Yet another Newbie

Hi,

Mark from Houston here. NASA Engineer by day. Learning to set up a Reef Tank by night. Thank God for helpful communities like this with experienced folks willing to help. So, thanks in advance.

Overview of my current set up.

55 gal Display tank.
40 gal Sump/Refuge
Quiet a bit of Live Rock.
Protein Skimmer in the Sump

First question : Lighting
48" 4 ft Metal Halide HQI T5 HO Marine Reef Light 716W - eBay (item 110458180313 end time Dec-15-09 14:25:43 PST)

What do you think of this light for the display tank??
Supports 2x 250W HQI FC2 lamps
Supports 4x 54W T5 HO lamps
Supports 6x dual Bluemoon LED

Second question : Sump Set Up
Current sump is a just water flow... nothing in there but the pump and protein skimmer as a temporary set up.

For 40 gal that I am setting up as the permanent sump/refuge, I need some help.

First chamer where overflow from the display tank enters will have protein skimmer and water heater. Plan is for water to go over a baffle into refugium area.

Second chamber will be refuge. I was thinking Miracle Mud and macro algae in this chamber. But I have read so much that I have gotten confused as to what to put in this area.

Plan is for water to go over a baffle, under one baffle, and back over one more to pump area. Intent is to form a bubble trap to minimize pumping bubbles back into the tank.


Sump Question #1 : Is that the right set up??
Sump Question #2 : What do I put in the Refuge Section?
Sump Question #3 : Does the pump baffle/bubble trap baffles eed to be somewhat lower than the first section or can they all be the same height?

Final section is the pump which leads to the next question.

Circulation Rate for the pump?

I read 10-20 times DT volume. So I bought a 1000GPH pump. It should arrive in a few days. Was that a good choice? Overkill? For returning the water to the display tank I built a PVC "fan" to spread out the returning water along the entire back wall of the DT behind the Live Rock wall.

Circulation Rate Question : Does that sound good??

What else should I be asking that I am not? I am open to suggestions, just trying to do a "first class job" and do it right the first time.

Sorry for the long post. Any help much appreciated.

Mark

 

I've been at this hobby for about a year and a half, so I'm a noob as well. However, if you wanna start with a "first class job" then check out some of the new LED fixtures coming out soon. There's been a few of them posted here on 3reef. Might be worth it.

 

the light fixture you are looking at is 18 inches wide and your tank is probably 12 or so.

 

also a newbie so dont take my advice as law:

sump setup sounds good, the second baffle can be the same height or shorter dont think it matters, just keep mind that the baffles are to set the water level, so assuming your sump flow is left to right the water level to the left of the baffle is going to always be at LEAST the height of the baffle.

Keep the return section big, this is where water level fluctuations do to evaporation is going to happen

definitely dont quote me on this one but i think flow rate through the sump should be 3-5 times the sumps volume. The overall flow of tank should be 10-20 times the DT (this includes sump powerheads, skimmer, ect...)

good luck

 

oh yeah, forgot. flow through the refugium should be pretty low. so you may want to put the return section in the middle, so you can slow down the flow through the fuge.

 

Yeah, I saw that on the light. Tank is 16" wide. Light is 18". I was going to build an adapter or hang it because I haven't found other lights that gave that density. When I drop down to a smaller lamp I give up a lot of watts.

I'll get a smaller pump for the refuge to slow it down and use the 1000GPH for circulation in the display. Certainly shouldn't need any other powerheads.

Thanks

 

wow its 16" wide. Are you sure its a 55 gallon DT, I have a 55 and it is 12.5" wide.

 

It appears I am getting tired. I stand corrected. My 40gal sump is 15" deep. The 55gal DT is 13". Oops, sorry about that.

Thanks for catching me on that.

I did find these lights at widths of 8.2" amd 4.5"
http://shop.aquatraders.com/Odyssea-48in-500W-Metal-Halide-System-p/54224.htm

http://shop.aquatraders.com/Odyssea-48in-2x65W-Power-Compact-Light-Fixture-p/51105.htm

Looks like tell fit without mods and don't give up a whole lot.

Your thoughts??

Mark

 

I thought so, but anyway i wouldnt buy odyssea, they are not so good i here.

48" Current USA Nova Extreme T5 HO 4 x 54 watt with 4 Lunar Lights - SaltySupply.com

This unit is a 4 bulb but they also make a 6 bulb, you just have to find it. the price is pretty good so i would go with something like this.

 

This is great, actually being able to exchange ideas rather than just reading and reading.

What about the refuge? What do I put in there??

Thanks much,
M