Newbie needs help on 125gal

[Kyriacos]

Hello everybody,

I'm very new to the hobby and could use as much help as possible. I have learned a lot so far going through all of the forums, Thanks to Reef Central and all of its members. So far I've gotten lucky. I aquired 2 tanks free of charge. The first one is a 55gal which I intend on using as a sump. The second one is a pre-drilled 125gal. The 125 has one 1" bulkhead and two 1/2" bulkheads on either side of the tank. Do you guys think I should make the returns into 3/4" rather than 1/2". Also what size pump would you recomend for the return. It will be about 3 1/2 ft to the display tank. I will leave it here for now, but I have more questions. Thanks, Chris

[yessongs]

3/4" return bulkheads will be much better, thats not easy to do, its been done but you can break the glass.
I would leave it and use 1/2" flex tubing www.marinedepot.com/aquarium_plumbing_parts_fittings_2.asp#bs
A SCWD www.marinedepot.com/aquarium_wavemakers_scwd_squid.asp?CartId=
and a mag 12 www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=DN1129
This is only a suggestion

BTW is there any kind of overflow?

[Kyriacos]

The 125 is acrylic, the 55 is glass. There is an 8"x8" overflow
thank you for the reply

[Kyriacos]

well soon there will be an 8"x8" overflow, the original owner removed it for some reason when he gave away the tank, by the way, the two 1/2" holes are drilled on the bottom of the tank, one on the left of the tank and one on the right

[Kyriacos]

Would you recomend a power head for more water flow or will a Mag12 with SCWD be enough, and what size powerhead do you think I should use

[Cody00SS]

Am mag 12 on a scwd will not be as much flow as you think. Plus, if I understand the sugestion correctly, that leave no room for the sump drain(s) and return on your setup.

The first question you need to answer is, what do you want to keep. A FO tank will be fine with 10x flowrate, but for corals you could be looking at 20x (or more)

[yessongs]

You have some options, those holes on the bottom can be plugged and the larger holes drilled in the back. The mag 12 can be used with a SCWD as a return, not a closed loop, if thats what Cody is thinking. I doubt you will get 20X turnover with just your return due to the 1" drain. Either way you will need more water movement in the tank, closed loop , more PHs, or a Tunze. I have around 56X in a tank with some SPS corals.

[Kyriacos]

Is there a reason you think I should plug up the two 1/2" holes. Do you think they would be a distraction from the display with 2 pvc pipes sticking out of the ground, or is it something to do with performance. Also I might be able to make the drain bigger if that would help. I can also turn one of the 1/2" holes into a drain as well. Ofcourse I would widen the hole. I think drilling the 2 holes in the back is a good idea, I'll do it soon. I was actually considering a closed loop system added as well. What do you think. Well,off to work I go. Be back at 10:30pm. Thanks for the responce.

[Figstr]

Be carefull with the Mag 12. I have a 65g that I'm in the process of setting up. It's currently in my garage while I figure out the best plumbing system for it. I have a Mag 9.5 and it outruns my 1" drain. The drain has 2 45 degree elbows which have much lest resistance than 2 90 degree elbows. I have tried a few different methods with the return(s) to slow down the Mag without much luck. It still outruns the drain. I don't have to throttle the pump down much, but with a Mag 12 you will have to close it off quite a bit. I would go with the Mag 9.5 for the sump and another pump for a closed loop system. That's what I finally decided to do with mine. Now to figure out what pump I need.

[yessongs]

A 1" drain wont keep up with a mag12 even with the SCWD which reduces flow by 15% or more. If you use a Durso Standpipe with an adjustable air valve you can get a mag9 to work with a 1" drain (i have this setup on my 25g) If you use a mag12 you can Tee it off and later run a CA reactor or a Chiller if needed without adding another pump. FWIW if everything fits this is a good time to make the drain 1-1/2" which is quite large. When the drain is twice the size as the returns, you will have the least problems.

Figstr, have you tried using a Tee then a ball valve returning the extra water back into the sump? this is much cheaper then getting another pump.