Just a few question, for now.

[OldMark81]

So I'm in the process of building my 1st saltwater reef system. The wife has me on an allowance so I've been piecing the components I need little by little. I have a 90 gallon tank and a 60 gallon sump tank (a little much but I couldn't pass it up for the price I got it for). I'm looking for anyone that may have a protein skimmer that could be a good fit for me laying around for a decent price. Also maybe some advice on how much flow my return pump should have (GPH), as well as how big the holes and bulkhead should be to achieve proper water turning. Any other advice would be amazingly helpful as well.

Thank you,
Mark

 

[flsalty]

Hi and welcome to R2R. The typical plumbing for that size is one inch for the drains and three quarter inch for the return. You should have at least 4x turnover rate per hour. Total turnover should be a minimum of 20x. These are just base amounts. It depends on your skimmer rating and what type of corals you want. Since you are taking your time piecing it together on a budget, I would get a skimmer then base the flow rate on that.

 

[RocketEngineer]

While I agree on 1” drains and 3/4” returns, the flow rate on the skimmer has no bearing on the flow through the sump because with enough flow between sump and display, the skimmer is seeing the same concentration of proteins and such as is in both. It’s rare to connect the skimmer directly to the drain so matching flow rates isn’t needed. Instead, size the skimmer to the system size and go from there. Simple and easy.

 

[OldMark81]

Well thank you flsalty. I appreciate the information. Would you have any preferences on skimmers? The budget the wife has me on isn't really much of a budget, just more expensive parts are going to have to take longer to buy since we now have a $800 truck payment (her truck not mine, lol) Happy wife, Happy life. Any other tips would also be appreciated.

Thank you,
Mark

 

[Auquanut]

Welcome to the A-Team Mark. As far as the skimmer goes, there are some very good and very expensive brands out there. I went lower end with a Simplicity skimmer. It's been a workhorse for me for 2 years now and I love it. Easy to dial in, easy to clean, etc...

Since you are in the procurement stage of the build, I would HIGHLY suggest creating a build thread in the "Members Tanks" section. Its a great way to document your progress and create a timeline for the evolution of the system. You also get a nifty "Build thread contributor" badge and encouragement and advice from some of the most experienced reefers in the hobby. Trust me. You'll look back at it often.

 

[OldMark81]

Thanks for the advice.

I'll have to start that thread, just to get a good laugh in the future when I go back and look at how i did everything before doing it the right way. Lol.

Thanks