[innovativecreations]

Hello everyone. I have been on this forum for a little while. I have not been as active as I would like, due to a break in my internet connectivity, and time constraints, but I'm back now! I know this is the best place to find the REAL pro's, and EXPERT opinions.

Anyways, I currently have a 65Gal setup. Running since August 2006. Nothing crazy, but it works OK.

My current setup consists of:
65 Gal glass tank & steel stand. (No hood)
Flourescent lighting (not Power compact)
2 skimmer filters.
1 Fluval 404 canister filter.
Undergravel filter with 2 powerheads (1 on each side of the tank)
Battery Backup system, 5 days worth of power.
~40Lbs of live rock.
Mostly damsels. 10 blue leg hermet crabs, couple of bumblebee snails, a sand starfish, and other little stuff.
Pic here: http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o...Picture169.jpg

I recently came across an AMAZING deal, and couldn't pass it up. $200 cash, here's what I got:
Pics of everything below...

90Gal Glass tank, VERY minor scratches along inside bottom (where gravel is).
Tank is drilled, and has 2 pipes coming out of back of the tank, one with ball valve..
Wooden stand with matching hood.
25Gal glass Refugium tank below.
Wet Dry filter, with bio balls and media.
Protein Skimmer.
Large UV Sterilizer AQUA Brand, 15 Watts.
Mag drive pump with an external check valve.. (I think 450Gph).
Large powerhead.
~75 Lbs of Live rock. (dry)
PICS:
Tank: http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o...Delete/042.jpg
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o...Delete/048.jpg
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o...Delete/047.jpg

Filter: http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o...Delete/043.jpg
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o...Delete/044.jpg

UV Sterilizer: http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o...Delete/045.jpg
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o...Delete/046.jpg


So... I will be moving soon (20 days or so), and would love to use this NEW setup in our new place. But.. I am a relatively inexperienced reefkeeper, and need help with all of this. I will be transferring all the crushed coral and live rock into the new tank, minus the undergravel filter. What I need to know is what the best way to set up the rest of the system is. You know what I have... listed above. I can use any of the existing parts, and any of the newly purchased parts as well. I would like to have the most maintenance free system I can (don't we all), and am unsure of the best way to plumb everything, and which filters to use, and which not to. I do not know the PROPER way to setup the refuge filter, so I will need direction there. I will be purchasing a NEW Power compact 48" lighting fixture, but need to know which to buy as well. I don't plan on keeping an extensive array of corals, but would like the tank to have as much visual appeal as I can afford.

So I'm up for opinions / suggestions. I'll let you guys help me get this all ready to go and setup. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them. I will do my best to check this forum at LEAST once a day. My email address is mytintguy@aol.com. I can be reached there quickly. Thanks in advance for all the help everyone!

Matt

[glampka]

Flattery will get you nowhere!!
This will be a long 1 & I'll address a few issues here & then let others pipe in as well.
#1 - Don't use the crushed coral with the new set-up. That stuff went out a long time ago. Use a sand bottom. Put your rock in first & then back fill with the sand. That way if you have burrowing fish the rocks won't come tumbling down. No UG filter as well. They suck all the dirt into the bottom of the tank. Wouldn't use the Fluval. They become nitrate factories since people rarely clean them enough.
#2 - Plumb the water to flow from the overflows to the sump. Protein skimmer should go in the 1st section of the sump. Don't use the bioballs. They also become nitrate factories. Use live rock rubble instead for filtration. Might want to consider getting a larger return pump. 450 gallon isn't big enough for a 90. You want to turn the tank volume over a minimum of 10 times/hour.
3. Lights - try Aquatraders. They have some very reasonably priced units. Have read a number of good things about them lately. It all depends on what you plan on keeping. You won't be able to keep the high light demanding corals or clams using PC light.
Hope that helps.

[NATIVEVAMAN]

I am with glamka on this one. Plus ill add my two cents worth (because that is what its worth lol) Power compacts make a lot of light but it doesnt gt to the bottom of the tank where you want it, the reflectors are not to good and they run to hot to maintain long bulb life. Have a look at t 5 lighting,smaller bulbs and great reflectors put more light in the bottom of the tank, and there operating temp is only 95 degrees.Check out this web site and if you are handy at all you can get a 48 inch 4 bulb t 5 system at a very good price.

[NATIVEVAMAN]

OH....and if you get a system that has ice cap balasts you can get 85 watt bulbs instead of the standard 54 watts

[NATIVEVAMAN]

geeehttp://www.diyreef.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=55 _89&products_id=456eeeez. .......I forgot the link to th lights......

[innovativecreations]

The undergravel filter is NOT going into the new tank. It's not big enough anyways...

I definetly like the look of sand better vs. crushed coral. However, without using the existing crushed coral, I will not be getting the benefits of any of the bacteria that has been breeding and growing in it for the past 8 months. Is that a big deal? I would like to not have to wait for the tank to COMPLETELY cycle all over again like it is a brand new setup. I will be using my existing water, and live rock, is that enough to boost the new setup into action quicker if I were to buy new sand?

How many Lbs of sand would you recommend for this new tank?

I won't use the Fluval, it's true, it's outta sight, and I don't clean it enough...

I can easily pull the bio-balls from the sump. Should I use small pieces of Live Rock in there instead? What else goes in there? You say the protein skimmer goes in the first section of the sump... What do you mean, where?

I can surely get a larger mag drive pump, I guess 1000Gph would be recommended, correct? I also need a light fixture for the sump. What do you recommend?
I searched Aquatraders. I think I'll take the advice to stay away from PC lighting because of the heat. I am wondering which is better, T5 or T6 fixtures? I found this one on there for $99. 48" 216W (4-54 watt) Quad T6 Fluorescent Light Fixture (W/B) - 506041 Is that a good fixture? Seems kinda cheap in price. Can I use the Ice Cap Ballasts in that fixture with the 85 Watt bulbs? If so, thats an easy way to go. I could just build a fixture, thats easy enough for me to do. Which way would you recommend?

Thanks!

[NATIVEVAMAN]

There is a big debate about the efficiency of t 5 reflectors going on now.tek lite (sunlite supply) seems to be a distant second best. The tek lite also gets bad reviews for reflector stains that cant be removed.Other manufacturers are so bad they dont get mentioned in the debate.
The winner hands down is the ice cap slr(single lamp reflector).The consensous here is that the Ice Cap reflector is the best on the american market.
If you go back to the diy site you can see a tek lit retro kit. the ballast in it is a long thin thing. I dont think the ice cap ballast will fit in a tek lite system since that ballast is in both diy and factory made fixtures.The ice cap ballast is shorter thicker and wider .Also tek lite adds always say "famous make' ballast.I find that scarey.
All this tells me that if I want the best fixture on the market I will have to build it.
It is my personal opinion that these diy fixtures will equal or surpass MH in performance without the heat.
The currnt acceptable minimum for return flow is 10X the the tank capacjty with many opting for 20 and 30X. Just dont make the return pump so large it sucks the sump dry lol.
A lot of reefers are useing simple reflecters and 50 to 75 watt 6700k flood lite bulbs from lowes. If algea growth is the plan you could do that with a flash light lol.Remember to run your sump lighting only when your main tank lights are off.
I am sure there are those who will disagree with me ........but I have to tell you the same thing I told my sweety. The only time I ever made a mistake was when I thought I had made a mistake lol.

[glampka]

Sorry - should've taken a look at the pictures of your sump. The sump you have doesn't have any sections. If you stay with that design you won't need a light on your sump since you have no place to set up refugium. Take a look at this site - great info on sumps Melevsreef.com | Acrylic Sumps & Refugiums
Pumps ratings are given at a certain "head" - the distance from the pump up to the tank. You need to figure out how high you need to pump the water back to the display tank & then figure out how many 90 degree bends you'll have. Each bend is equal to adding an additional foot to the head distance. Just like native says you don't want the sump going dry. It looks like you have 2- 1 inch pipes leading from the overflow which should be good for probably 1000-1200 gallons/hour of flow out of the tank.

[innovativecreations]

I am still wondering which are better, T5 or T6? Also, how many bulbs should I build into the hood? 4, 6, 8? Should I try to incorporate Metal Halide lighting into the hood as well? I can easily install fans to cool the lighting in the hood, I have a few spare high velocity 12V computer fans laying around, they're easy to wire, and relatively quiet and vibration free.

I am looking into building a sump / refugium for this setup. I like Melvsreefs site, but there are just SOOO many different ways to build a sump. I am not sure which design and which size is best to build. Any suggestions?

Also, where should the flow coming out of the protein skimmer dump into?

Also, where do I put the UV Sterilizer? I am not sure where to plumb this in.

I may be mistaking on the GPH of the pump I have, it says "model 7 utility pump e160713, 8c99" on the sticker on the side. Anyone have a clue how many GPH this is supposed to pump? Yes I have 2 - 1" pipes coming out of the overflow.

[NATIVEVAMAN]

T 5 refers to th diameter of the bulb 5/8 and I believe T 6 is 3/4 while T12 is 1.5.
I know of no current use of T 6 bulbs in aquarium applications.That doesnt mean it cant be done.
I am not a great fan of metal halide because of the heat factor. I have a set of 175 watt 14k's that sound like a vw idleing in my living room. Yeah they are old lol.I also am setting up a 65 g tank and considered them for it, but when the choice is a nice new set of t 5 vho's or a chiller I am going to opt for the t 5. I dont see the need for 8 bulbs on a 65 g tank but its a matter of choice. with vho t 5 4 may be enough and 6 certainly is. With ho i think i would go for 6. Unless your tank is over 18 inch's wid I dont think 8 will fit.
For the fuge on my 65 g I am going to use a 40 g breeder tank for the sump and rubber maid container of 10 g for the fuge.I will have to build a slightly oversized stand for this and my auto top off to fit.My fuge will gravity fed from a t in the drain line from the over flow and will drain via gravity directly to the back of the return pump avoiding the loss of pods to the skimmer and othe things that will run in my sump like carbon and phosphate filters.
I do plan on having a uv steralizer. I also am going to have a deep sand bed (dsb).The continuous use of uv may be detrimental to a dsb so my use of uv will be restricted to a few hours a day maybe 2 or less.
The flow from the skimmer will go right back into the sump. Since there is little to no pressure comming out of the skimmer there isnt much else you can do.
My plan for the sump would be. About 1/2 of the left side of the sump will be for skimmers and other filters.the right half will be for 3 to 4 under over baffles to remove bubbles. These will be filled with live rock rubble. and the far right end will be the return pump.My return pump will not be in the water at all,its a heat issue.If my tank needs heat ill let a heater do it.There will be 3 small pumps in the sump with the skimmer for carbon,phosphate and uv, but there heat output will be less than 10 watts while the return pump could be as much as 100 watts.
I have no clue what your return pump might be.I just looked at the pump section of this site and found none with the #7 in it.
As for the computer fans, I am sure they wont be enough if you decide to go with metal halide.For 45$'s you can get the temp controlled ice cap fans and work your way down from there.Im not sure I would protect my investment with a computer fan,I dont see the cfm being very high on these.

[innovativecreations]

Sounds like the best lighting choice for this setup will be a 4 or 6 bub T6 fixture. I found this one
48" 216W (4-54 watt) Quad T6 Fluorescent Light Fixture (W/B) - 506041
For a hundred bucks. Is this a good fixture or not??? I can't find a T5 fixture. T6 is "High Output". I can build a fixture for less, and will probably do that. For about $100 I can build a 6 bulb T6 fixture.
I think I will be making the sump into a refuge as well. I may just build one from scratch, they seem pretty easy and straightforward. Since I have 2 1" pipes coming out the back of the tank, I think I will build the sump/refuge with this setup...
Skimmer---> Return <---Refuge.
This way I can easily control the flow rate into the refuge with the inline ball valve, and it will be completely gravity fed... the rest of the water will go into the skimmer side.
Would it be smart to get an additional return pump, instead of just one huge one? I was thinking that with 2 return pumps both pulling water from the same return section of the sump, I could plumb their lines separate, and have 2 discharges in the tank, and create more flow. Also, I thought it would be best that way because even if one pump fails, there is a second pump there anyways. Sound like a good idea?
The computer fans I have are HIGH OUTPUT 120mm fans that push 63CFM a piece. Newegg.com - APEVIA CF12SL-UBL 120mm Blue LED Case Fan - Retail I'm sure they'll do the job. They are virtually silent in comparison to many fans on the market, especially for the amount of air they move.
I'm moving the 15th of May, so the setup will be done that day. It will take priority over all else. Last to go, first to set up. Then the computers will be set up, and I'll post some pics of how I set it up.
Thanks for the help, if anyone else has some ideas, I'm all ears!!!

[Taras1]

I've got the Orbit Extreme 48" 8 54w T-5 setup and love it. So does my pink Birds Nest Coral (SPS).