Beginning Stages

[Nargard]

Joined here yesterday and after posting my 1st question I quickly learned that I needed to include as much information possible. I am planning on starting a 22 gallon long nano reef tank. My goal is to eventually have a live rock reef with various soft and hard corals and 2-3 fish (or as many as I can have while maintaining a healthy environment). At this time all I have is the tank, a AQUAMAXX LONG LOW-IRON RIMLESS AQUARIUM - 22 GALLON. Like I said.....truly the beginning stages. I really want to do this right. The 1st component I began researching are sumps. After a day of reading I now know less than when I started! Protein skimmer or refigium or both? Triton method? Socks or no socks? Then I looked into plumbing. I'm leaning towards drilling my tank and either plumbing it directly to the sump or setting up a overflow box like a Eshopps or Fiji. Not sure which way is best with the size of my tank and my planned approach and goals.

 

So that's as far as I am in my research. I'm hoping that I can get some advice from you guys regarding these topics, If I am lacking any pertinent info I'd be happy to provide it. Thanks!

[ReefGoat]

First off....Nice choice in tank!!! I'm currently building the same tank. But mine is the Mr. Aqua brand. Let's start with the sump. If I were you being that this is your first saltwater tank I'd try to keep it as simple as possible. Use the Berlin method. From what I've read on the triton method it can get rather complicated and it will add unnecessary complexity to your first reef. Not only that its pricey as hell. You probably won't need to bring a Skimmer or fuge online at first. Maybe after your tank matures a little bit and you need to get some nutrients under control you can add those. With that said.....is budget a factor here? You can do budget and get a 10 gallon from petco for 10 bucks and buy a DIY sump kit and some aquarium safe silicone and have a sump for around 100 bucks. OR you could look into other options ranging from 200 up to 500 for our size tank depending on how cool you want your sump to look. I'm using a plain cad lights versa three chamber sump from a previous failed build. Its capacity is like 30 gallons but it won't be full and ill probably have about 15-20 gallons of water in it. The Skimmer and heater will be in the first chamber that the water drains into. The middle chamber will have an algae scrubber in the future and some extra live rock. The third chamber will have the return pump and will also be where the ato dumps the fresh water into.

[ReefGoat]

Now let's talk about overflows. If you're comfortable drilling your tank. This will be the cleanest option for this setup. It's not hard at all and ill explain it here. I used the fiji cube 400gph. It came with everything you need including the template and drill bit. There are other brands but this was the only one in stock when I made purchase. Whether you chose an overflow box or just a bunch of plumbing components. They both drain directly to the sump. In my opinion the overflow box kit would be the less complicated route. You have to drill either way. UNLESS you don't want to drill there are overflow boxes that allow you to not have to drill. BUT, if your power goes out they lose their prime and when the power comes back on your return pump will pump the remaining water from your sump into your tank and it will make a flood. There is a pricy one that comes with a lifter pump that will keep it primed but its a gaudy look and I hate it. These are very clean tanks and deserve a clean look. 

[ReefGoat]

Now onto drilling.......its recommended to drill from inside out. With our tanks if you choose to put overflow on backside of the tank you won't be able to drill from the inside out. The tank is too slender and there's no room for the drill. So you'll have to drill from outside in. In order to prevent chipping and cracking. I took a square of acrylic and a lot of duck tape and taped the inside behind the hole location I was drilling for two reasons. It prevents the circle you cut out from falling and cracking your tank and it keeps your drill from punching through right at the end and causing chipping and cracking. I also took a peice of wood and clamps and created my own template to ensure the drill stayed level and in the intended spot. Because it will walk around on you and be VERY UGLY end product. The fiji cube comes with a template that shows where the water line will be. This is a very important step to think out. Because depending on where you drill this whole your water line could be too high or too low. Make sure you are at least one hole diameter away from the edges of the glass as well. When you're drilling keep it wet and go slow and steady. My hole took about 10 minutes to drill. 

[ReefGoat]

I'm going the filter sock route. Your other options are a cup that fits in the filter sock holder filled with floss. Or if you got deep pockets a filter roller. My plumbing sizes are 3/4" for drain and emergency drain and 1/2" on the return. On the drain you'll need to include a valve to use to set your rate of flow on the drainage. Think your plumbing out thoroughly and utilize unions for future maintenance and additions. 

[Nargard]

Thanks ReefGoat! Great information. How many outlet and inlet holes did you drill? I'm trying to figure out the best way to have adequate flow. Two inlets? One inlet with a powerhead on the opposite side? A lot of decisions to make!

[ReefGoat]

I'm going one return nozzle with a powerful adjustable DC return pump and one mp10 powerhead. You could go two returns if you want its all up to you. 

Your flow is going to depend another on your planned scape. Thats something to consider when thinking about flow.

[Nargard]

Oof......$300 for the mp10. How would that compare with something like a Turbelle Nanostream 6045 (1175 GPH) - Tunze? It's ~$75.

[ReefGoat]

If budget id recommend the Aqamai kps or Nero 3. The only reason I didn't get one of those is because I already had the mp10 from previous build. I just have to buy the wet side for 70 bucks and for this build it was the cheaper route for me. 

[ReefGoat]

Or if extreme budget id look at the Jaebos. There are people on here with VERY nice tanks using them. The slw10 and 20 are popular right now. The only reason I don't like the tunze is because to be frank here. They're ugly as hell. But that is just my opinion. They are probably very capable and reliable pumps. 

[ReefGoat]

Whats your plan for lighting? Also one more thing to think about with flow in our tanks is sand. Because our tanks are so shallow it adds a complicated variable to getting good flow for stoney corals. My two options right now are bare bottom or Tropic eden reef flakes in some of the larger sizes. I haven't decided yet. ABSOLUTELY do not buy any of those sugar grained sized sands like Bahama oolite. 

[Nargard]

I'm converting a freshwater CO2 planted tank. I was running a CURRENT USA SATELLITE PLUS PRO LED LIGHT FIXTURE 36-48 INCH. I'm planning to use this unless I learn it is insufficient. But it's a nice set-up so I'm hopeful I can run with it.

[Nargard]

I will probably get the mp10. I was going to buy a complete sump but after researching I'm going to save $ and buy a kit. Spend that money on the mp10. They look incredible.

[farkwar]

10 minutes ago, Nargard said:

CURRENT USA SATELLITE PLUS PRO LED LIGHT

That's a freshwater light

 

You will need a reef light that fits that tank

 

You can use the freshwater light on a refugium if you ever want to go there

[Nargard]

Ah.....ok. Hadn't began researching lights yet. Saved me some legwork farkwar. Thank you!

[ReefGoat]

7 minutes ago, Nargard said:

I will probably get the mp10. I was going to buy a complete sump but after researching I'm going to save $ and buy a kit. Spend that money on the mp10. They look incredible.

Don't let my input force your thoughts here. Buy what you're comfortable buying. But they are incredible. 

[Nargard]

1 hour ago, ReefGoat said:

Now onto drilling.......its recommended to drill from inside out. With our tanks if you choose to put overflow on backside of the tank you won't be able to drill from the inside out. The tank is too slender and there's no room for the drill. So you'll have to drill from outside in. In order to prevent chipping and cracking. I took a square of acrylic and a lot of duck tape and taped the inside behind the hole location I was drilling for two reasons. It prevents the circle you cut out from falling and cracking your tank and it keeps your drill from punching through right at the end and causing chipping and cracking. I also took a peice of wood and created my own template to ensure the drill stayed level and in the intended spot. Because it will walk around on you and be VERY UGLY end product. The fiji cube comes with a template that shows where the water line will be. This is a very important step to think out. Because depending on where you drill this whole your water line could be too high or too low. Make sure you are at least one hole diameter away from the edges of the glass as well. When you're drilling keep it wet and go slow and steady. My hole took about 10 minutes to drill. 

How many bulkheads do you have for your Fiji? The 400 gph model I'm looking at has two?

[Nargard]

1 minute ago, ReefGoat said:

Don't let my input force your thoughts here. Buy what you're comfortable buying. But they are incredible. 

I'll probably change my mind 10x before I pull the trigger. But after reading up on 4 or 5 pumps that one stands out. And I've seen those referenced many times here.

[ReefGoat]

6 minutes ago, Nargard said:

How many bulkheads do you have for your Fiji? The 400 gph model I'm looking at has two?

It has two bulkheads on the lower exterior part of the box. This is called the herbie style. One is for your drain line with the valve on it and the other is an emergency drain. The one with the grey standpipe is the emergency. There's only ONE bulkhead on the glass of the tank. 

[ReefGoat]

Also....when I say marine safe silicone. I meant to say AQUARIUM safe silicone. Be very careful here and make sure you get the right stuff. 

[Nargard]

Awesome ReefGoat. Just really great info and feedback. To this point I've been on a solo mission of discovery which is challenging. I see now the Fiji 400 gph will only require one hole. I can see that I might really only need two holes to make it work for this tank. One 1" diameter to the overflow box and one 3/4" return.

[ReefGoat]

26 minutes ago, Nargard said:

Ah.....ok. Hadn't began researching lights yet. Saved me some legwork farkwar. Thank you!

Lighting can get overwhelming and expensive. But there are plenty of routes to go there. Our long tanks provide some complexity when choosing lighting to provide enough coverage. But this can be mitigated by a well thought out scape. 

[ReefGoat]

1 minute ago, Nargard said:

Awesome ReefGoat. Just really great info and feedback. To this point I've been on a solo mission of discovery which is challenging. I see now the Fiji 400 gph will only require one hole. I can see that I might really only need two holes to make it work for this tank. One 1" diameter to the overflow box and one 3/4" return.

The hole is pretty big for the overflow box. But it comes with the drill bit. So there's no guesswork. I forget what size it was. But everything is included. No guessing there. 

[ReefGoat]

Here are some aquarium journals for our tanks.

Scorched is the 12g version but its the same length. 

 

 

[Nargard]

28 minutes ago, ReefGoat said:

Here are some aquarium journals for our tanks.

Scorched is the 12g version but its the same length. 

 

 

Nice! Thanks again!