Complete System diagram

akitchen83

Reefing newb
I'm pretty new to saltwater aquariums, but i'm smart and eager to get at it seriously. My questions are does anyone know of a diagram for a reef aquarium setup. Including everything I'd need to get the water system flowing. I have a decent idea of what's required but i would like to make sure I'm not forgetting anything either. IE) Lighting high output led, protein skimmer, water pumps, Filter, Sump tank, heater, power heads. Thank you in advance for your assistance. :D

P.S - this would be for a 90 gallon bow front setup
 
Hello!

Here's one of a 29 gallon.

fish_tank1_original.jpg
 
Of course, it's very debatable as to what you do.

I would change that a little, as I'm sure others will tear this drawing apart.

I would put the return up much higher, and ixnay the check valve. There;s all sorts of ways to do it, but this should help you get an idea in your head of what is going on.
 
i did this a back a bit to show someone some ruff skeches of common setups curently used atm. note- there are a tone of diffrent ways to build a sump these are just basic setups
Basicsaltwaterfilterlayouts.png
 
So those should show you how to plumb for an overflow box, and a reef ready tank. I hope these help you!
 
I appreciate all the help, very very useful drawing more clear than the ones I've seen. I have two questions thou, for the return line does it have to be drilled, into the bottom or middle of the tank. Can't it return at the top or does this make things much more messy/complicated. My second question is for the size of the sump from the one drawing it looks about 1/3 the size of the main aquarium is this the proper scale i should have. Ie) I'm shooting for a 90 gallon main i should have around a 30 gallon sump.

Thanks again for all the help, Already getting very excited. :D
 
in my opinion its best for the return to go over the rim of the tank just so you can drill a hole below the water line so that if the power goes out and the return starts to back siphion the hole will act as a siphion break so you dont have a mess on your hands
 
You dont have to drill the tank, unless you want to. You can use an overflow and just put the return line over the rim, like Pwny said. The size of the sump is up to you, as big as you can fit, the bigger the sump, the more water volume for the whole system. The larger the system, the more stable it will be, ie, less reactive to stuff, easier to control.
 
Here's the image of what I just drew up for my new tank..
tankdesign.jpg


The overflow should be at the top so it won't flood your sump. The smaller your tank, the more impact a larger sump will have in assisting you maintain stability in the water (more water = more room for errors). Also the more room, the more add-ons you can fit in to it!
 
Lol, wow you guys have some pretty op setups. I appreciate the help. I'm not in any rush to get fish or corals, i would like everything to be perfectly setup first and if that takes a year or so then so be it. I'm really liking the high quality information this site has, i can imagine that some of you have some pretty in-genius home-made setups that others could benefit from.

Thanks again, cheers!
 
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