Check my order please

[Picasso]

Ok, I want to move water out of my tank, through a tube and into an as yet to be designed sump/fuge. The water will go through the sump/fuge and a skimmer then be returned to my tank. Here's what I'm ordering:

Overflow box: PF 1000
Reef Aquarium Filtration: Eshopps Overflow Boxes

Flex Tubing:
Reef Aquarium Filtration: Eshopps Reef Sumps


Skimmer:
Aquarium Protein Skimmers: Coralife Super Skimmer Needle Wheel Protein Skimmer


Mag Drive 700 to return water:
Mag Drive Pumps

Is this everything I need to get the water out and put it back? Is the mag drive 700 the right size pump to go with the PF 1000? Is the mag drive a good brand to get? Is the tubing the right stuff to get? Is there anything else I need?

Thanks for any and all input you can give me! I hope to get this order in tonight or tomorrow morning.

Catherine

 

[darren0311]

Looks good Catherine, What size tank do you have? I like the Mag Drive , You should look into a Quiet one pump, a little Cheaper money wise but a great pump, it wont heat up as much as the mag drive, mag drives like to heat up the water! but they are still a great pump. but look into the Quiet One Pump, well worth it.

 

[Gdbyrd]

I believe you will need a larger return pump, but I am not 100% sure. Hopefully someone else will chime in.

 

[darren0311]

the size of the return pump is good, mag seven will still get you over 600 gph at 4-5 feet, and if thats for what i am guessing is a 55 gal tank, thats 10X water turnover.

 

[Rcpilot]

I have a Mag 7 with all 1.5" return lines going up exactly 48". I'd be surprised if it was more than 350gph, honestly. More like 300GPH.

Need to know what size tank you have. I'll assume you want to almost max out the overflow box. The over flow will do max 900GPH.

Mag 7 will do between 300-600 depending on your return plumbing. You know you can drain 900GPh out of the overflow, so you want to drain lines that are close to that in size as well. Check this flow chart and use the left column for vertical drain.
GPM/GPH Flow based on PVC Pipe Size, ie, How much water can flow through Sch 40 Pvc Pipe Size 1/2" 3/4" 1" 1.5" 2" 2.5" 3" 4" 6"

I think I would use 1" pipe based on that flow chart and the fact that 2 Docs website says they come with a 1" outlet.

Now you can safely pump back about 700-750GPH and have minimal risk of the pump overpowering the overflow box because you know the box is rated at 900GPH.

The Mag 7 isn't going to pump anywhere NEAR that much going uphill about 4 feet. Think about your head height and look at the pump specs to determine what size pump you need. The Quiet One 3000 or 4000 would fit the bill closer.
Aquarium Water Pumps & Water Movement: Lifegard Aquatics Quiet One Pumps

The 3000 would pump about 600GPH at 4 feet of head
The 4000 would pump about 750GPH at 4 feet of head

Remember the box will flow about 900-950GPH. I'd want a bit of safety margin and probably max my pump at 750GPh back into the tank.

So now think about what size sump you need to flow that much water. My 20L sump moves those 300GPH pretty easily. Thats 15x turnover in the sump. If you're moving 750GPH and you want to run that 15x in the sump you'll need a 50g sump. If you want to move it faster - say 20x through the sump - you'll need about a 35g sump.

I made the following mistake with my 20L sump and I have to redo it soon. Probably this spring.

I placed my baffles between the skimmer section and the return section too close together. They are only about 1" apart. The water has to move very fast to get through that small space. Fast moving water moves bubbles. It keeps the bubbles trapped in the water because it's rushing through the baffles so quickly.

I should have placed my baffles at least 1.5" apart. AND kept the middle baffle 1.5" off the sump bottom. If I wanted to move 20x or even 25x through my sump I'd put the baffles 2" apart and keep the middle one 2" off the sump floor.

Man!! I wish I'd thought of that when I was siliconing my baffles in. :frustrat: I think Daugherty pointed it out ......... after it was done. :grumble:

All the above is based on me making the assumption you WANT to move that much water through the tank. Obviously you don't want to move 750GPH through a 10g nano.

So how big is the tank? :mrgreen: :Cheers:

 

[ccCapt]

I would pass on the Coralife skimmer. Just look at the threads here with people having problems with them flooding.
This skimmer is a much better choice for pretty much the same cost.
Reef Octopus NWB 110 Needle Wheel Protein Skimmer - AquaCave

 

[Picasso]

So how big is the tank? :mrgreen: :Cheers:

THANKS RC! This is for my 55 gallon pony tank. My nitrates up and this is a constant problem for me. I have absolutely no idea how much water I want to move. I've got a 20, a 15 and a 10 gallon tank that I'm going to rig in the stand somehow to clean and inject pods into my water. I love the way this: Aquarium Filters & Water Quality: Eheim Wet/Dry Filter System describes the manner in which it returns the water specifically this part:
* Exchange of O2 and CO2 is accomplished by means of displacement through the specially designed flow-through tube.
* The water pulsates as the filter fills and empties, acting as a wavemaker, creating rhythmic currents inside the aquarium.

I'm really tempted just to get this eheim because it's not a canister filter but I won't get it because I know it won't fix my nitrates. Also, the eheim has bright green tubing and I think that would look horrible. I'm currently using an HOB filter and water changes which worked on my little tank but now that I've got a "big girl" tank I need to sump it right also, I want to get the crap outta my tank (heater, filter...) I feel very comfortable DIY'ing the sump/fuge but I need the stuff to move the water from place to place and hopefully return it in a manner that "creates a rhythmic current" inside my aquarium. I would like to spend LESS than 250 NOT including the skimmer (400 including it)

Here's a pic of my tank. This is for the 55 gallon on the right.

Thanks,
Catherine

 

[Picasso]

I would pass on the Coralife skimmer. Just look at the threads here with people having problems with them flooding.
This skimmer is a much better choice for pretty much the same cost.
Reef Octopus NWB 110 Needle Wheel Protein Skimmer - AquaCave

Thanks Ccapt. Motorcyclereefer pointed out the Coralife for 85.00, free shipping, on a different web site. I ordered one but I think I'll use it for my 26 gallon and look at that octopus for my 55 gallon. I've heard great things about the Octopus!

Catherine

 

[Picasso]

Looks good Catherine, What size tank do you have? I like the Mag Drive , You should look into a Quiet one pump, a little Cheaper money wise but a great pump, it wont heat up as much as the mag drive, mag drives like to heat up the water! but they are still a great pump. but look into the Quiet One Pump, well worth it.

Thanks, Darren. Heat is an issue for me. I need to keep my tank 74 degrees or cooler for my seahorses. So far, I haven't needed to buy a chiller but if I have a pump that makes heat it might be a problem for me. Thanks so much for pointing that out!

Catherine

 

[darren0311]

Well If you go with a Quiet one pump, and just add a fan to the sump or to the water surface you will be fine, Alot of times you might think you need a chiller but a fan will work.

email me if you need any help at all.

 

[Picasso]

Am I reading this correctly? This will work as an overflow box and return?

https://www.petsolutions.com/Default.aspx?ItemID=88350128

Why is this so hard?

Catherine

 

[ccCapt]

I don't see an overflow. All I see is a thing to direct the flow of your return line.

 

[Rcpilot]

I think I'd make a sump/fuge out of your 20g tank. But you're going to need an auto top off for this. By the time you break the 20g tank into 3 sections, the return part isn't going to be very big and evaporation will happen really fast with a return section of about 5g. This is why I ended up with 2 different tanks for my sump and fuge.

Does it all have to fit inside the stand? :mrgreen:

 

[Picasso]

It would be nice if it all fit into the stand, originally I was going to go through the wall to the furnace room (which is right behind the tank) and I would have plenty of room to spread out in there. My husband freaked when I told him I was going to put a hole in the wood behind the tank so, for now, I'm going to keep everything in the studio. I could make room outside the stand but I don't want a lot of noise or exposed water. This is my office so I can't have water splashing about onto art projects.

Catherine

 

[Rcpilot]

You got room under that stand for the 20g tank with the 10 stacked on top sideways?

I wouldn't necessarily stack the 10g right on top of the 20g tank. That would be too heavy for the glass on the 20g to support. But a small shelf built into the corner would easily support the 10g tank right over the top of the 20g

Use a small powerhead in the sump of the 20g tank to push water up to your 10g fuge. A simple bulkhead in the side of the 10g tank allows refugium water to drain back to the sump.

 

[darren0311]

I like it RC +1

 

[darren0311]

I would go with this skimmer instead
Octopus Needle Wheel Skimmer - Small - 4 in. | Venturi Models | Protein Skimmers | Aquarium - ThatPetPlace.com

 

[Picasso]

I could build that very easily! I know I've got the room for the 10 and the 20 I could probably also fit the 15 in, I'll go measure it. Now, what do I need to buy to make the water go from place to place? I think I have a little pump to move the water to the fuge but not to and from the aquarium. Also, is there a way to return the water similar to the way the eheim states, creating a wave like motion? RC, I'll trade you some art for doing this.

Catherine

 

[Picasso]

Measurements of the stand:

length: 48
width: 13
height: 23

I have 2 empty 10 gallons, 1 empty 15 gallon and one empty 20 gallon. Also, I feel very comfortable building my own custom sized glass box and installing baffles so if it is easier for me to build the box, I can. I was hoping to to make the 5 gallon jug skimmer now that I know it will fit. Another thing I was looking to incorporate is a nitrate reducer Nitrate Reductor and maybe a reactor but I was going to do that maybe in the spring.

Again, building this stuff will be a piece of cake for me it's the moving the water from place to place that's the hard part.

C

 

[Rcpilot]

Measurements of the stand:

length: 48
width: 13
height: 23

I have 2 empty 10 gallons, 1 empty 15 gallon and one empty 20 gallon. Also, I feel very comfortable building my own custom sized glass box and installing baffles so if it is easier for me to build the box, I can. I was hoping to to make the 5 gallon jug skimmer now that I know it will fit. Another thing I was looking to incorporate is a nitrate reducer Nitrate Reductor and maybe a reactor but I was going to do that maybe in the spring.

Again, building this stuff will be a piece of cake for me it's the moving the water from place to place that's the hard part.

C

A standard 20L is 30 long x 12 wide x 12 high
A standard 10g is 20 long x 10 wide x 12 high

You won't be able to stack the 10g on top under a 23" stand.

If you want to build your own glass box I'd say that would be a much better way to go given the available space.

I can't comment on the nitrate reducer. Never even seen one. A DSB will do the same thing and add biodiversity to the tank IMO.

How much flow do ponies need? Are they a high flow animal over very low flow?