Stupid Newbie Questions I Have to Ask

[Frop]

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.

Sure!

Also I have a freshwater planted tank here. Not fancy. But I found some numbers on planted stuff and some of the plants like 40-150 par as kind of a broad number. Corals can like 150-350 (possibly lower/higher). The main idea is you're going to need way more lighting than a planted tank. Please keep that in mind if you haven't already been introduced to it. The higher the tank the more light.. I know my dad has a planted tank and went by the 2watt / gallon thing but that is an old system since it doesn't factor in tank height or light bulb/reflector effiencey.

 

[justingraham]

Wait do u have a sump already?
If not I would measure the bottom of ur stand and see what u can fit in there. Of this is ur first build I would wait for a petco dollar gallon sale and grab one that will fit in there. A couple of people sell kits for 40 gallon breeders that are amazing and pretty simple to set up and cheap for what u actually get just have to follow the directions.

Then after u set one up and understand how it works u can make ur own out of acrylic or buy a custom one for ur liking.

U need any help just ask were all here to help u

 

[Robinsonxc90]

I dont currently have the sump no, I didn't want to rush in and buy one to figure it was not right for the equipment I wanted to set up. Whats the rule of thumb for sump size?

 

[ReeferBob]

Can you post some pictures of the inside of the stand that shows the construction of it?

Those standpipes in your tank as someone else stated are usually surrounded by a plastic "weir" that separates and compartmentalizes them in the tank. On the top, water would cascade over the weir providing surface skimming for the tank, which is very important for marine tanks. The bottom would then empty into a sump filtration system. For your setup, you could build a coast to coast (C2C) (one side of the tank to the other) overflow compartment. You could either use those existing pipes and extend them into the C2C that you will build or you could cap off those bottom drilled holes and don't use them and drill holes in the back of your tank. The problem with running without a weir is what to do with the top of the standpipes. They do have surface skimming boxes you could adapt to what you have. Was this tank new? Did it come with some other parts not shown?

You don't really need your canister filters. Canister filters tend to become a collection point for ditreus which eventually breaks down into nitrates, the enemy of your tank. My advice is to go with a sump. You can build it yourself or buy a pre-made one. Self-built ones are usually better designed. If you can build that stand (which looks really nice btw) you can build the sump.

I also suggest that you use RO/DI water (get a reverse osmosis system) if you don't already have it. From the start I would also go with an algae turf scrubber, which provides a natural, optimal place in your sump for algae to grow, keeping it out of your tank. No fish for at least 30-60 days. Just get the tank running and cycled and see where you stand. You'll need a good test kit to test the water parameters as well.

Good luck!

 

[Robinsonxc90]

Thank you for the good advice! Funny think Is i have a couple of photos of its construction, but because I didn't see it as any good I stopped photographing it (embarrassment most likely) But i started again after the positive comments I had on here.

I was planning with the pipes to join two together for drainage to the sump, then join the other two together for return water from the DC pump if that makes sense? I have just purchased a nice RO/DI system and will install that in the next few days, it does 75g a day so should be plenty for my needs. I do not plan on putting anything in the tank for at least 45 days just rock, substrate and water with equipment.

I'll attached a couple of pictures of the stand, which is VERY nearly completed now, just need to add a few diagonal braces, metal braces to each join and the inside floor with waterproofing, then some soundproofing for the walls of it.

 

[Robinsonxc90]

One more note, the stand has lots of finishing touches to go on, like door bushes to cover the gaps around the doors (shoddy cutting by me) brass caps to cover all screws visible and give it a rustic feel, a bottom trim to cover the 2x4 and then the whole unit will be stained.

 

[steveaus10]

Good luck!

 

[Robinsonxc90]

Can I ask one more silly question to all? Do i have to put overflow boxes over those pipes in the tank? Or can I just leave them as single uprights? I know the returns will have the spray heads on, but what do i do about the ones draining?

 

[Steve Tobias]

The stand DOES look great! I am working 2x4s and drape . I recommend a sump and encourage anyone to plan ahead to encourage one. Do you need one? No, but it opens up a boat load of options as your tanks grows. After my tank cycled I went right to a sump, more water = more stability! Not to mention all the fun stuff is underneath the display in the sump! The refugium, the skimmer, the gfo & carbon reactor, the calcium reactor, the ato.

 

[Oldsofty]

Besides BRSTV's 52 weeks of reefing series, check out the DIY king. He is a freshwater guy but does alot of stuff that reefers can adopt in our tanks. Subjects like led lighting, aquarium building(glass and acrylic), stand construction, and a host of other topics. Well worth the time IMO. Good luck!

 

[ReeferBob]

Can I ask one more silly question to all? Do i have to put overflow boxes over those pipes in the tank? Or can I just leave them as single uprights? I know the returns will have the spray heads on, but what do i do about the ones draining?

This is problematic. Saltwater tanks need the surface skimming properties of a good skimmer box. This is why I asked if that tank came with some other pieces you haven't shown. You should have something on the ends of those pipes to skim the surface. Usually they would be surrounded by a compartment with the skimmer teeth on the top.

You need something like the below. You'd drill a hole in the bottom for your plumbing to come up through and then silicone it to the back wall of the aquarium.

https://www.amazon.com/Aquarium-Ove...73255402&sr=8-21&keywords=surface+skimmer+box

 

[Robinsonxc90]

This is problematic. Saltwater tanks need the surface skimming properties of a good skimmer box. This is why I asked if that tank came with some other pieces you haven't shown. You should have something on the ends of those pipes to skim the surface. Usually they would be surrounded by a compartment with the skimmer teeth on the top.

You need something like the below. You'd drill a hole in the bottom for your plumbing to come up through and then silicone it to the back wall of the aquarium.

https://www.amazon.com/Aquarium-Ove...73255402&sr=8-21&keywords=surface+skimmer+box

Brilliant, Is it worth putting an overflow on both sets of pipes? Or just over one and perhaps blocking the others off? In my head I was going to run dual overflow but have one set on a valve to slow the flow into the sump.

Does that make sense? I'm very new to this so please bear with me If i sound stupid.

 

[Oldsofty]

Well i have built a few tanks but they are all the same build. Yours is a bit different but a don't see why u would slow down the return unless u thought your return pump was pushing too much water to the DT. In which case, u would get a less powerful pump. Maybe i didn't understand though, i am old and me mind is slipping. But, i believe reeferbob is right for sure about surface skimming. Honestly, i only ever use one overflow drilled in the back with 2 returns...one on each side. Like reeferbob said get a weir for both sides. The only thing i can't figure out is how u would make it silent. I hope someone here can help u, many people drill the bottom like that so someone will give u the proper setup. I would be interested to see how its done. Good luck. Your stand and tank look great btw.

 

[alyee5]

Check out these YouTube videos from reef spy. It is a 180 gallon tank with dual corner overflows like yours. He goes thru in detail the sump and equipment and plumbing. Being a newbie myself this is a good overview.


Note there are 3 parts to his tank walkthru.
If it were me I'd go with dual weirs and go with a durso and return in each corner- I like symmetry.