Newbie to sw

[intarsiabox]

Originally Posted by Kimmi7

its a 4' long by about 2' tall and 18" wide tank. I dont have a sump yet as I am not sure what size to go with, was thinking 20g tall to a 30g tall. I'd like to have the type of sump that has the eco system in itself. I was thinking of drilling the holes on each end of the tank on the sides, as this will be in the family room and i have room for pipes on any sides. Thanks for the welcome. It actually was my boyfriends idea for a sw tank and we do have the empty one just sitting there lol

When designing your sump leave enough room in the top section to fill up with water from the display tank when your return pump gets shut off. Your return line will siphon water back down into the sump until it drains the main tank down far enough to let air into the line, thus breaking the siphon. A check valve can prevent this but check valves can fail and you will be thankfull that the sump can handle the backflow.

A sort of related subject is hang on the back overflows that use a siphon system. Some people use these so they don't have to drill the tank. The draw back is that if the siphon fails your return pump will still keep pumping water out of your sump until it is dry and will likely overflow your display tank onto your floor.

[Edmonton newbie]

those dimentions are for a 90 gal tank. as far as a sump i would look at as big as you can to fit in the stand. 6 bulb t5 fixture will be more than enough to get you up and running. just remember you need to replace those bulbs evry 8-12 months. start slow and be patient. i know it was stated earlier but i would look at building the overflow rather than drilling this tank, when the upgrade bug bites in 6 or 8 months then you can have one built to your specs with the overflow that you decide you like lol

[Vitaminz]

Here is my 2 cents worth...ok maybe alot more cents then that, but who is counting???

If you are going to drill, make sure the type of glass you drilling into (aka don't drill into tempered glass) I would also recommend drilling in the bottom if possible so it is gravity feed, but if the bottom is tempered, then you will have to drill in the sides. I have done the overflow thing before and flooded my office on the second floor. Wasn't a pretty situation. If you are going to drill make sure you place bulk heads inside the tank, to prevent overflowing if a pump fails.

As for lights, I have run both T5HO and MH and to be honest, I would go back to the MH every time. Just the shimmer it produces and the growth in corals, you can't beat. In saying that, my current light is both T5HO and MH, best of both worlds. My recommendation is spend the money on a good lighting set-up, or be forever caught up in the upgrading path as I was. Good colour coral requires good lighting.

Anyways that is my cents worth, you will find vary opinions when it comes to this hobby, and what works for one tank, might not work for somebody else's.

Jeff

[Kimmi7]

well looks like I will be putting this on hold till I find a new tank. Mine looks like tempered glass and dont want to try to see if it isnt by drilling. Oh well just means I can go bigger for my angels, then get bigger with the reef tank.

So what is the benfits of moon lighting on a reef tank? I will be saving up for a great light set now that I am going with a different tank, as I dont like the look of hob anything anymore that i found canister filters. (will be doing sump)

With drilling into the bottom wouldnt that cause a overflow when and if power goes out? as water runs downhill lol. just dont want to have to pull up carpet in the new house just yet.

So if I was going to do a 90-125 gallon tank, I believe I would be needing around 1000gh for movement to get 7x hr?

[RedCoralEdmonton]

Hi Kimmi,

If you want come down to the store and I can give you the crash course in salt water keeping and setup options! As well we have a brand new predrilled eurobraced 90 for sale for $315, and predrilled eurobraced 75s for $247.50! this week only!

Steve

[Edmonton newbie]

bout time one of you piped in here steve lol kimmi go see steve and if you watch the posts on here we have meets just about every month and you should really drag the hubby out for a breakfast and or lunch with the reef crew next meeting

[marlincoral]

if you have patience get everyting you need on canreef it is alot cheaper and when you go to pick stuff up you can look at their tank and get ideas. My wife and I just started back up in the hobby and we just got rock a little while ago and paid $3.00/lb the stores want $8.00/lb and it is not half as good as a reefer that is selling rock.We just upgraded out lights from t5 to halide we paid $275.00 for the light the same light at an unnamed store was $895.00 on boxing day.If there is something you want just post it and wait someone will respond. Good luck and I hope you enjoy the hobby

[gregzz4]

If you want to learn more about overflows and such, I did a write-up on another site ... this is it

I recently sold my Freshwater gear and started a long research project about overflows as I am going Saltwater. I learned a lot over the last couple of months, so I hope you read my entire post and it's included links

First, you shouldn't try to completely replace your in-tank flow with just a return pump. You may end up with low-flow areas or dead-spots you don't want or didn't plan on.
You could get very involved with a manifold return, with many outputs pointing every which way, but you are also then relying on just one pump for the health of your charges.

The 'U' style overflows work, but rely on a 'lifter' pump to restart when the return pump is powered back on. Relying on the pump to restart when, say, you aren't home, could starve your fishies and beneficial bacteria of oxygen.
You also have to consider the risk of your overflow becoming slowed or blocked and your return pump draining your sump while it is subsequently overflowing your DT

There are DIY PVC pipe setups
My DIY PVC OVERFLOW TUBE

And there are DIY overflow boxes
DIY Overflow Box

Now, about drilling and so on...

Be very careful where you drill your tank as many, or even most, tanks have tempered bottoms and you will destroy it as it can't be drilled. Drilling the back is a great option. I have included for you some links so you can explore your options. I suggest you take your time and absorb all 3 options I linked as they all have their benefits and drawbacks, such as;
noise, placement, tank-to-wall clearance, flooding, and cost.

This first link is cheap and quick
Complete Overflow Kits - Glass-Holes.com dope aquarium stuff

This second link is to what's known as the 'herbie method', and I have provided for you the designer's original post. You can find compressed explanations if you search the web for Herbie Overflow
This method is nearest to fail-safe
NEW plumbing method for an ULTRA QUIET REEF TANK!!!! LONG !!!! - Reef Central Online Community

And the fail-safe, no flooding ever method...barring your overflow box doesn't leak
BeanAnimal's Bar and Grill - Silent and Fail-Safe Overflow System

Once you thoroughly read through these, and others you find on the web you should have a better idea what you really want to do.

Take your time planning this as it's a big decision.
Good luck,
Greg

[Doug]

http://96.31.76.198/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=40

Perhaps some useful info here also.

[mike31154]

Originally Posted by Kimmi7

well looks like I will be putting this on hold till I find a new tank. Mine looks like tempered glass and dont want to try to see if it isnt by drilling.

Perhaps not, unless you really wish to spend money on a newer, larger tank. IME, tank ends up being least of cost in the hobby in the long run, but every little saving helps, so up to you.

If your 77 is a Hagen, according to the FAQs on their web page, none of their tanks use tempered glass. A way to confirm tempered is to use two polarized filters, one from outside of pane (polarized sunglasses) looking at a polarized LCD screen (like a notebook or even phone) with a white screen. Rotate the screen & if pattern appears on white LCD screen, glass is tempered.

http://faq.hagencrm.com/details.asp?kbfaqid=21880&en

My 77 is a Hagen (company sticker on trim, no center brace) & the width is 16 & 1/8th inches, glass thickness is 3/8 inches. I plan to drill it & use as a sump/refuge when I upgrade display tank some time in future. I've already drilled a used 65 gallon for a sump as well (confirmed non tempered sides with polarized trick), not that difficult, especially when it's empty & sitting around doing nothing. Bottom of the 65 is tempered, & a sticker there says that. I also confirmed this with polarized filter method.