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Old 05-22-2015, 03:43 AM
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gregzz4 gregzz4 is offline
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Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Burnaby, B.C.
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Nice new thread title Keener !!

Lovin' your build size Travis
I see you're already taking all the advice in stride. This is a great attitude to adopt not only for forum advice but on-line stuff too. Good on ya.
Not much in this hobby is cast in concrete.
With that said ...

I like the idea of you adding a second skimmer once you start adding fish/things that produce waste.
As was stated, it will be much easier to sell 2 smaller skimmers down the road over 1 monster 1 that will target a very small market. Plus the cost of 2 big ones is SOOO much less than 1 monster.
And you'll have a nicer time servicing 2 units with an alternating schedule. Fully cleaning a skimmer's neck and cup retards it's ability for up to a few days, so having a pair would be awesome.

I also agree with you not using the canisters. They are pretty costly for what you will use them for - media reactors - and canisters can quickly become nitrate factories.
Regardless of how you re-purpose/sell them, I'll suggest you keep them out of this build.
Find some appropriate reactor units for things such as GFO/BioPellets and Carbon, and with a tank your size I HIGHLY recommend a Calcium reactor.
You really don't want to be messing with dosing Alk and Ca with that volume.
Small tanks like my 100g system are cheap and easy enough to monitor, but if I was to run a system as big as yours I'd go broke dosing, even with bulk 2-part
It costs me upwards of $50/yr for bulk chems. Multiply that by 7 or 8 .....
Calcium reactor media and CO2 is a far cry cheaper and much easier to maintain.

And socks ...
I currently use 3 x 4" felt socks (14" tall). They will plug up after 8-9 days and are swapped out weekly.
The equivalent to my 3 pack is 1 x 7" sock. (math)
I don't currently know my GPH flow through my sump, but math is telling me it's between 665 and "X" GPH.
In my case I've found the sweet spot for my skimmer's flow-through rate with the number being suggested @ 6.1 X total system volume (suggested for skimmer efficiency).

So, with me needing approximately 610ish gallons per hour flow through my sump (100g system x 6.1), 1 x 7" sock can handle it just fine. But it needs a weekly change.
In your case, math tells me you'll need a flow rate of;
650 gallon system just shy of 4,000 GPH
800 gallon system just shy of 4,900 GPH
And this will apply to your return pump selection, plus plumbing sizes.

So if you compare my system to say, your 650 TOTAL gallon system with a suggested proper flow rate of 6.1 times 650, you're looking at just shy of 4,000 GPH.

Your 4,000 GPH divided by my 610 GPH (for 1 sock) could potentially mean you need up to 6-1/2 or even 7 x 7" filter socks to handle the flow recommended for your skimmer(s) to handle your system .......

Once your system is populated, there's a math-based potential suggesting you will need to change your 2 x 7" filter socks every couple of days, so be prepared for it. Spare socks are part of my arsenal.

Keep the pics coming dude, we all thrive on them
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