Thinking of this 30 gallon setup??

damopower · 09/23/2008, 05:17 AM

Hi Everyone, was wondering if you could cast your knowing eyes over my proposed setup:
I have a juwel lido 30 gallon undrilled tank that I don't want to drill. I also have an old 20 gallon tank that I want to use as a sump/fuge.
Now to what I am proposing to use
I want to end up keeping soft corals and LPS, but am thinking as starting out FOWLR as I am a newbie SW aquarist.
I am going to go with the eshopps overflow box as it seems better able to keep siphon going than the CPR models. From the overflow down to the 20 gallon sump, I will have an Aqua C Urchin skimmer. Then through the fuge and pumped back up via the Eheim 1260 . I am thinking about installing a closed loop system with a SCWD wakemaker for water circulation. This is basically a straight copy of the closed loop on http://www.melevsreef.com/closedloop.html
This would be externally pumped perhaps with the Mag5 pump that melev uses..
Barring the actual design of the sump I think this will be an ok setup. As far as lighting goes, my friend designs lighting for use in concerts and uses 400W metal halides, and he reckons he can deal with my lighting issue.
Opinions please?
Thanks everyone

Damien

boxfishpooalot · 09/23/2008, 05:33 AM

Since you asked for opinoins, mine is your doing fine, but the skimmer will make you want to upgrade, and the overflow hang on has some negative reviews as too overflowing and not being able to upgrade water flow to remove debrise, because its basically a one size and flow thing.

That said, dont want to sound criticle but get an insump skimmer and drill that tank. Whats stopping you from drilling it? In my area, the lfs charges 20 bucks to drill a hole, and a bulkhead is about the same, so if you buy that for 40 bucks, i think the hang on oveflow even cost more than that!

You see?

damopower · 09/23/2008, 05:52 AM

Thanks for the really quick reply,
I didn't want to drill the tank as I will be moving country in a couple of years and my mother was going to take the tank and use it as a freshwater setup. She wants a simple aquarium not one with holes in it leading to sumps. Also I wasn't sure what size hole to drill and the position to drill the hole. I can't find anyone in Dublin Ireland where I live that would drill the tank for me, don't mind doing it myself but I figured the cost of buying the drillbit, I might as well get a HOB overflow.
I thought that the aqua C urchin would be ok as it is rated for a 20-75 gallon tank. My sump and tank would be a combined 50 gallon.

"lfs charges 20 bucks to drill a hole, and a bulkhead is about the same"
Is the bulkhead the plastic O fitting that goes in the drilled hole?
Thanks alot.
damien

damopower · 09/23/2008, 08:26 AM

Still open to opinions thanks....

ash71089 · 09/23/2008, 10:32 AM

definitley look into whether your tank is tempered so you can drill. it would relieve a bunch of headaches.

also you usually want to get a skimmer that is rated at double the capacity of your tank

everything else sounds good

damopower · 09/23/2008, 12:08 PM

I could go with the urchin pro, it is rated from 40 - 120 gallons. That should be more than double my volume, doesn't cost much more than the urchin anyway.
The glass in the tank is not tempered .If i drill the tank can someone tell me where I should drill it? Near the top just below the water line or in the bottom? I have seen tanks where they are drilled at the bottom, but wouldn't that mean that the tank would run dry if the return pump failed? Also what diameter hole should I drill?
I know these are probably stupid questions, but it is hard to find answers in easy language.
Thanks
Damien

damopower · 09/24/2008, 02:51 AM

bumpfish

boxfishpooalot · 09/24/2008, 04:26 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by damopower
Thanks for the really quick reply,
I didn't want to drill the tank as I will be moving country in a couple of years and my mother was going to take the tank and use it as a freshwater setup. She wants a simple aquarium not one with holes in it leading to sumps. Also I wasn't sure what size hole to drill and the position to drill the hole. I can't find anyone in Dublin Ireland where I live that would drill the tank for me, don't mind doing it myself but I figured the cost of buying the drillbit, I might as well get a HOB overflow.
I thought that the aqua C urchin would be ok as it is rated for a 20-75 gallon tank. My sump and tank would be a combined 50 gallon.

"lfs charges 20 bucks to drill a hole, and a bulkhead is about the same"
Is the bulkhead the plastic O fitting that goes in the drilled hole?
Thanks alot.
damien

Hey. Yes thats the circle plastic thing that seals the hole in the bottom to allow you to put a pvc pipe into it. And obviously prevents leakage.

What you are doing now, sounds like a fine plan. Providing you know in the future that its not the "best" setup. But really that subjective of whats best, whats best is what makes you happy, and if thats what makes you happy, go for it!

damopower · 09/24/2008, 05:18 AM

Thanks boxfishpooalot, for the reply. I am new to this hobby so am not expierianced enough to say for myself that I am going to do it a certain way, that is why I am on here, looking to you guys. So can you tell me what would be the best setup then? Specifically in relation to where to drill a hole,
what size hole to drill,
what sort of overflow box to use,
and also these things called standpipes that I am not sure of?
thanks
damien

boxfishpooalot · 09/24/2008, 05:49 AM

That my friend, i can not decide for you. I will recommend you study the basics. Investigate and be critcle in your thinking. Most people will tell you you get what you pay for, as in more expensive is better. Somtimes it is, but usually its just opinion.

But in my experience, more biology and less technology has won my success.

And lots of people on her operate on this principle. Refugiums, vodka dosing, deep sand beds ect.

damopower · 09/24/2008, 07:30 AM

Vodka dosing is something I will probably be doing.....on myself with all the things to learn about this hobby

damopower · 09/24/2008, 03:58 PM

Quick update, upon relection I decided to drill the tank, and bought the 700 gallon overflow kit from glass-holes.com
So that is one piece of the puzzle decided upon...and a couple hundred more still to sort out

09/23/2008, 05:17 AM	#1
damopower Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: ireland Posts: 15	Thinking of this 30 gallon setup?? Hi Everyone, was wondering if you could cast your knowing eyes over my proposed setup: I have a juwel lido 30 gallon undrilled tank that I don't want to drill. I also have an old 20 gallon tank that I want to use as a sump/fuge. Now to what I am proposing to use I want to end up keeping soft corals and LPS, but am thinking as starting out FOWLR as I am a newbie SW aquarist. I am going to go with the eshopps overflow box as it seems better able to keep siphon going than the CPR models. From the overflow down to the 20 gallon sump, I will have an Aqua C Urchin skimmer. Then through the fuge and pumped back up via the Eheim 1260 . I am thinking about installing a closed loop system with a SCWD wakemaker for water circulation. This is basically a straight copy of the closed loop on http://www.melevsreef.com/closedloop.html This would be externally pumped perhaps with the Mag5 pump that melev uses.. Barring the actual design of the sump I think this will be an ok setup. As far as lighting goes, my friend designs lighting for use in concerts and uses 400W metal halides, and he reckons he can deal with my lighting issue. Opinions please? Thanks everyone Damien

09/23/2008, 05:33 AM	#2
boxfishpooalot Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: canada, Grande Praire, Ab Posts: 5,824	Since you asked for opinoins, mine is your doing fine, but the skimmer will make you want to upgrade, and the overflow hang on has some negative reviews as too overflowing and not being able to upgrade water flow to remove debrise, because its basically a one size and flow thing. That said, dont want to sound criticle but get an insump skimmer and drill that tank. Whats stopping you from drilling it? In my area, the lfs charges 20 bucks to drill a hole, and a bulkhead is about the same, so if you buy that for 40 bucks, i think the hang on oveflow even cost more than that! You see? __________________ Its a good idea to have a refrence sample for alk test kits. 1.1350 grams of baking soda in 1gallon of distilled water=10dkh. Check your alkalinity test kit! Algae is Mother Natures phosphate remover Current Tank Info: 220 galon mixed reef.

09/24/2008, 05:49 AM	#10
boxfishpooalot Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: canada, Grande Praire, Ab Posts: 5,824	That my friend, i can not decide for you. I will recommend you study the basics. Investigate and be critcle in your thinking. Most people will tell you you get what you pay for, as in more expensive is better. Somtimes it is, but usually its just opinion. But in my experience, more biology and less technology has won my success. And lots of people on her operate on this principle. Refugiums, vodka dosing, deep sand beds ect. __________________ Its a good idea to have a refrence sample for alk test kits. 1.1350 grams of baking soda in 1gallon of distilled water=10dkh. Check your alkalinity test kit! Algae is Mother Natures phosphate remover Current Tank Info: 220 galon mixed reef.

09/23/2008, 05:52 AM	#3
damopower Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: ireland Posts: 15	Thanks for the really quick reply, I didn't want to drill the tank as I will be moving country in a couple of years and my mother was going to take the tank and use it as a freshwater setup. She wants a simple aquarium not one with holes in it leading to sumps. Also I wasn't sure what size hole to drill and the position to drill the hole. I can't find anyone in Dublin Ireland where I live that would drill the tank for me, don't mind doing it myself but I figured the cost of buying the drillbit, I might as well get a HOB overflow. I thought that the aqua C urchin would be ok as it is rated for a 20-75 gallon tank. My sump and tank would be a combined 50 gallon. "lfs charges 20 bucks to drill a hole, and a bulkhead is about the same" Is the bulkhead the plastic O fitting that goes in the drilled hole? Thanks alot. damien

09/23/2008, 08:26 AM	#4
damopower Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: ireland Posts: 15	Still open to opinions thanks....

09/23/2008, 10:32 AM	#5
ash71089 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Decatur, AL Posts: 145	definitley look into whether your tank is tempered so you can drill. it would relieve a bunch of headaches. also you usually want to get a skimmer that is rated at double the capacity of your tank everything else sounds good

09/23/2008, 12:08 PM	#6
damopower Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: ireland Posts: 15	I could go with the urchin pro, it is rated from 40 - 120 gallons. That should be more than double my volume, doesn't cost much more than the urchin anyway. The glass in the tank is not tempered .If i drill the tank can someone tell me where I should drill it? Near the top just below the water line or in the bottom? I have seen tanks where they are drilled at the bottom, but wouldn't that mean that the tank would run dry if the return pump failed? Also what diameter hole should I drill? I know these are probably stupid questions, but it is hard to find answers in easy language. Thanks Damien

09/24/2008, 02:51 AM	#7
damopower Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: ireland Posts: 15	bumpfish

09/24/2008, 05:18 AM	#9
damopower Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: ireland Posts: 15	Thanks boxfishpooalot, for the reply. I am new to this hobby so am not expierianced enough to say for myself that I am going to do it a certain way, that is why I am on here, looking to you guys. So can you tell me what would be the best setup then? Specifically in relation to where to drill a hole, what size hole to drill, what sort of overflow box to use, and also these things called standpipes that I am not sure of? thanks damien

09/24/2008, 07:30 AM	#11
damopower Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: ireland Posts: 15	Vodka dosing is something I will probably be doing.....on myself with all the things to learn about this hobby

09/24/2008, 03:58 PM	#12
damopower Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: ireland Posts: 15	Quick update, upon relection I decided to drill the tank, and bought the 700 gallon overflow kit from glass-holes.com So that is one piece of the puzzle decided upon...and a couple hundred more still to sort out