how many powerheads

does any1 have any idea as to how many powerheads i will need for a 60" 125gallon reef tank

;D

 

What do you plan on keeping in the tank? SPS, LPS, Softies, Fish Only?
What type of rockwork scheme are you going to have?
How much flow from the return pump?
Any type of CLS on the tank?

In the end, the answer is "Enough to provide the flow you need". Its a bit of a useless answer but it depends on so many other things. If I said 6 powerheads along the lines of a MJ1200 Modded to 2000 gph, and arranged in a circular pattern. One in each corner, one in the center of the tank front and back. If you go with 6 and order 6 Koralia 8'es and put in that configuration, you would possibly blow the silicone seams off a tank. Conversely, if it was suggested to use 4 Koralia 4'es and you used 4 Maxijet 1200's plain stock, you wouldn't have near enough flow. And, the rockwork makes a difference. The more open the rockwork, the easier to keep everything moving. A 125 with an arch in it is a lot easier to do flow in than a 125 with a solid wall across the back of the tank.

 

well im planning on keeping inverts and maybe sps and others but not to sure as yet.
the ruturn pump ive been thinking of has 790gph flow rate or would you recommend a high flow rate on the pump as im also going to be using a wet dry trickle filter

 

Skip the wet dry trickle filter on a reef tank. They turn into nitrate factories if not properly maintained. Personally, the 790 sounds about right for the sump, and don't include that number in your "in-tank" flow number. Meaning, if you want 5,000 gph turnover in your display, don't count the 790 from the return. Most people recommend 30-50X tank volume turnover in the display. At 30X, that puts you at ~3700gph in the display. If you went to 50, you would be looking at ~6000 gph. I know of a 125 (currently broken down) that had almost 12,000 gph in the display which is close to 100X turnover.

With it being a 5' tank, I would start with 4 power heads. Something like a Koralia3 or 4 or a MaxiJet1200 with a Mod Kit on it. See how your tank reacts. There is no golden rule that says "put this many in this place" as each tank is totally different. Then start watching for "dead spots" in the tank. Places where detritus settles or you don't see a lot of water movement. You will need to adjust the powerheads to kill those dead spots.

Whether you have sand in the bottom will also affect water movement patterns as well.

My 90 had 4 Maxijet 1200 Mods in it. Almost 8500 gph and it was a softie tank. But then again, I have been told I tend to over do things at times. I ended up taking 2 back out, it was just way too much flow for the zoos/mushrooms. When I filled the left side of the tank with rock (it was literally fully stacked in half the tank), I went back to 4 MJ'es and wish I had had more to keep the water moving through the rocks.

 

so what would you recommend for a filter as im just starting out and new to this hobby and want to do things right, im thinking dry base rock with some live rock, live sand bed. fish and corals i have my lighting sorted already just not to sure on the rest at this moment if you could help this would be much appreciated

 

Is your tank drilled? I assume it is. Order a 33G Long tank. You can get one from glasscages.com for 65 dollars or so plus shipping. If you ask, your LFS may be able to get one at the same cost or a little more/less. Its the same length and width as a 55 gallon tank, just not as tall. A 55 is 21 tall, the 33 is only 13 tall. Makes it a lot easier to work in the tank. That would be your sump tank. Then add baffles to it. Where and how many depends on your display tank and how many drains it has. You can set it up so that you have the water come in one end, the return pump in the other. Or, have water drain into both ends of the sump and the return pump in the middle. They both have there advantages and disadvantages.

Get the sump tank (33G tank), then put your skimmer in one end of it. You will then put your baffles a few inches away to give you some working room with the skimmer. The drain from the tank will go into this compartment. The first set of baffles would be bubble traps so that the bubbles from the skimmer get trapped.
That is a sump at its simplest. You can add more baffles if you need more, or leave them out. I always try to leave the area with the return pump in it as large as I possibly can. The reason is that when the water evaporates from the system, that is where it shows up at. It lowers the water level in the return pump compartment. The more water in that compartment, the longer it can go without having a bad effect on the pump (running dry).

As far as in the tank, I would start with dry base rock. About 50 pounds or so. Then start stacking it. Get it arranged the way you like it. If it looks fine with 50, thats all you need. If you end up needing more, you can get more. But do NOT try go for some magical "pounds per gallon" rule as thats a myth in and of itself.

You can then add a few pieces of LR if you want. And when you add corals to it, you will be adding more rubble to it.

Good luck and ask questions if I left anything out you wanted to know.

 

what are baffles im new to this hobby, and what protein skimmer would you recommend and also pump could i not get an external one instead of submersable

 

A baffle is nothing but a divider in the sump. Thats all it is.

More than you will probably ever want to know about sumps:
Melevsreef.com | Acrylic Sumps & Refugiums
The Ocean Runner 6500 pump, it depends By itself, its a bit too much flow unless you ran a split sump with drains to each end with the return pump in the middle. Even then it may be too much. With a single drain, you could put a gate valve on it and T it off to run a phosban reactor, a carbon reactor, or a calicum reactor if you ever decided to run one.

Going to make two drawings and post them in a little bit. One is what I call a split sump, the other would be a standard sump.

 

ok i think i would go with the standard sump what flow rate would you recommend and were would you put the heaters in the sump

 

I would put the heater in the sump, just to keep from seeing them in the main display tank. And an Ocean Runner 3500 would be about perfect for the return pump.

No scale to these drawings at all.

Standard, single line sump diagram:



Water in one end, out the other.

Split sump:



Water in both ends, out the middle. The green would be your drain lines, the purty pink box would be your return pump.