Hello Everyone!

[Gibsonn]

New member here. Quick intro. I’ve kept freshwater tanks for years off and on. I’ve always wanted a large reef tank and I’m now in the position to put the time into one. I believe I posted initial intro in the wrong forum. Apologies.

I am in the very beginning stages of planning. I am wanting something in the 120-150 range. Tank will be going in my “man cave” but I am wanting to do something a bit different due to the room having multiple uses and limited in size (11’x11’).

Tank I am currently considering is a SCA 150. 60x24x24 peninsula.

I’ll try to explain the best I can. On one wall I would like place the tank about 6” or so above floor level. With overflow on the right hand side.

Looking at that wall I would like to place the sump and all other support systems on the right hand wall. Think of an L shape. The sump would be mounted closer to floor level.

My question is, the top of the sump would sit below the water line of the display tank and overflow. But only by 10” or so. Will this be sufficient to produce a siphon to drain or am I going to run into problems.

Cabinet would be built around both tank and sump.

Thank you for your help, looking forward to learning.

 

[ShepherdReefer]

Hello, and welcome to the channel. Hard to visualize the set-up.

 

[LisaMarie]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

 

[Gtinnel]

Hi and welcome to R2R. I have no idea if the relatively small difference in height effects the flow rate of the drain. Why would you want the display almost on the floor?

 

[Gibsonn]

Basically like the above picture. Tank where it is, and the sump in the small cabinet to the left (but turned 90 degrees)

Reason for this idea is this room holds my main hobby which is computers / network gear. There’s several servers in the room.

The design I have in mind would maximize space in the room. Wife is not fond of a large aquarium in the living room. I can place the aquarium in a more standard config in the room, but everything else becomes difficult.

I do realize that trying to shove 10 pounds of “stuff” into a 5 pound bag is not a great idea but…

 

[Rp8]

Welcome to the reef!

 

[Jonify]

Welcome to R2R!

 

[Waters]

Welcome !!

 

[Reefer_kano]

Welcome to R2R!

 

[CoralB]

Welcome !!!

 

[jsker]

 

[Fish Think Pink]

New member here. Quick intro. I’ve kept freshwater tanks for years off and on. I’ve always wanted a large reef tank and I’m now in the position to put the time into one. I believe I posted initial intro in the wrong forum. Apologies.

I am in the very beginning stages of planning. I am wanting something in the 120-150 range. Tank will be going in my “man cave” but I am wanting to do something a bit different due to the room having multiple uses and limited in size (11’x11’).

Tank I am currently considering is a SCA 150. 60x24x24 peninsula.

I’ll try to explain the best I can. On one wall I would like place the tank about 6” or so above floor level. With overflow on the right hand side.

Looking at that wall I would like to place the sump and all other support systems on the right hand wall. Think of an L shape. The sump would be mounted closer to floor level.

My question is, the top of the sump would sit below the water line of the display tank and overflow. But only by 10” or so. Will this be sufficient to produce a siphon to drain or am I going to run into problems.

Cabinet would be built around both tank and sump.

Thank you for your help, looking forward to learning.

Welcome! Glad you joined. There are multiple areas of Forum, and here in Meet and Greet we take our Welcomes seriously (giggle). I'm going to defer to those that watch the General Equipment Forum. One of our founding local hobby club members is in wheelchair these days, and years back the club helped convert his tank to wheelchair accessible so it is all low, so likely what you are considering is feasible, but I'm no expert. You may find those low tank experts over here:

General Equipment, Hardware, Filtration

If you have aquarium equipment questions or ideas this is the place to do it. Discuss aquarium pumps, filters, skimmers, refugiums, reactors, and much more.

www.reef2reef.com

Have you considered starting your build thread? I found its a great place to document my tank's evolution for myself. I started tank first then joined, so I'm still finding myself going back collecting pictures & updating historically as well as current state. Once you create your first post in your thread and link it to your account, they will give you build badge (look left, under my ID). It is never to early and you can capture plans and all your early thoughts. The area of the Forum for Build Threads is Member Aquariums.

This might help you find people local to you:

Local Reef Club Discussion

Looking for some locals to share frags and info with? This is the place! Find a local club that meets in your area! If you want to add your club just contact us.

www.reef2reef.com

This is a good reference book type online article I still review:

The Supreme Guide To Setting Up A Saltwater Reef Aquarium

This article was sponsored by @MarineDepot at www.marinedepot.com. Introduction The marine environment is one of the most complex systems on the planet. The aquarium you are about to set up is only a tiny sliver of the vast ocean, but it is no...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Big Smelly fish]

 

[bnord]

Welcome to the forum and sounds like you have a good plan, look forward to your build

 

[dstockwell]

Welcome to the Reef

 

[vetteguy53081]

 

[shakacuz]

welcome aboard the r2r board!

 

[G Santana]

Welcome to the Reef

 

[SPR1968]

Hi and welcome to Reef2Reef!

 

[tharbin]

Welcome to R2R! You may want to consider something more like a closed-loop design (think canister filter like equipment). There was a company many years ago (Lifeguard maybe? that made modules you could plumb together as an inline filter). Basically what I'm saying is you may have some issues using a gravity-feed overflow on such a small difference, the intake plumbing could be very fussy. Your design is actually similar to the way an AIO system operates. Is it possible to build it like an AIO (think peninsula-style AIO with an oversized AIO section inside the side cabinet). Your basic idea is fine and by doing something like a peninsula AIO you eliminate the potentially-fussy intake plumbing.