Got My Tanks Today.

[ben1987]

Picked up 2 3' tanks one for display and one for sump.

display is
36x15x14 = 27.25 UKgallon – 124liter

Sump is
36x12x14= 21.80 UKgallon – 99liter

Also got 3 powerheads. 2 for flow giving me combined 3600l/h which i reckon is about 29x turnover of display tank. too much?
Then the 3rd is a 400l/h one to sit in my water butt of spare salt water to keep it moving. I only plan on having the sump half full to give a bit of breathing room if anything bad happens. What size plumbing and return pump do you think?

building a stand tomorrow

Next on the shopping list is a 150w heater and lighting (hopefully 150w metal halide and a couple of t5s)

How much live rock do you think? i was thinking maybe 10K rock then 3k rubble for sump with a few kgs of base rock to scape on. How quick would base rock seed to become live rock?

cheers, cant wait to get going

 

[SkiFletch]

Maybe something like an Eheim 1250 with 3/4" or prefferably 1" bulkheads on the drain. Are you going to drill the bottom or back?

Your LR amount sounds fine. Be prepared for the base rock to take at least 6 months before it starts to resemble the live stuff truly, and another 6 months before it looks like the same thing...

 

[ben1987]

well id like to go as natural looking as possible so i was thinking i could hide all the equipment and then drill the top on the back. Not really looked into drilling yet as im a bit worried

Got easy access to household plumbing bits with a nice discoount too but it would mean i would have to work in 15mm 22mm or 32mm. Would the fitting usually used on water tanks be ok? they have a big washer that seals when you tighten it up and i could use either solvent weld pipe or push-fit stuff with these. I think solvent weld stuff looks best bet as one its dried its safe for drinking water. Push-fit uses metal pipe stiffners so i guess sea water and this wouldnt mix.

The base rock i was planning on using was just going to be hidden behind/underneath main scape just handy when it starts to filter like LR

cheers

 

[SkiFletch]

Yes, those water tank fittings are the same thing as the bulkheads sold to aquarists. If your sizes are in mm, 22 would work. Solvent weld is the way to go for sure. Make sure you use a check valve (aka non return valve) on the pipe between the pump and the tank. And lastly, use unions where possible for convenience

 

[ben1987]

is one 22mm drain enough then or is two better?

just noticed a couple of blue patches in the silicone on one tank, guessing that from copper meds used in the past. will this affect it? should i re-seal a thin layer over the top?

Is pirspex suitable to divide sump chambers with?

sorry for the millions of questions
cheers

 

[SkiFletch]

Two is much safer in case a snail crawls in one

I wouldn't worry about the seal, you'll prolly be fine there

And yes, Perspex is fine for dividers in the sump.

 

[ben1987]

well my stand build did not go well
So all is on hold untill Tuesday when i will hopefully get that done and back on track.
Two overflows it is then i will also put some mesh or netting over them to stop sneaky snails
thanks Ski