My new system coming

Mako

Mako

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Hey all im starting this thread coz im goin to be sartin a new sytstem up im calling it my lil baby:thumbup: So here it is
length 2.5m
700 wide
700 high
Lid:
I want to have a custom lid made out of alluminum to house all the lights that fits directly on top of the tank which will help eliminate evaporation.Lights will be a combo of mh white ; mh blue ; atinic
Questions for sugesstions:
would it be practical to have a sheet of glass in the lid to prevent salt creep into the electrical system and onto the lights.Will it affect the lighting into the tank
sump:
wat i wanna do ere is have a seperate sump just for a dsb which will be the first in line frm the main tank
Questions for suggestions:
wat size would be adequate for this sump and wat lights
Main sump
I have a corner fibreglass bath that i wanna incorporate into the system which i wanna make the main sump this will be in line from the dsb and then returning to the main tank.In here i will have some lr and fish with shrimp and cualerpa this has to be done well coz its goin to be a feature in our new dinning room
Questions for suggestions
Wat sort of lighting should i have on this sump
Skimmers
Ok so wat would the skimmer rating be for a system like this and where would the best location be for the skimming and wat type of skimmer ie: in-sump or out sump.

Ne other suggestions will be appreciated thanx
Work starts in two weeks frm now so i will be posting pics as we go
And a great thanx to Phat for his help so far THANX DUDE:)
 
Roughly the size tank i have 2.3x700x700. Firstly what are you going to be housing in the system?
I would not cover the tank with glass as this will definitely affect the lighting. I would also not seal the top of the tank and have it as open as possible because on that size system you will run some serious lighting and heat will become an issue, don't worry about evaporation. The refugium should not be your first part of filtration if you can help it, should come after the skimmer otherwise all detris will end up in the fuge, not what you looking for. Lighting on the fuge and sump can be what ever you like T8 tubes work fine for caulerpa or better still Cheato. If you going to have a fairly heavily stocked tank you are going to need fairly large skimming, heating and chilling. I have Bubble Master 250 and a Reef octo 250 dual pump both rated at the 2500/3000L, 4x300w Jager heaters and 2 chillers. Good luck, a very exciting adventure ahead.
 
Thanx Alan so then a open top it is with suspended lights in a custom made housing my system i have now is a open top just do alot of toping up. Ok so then i should skim after the water leaves the main tank and then from there into the first sump the dsb therefore out sump skimmer. Alan ill be keeping allsorts soft corals and sps with fish.Ill have the sps more to the top of the reef im gonna build where the current flow will be at its strongest and the softies to the lower part of the tank with less current but for now im workin on design and hardware required and cost.Theres quite alot of work to be done in the house before i can start building the tank our garage is being converted into a dinning room so all the wet work has to be done first and all this is being started in about 2 weeks .And wat size sump for dsb
 
In my experience the softies need quite a bit of flow as well. It is the LPS's that prefer lower flow. In a mixed system flow becomes a nightmare. I have now lost 2 of my LPS, that did so well in the older tank, since moving to the new tank. All due to excessive flow.

As for the size of the DSB, the bigger you can make it the better. As far as sump and DSB go, always go the biggest you can afford/fit in. The extra water volume is an advantage.
 
I agree with Hill here, softies do need a high flow, in the wild its actually the softies and the SPS that compete for space on the same reef zones, the LPS are normally from calmer waters. I have a 1.9m sump with a DSB and a 1.2m as a refugium with another DSB and Caulerpa. Your skimmer can be in sump or external depending on the space available. I never liked the in sump skimmers as i thought they were not as efficient as external, i have changed my mind over the last year or so.
 
Mako sounds like this will be a stunner - IMO you would be better off going 850 - 950 wide, would not cost too much more and will be better in the long run. I'm sure most will agree that they would love and extra 15cm-20cm width.
 
Wanna also tag on for the pics...
 
The tank will be made out of 12mm glass i wish i could go wider but i cant. The corner bath is about 300lt or so havnt messured yet.Guys hang in for the pics theyl come shortly , ill be takin pics of the area that is bein renovated over the weekend which isnt much but a garage , im really exited about this project and im gonna be doin it better this time round.Im estimating around about a 2000lt system here .When this is up and runnin ill be sellin my old tank. Does ne1 know if you can get submersibile lighting i wanna put them in the corner bath with the lr and calupera and fish and ne suggestions on wat fish to put in the corner bath i was thinkin some butterflys moorish and jumpin beans as there will be no corals in there mabe a angel or two
 
just remember with bigger water volumes come bigger water changes often the thing that can make or break the most well thought out system....

good luck kev this is going to be another asset to the E.L reefkeeping community....
 
Hey les wat size was that tank u build at the pet shop
 
ok heres my pumps im gonna use .Speck pumps 9000ltp/h x 3 two for reurn and one for closed loop piping will be 50mm dia some other changes will be that the dsb will go into the corner bath and the tank first in line from main display will only be a refugium with all the skimmers in there from there to corner bath and then return to main display. Skimmers will be 1 x reeftek ts4 and 2x berlin triple pass
 
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Tom said:
Looking good.. Have you planned for a auto topup? Its very easy to make.
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Thanx tom yes i wanna run auto top up with linked ro unit if u can can you please give drawing or a pic of homemade top up that is neat thanx
 
Mako said:
Thanx tom yes i wanna run auto top up with linked ro unit if u can can you please give drawing or a pic of homemade top up that is neat thanx
Click to expand...
Ask ShaneW to help you. We can get a float switch in PE at Cosmotronix LSA-34-1/2 For R45.60 incl VAT. Then use a 12V supply and a small 12V relay to switch on a pump that runs in the RO. It works really well. ;)
 
looking at urs it looks like it is neat and tidy thats definitely going in thanx
 
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