advice on tank build

[danny]

I need some advice on if I should have a tank drilled for a close loop.
Paul (Kimoyo) will be building me a 24X24X24 cube tank. The tank will have only 2 mated true percs plus RBTA. Will also be a mixed reef tank.
Should I also drill a closed looped because I have a concern that with powerheads the RBTA might get sucked into the powerheads, does that possiblity also exist with a closed loop set-up?

thanks,

danny

 

[Deanos]

Any hole with suction presents a danger to an anemone.

 

[Wes]

what deanos said...as a solution you could put one of those foam things on the suction side

 

[danny]

closed loop

Thanks Deanos & Wes. My options would be powerheads with screen, closed loop with some type of screen or to get flow possibly a water pump say with a flow of 600-1000 gph. tank would be approx. 60 gal.

 

[House of Laughter]

Danny,

A CL for a cube with clowns and an anemone is a waste if you ask me. unless you plan to convert the tank to mixed reef or sps reef in the future, I think a CL is overkill - you should be able to satisfy your flow needs with return and internal supplementation.

House

 

[danny]

closed loop

Hi! Jim so pump & power head should be enough.

O.K. no closed loop.

 

[House of Laughter]

I would think so - if you were looking at John's (latino's) tank that we plumbed, you'll see the difference as he has a full blown reef.

I would think you could satisfy your needs with return pump and internal flow. Another option is that if you decide to use a closed loop to balance out the flow - meaning making it more distributed, you could size down the pump so the intake wouldn't be as much of a problem and have less flow but more disbursed

make sense?

House

 

[danny]

closed loop

Jim I like the second option because if in the future I decide to change to a full blown reef there would not be a problem. I also like that there would be no powerheads in the tank. I will go closed loop & have 2 water pumps with less gph.

 

[House of Laughter]

just make sure you have the holes drilled to accomodate a larger pump and then reduce the bulkheads with reducers to accommodate the smaller, less flow pump - good luck and let's see some pics - tell paul i said hello

J

 

[danny]

closed loop

Thanks Jim, I guess Paul will know what you are talking about.

 

[House of Laughter]

make sure he drills the holes for 1" schedule 80 bulkheads. make sure you use threaded to threaded bulkheads - this way you can use threaded reducer bushing to connect the smaller pump. most largr flow pumps use 3/4 or 1" outputs - exception being the reeflo series which use 2" inlet on the pump and 1.5" outlet on the pump/

house

 

[latino277]

Hey Danny, I would def go with the closed loop. Just us a smaller pump, Like what jim stated. if you would like, take a look at the link in my sig. Jim hooked me up with the closed loop.

 

[danny]

closed loop

thanks guys. John I will check out your tank. I think closed loop is the way to go.

 

[danny]

acrylic tank

Here's the tank specs:

30X24X24 with a rear overflow. Jim I will have the 1 inch holes drilled by Paul. Since I want a closed loop, I would need 2 holes drilled just for the loop correct & Paul said his overflow has 2 drains & 1 return. The second drain as a backup just in case the first drain get clogged (i.e.by a snail.)
So I would need 5 holes drilled correct. Am I missing anything .

Danny

 

[kimoyo]

Hey Danny,

After we finalized the size yesterday I decided to do a drawing so you could see the external overflow.



Do you know how much flow is going thru the overflow and is there a specific overflow size? Thanks!

 

[artie1209]

I thing a species tank will be awesome. Why not a larger return pump with a Scud on it to create alternating currents. Less holes less potential for problems. If you put sponges on intake screens you have to clean them all the time. You don?t want too much flow for clowns anyway. I haven't used the wave2k that may be a fit or a "carlson surge" if it is not in your living room. google it you will find lits of suggestions.

 

[masterswimmer]

Danny, you might want to consider more than just one return from the closed loop. One of the advantages of having the CL is the ability to add more returns and direct the flow to the areas that might experience dead spots (like behind your rock work).

swimmer

 

[danny]

tank build

The tank is going to hold 2 mated true percs & RBTA, plus some acans, polyps & a monticap. Not too many SPS. I currently have a mag 5, I guess I would use either the mag 5 or a new pump for the closed loop. The tank volume would be about 68 gals. I guess another pump rated @ 300-600 gph. Hope this helps Paul.

Danny