setting up a new 225 gal reef tank

[uncle deisel]

hi everyone i am in the mist of setting up a new 225 gal show tank with a 100 gal high flow sump w/refugium and a mrc reciculating skimmer.I have a 4 way valve run by dart reef flow pump for water movement and also another dart on my filtration feeding my uv (?) and my skimmer.My skimmer recirculation is run with an iwaki 70 pump.Dose this sound like a good set up or am i crazy.

 

[Lenny718]

Sounds great but where are the pics

 

[meschaefer]

hi everyone i am in the mist of setting up a new 225 gal show tank with a 100 gal high flow sump w/refugium and a mrc reciculating skimmer.I have a 4 way valve run by dart reef flow pump for water movement and also another dart on my filtration feeding my uv (?) and my skimmer.My skimmer recirculation is run with an iwaki 70 pump.Dose this sound like a good set up or am i crazy.

Tell us more.. what are you planning on keeping, what type of lighting, etc. etc.

 

[masterswimmer]

Sounds like a lot of flow through the sump. I prefer to have moderate flow through the sump and either a closed loop or more in-tank circulation.

Like Matt said, what animals are you planning to keep? That one answer can effect all our suggestions/recommendations.

Best of luck with your new setup. We do like pictures here

swimmer

 

[uncle deisel]

for lighting i will be useing three sunpod 250 watt metal halide, flourescents and moon lights. the flow in the sump can be ajusted with gate valves. Iam looking to put fish and being a beginer i will try my hand at the easy corals first.If you go to my gallery you will see the start of my tank set up.

 

[meschaefer]

here is my thread on a similar sized tank,


It might be good for some ideas.

 

[BZOFIQ]

why so much flow through the sump/fuge.

"hi-flow fuge" ???

 

[Bob 1000]

Ive always ran High flow through my 265 gallon system it also keeps detritus suspended... So that the protein skimmer can Do the best it can, and the filter socks can grab all they can.. Not to mention it keeps my sump covered in coraline algae not hair...
I run just a little bit less through the main so that my tangs have a constant supply of food with the right amount of nutrients in your system... Did I mention I'm going on 30 something days without feeding my system... With the exception of a piece of krill for the octopus daily.... All my fish are still fat...

 

[BZOFIQ]

Ive always ran High flow through my 265 gallon system it also keeps detritus suspended... So that the protein skimmer can Do the best it can, and the filter socks can grab all they can.. Not to mention it keeps my sump covered in coraline algae not hair...
I run just a little bit less through the main so that my tangs have a constant supply of food with the right amount of nutrients in your system... Did I mention I'm going on 30 something days without feeding my system... With the exception of a piece of krill for the octopus daily.... All my fish are still fat...

The protein skimmer if placed properly should be located in the 1st compartment of the sump. Water crashing from the tank is plenty turbulent to keep detritus suspended thus eliminating the need for high flow through the entire sump/fuge. In the last setup I had about 700-800 gallon going through 40Long sump and it was plenty enough, if you need niagra falls type effect in your sump GO for it.

 

[Bob 1000]

This person is not setting up a 40 breeder... You put low flow through a big system and you'll regret it... Phosban is not cheap... or water changes...

 

[meschaefer]

why so much flow through the sump/fuge.

"hi-flow fuge" ???

Flow in your fuge will be dictated by what its primary purpose is. If your primary purpose is to extract nutrients from the water column through the use of macro algae, many will recommend a high flow to prevent detritus from settling and getting trapped in the algae. (I have linguistic problems with referencing this as a fuge, but common usage has over-ruled me.)

If you primary purpose is pod production, a low flow is recommended to allow detritus to settle in the fuge as pod food and to provide a "gentler" environment for the pods so that they have time to grow and reproduce in the fuge before being swept out by the flow.

 

[BZOFIQ]

This person is not setting up a 40 breeder... You put low flow through a big system and you'll regret it... Phosban is not cheap... or water changes...

Nobody said he is, I merely said that I had 40G Long SUMP. (What is up with your reading today?)

There is a difference between high flow in the tank and high flow through the fuge.

The fuge doesn't require high flow while the display tank does. My particular setup had about 700-800 gallons going through the fuge while another 3700 GPH worth of poweheads provided in-tank currents.

 

[Reefsaint]

Nothing exceeds like excess!
Just remember to put all the stuff you did not need or had to upgrade For sale here!!
Just a thought!

 

[Bob 1000]

Nobody said he is, I merely said that I had 40G Long SUMP. (What is up with your reading today?)

There is a difference between high flow in the tank and high flow through the fuge.

The fuge doesn't require high flow while the display tank does. My particular setup had about 700-800 gallons going through the fuge while another 3700 GPH worth of poweheads provided in-tank currents.

I know what you said you had I'm talking about someone else buddy.. The person who started this thread is not a less than 100 gallon owner or at least this thread is not about a 40 or a 72 or a 90 or a 100 for that matter..

 

[Bob 1000]

I got the best info from people who are used to dealing with bigger systems the kind I have... If you want to know about the Whopper ask people who have dealt with the whopper... If you want to know about the cheeseburger ask people who have dealt with the cheeseburger... No offense cheeseburger owners... Just kidding.. Bad joke.. Smaller is harder to keep.. That's why I stated off big...
I got info from people who have never owned a big system and that's exactly what i got... Half, ending up improvising the rest in the beginning. I took the time out to speak with people who had nice reefs that were 125+ and I got full answers that left no questions... Except for the next question which there always is in this hobby...
The last thing you want to do is to get half the information and have to improvise the rest. These are only fish in some eyes, but we all should be responsible enough to do the best we can..

 

[uncle deisel]

I have done alot of reserch regaurding the high flow and they all tend to agree with bob 1000.remember all this flow does not go streight back to the tank it is also feeding 500gal flow to skimmer and 500 gal to uv.the rest will enter the tank.

 

[uncle deisel]

this also keeps my refugium water flowing with all the good stuff

 

[uncle deisel]

bigger is better

I got the best info from people who are used to dealing with bigger systems the kind I have... If you want to know about the Whopper ask people who have dealt with the whopper... If you want to know about the cheeseburger ask people who have dealt with the cheeseburger... No offense cheeseburger owners... Just kidding.. Bad joke.. Smaller is harder to keep.. That's why I stated off big...
I got info from people who have never owned a big system and that's exactly what i got... Half, ending up improvising the rest in the beginning. I took the time out to speak with people who had nice reefs that were 125+ and I got full answers that left no questions... Except for the next question which there always is in this hobby...
The last thing you want to do is to get half the information and have to improvise the rest. These are only fish in some eyes, but we all should be responsible enough to do the best we can..

all my reding has informed me that a bigger system requires more turn over rate and explains the more the better.so i have decided to go as big as i could afford.i have always been the type of person to always go above the nessasary means of doing things i hope it pays off this time.

 

[Bob 1000]

I can tell you from owning nothing but bigger systems that if you go with less you will almost always end up upgrading... The last piece of equipment I purchased and upgraded was a beckett skimmer and even then I only upgraded the pump feeding the skimmer from some where around 800 to 1200gph. I still have room to upgrade if I need to but doubt highly.. But I am happy with that because my skimmer is a beast, and can handle more pump which means more skimming.... So bigger is better, but does require a larger amount of husbandry...(bigger water changes, equipment, and yes more flow)