Rebuiding the 37 gallon.....

mtkid6

mtkid6

So much to learn....
Recent developments have led me to a point where I will be starting over with my tank. I had a bad test kit and did not know my nitrates were through the roof until it was to late. All the fish are dead.:grumble: I have a peppermint and fire shrimp along with my cuc. They will be going with my few corals to live at the lfs until the tank is ready to go again. I will be pulling out the crushed coral and putting in sand. I am going with and led lighting setup and I will be either having the tank drilled or getting an overflow so I can build a sump.

I am going to be posting the progress and would love any tip or suggestions. You all have taught me a bunch already and I feel like I have a better understanding of what to do and what not to do. Thanks again everyone....:bowdown:
 
Maybe you are mistaken about the cause of death.

Nitrates in the 40s will not usually kill fish. And nitrates will kill inverts way before they start affecting fish. Fish only tanks can have nitrates in the hundreds and the fish are just fine.

I'm thinking it was something else -- not nitrates.
 
Ok algae scrubber guys I need some help. I am looking at building one instead of doing a traditional sump. I want to get my tank drilled while I am changing stuff over. What kind of return pump should I be looking into. I think I am going to be using either a 10 or 20 gallon tank for the scrubber.
 
change of plans. I am going to be building a traditional sump with skimmer. What size for the drain and what size for the return? The sump is a 20 gallon high tank. Looking at a rio hyperflow 17 pump. Thoughts, suggestions, comments?
 
Go with the mag drive over the rio, the rio is loud and tends to run hotter than the mag drives and in a 37g, a rio 17 may raise your temp more than desired. The only problem i've ran into with mag drives is they tend to be loud with vibrations when sitting directly on glass but its an easy fix, Find an old mouse pad and rip the graphics/fabric off the black rubber. Sit your mag drive on this black rubber pad in your sump and it will make it whisper quiet.

as for your drain, id run 1" pvc and 3/4" with your return. That will give you a lot of flow with a mag 5 or 7. Just remember to install a ball valve on your return line and keep in mind, the less 90 degree elbows you use, the greater your flow will be.

are you drilling your tank or using a HOB overflow?
 
if you go with the 1 inch drain, youll need a 1 3/4 diamond drill bit (45mm) to drill the hole and a 1" bulkhead like this:

Double Threaded Bulkhead Fitting

and of course a strainer. If you drill it yourself, drill your hole as close to the top as possible but make sure the fitting will fit without bumping into the top rim of your tank. I drilled my tank myself, but you can always find some glass company to do it for you as long as the tank is not tempered.

as for your return line, it can just hang over the rim.
 
then your good to go. The bits range in price on ebay from 10-20 dollars each so i went ahead and bought one. I figured with the way i was addicted to keeping cichlids, itd amplify with reef keeping. Sometimes i wonder if i should have let my lfs guy do it.

Do you have your powerheads already?
 
I am going to split the return line and run it to both sides of the tank. I am also going to use flow accelerators. What would you recommend for power heads? Seems like a lot of flow with 3/4 returns.
 
Im using 2x maxi jet 1200's with 2x sureflow mod kits and 2 sureflow magnets

The maxi jet 1200s normally put out 295GPH each but with the mods theyre able to put out up to 2100GPH each, which is some serious water movement but in all honesty, if you dont have any powerheads yet, Dont do the maxijetts with mods. with everything, each would cost about 70$ and for that price, you can get a better more quiet powerhead with similar flow.

I've heard nothing but good things with the hydro koralia powerheads. If i could do it again, id probably go with those.

If you plan on splitting your return line to each side of the tank, have the guy drill your drain in the center to achieve the maximum circulation. with that being said, Def go for the MAG7 to fight headloss
 
VHS tapes! cant express how much these things helped me with the 1" measurements. Heres a link to my setup, on the first page you can see me building my sump.

https://www.livingreefs.com/and-were-live-buddys-75g-setup-t32251.html

my sump is 20gallons long, and for my baffles i went to lowes and bought acrylic plexiglass 1/4" thick and had them cut them to the dimensions i needed and used a miter saw to trim them once i got home (because tanks aren't perfectly squared)

mine has 4 baffles total: 1 to divide my equipment (heater, skimmer, and drain pipes) from my fuge. and 3 to create my bubble trap from my fuge to my return area. Look at the notepad where i drew up my design, it works for my setup.
If youre going with an in tank skimmer, make sure you provide enough water for the skimmer.. i.e. my skimmer requires 9 inches of water to run so i made my first baffle around 10 inches.
 
Does it matter what side the bubble trap is on? My plan right now is to have a 11 inch high baffle seperating my drain and skimmer. Then a bubble trap, then the fuge, then a 6 inch baffle seperating my return pump from the fuge.
 

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