3 inch drilled tank

[andrewchiles1]

Howdy R2R members, I am new and well working to get my feet wet. No pun intended. I first stated with salt water in 1995 and am picking it up again for the first time since 1999. I am a rookie at this game and looking to have a nice tank. I chose a larger tank due to desire and ability to put a nice amount of fish and soft corals in the tank. I am not looking to start out with hard corals. Also with the 135 gallon tank that I have become the owner of, what size sum should I set up? I was thinking 40 gallon home made with a 125 gallon protein skimmer. The overflow hole on the tank is 3 inch diameter. I did not drill it, but have to work with it. My turnover rate I am looking for is about 1400 gallons an hour, out of the tank into the sump. That does not include the power heads I want in the tank to help move the water. I was thinking two 600 gallon heads one on each end of the 60 inch long tank and one 300 gallon power head in the middle of the tank blowing forward. Total water movement would be 3000 gallons an hour for circulation. Please let me know if I am way off on my desired numbers. I am concerned about size the parts that will support a 3 inch drilled hole and the size of the hole. The drop into my sump will be a direct line of the back of the tank with a soft turn in hard PVC. Drew

 

[Reefing Madness]

 

[ritter6788]

Welcome to R2R!

I moved your thread to the Reef Discussion so you may get more views and an answer for your questions. Good luck!

 

[pickupman66]

a 3" hole should equate to a 2" Bulkhead in most cases. I think thats what I had to drill when I put one in my sump. it will handle 1500 GPH or so IIRC. Very odd for that size tank. For Sump flow thru, you really dont want to go more than 10X your tank volume to minimize microbubbles and such.

Incidentally, if that hole was drilled high on the side of the tank, they could have been wanting to install a Glass Holes Overflow.

 

[andrewchiles1]

Thank you

 

[andrewchiles1]

There is only 1 3" hole. You stated that is odd, why? Should it be larger? Should I add a second hole for protection from blocked lines? This is my first ever reef tank and the overflow box I am looking at says it will turn 1500 gallons. I suppose that is dependent upon the hole the water is flowing into. I appreciate the info. I am finishing my stand, which is a design I used from a person in R2R, only big difference was I put in side cabinets. Here are some pics of the tank and the 3 inch hole. I look forward to the support from all of you and hope in the future as I grow, I can support some new folks as well.

 

[andrewchiles1]

240g Reef: 45g Fuge: 7200gph (2-3200gph & an 800gph): 2-250W 22K Halides: Modified CLSS 220....... Based on your numbers, I will stick with the 40G Fuge,, however are you saying you have 2x 3200gph power heads and 1x 800gph power head in the tank? Also what size return pump are you using. I was thinking no less than (NLT) 2000gph pump based on hard plumbing my system and reading the responses. Regarding the total volume of water movement at 7200gph how much at that is run by your pump?

 

[Reefing Madness]

My return is 1050, but its around 860 after head loss. But I don't count that in my flow numbers at all.

 

[cromag27 Verified Sponsor]

Turnover rate is different than flow /circulation rate. Turnover should be around 10x per hour. Flow rate is variable depending on your livestock. Some coral require 30x-40x, while others don't require much at all.

 

[andrewchiles1]

build a tank from the ground up

Howdy, I have posted a few questions in the form so fare, well here come some more. I don't have a lot of money to build out my 135 gallon tank. I am in the DIY process of a sump and tank stand. I finally pick up a protein skimmer, heck not sure I even needed one just yet. I am buying used thing wherever I can to cut cost. So here comes my questions 1. for a 135 gallon tank I am look to turn over the water about 1500 gph so I think it will drop to about 1300-1400 is that enough for fish and soft corals? 2. with my sump how big should the refugem be? 3. My sump is 35.6 gallons, will that be enough for a 135 gallon tank? 4. as stated above I have a skimmer that is for a 200 gallon tank max, unfortunately I do not know the exact gallons, but it will be in my sump, so does the volume of water going into the skimmer increase the filtered amount of water? I hope my question are not confusing and thanks for the help.