Hinecken Posted January 2, 2003 Share Posted January 2, 2003 OK, I'm still in the setup phase of my 20xh (been setting up for 4 months). Originally I had planned to have a 20xh with a 5.5 gallon sump/fuge set up. It was going to be lit by 2x32 pc's and a 13 watter over the fuge. Things have changed quite a bit, currently the stand is being made wider to accomodate a 15 gallon as opposed to a 5.5. The sand in the 15 gallon was procured from a friend that tore down his 29 gallon that had been set up for 3 years. Since it came to me kind of abruptly, I had not had the time to divide to the 15 gallon for a sump area and was forced to just place the sand in the tank. It is about 4 inches deep. So now that you have some background info on my set up my question to you is this. One of the reasons I wanted the division in the sump/fuge 15 is to allow for gas exchange via the waterfall into the sump chamber. Since my show tank is an XH, I have always been concerned with dissolved oxygen levels in the tank. I would like to know if I should still add the division to the sump for gas exchange, or will there be enough oxygen in the main tank without it. The drawback from adding it, aside from the work, is that I could have a much larger refugium without it. BTW, the new lighting over the tanks is a 175watt 12k Sunburst halide with 2x 18" NO, and a 36 watt jbj clamp light for the fuge. I've also been kicking around the idea of simply adding a hang on skimmer to the fuge for increased gas exchange without the division. I can't think of anymore pertinent information you may need to answer my question so I'll attempt to end my novel now. Any comments, oppinions and ideas are very welcome. I need to finish this up before my roommates and GF get back into town as they don't appreciate late night circular saws. Thanks everyone for reading this. P.S. This tank has been running with 30lbs of LR for 3 months now as I gathered up the rest of the equipment that I needed. There are no inhabitants aside from the plethora of pods running around the rock. Also, the rock came out of a former reefers tank that had it running for 7 years. (working at an LFS is niiiice) Link to comment
chvynva916 Posted January 2, 2003 Share Posted January 2, 2003 Great question. I'm in the process of setting up a 10g with a 20g fuge and was wondering as well if I needed baffles to divide the fuge from the rest of the sump. I don't think I will divide them as I have a prizm skimmer which I think provides appropriate gas exchange. I will have 55x2 (or perhaps even 3) over the 10g, but I will have NO 40wx2 over the fuge. Do you think this is enough for the fuge? Do you really need pcs just for macro-algae and detrivores? Link to comment
Dave ESPI Posted January 3, 2003 Share Posted January 3, 2003 what EXACTLY is yer question? an O2 content thing or a sump pre division? well, lets see. K.I.S.S. For a sump to work on yer O2 levels, isnt the issue. On a 20 XH, your internal surface area and circulation is keydue to all the height that the 20 XH has. suggestion 1: Two small internal powerheads that will aim at the front glass AND at the surface of the tank after being placed in the bottom of the tank. This will create a BI-dirrectional flow and will increase turnover of flow for unsaturated gasses to be exchanged at the surface of the water AND will be dealt with by the overflow. IF you only use the over flow, you tank will severely stagnate in a few places and cyano and hair will plague you for LIFE ! Suggestion 2: add an egg crate cage and bioball "SPLASHER" on the bottom of the overflow sending line to slow the crashing action of the waterflow or else yer DSB will become a tornado of flying sand grains. Suggestion 3: Partition it. you will have to drain, clean, and silicone the partition into the 15. Its a PITA, so that is NOT reccomended as yer first option. I have to run to work on a tank, but I wanted to get a reply on board. Ill add to it later. HTH sofar. Link to comment
Hinecken Posted January 3, 2003 Author Share Posted January 3, 2003 I allready have purchased three powerheads to run in the tank for circulation. each one is pushing about 100gph. two of them will be aimed at the front glass and the other blowing across the back of the rock through a spraybar. My question pertains to sufficient amounts of dissolved oxygen in the 20. Should I be worried about the oxygen content? With the above mentioned powerheads (which have been in the tank for a month now), and the overflow will I run into any O2 problems that I should remedy now? Thanks a bunch for the replies. I just want to get this straight the first time, I'm not planning on re-doing it after my GF is back in town. Link to comment
Dave ESPI Posted January 3, 2003 Share Posted January 3, 2003 sounds "OK". Salifert has a decent (yet a tad ornery) Disolved O2 test kit if ya find the water is cloudy or if the tank and fish are not up to par. My biggest concern would be simply just the sump NOT blowing sand all over and jamming yer return powerhead. You putting a DSB in that 20XH bad boy? 3-4 inches will make it less bothersome. Link to comment
Hinecken Posted January 3, 2003 Author Share Posted January 3, 2003 The sump definitely isn't going to be blowing sand all over because I have it valved back so it only turns over twice an hour. I want as much contact time in the refugium as possible. So with that being said, I take it you don't think I'll have a problem? Link to comment
Hinecken Posted January 3, 2003 Author Share Posted January 3, 2003 I have a DSB in both tanks actually, there is a 5.5 inch bed in the 20 and a 4 inch bed in the 15 refugium. That's one of the reasons I chose the 20xh. Link to comment
Dave ESPI Posted January 3, 2003 Share Posted January 3, 2003 well is the sump a "SUMP" or a "REFUGIUM" ? 2 X an hour is not enough to filter the 20 H exclusively. the PH and live rock in the 20 H are going to be working hard to keep up. you will need some form of airation in the 20 H possibly. the only way to tell is time and test kits from this point forward. Link to comment
chvynva916 Posted January 4, 2003 Share Posted January 4, 2003 how difficult would it be to make baffles for my 10g aga fuge? Could I just get Lowes to cut a piece of glass to an appropriate shape rectangle then seal it in there? Is it that easy? Link to comment
tinyreef Posted January 4, 2003 Share Posted January 4, 2003 chvy, you could just get some tank dividers (cheap) for baffling the fuge. they're easily adjustable in position and in height (cutting). they also can also create separate zones in the refugium. they can also impede bubbles from the skimmer. or you can just get some dry rock (tufa or lava) and plop them in for a 'look'. i kinda did both, there's a pic in the advanced forum under the 'environmental gradient' thread awhile back. Link to comment
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