Another TOTAL NEWBIE post.. set up questions.

Discussion in 'New To The Hobby' started by Katie Dice, Feb 6, 2016.

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  1. Katie Dice

    Katie Dice Plankton

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    Hi everyone, my name is Katie and I am completely new to marine aquariums (although my father has been in the hobby for years). I am just starting to gather things for a reef tank set up. I will be running a 46 gal bowfront with a 20 gal eshopps rs100 sump and overflow box, and reef octopus rw110 skimmer. This is all I've got so far. I am not setting up tank for a few months until after we move, but I am looking to purchase everything I need before the move.

    Here is where all my questions come into play that I could really use advice for. First, the sump I bought did not come with a return pump. I started researching return pumps today and found myself researching all day and still no closer to figuring out which return pump I should purchase. Many people say the higher the better (5-10x), then some say lower (3-5x).. I am absolutely clueless. Then I learned about the DC return pumps that you can adjust the speeds and that peaked my interest, but again, I am lost on what will be best for the tank. Return pump to tank will be about a 5' height.

    Second, lights... I plan on just having a few clowns, lps's and soft corals. Would I be okay to run a Odyessa T5 High Output with timer?

    Lastly (doubtful lol), what am I missing? Any other necessities? Tank, stand, sump, overflow box, sump, return pump, lights, skimmer..... I know I am forgetting something... powerhead maybe?

    Thank you in advance for any help that you guys can give me, I swear I pick up things fast and I'm SO ANXIOUS to jump into the hobby!
     
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  3. Swisswiss

    Swisswiss Caribbean Reef Squid

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    the return pump should match your overflow capablity, its better to have a SLIGHTLY stronger pump and reduce its return flow with a ball valve on the return line....

    hopefully some one with actual hands down exp on that light fixture you mentioned can give you a more specific answer but at first impression I would say it would work great! how many t5 tubes does it hold 4-5?

    power heads are must in the display, they are essential in bringing nutrients to corals and more importantly, they play a key role in gas exchange. you want them pointing in a manner that slightly agitates the surface of the water.

    also, keep in mind its better to have several small pumps pointing in different direction that one large pump doing all the work. with several small pumps you create a more random flow in your water column and thats what youre trying to aim for.

    are you going to use a deep sand bed? if so i suggest making a really thick one in your sump (10 cm at least) if you do some research you will see that some sumps are actually really cool and can be set up in a manner to be mini display tanks as well as efficient natural filters for you DT

    welcome on board!!!! this is a hobby where you never stop learning and thats exactly what makes it so cool and interesting
     
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  4. Katie Dice

    Katie Dice Plankton

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    What type of pump would you recommend? I was looking at DC pumps but then again I have read that some say the DC pumps are bad. I know our overflow is the matching one for our sump...

    the lights hold 4 bulbs, two 10,000k and 2 blue atinics, and 4 led lights. My thought as we though, was that those should work. I can add moon lights also is I would like.

    I am doing sand bed but I do not want too deep of a sand bed, my dad has learned the hard way with that one. He has a sand digging goby that makes an ansolute mess of sand and it really takes up too much of his tank.
     
  5. Swisswiss

    Swisswiss Caribbean Reef Squid

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    I recommend a pump that works! I personally use eheim but thats because im here in Europe but at the end of the day a pump is a pump.... when you say your overflow is the matching one for your sump do you know how many gallon/liters per hour it sucks down to your sump? thats the number that you'll need to buy a return pump with... for example my tunze overflow is rated 1200l/h with the two "U" tube siphons. and my Ehiem pump is rated at 1200l/h...once you have those numbers you can look around for a pump you like and research reviews on it...the internet is a ruthless place.....

    keep in mind head pressure loss. the more the return line is long the more it will lower your pumps out-put rate. hence why its better to have a return pump slightly more powerful than your overflow rating and then reduce it with a ball valve if needed...

    in regards to the light, again im not familiar with that particular model but if it has two plugs (one for the antics and one for the normal bulbs) then you can set them on timers that turn the antics ON around 30"-1h before your normal bulbs turn on and OFF 1h-2h after they have turned off....

    personally I dont think leaving a light source on over you fish tank at all times is a good thing, but thats speculation on my behalf...I like to think fish need rest and absolute darkness to properly sleep....

    sand shifting gobies can be messy and WILL bury corals placed on the sand bed...the paradox is that if you intend on keeping a sand shiftier goby then you need to provide a very large sand bed. they will exterminate the micro fauna present in the sand bed and eventually starve if the sand bed isnt deep enough or if the tank is to small....a refugium sump will "help" replenish the sand bed but I still would not recommend it....furthermore, like mandarins, they would need to be introduced a while after the tank has "matured" insuring that there is an abundant source of micro fauna present in the sand bed....

    Im a huge fan of deep sand bends and the natural filtration/habitat they create and offer... so I would strongly recommend you consider a deep deep sand bend in your sump/refugium....
     
    Last edited: Feb 7, 2016
  6. Katie Dice

    Katie Dice Plankton

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    Okay, I have a Eshopps PF-800 overflow box. Supposedly Gph is about 800?
     
  7. Swisswiss

    Swisswiss Caribbean Reef Squid

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    that means depending on how much vertical climb your return line has to do i would go for a 800-900GPH return pump
     
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  9. Katie Dice

    Katie Dice Plankton

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    Okay, I'm seriously thinking about a Jebao DC4000? Like that the flow can be adjustable and has the feeder mode.
     
  10. Swisswiss

    Swisswiss Caribbean Reef Squid

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    Im not sure but I fear that would be over kill no?.... you need to keep in mind you want a pump that can drop below your over flow rate....if you have a pump who at minim capacity still pumps 1000GPH and your overflow can only suck down 800 then your going to have an issue.... Ideally you want a pump that runs just lower than 800GPH but is capable of pumping up to 900 should there be a need....see what im saying?
     
  11. Katie Dice

    Katie Dice Plankton

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    Completely understand, so stick to the dc3000 then.
     
  12. Swisswiss

    Swisswiss Caribbean Reef Squid

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    sorry my past post was actually a little confusing, if you limit the flow with a ball valve you can pretty much control the flow to drops if needed so you can go for that 4000 one if you really like it... honestly iv never "tweeked" a return pump using the provided controller so cant really help there hopefully someone with more experience and better plumbing skills than me will chim in.... dont want to be responsible for you buying a wrong pump