Setting up new 58 reef

[reefatic]

Hello all,
I am setting up a new oceanic 58 and have a couple of questions. The way the tank is going to be set up is for 3 sided viewing with the overflow on one end. I am going to run the reef down the center of the tank with a lot of caves through the reef. I am considering either a hood with VHO or open top with a single 250 watt halide and 2 x 55 watt PC actinics. I would prefer the halide set-up, but cost and heat issues may need to be considered. Here are the questions: How many pounds of sand will I need to have a decent sand bed? Will a 10 gallon suffice for a sump? Will a Mag 7 produce enough flow as a return pump? How do you cover the intakes of your powerheads?

Thanks and have a good one.

 

[Super Len]

You'll neeed 100-140 pounds of fine sand to create a 4" sand bed.

A 10 gallon will suffice for a sump, but the bigger the better. I would recommend you go with a 20 gallon tall or bigger. The main concern I have is that the 10 gallon may not be able to accomadate the excess water from the overflow/tank if the power should go out. Besides, additional water volume is always nice.

A Mag 7 will perform fine, but again, a larger pump will serve you better. Consider a Mag 9 instead. Note: Your overflow piping diameteter should be no less then 1".

I'm not quite sure what you mean by covering powerhead intakes. If you're talking about strainers, buy Maxijet powerheads; they come with strainer attachments. You can not completely cover the intake of powerheads.

 

[reefatic]

That answers most of my questions. The main issue with powerheads is my experience in the past is with hagen powerheads with quickfilters, and I did not want to do that again. I have heard a lot of good things about Maxijets, so I will go with these. Thanks

 

[Anonymous]

Our Sand Calculator says 120-140 pounds for 4" - 160-180 for 5" in a 36x18 footprint tank.

For an Oceanic 58 gallon I would consider an open top and either a 400W pendant or dual 175's dual 250's but it depends on the animals you want to keep. 4 VHO's close to the water would likely suffice as well. A single 250 would have to be suspended a good 10" over the tank and you'd still get some shadows from light fall-off. For more even distribution dual MH would work much better. Heat should not be a factor with the MH at all especially if you use a PFO hood or pendant.

On that small of a tank if you went with a Mag 9.5 for a return pump it would be highly unlikely you'll need any powerheads in the tank at all - but buy maxijets like Leonard said.

The 10 gallon will suffice I've had to use them on single overflow AGA tanks before and they can handle the freewater. On an oceanic you may need to play with the overflow plumbing a bit or use a durso pipe and play around. The other problem with the 10 gallon is it restricts the size of a skimmer you may want. On that tank I'd suggest an Aqua C EV-120 and that will be difficult to use in a 10 gallon, a 15 gallon or 20L would be a better choice IMO.

 

[reefatic]

The issue is always money, of course. I think I am going to attempt 1 250 watt Iwasaki, and 2 03 55 watt PC in a DIY pendant. There will be some darker areas at either end, but that will be a low light area for softies, while anything with high-light requirements can go in the middle. I like the idea of the 9.5 Mag, powerhead placement is an issue in this set-up. Now to find someone with Southdown, and look for an r/o.