Silencer
01-19-2005, 12:42 PM
I'm trying to come up with some plumbing/circulation plans for a 75g with a 55g refugium underneath and am looking for suggestions. My two main questions have to deal with the refugium flow rate and returns. The 55g fuge will have two main purposes, nutrient export via macro growth and pod/food breeding for mandarins and other creatures. I will not be running a skimmer or other equipment.
So the question is how much flow do you recommend I move through the fuge? I really don't know. 200gph? 2,000gph? How much do I need, how much is too much and how much would be ideal? Also, is there any particular way to setup the pump, lines or outlets in order to most benefit the pods being transported into the main tank? For example would it be better to have the outlets down near some rocks? Or maybe it doesn't matter and I could have the outlet(s) up top to disturb the water surface more?
http://unrealdev.net/saltwater/flow75g2.jpg
That's what I have drawn up so far. It would be a standard 75g tank. I would add a custom overflow to the tank which would be about 3" deep and 2ft wide at the front (about 2.5ft wide at the back). Due to cost reasons and the amount of returns I have, I was not planning on having the tank drilled.
As shown above, the tank would have two 1.5" siphon drains (http://reefcentral.com/forums/showt...threadid=499036) over the back of the tank. I would have a 1.25" return line going into an Oceans Motions Squirt with four 1" returns (green dots). I'm not sure where these would be located. Either inside/attached to the overflow baffle or built into the rocks with the pipe hidden under the sand. This is not enough by itself, but I'm not sure how much more I need because I'm not sure how many GPH I should move through the fuge. This can all be changed.
I could maybe run a SEIO or two for static flow and use the Squirt for alternating current on a closed loop but there is a slight catch. I do not want ANYTHING visible in the display tank. No powerheads, returns, nothing. Everything must be hidden either within the overflow or under the sand and in the rockwork. The rocks will be DIY so I will be embedding the 4 outlets from the Squirt in them and hiding the pipes under the sand.
So the question is how much flow do you recommend I move through the fuge? I really don't know. 200gph? 2,000gph? How much do I need, how much is too much and how much would be ideal? Also, is there any particular way to setup the pump, lines or outlets in order to most benefit the pods being transported into the main tank? For example would it be better to have the outlets down near some rocks? Or maybe it doesn't matter and I could have the outlet(s) up top to disturb the water surface more?
http://unrealdev.net/saltwater/flow75g2.jpg
That's what I have drawn up so far. It would be a standard 75g tank. I would add a custom overflow to the tank which would be about 3" deep and 2ft wide at the front (about 2.5ft wide at the back). Due to cost reasons and the amount of returns I have, I was not planning on having the tank drilled.
As shown above, the tank would have two 1.5" siphon drains (http://reefcentral.com/forums/showt...threadid=499036) over the back of the tank. I would have a 1.25" return line going into an Oceans Motions Squirt with four 1" returns (green dots). I'm not sure where these would be located. Either inside/attached to the overflow baffle or built into the rocks with the pipe hidden under the sand. This is not enough by itself, but I'm not sure how much more I need because I'm not sure how many GPH I should move through the fuge. This can all be changed.
I could maybe run a SEIO or two for static flow and use the Squirt for alternating current on a closed loop but there is a slight catch. I do not want ANYTHING visible in the display tank. No powerheads, returns, nothing. Everything must be hidden either within the overflow or under the sand and in the rockwork. The rocks will be DIY so I will be embedding the 4 outlets from the Squirt in them and hiding the pipes under the sand.