New from oklahoma, seeking guidance.

Dinkin's Aquatic Gardens
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I wouldn't use well water unless ran through an RO/DI unit. Then again I wouldn't run it through an RO/DI anyways just because it could contain a lot of stuff that could shorten the life of your filters.

For about $150 you can get a good quality unit and be good to go on all you water. No lugging jugs or buckets to and from your house.


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Tidal Gardens
I could do an under sink ro, but my water is rural county wster, and it's been known to contain hard metals

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Nutramar Foods
Here is the sketch I've come up with after viewing a couple sumps @ a local LFS, I guess first I need to find a Protein skimmer so I know how wide/tall to build the first chamber. I'm almost worried about building the first partition over 8" tall, just for overflow issues. The LFS told me to get GLASS CUT ONLY and not to bother with acrylic, as it doesn't really bond with silicone sealant. Attached is a picture of a sump @ my LFS that I'm modeling mine after, the picture is of a 20gallon (tall) tank, and lacks the refugium (which the LFS lady said didn't need sand)? anyway here it is.

IMG_20121129_161934_500.jpg

20long.png


I hope I have the right idea here.
Does anyone have any ideas/ input.
 
Hmmm..... Well that will work but I would also be worried about overflow. If its not to late a 40b makes a great sump. With that said yes what you have in mind will work. I would make the skimmer chamber as small as possible to give you more room for a refugium and return area.

I would also start considering an auto top off because with a return section that small you may have to top it off everyday or two just to keep the pump from sucking air.


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Loki2902 said:
Hmmm..... Well that will work but I would also be worried about overflow. If its not to late a 40b makes a great sump. With that said yes what you have in mind will work. I would make the skimmer chamber as small as possible to give you more room for a refugium and return area.

I would also start considering an auto top off because with a return section that small you may have to top it off everyday or two just to keep the pump from sucking air.


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40b is too large to fit under my stand, i have an auto top off jug, but im unsure how to integrate it.

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After looking @ it again.. I think the pumps are ~4" cubes or so.. which would mean my pump with this design would be in 6" of water, not much of a safety net... but the problem with a 20g tank (traditional) is that I lose so much width i have no room for a refugium @ the Cheato (maybe 3-4" at best). I could raise the baffles of this refugium, but I'd be putting the water level closer to the top, the way I've drawn it up now it's resting max level in the skimmer section is around 8"
 
You will need a slow pump like a toms aqualifter and some 1/4 tubing (if using toms) then have some sensor in the return chamber to keep it at the level you want. Something like a tunze osmilator would be ideal but there are cheaper ones. Avast marines has one that I will be using on my 150.

I would also recommend looking into a controller at some point. It can turn your lights on and off for you, keep the temp stable by activating your heater when the temp probe reaches a temp that you set, it can control the ATO, just a lot of nice things. I won't run a tank without one.


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Deltec
Loki2902 said:
You will need a slow pump like a toms aqualifter and some 1/4 tubing (if using toms) then have some sensor in the return chamber to keep it at the level you want. Something like a tunze osmilator would be ideal but there are cheaper ones. Avast marines has one that I will be using on my 150.

I would also recommend looking into a controller at some point. It can turn your lights on and off for you, keep the temp stable by activating your heater when the temp probe reaches a temp that you set, it can control the ATO, just a lot of nice things. I won't run a tank without one.


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Wouldn't timers be okay for the lights? And heaters are automatic too

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I think I'll take the 20l back and measure my stand to fit a 29

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I believe a 20l and 29 have the same footprint with the 29 being taller. So I think it should be a go!


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Deltec
When a guy is installing a bulkhead, you use the rubber seal inside the tank and just the abs nut outside correct? No plumbing putty, plumbing tape?

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Should have read this sooner I had tons of recommended books for you. Yes you are correct about the bulk heads. And heaters are automatic but they are a dicey game, you can roll snake eyes any day and have the heater stick on and fry your tank. I paid 120 for the most basic controller on the market and will never ever run a tank with less again. Also premade top offs are nice. There is a jbj one, tinsel and several other pricey ones. A Dual switch ato on autotopoff.com will cost 65 shipped and non of those need a controller for them. I bought a $2 extension cord spent 4 shipped on eBay for a float switch and spliced it into one side of the extension cord and am using a $20 Tom aquatics aqualifter that I got for free. So in all I spent pennies more than $6 for a simple and effective single switch ato that doesn't need to be run by a controller.
 
www.dinkinsaquaticgardens.com
Bootstrap said:
When a guy is installing a bulkhead, you use the rubber seal inside the tank and just the abs nut outside correct? No plumbing putty, plumbing tape?

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One little caveat.......it doesn't matter which direction you mount the bulkhead...threads in or threads out......it's decided by ease of getting to the nut or how it looks, or how it all fits together. Now here's the critical thing.....The rubber gasket ALWAYS goes on the flange side, regardless of how the bulkhead is installed. No pipe dope or teflon tape needed.
 
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