- Location
- Virginia
I am in the process of updating and converting a 150 pond filled with live rock and about a 1 inch substrate filled with various creatures and also filtered by a trickle filter (yes, the bioballs are still in there as it used to be a shark pond and the plans are for it to become one again but a shark in a reef pond instead) over to a 300 gallon pond with a 150 gallon capacity sump, a 60 gallon refugium, and two gravity wavemakers (31 gallon rubbermaid roughtotes) and am looking for ideas and suggestions on the setup. What I have planned so far is to drill the pond for a 2 inch overflow into the sump (fill it with my liverock for now), use a small pump to boost water to the refugium which will be on a shelf over the sump (or maybe next to it to keep the sump accessible) and pour back into the sump, and also plumb the wavemakers to the sump (instead of a siphon/u-tube, I'm using toilet flush valve made by fluidmaster - it's all plastic and available at home depot, as is all the other stuff I'm using). I will throw a downdraft skimmer on it until I get industrious and build some incredibly oversized monstrosity (for some reason when I get around acrylic and pvc I tend to turn into an idiot - anyone else feel the same way?) and a calcium reactor, so for now the basic advice (other input will still be appreciated) I'm looking for can be broken down into a few basic areas.
First is the sump, does anyone have a suggestion on a water level that will accommodate the overflow from the pond (all the gravity plumbing will be 2 inch pvc except for the return from the refugium), the refugium, and the 2 31 gallon rough totes (not sure how many gallons will actually be in the sumps for the wavemakers, but guesstimating approx. 20-25) - basically, how many gallons should it have in it so that when the power goes out I don't flood my basement? Also, any suggestions on how I can possibly hook up a float valve for an RO unit with the sump having variable fill levels because of the wavemakers (basically, will one of those cheap plastic float valves be able to handle the abuse of being completely submerged over and over again without breaking off?).
The second area is the refugium. I have 10 mangroves that I have to acclimate to saltwater, and another 10 that I didn't realize weren't already acclimated and are either dead or, hopefully, just looking a little under the weather, and existing substrate that is a mixture of particles from sand up to large pieces of crushed coral (only about 5%). Other than that, what else should I put in the refugium, what's a good flow rate (can I use some old powerheads on it, or even an old eheim canister filter) for it. Also, I have various spare lights, from 175 MH to 9 watt power compacts to (up to) 40 watt flourescents, what's the best to put on a refugium? This line of questions of course includes how deep should the bed be in the refugium, how long a lighting cycle, how deep should the water be, etc. etc.
The third area is the gravity wavemakers (I don't know how common these are, I've only seen them 2 times in serious sps stores). Any suggestions on how much flow there should be into them? Should they be overflowing on a constant cycle (1-2-1-2-1-2-1-2) or should it be variable (1-1-1-2-1-1-1-2-1-1-1-2-1-1-1-2) and should the returns be underwater, or at the surface to further agitate and promote more gas exchange (don't forget there's a 2 inch overflow)? Also, where should they be positioned in a round pond? Should they flow together, should they flow opposite each other, should they flow into each other, should they flow out of the same return to vary the amount of water that comes back? (For those who are baffled about what I'm talking about - I'm sure there's a more technical name for this system than I'm providing - here's the scoop on it. You pump water up to a sump which, when it reaches a desired level, will completely drain into your tank , basically causing a wave to wash over your system, and then it refills and drains, over and over again)
As you can see, I have tons of questions, and also a ton of ideas, but am venturing into a new realm with such a large pond and sump, and also with the refugium, and would appreciate any input, especially any of you out there who work like I always have in the past - trial and error. I would prefer to have as little error as possible in this project.
Also, if anyone has any advice on what future concerns I should accomodate now while I build, that would be appreciated (e.g. placement of a calcium reactor).
[ August 01, 2001: Message edited by: davelin315 ]
First is the sump, does anyone have a suggestion on a water level that will accommodate the overflow from the pond (all the gravity plumbing will be 2 inch pvc except for the return from the refugium), the refugium, and the 2 31 gallon rough totes (not sure how many gallons will actually be in the sumps for the wavemakers, but guesstimating approx. 20-25) - basically, how many gallons should it have in it so that when the power goes out I don't flood my basement? Also, any suggestions on how I can possibly hook up a float valve for an RO unit with the sump having variable fill levels because of the wavemakers (basically, will one of those cheap plastic float valves be able to handle the abuse of being completely submerged over and over again without breaking off?).
The second area is the refugium. I have 10 mangroves that I have to acclimate to saltwater, and another 10 that I didn't realize weren't already acclimated and are either dead or, hopefully, just looking a little under the weather, and existing substrate that is a mixture of particles from sand up to large pieces of crushed coral (only about 5%). Other than that, what else should I put in the refugium, what's a good flow rate (can I use some old powerheads on it, or even an old eheim canister filter) for it. Also, I have various spare lights, from 175 MH to 9 watt power compacts to (up to) 40 watt flourescents, what's the best to put on a refugium? This line of questions of course includes how deep should the bed be in the refugium, how long a lighting cycle, how deep should the water be, etc. etc.
The third area is the gravity wavemakers (I don't know how common these are, I've only seen them 2 times in serious sps stores). Any suggestions on how much flow there should be into them? Should they be overflowing on a constant cycle (1-2-1-2-1-2-1-2) or should it be variable (1-1-1-2-1-1-1-2-1-1-1-2-1-1-1-2) and should the returns be underwater, or at the surface to further agitate and promote more gas exchange (don't forget there's a 2 inch overflow)? Also, where should they be positioned in a round pond? Should they flow together, should they flow opposite each other, should they flow into each other, should they flow out of the same return to vary the amount of water that comes back? (For those who are baffled about what I'm talking about - I'm sure there's a more technical name for this system than I'm providing - here's the scoop on it. You pump water up to a sump which, when it reaches a desired level, will completely drain into your tank , basically causing a wave to wash over your system, and then it refills and drains, over and over again)
As you can see, I have tons of questions, and also a ton of ideas, but am venturing into a new realm with such a large pond and sump, and also with the refugium, and would appreciate any input, especially any of you out there who work like I always have in the past - trial and error. I would prefer to have as little error as possible in this project.
Also, if anyone has any advice on what future concerns I should accomodate now while I build, that would be appreciated (e.g. placement of a calcium reactor).
[ August 01, 2001: Message edited by: davelin315 ]
