Stupid Newbie Questions I Have to Ask

[Robinsonxc90]

Hi All,

Firstly apologies to everyone here as I have had tropical & coldwater set ups, but I wanted to move to marine so i am in a bit of a pickle and feel like my brain isn't working!

attached is my new tank, I've built the stand too which is still unfinished so don't be too mean, im no carpenter thats for sure. It has two lots of pre drilled holes and pipework, which is confusing me a little.

Here we go, do i need a sump? this is my first silly question, I intent to do (fingers crossed) an sps reef tank. Now I have two canister filters already, an all pond solution and a fluval fx4, which im starting to think I may not use if I go down the sump route, am i correct? If i did have a sump, can someone explain to me in simple terms how it would all plump together, and what equipment would go where. I wanted to perhaps use a protein skimmer, the sump & if its needed a calcium reactor.

In short I need to know how a sump would plump around the pipework, otherwise I'll just hookup two filters and get a HOB skimmer, and wing it. The tank size is 550 litres (110 gallons) i think, just over 5ft long.

PLEASE HELP! I've been confused for days as now im nearing the end of the stand and have to start dealing with the tank i feel like im in limbo.

Yours faithfully,
clueless newbie

 

[justingraham]

Are those hammers in the tank or is that a drain pipe? Kinda hard to see

 

[Robinsonxc90]

Oh sorry, those are the pipes, there are 4 in total. Two on each side.

 

[McMullen]

That stand looks great!
You have A few questions so first let me say, there is no single "right" way to setup a tank or Sps tank. Next, there was a sense of urgency to complete your setup, so, slow down. You will spend less money with fewer problems long term by planning and researching. Moving quickly and or taking short cuts almost always catches up in the form of lost animals or even tank crashes. The last advice I have for you is to find a tank either from a local reefer in your area or on here that you love, then do your best to duplicate the system. Just know no two tanks are the same.

Finding potential systems to duplicate will be easy on this forum as there are literally hundreds of amazing tanks here from around the world. The hard part will be sticking to only one.

 

[justingraham]

Ok so u have a drain and a return on each side the 1 inch pipe is the drain the 3/4 is the return. Ur tank seems to be reef ready as they call it. Ur missing the covers tho they run from the top to the bottom kinda half circle looking plastic. Google reef ready tanks and look at what it's supposed to look like inside the tank. Then from there there is thousands of ways to set up the tank it's which way u want to do it the way that makes sense for u. U can combine the two drain pipes into the sump then plumb the two return pipes together as well. With the holes already drilled in the tank u should not have to do a hob anything. Sumps are what u make of hem can be easy or hard look into melevs reef . Com he explains everything u need to know about a sump.
We can't really help u out only show u a direction to look for u to help urself out the info is out there find what will work for u and go with it.

 

[Robinsonxc90]

Thanks guys, I realise reading that back i seem rushed, I am ultra patient, I just felt a little rushed in my head as I hit a wall and couldn't see past it. You have mentioned combining the two together, why didn't I think of that? such a simple solution. I have the adapters for the pipe work, they are in the other tank cupboard at present.

One last question then, if I went down the sump route, I just use a pump to return the water, not a canister filter correct?

 

[justingraham]

Yes like this is my set up from top on down disregard the white pump as that is for a closed loop system.

 

[Robink]

Yes like this is my set up from top on down disregard the white pump as that is for a closed loop system.

Nice Job!!!
Don't let this picture scare you!! This guy is good!
You can keep it as simple as you want.
Good luck! Looking good so far.

 

[Robink]

Here's a pic of my very simple sump. [emoji4]
Btw, just finished cycling this tank.

 

[justingraham]

O I didn't post it to scare the op sorry if that's what I did I posted it so u have a reference. Now I only have one set of drain holes where u have two so u can just combine the pipes to do this. Also I have added a manifold and some other stuff since these pictures were taken. If u have anymore questions about my setup or anything else ask away it's what we are here for. But I will make u work for some answers as some answers must be learned on ur own for no other reason then for u to understand it more.
And @Robink is that a Red Sea tank?? They are so sleek and nice.

 

[Robinsonxc90]

Guys you haven't scared me one bit. Thank you for the reference images, I understand the logistics of the sump area a lot better now, time to go back and plan this all properly again, then start the hard work!

 

[Robink]

O I didn't post it to scare the op sorry if that's what I did I posted it so u have a reference. Now I only have one set of drain holes where u have two so u can just combine the pipes to do this. Also I have added a manifold and some other stuff since these pictures were taken. If u have anymore questions about my setup or anything else ask away it's what we are here for. But I will make u work for some answers as some answers must be learned on ur own for no other reason then for u to understand it more.
And @Robink is that a Red Sea tank?? They are so sleek and nice.

Yes, Red Sea 525xl. Love it. I wish I was as talented at plumbing as you and some others here...

 

[Pruett-nc]

Welcome aboard . By no means is anyone gonna scold you . Only dumb questions is the one you didn't ask . There is alot of people here to help you on your tank just ask . Sometimes and answer takes longer than other but someone will help you . Don't get frustrated or say I just don't get it . If you don't get then ask an opinion . P.s. sure is a nice looking stand BTW.

 

[Shep]

Welcome, glad to see you got some great answers to your question! Also this was not even close to a silly or stupid question, its always best to ask!!!!

 

[Robinsonxc90]

Thank you all! and I can't believe I've had compliments on the stand, first time i've ever made anything, I think my passion for having this reef tank is driving me to get it done no matter what it takes aha

 

[edinphilly]

Several months ago I went from a standard 29g with no sump to a 75g with sump. Even after success with a couple tanks it was overwhelming to figure out plumbing and sumps without flooding the place! Here are my suggestions...
- figure out what you want the sump to accomplish and go from there, it'll help you choose/design the sump. I wanted quiet, room to skim oversized, and to increase water volume. I didn't care about refugium.
- figure out what you want your plumbing to accomplish and design based on that. I wanted quiet, easy, and reef ready.
- go look at other peoples setups. Especially if there is a club and you can see/hear it in a home vs a LFS.
- setup and do several runs in your garage or someplace you don't mind flooding. Use tap water. It lets you get everything right and you'll make your mistakes without them hurting too much.

Good luck!

 

[Salty1962]

Welcome to R2R! Only stupid question is the one not asked You're on the right site for constructive feedback to your questions.

 

[alyee5]

Welcome! Looks like you have lots of exciting choices to make. I would be interested to see how you decide to plumb your system and as others have stated this is a great forum to ask questions and bounce ideas around. The tank looks great as does the stand...a little trim on the bottom and paint/stain and it will awesome...

 

[Frop]

Before I started my saltwater tank I watched this series (not saying you need to of course...).

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBaMLrfToJyybUT18OE3fMomFb9XU0ffC

They talk about a huge amount of stuff.

Im new too but from what I've seen they do sumps on bigger tanks. Also they say the sump should be aprox 1/2 the display (not sure where that number comes from but it sounds nice). For sump design they have different stuff depending. You could probably Google sump layout and someone will have all the compartments laid out to show you where a baffle will go in relation to the return pump/skimmer/reactor/ all the other stuff you might find.

I think the real purpose of a sump is to have an area to put all your cleaning stuff so it isn't inside your display. Protein skimmer is large on bigger builds.

 

[Robinsonxc90]

Thanks all, I'm going to keep photographing the tank as I go along to document all my successes and failures.

That video series posted above Looks awesome, I have seen some odd videos from these guys, but this series is very detailed and informative so thank you.