Closed Loop for a 40 Breeder

[Anonymous]

Well, I am finally starting a tank. It's been a year since my last tank, a 90g Valonia farm, and I am itching to get going.

Weird going from a 90 to a 40 but it's all the room I can take up at the moment. A 300g in-wall will have to wait.

OK, so what size pump would you recommend for a closed loop for a 40g? I don't have any designs yet on how I want to lay out the PVC. Any good starting places to learn the basics?

Thanks!

Ace

 

[Anonymous]

What are you planning on keeping or how much flow are you looking for? I have used mags and panworlds with no problems. Mags are not expensive and can be run external.

 

[Anonymous]

Looking to keep mostly soft corals. Trying to keep dead spots to a minimum and get the best flow possible.

 

[Anonymous]

Mag9.5 or panworld 40hd would give you around 700 gph once the losses are taken into account. Just shy of 20X turnover.

 

[Anonymous]

Welcome back Ace. I am researching a loop for my 46 now as well, so thanks for the topic.

 

[Anonymous]

Hey, Ranger!

Good to see you. Let me know if you find anything cool. I'll do the same by posting it here.

 

[Anonymous]

Good to hear, Ace. The 40 breeder in my fav size for a tank. Lots or landscaping room and not to deep - they make great clam tanks too.

 

[Anonymous]

It's been a year since my last tank,

SW Anonomous...

 

[Anonymous]

Good to hear, Ace. The 40 breeder in my fav size for a tank. Lots or landscaping room and not to deep - they make great clam tanks too.

Thanks, Andy. Yeah, just got it to the house. Not as imposing as my old 90 but the 18" depth is nice. Plus my IceCap 660 should provide all the light I need in such a low tank.

 

[Anonymous]

Here she is . . .

 

[Anonymous]

I used my old 40 b iron stand to make a tool box and work bench

 

[Anonymous]

OK, so here's the stand I've been working on. Today I finish it and finally get this tank ready for plumbing.

 

[Anonymous]

Very nice. Good luck with the plumbing.

 

[Anonymous]

Is it wrong that I'm excited too?

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks, guys.

Chris, that depends on which part of you is excited.

 

[Anonymous]

8) :lol:

 

[Anonymous]

Ok, can't believe it's 1:25. Just got done covering it with oak plywood veneer. Heading to HD for some molding. I'll post pics of the unit later. the only thing I'm holding off on is the door. I just don't know what to do yet.

 

[Anonymous]

what, no pics?

If I were you I'd drill a couple of holes in the back and put a mag 9 on a sqwd.( or an ocean motions squirt if you've got the extra cash)

Throw some loc line T's on the bulkheads and get them pointed around the tank.

You doing a sump? If you go with an external pump, you could step up the ocean motions for a 4 way, and just use the return pump. (but then you got a lot of flow through the sump.)

B
Check your pm btw!

 

[Anonymous]

I like to put the intake for closed loops near the top for easy cleaning access, and the output near the bottom to stir up detritus.

Don't forget unions and ball valves!

HTH,
Matt

 

[Anonymous]

So this is it so far.

I still need to put the rest of the molding on and add a few more finish nails. As you can see the oak veneer is buckling in some spots. I also ran the sander a bit too much but not a big deal since this puppy is gonna be black.

Next up is get the top molding on there to cover the tank frame and then we're off plumbing.

One thing I do like is the height. Barely have to bend to look at the tank while standing.