New 60 gallon tank build

[adam1121]

Ok, so i have a 60g acrylic tank with stand and soon canopy. Dimensions are 48x15x18. I bought a 2x150w with 4 T5 actinics mh fixture off of Bill on here and i have one halide hooked up so far(still need the second). I am pretty sure they will be enough as long as i keep them low. I will have a euro reef rs 80 in the sump, a fuge, and the return chamber. I think the tank will be a 29 gallon. Not sure yet so we will find out. I have 46 inches underneath the stand so yeah, and i have 12 inches width to spare. I will be adding an overflow and drilling the tank. Three holes. I will painting it before i drill though. So....here is an autocad drawing of my plumbing. Lmk what you guys think.

 

[Bergovoy]

why would you paint it before you drill? I would drill first...

Also, have you thought about splitting the drain line, i.e. putting a tee on the drain line and then yuo can have the skimmer on one side of the sump, and the fuge on the other end, with teh return section in the middle.

This will let you adjust and or slow the flow through the fuge independant of the skimmer section.

Also, if you do that, you can reduce the baffles on teh fuge side to just two baffles instead of three, and pick up 1-1/2 inches of space.

Also, you may want to install a by-pass valve to the return line just above the water line, this will be a TEE , where the water will go from the return pump up to the tank, or back to teh sump.

This is controlled by a gate valve between teh TEE and teh SqWD.

If your pump is stronger or has more flow then your tank overflow, then you can throttle it back with teh valve, which will divert water back into the sump...



Not sure if any of that made sense, but let me know, if you want me to elaborate..

bill

 

[adam1121]

I will be drilling three holes. 1 1.5" drain in the overflow and 2 1.25" holes in the back wall for returns. Or should i go smaller for the returns? they will both be hooked up to dual loclines and plumbed to my scwd. I have one koralia 2 and can easily access another if needed. I will probably put 80 pounds or so of live rock and 60 pounds of live sand in my tank, rubble and sand in the fuge with macros. The fuge light will either be an 18w or 96w depending on if i want to make the fuge a frag holding area also.

 

[adam1121]

That went right over my head...haha. I dunno why'd i'd paint before drilling. Guess so i dont get any in the tank lol. I was thinking about doing that on the sump. Like how yours is. But then i decided against it. I want clean water going into my fuge you know? Thats just what i would like. Thats how the work tank is plumbed and their sump is setup. The one thing i dont like about works is the baffle setups. I want to slow the water down as much as possible going into the fuge, and then i dont want the water "overflowing" into the return chamber with two baffles. So i want the third to slow it down again.

 

[Bergovoy]

I am not familiar with SQWDs, but dont they have a 3/4" outlet? and if So, a 1" hole would be fine for the returns. Although, if you have a larger hole, you could do something else later on down the road? But that is always the case, so do you want to see a big bulkhead on the back or streamline..

I havea 180g with 1" returns

As for thedrain line, I would put the 1-1/2 " drain and a 1" return line in the OVERFLOW area. Then, you can poke out of the overflow with another bulkhead into a loc-line nozzle if that is what you want...

Then maybe you can locate teh sqwd holes / return lines to be on the far end, at top and bottom, instead of left and right..

just a thought..

 

[Bergovoy]

the flow through the fuge will be the same as the skimmer section, but the spacing of the baffles will make it look like it is flowing faster if the baffles are clser together, think white water rapids...

But if the baffles are wider apart the water will flow smoother...

but of course if yu spread the baffles too far, then you lose space in the fuge, so there is a balance..

On my sump, the spacing was 1-1/2" between baffles. I wish I went with at least two inches...

I see the difference by the water level OVER the first baffle will be about 1/3 - 1/2 inch above the baffle itself, as the water is starti g to be forced between the baffles

i.e. then the water falls further down the baffle, creating it's own bubbles as it falls

 

[adam1121]

Yeah, they have a 3/4 line. But i dont want anything to come out of my overflow. I am trying to keep my overflow as minimal as possible to avoid losing space as the tank is not very wide at all. So that is why i have the extra powerheads for extra flow in other areas of the tank. I kinda get what your saying about the sump.

 

[Bergovoy]

actually, I did not think that the overflow would have to be any bigger, but I guess it might be to get another hole drilled in the bottom.


I was just thinking of getting more flow at or around the corner of the overflow without a PH, I have an adversity to them...

I would also reccomend threaded bulkheads for the returns, with Unions at each one, and a valve, (or TRU-Unions)

You will love that you can redo or take apart and not waste any parts..

the drain line can be slip, as suction and gravity will hold the standpipe in location.

If you can find the SHORT bodied bulkhead, (I think it comes with a white nut), that bulkhead actually has standard threading on the outside, and you can thread a fitting or bushing or union directly to the outside of that bulkhead, (Its a neat way to save on space and fittings / parts / adapters)

What style standpipe are you going with, cause that will also determine how big the overflow will have to be.

I think the smallest profile will be the stockman standpipe, (which is what I am using and love).

Not a sound coming from my overflow, and the standpipe is about 2 to 2-1/2" inches footprint on an 1-1/2" drain line

 

[adam1121]

I thought i was gonna be doing threaded bulkheads. They have like the threads on them, then the nut and the have the slip thingy at the very bottom. And then my loclines will be screwing right into those.

 

[adam1121]

I was thinking a durso, but i dont know much about either. So if you could please elaborate on both and how much space they'd take up that'd be great. I was gonna make my overflow 6x6 corner. But if i can save room that'd be even better.

 

[Bergovoy]

hey, this is like our private little forum...

the standpipes do the same thing, they just do it differently. the durso standpipe will be approx 2-3 times the diameter of the pipe for a footprint or area needed.

A stockman will be about 1-1/2 times the size of the drain pipe.

And with your expressing of space being a commodity, then a stockman is for you.

look up CJ STOCKMAN standpipe..

easy to make, standard pvc / abs parts, but a dremel will help with teh sanding or grinding of the big 2" x 1-1/2" bushing, (I think that is the size, it maybe 2-1/2 x 1-1/2)

I would imagine a 6x6 ovberflow would be prudent anyways, as the sides and teeth would be lost if you went with something smaller.

The hole in the bottom should be about 1 pipe diameter away from teh edges, so if you have a 1-1/2 " hole, the edge of the hole should be that far from both edges,

And for fudge factor it probably be best to center it so that the1-1/2 inch hole is centered at 3" OC of the overflow...

If you wanted to, you could probably drill another 1" hole into that same area, but since you are not wanting or valuing the Power head or nozzle issue, then best to leave your overflow clear

let me know if you cant locate the stockman standpipe info, and I willtry to dig it up..

thanks

bill

 

[Bergovoy]

threaded on the inside???

If they are not threaded on the inside, you will have to glue them inplace to keep the nozzles from blowing out from the water flowing in the same direction, (yes, I screwed up mine and had to glue it in place, oh well)

It is not a requirement, it is just a practical way to be able to re-use or replace them at a later date without having to destroy them to remove them...

The down side / con of using the treaded builkheads, is SALTCREEP coming through the threads...

some pros some cons, you get to pick which you want...

 

[Bergovoy]

btw, someone is selling a sqwd on the other forum


http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1235399

 

[temec_lover]

dursos are so great... no attempt with stockman the surso looked less confusing so i went with it

 

[adam1121]

I know, i have a durso at work, just wanting to limit space

 

[adam1121]

Any more suggestions on my plans? All help is much appreciated.

 

[adam1121]

And i am curious, is there any reasons why my way won't work? I know i can make it better but would this way work?

 

[Bergovoy]

I m trying to let other speak up...

But the only reason your setup wont work is if the pump is higher capacity then teh overflow can handle Then your tank will over flow.

But if it is less then the capacity of the drain line, it will work great.

i have seen peeps use the flex hose / tubing to connect the sqwd to the tank, and they made it look real good, nice and even...

good luck


bill

 

[adam1121]

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~idProduct~FT7155.html

I will be using these on the bulkheads for the returns. So the return will go into the SCWD and the the black vinyl tubing will be hooked to these which screw into the bulkheads....what do you guys think about that? Anything better or a better way to do it?

 

[adam1121]

Ok, I will check how much head loss i will have and then will pick a return pump to go with it. I was already planning on this. How many GPH do you think the overflow will have? probably about 650 huh?