questions regarding 210g reef

[seamonkey]

This is from a larger post in tank threads, no one seems to be reading it, so i thought i'd post just the questions here:

1. How much sand for a 210g?
2. What is a good amount of liverock to start a cycle with in that size tank? Or what is the MINIMUM we can use? We have 100lbs in our 75g, but didn't plan on adding that until the new tank is cycled.
**And just a stupid question here, can we use any part of the liverock from our existing tank to help the cycle? Or just start with new stuff? Also, will adding the liverock from the 75g later on cause another cycle in the 210g after it has finished cycling? Just tell me if that is a stupid question, I think it might be.
3. What brand of pump do you recommend for the return? What about gph? We are finding conflicting information on this.
4. Does anyone recommend two separate return pumps in lieu of one, in case one fails? Or just one return pump that t-splits to each overflow box (one in each corner).

 

[digitalreefer]

Someone else is probably better equipped to answer the live rock questions, but as for the sand bed, it depends on what you're looking for. Do you want to go with a deep sand bed or a shallow sand bed?

I would probably consider 2 return pumps, especially if they're on GCFIs. In case one of the circuits trips for no reason, you'll still have water running through your sump, and in an emergency power outage situation, you can run one weaker pump longer and have some movement.

Hope this helps.

 

[seamonkey]

Someone else is probably better equipped to answer the live rock questions, but as for the sand bed, it depends on what you're looking for. Do you want to go with a deep sand bed or a shallow sand bed?

I am still researching the specific direction we are going to take, but I believe that we would like to employ a deep sand bed. I am interested in creating an environment that would maximize the potential for natural nitrate reduction in addition to any other methods we use. I would also like to provide a dense habitat for micro and macro-organisms to thrive. So with that said, in a 210g, would it reason that 6" is considered an appropriate depth? Or too deep?

I would probably consider 2 return pumps, especially if they're on GCFIs. In case one of the circuits trips for no reason, you'll still have water running through your sump, and in an emergency power outage situation, you can run one weaker pump longer and have some movement.

Hope this helps.

thanks, I think that we are going to go with two returns, any suggestion on the size of each? i think we are planning on ones that can handle 600gph -700gpheach, giving us a total of 1200gph-1400gph, do you think that is enough for a 210g (including sump capacity)? i thought i read somewhere that the ratio should be 4x turnover of the total volume of H20 in the system.