass i was lookingat the 2.0 you said to get and it is only 400 ish gph. Will that be enough? Also i have this reef octopus skimmer that came with the tank. Im kinda curious what the max water level/ how to tune the ait port to not make a hell of a noise. ( i tested it out in some water when cleaning) the elbo is the exit. And the white port at the top is the air inlet. 

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If anyone has this skimmer or know anything about it so i can look it up let me know please. Ik the newer ones come with a silencer and a gate valve. 

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2 hours ago, Kyle99 said:

i was lookingat the 2.0 you said to get and it is only 400 ish gph

It's actually 568gph @ 0 head pressure (with a 6.5' head height).

 

2 hours ago, Kyle99 said:

Will that be enough?

I believe your overflow is has a 1" drain, with a Maximum flow rate of 600gph (unrestricted).  The more you push it, the louder it will be.  However, it should be able to handle a Syncra 3.0 (714gph and a 9.9' head height).  Remember that head pressure will reduce output flow.

 

There are numerous brands of pumps you can use.  If you favor Jebao pumps, you can use them.

 

I believe the recommended water level of most Reef Octopus internal skimmers is 7 to 8".

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Thanks once again! So i just meaured i have 5.5 feet of head pressure. 4 for the vertical hight 1ft for the 90 fitting and .5 of the nozzles (corect me if im wrong). Also my drain is 1 1/2" that necks down to 1" to a nipple 

 

So idc for brands i just want something to work. Im still wanting to stay under the 100 ish range for a return but im looking for a dc so that i can really contol the gph and tune it perfect. 

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