Noob Tank Setup Questions

[govolsguy31]

Looks like this Noob has found himself a 90 gal aquarium. As long as everything checks out Sunday, she'll be coming home with me. At any rate, a few setup questions... and I'm sure 100 more to follow...

Going to start FOWLR, but I'm sure my addictive personality will kick in quick. With that in mind:

Powerheads- Am I better off doing a couple larger ones up around the water line pointing at each other (found some that do around 1300 gph) or 4 or 5 smaller ones at 400-500gph throughout the tank?

Sump- I'm pretty handy. I've watched some DIY on YouTube and feel 100% confident I can get some cut pieces of glass and silicone them in to make chambers in a standard aquarium. The $50-75 to do a 20 gallon this way is way more attractive than spending $400 for a pre-made one. What would I be missing out on by doing my own? That brings us to....

Skimmer- coming from the freshwater side, I'm learning everything from scratch with these things. These physically sit in a chamber in the sump, right? I guess I originally was thinking they hung on the side. From lurking around on here, looks like they sit on the sump floor and have an intake 7"-9" up, depending on model.

Water mixing station- for me, this will be downstairs in a utility room at the bottom of my staircase. The tank will be upstairs very close to the top of the staircase in the living room. I need some type of mag/ pond pump that will pump water up, say, 12' of lift and a total of about 25' or 30' of hose. Any suggestions here?

Thanks guys! I'm absolutely stoked to be jumping in here. Even have my wife and sister excited at this point.

 

[cbrack83]

I am going through all this as well in the last few month except I really jump off the ledge and did a 220 gallon... The sump is pretty easy is your are hands in... The skimmer goes in one of the chambers of the sump just make sure you know the dimensions of your skimmer before you build your sump...

You need to make sure you have the width and the water depth for the skimmer...

Are you doing just a 1 chamber sump?

 

[govolsguy31]

I am going through all this as well in the last few month except I really jump off the ledge and did a 220 gallon... The sump is pretty easy is your are hands in... The skimmer goes in one of the chambers of the sump just make sure you know the dimensions of your skimmer before you build your sump...

You need to make sure you have the width and the water depth for the skimmer...

Are you doing just a 1 chamber sump?

No, I think I'll do a three chamber if I build it myself. Several of the ones I was looking at were by Trigger. They were 4 chamber.

 

[cbrack83]

Well with a 20 gallon if it's an internal sump make sure you give it enough room...

 

[jlanger]

Welcome to the addiction!
I just had to check in due to your avatar. Go Vols!!!

To address some of your questions...
Since you're running a FOWLR tank for now, the water flow doesn't have to be as much as a reef tank. Just make sure you have enough flow that the detritus doesn't accumulate behind the rock work. Running fewer pumps is ideal. Pumps that have a propellor (versus impeller) provide more flow and a broader flow.

Making your own sump is easy. Proper planning that includes your equipment requirements will ensure that you maximize the space in the sump. Knowing which skimmer you're going to use and at what water depth it operates at will determine your chamber dimensions. Remember that as water evaporates, it is the water level in the return pump chamber that will fluctuate. Try making the return pump chamber as large as possible prevent the pump from running dry. And since we're talking about evaporation, I would recommend setting up an ATO system as soon as possible; very beneficial.

Good luck!

 

[govolsguy31]

Welcome to the addiction!
I just had to check in due to your avatar. Go Vols!!!

To address some of your questions...
Since you're running a FOWLR tank for now, the water flow doesn't have to be as much as a reef tank. Just make sure you have enough flow that the detritus doesn't accumulate behind the rock work. Running fewer pumps is ideal. Pumps that have a propellor (versus impeller) provide more flow and a broader flow.

Making your own sump is easy. Proper planning that includes your equipment requirements will ensure that you maximize the space in the sump. Knowing which skimmer you're going to use and at what water depth it operates at will determine your chamber dimensions. Remember that as water evaporates, it is the water level in the return pump chamber that will fluctuate. Try making the return pump chamber as large as possible prevent the pump from running dry. And since we're talking about evaporation, I would recommend setting up an ATO system as soon as possible; very beneficial.

Good luck!

Go Vols! Gotta put a complete game together tomorrow night against S Car.

Good info. So maybe do the two bigger powerheads, one shooting behind the rock and the other pointing the other way agitating the waterline to release gases?

 

[Salty1962]

Go Vols! Gotta put a complete game together tomorrow night against S Car.

Good info. So maybe do the two bigger powerheads, one shooting behind the rock and the other pointing the other way agitating the waterline to release gases?

That would be good. The Jabeo pumps are a good start and if you get the wireless, you can sync them up If you have a heavy bio-load, be sure to get a large enough PS to handle it. If you go with a sump it can be and internal, if you don't then HOB PS's are good. Let us know how it goes, a 90 is a good size tank. I had a custom a while back and loved it.

 

[stevo01]

Looks like this Noob has found himself a 90 gal aquarium. As long as everything checks out Sunday, she'll be coming home with me. At any rate, a few setup questions... and I'm sure 100 more to follow...

Going to start FOWLR, but I'm sure my addictive personality will kick in quick. With that in mind:

Powerheads- Am I better off doing a couple larger ones up around the water line pointing at each other (found some that do around 1300 gph) or 4 or 5 smaller ones at 400-500gph throughout the tank?

Sump- I'm pretty handy. I've watched some DIY on YouTube and feel 100% confident I can get some cut pieces of glass and silicone them in to make chambers in a standard aquarium. The $50-75 to do a 20 gallon this way is way more attractive than spending $400 for a pre-made one. What would I be missing out on by doing my own? That brings us to....

Skimmer- coming from the freshwater side, I'm learning everything from scratch with these things. These physically sit in a chamber in the sump, right? I guess I originally was thinking they hung on the side. From lurking around on here, looks like they sit on the sump floor and have an intake 7"-9" up, depending on model.

Water mixing station- for me, this will be downstairs in a utility room at the bottom of my staircase. The tank will be upstairs very close to the top of the staircase in the living room. I need some type of mag/ pond pump that will pump water up, say, 12' of lift and a total of about 25' or 30' of hose. Any suggestions here?

Thanks guys! I'm absolutely stoked to be jumping in here. Even have my wife and sister excited at this point.

Building a sump - I would go larger than 20g, you will be really limited with space. A 40 breeder would be nice! use 100% silicone. You want to make some wooden jigs to hold the glass in place. I suggest getting 5 pieces all safety edged. 11" tall. A reef octopus set at 7-9 inches, so you'll need the skimmer set on a stand. Get youself a decent reliable return pump (+ for jaebo series). @NHreefguy built the one I have for my 65G. I would have the dimensions for your skimmer, return pump, ect ready before hand when building the sump.

 

[govolsguy31]

Building a sump - I would go larger than 20g, you will be really limited with space. A 40 breeder would be nice! use 100% silicone. You want to make some wooden jigs to hold the glass in place. I suggest getting 5 pieces all safety edged. 11" tall. A reef octopus set at 7-9 inches, so you'll need the skimmer set on a stand. Get youself a decent reliable return pump (+ for jaebo series). @NHreefguy built the one I have for my 65G. I would have the dimensions for your skimmer, return pump, ect ready before hand when building the sump.

Thinking this protein skimmer maybe?

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/reef-octopus-classic-150sss-6-internal-space-saving-skimmer.html

 

[stevo01]

That one is nice and compact! Ive got the one with the pump attaching externally and it takes up a larger footprint.

 

[jlanger]

Good choice.
I've been using a Reef Octopus skimmer on my reef for the last four years, and it's working just as well today as when it was first turned on.

 

[|sCRIBe|]

Can't ever go wrong with an Omega skimmer