Mixed Question- Lighting, DIY Sump, etc.

H

Hooked Newbie

Today will be yesterday tomorrow
May 25, 2007
5,314
1
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Georgia
Real Name
Len
Hey folks! Sev and I are getting a 75 to replace a 55 and help consolidate some of our fish. The tank will be stocked and filtered pretty heavily so we're going to run a sump on it as well to increase volume and hide equipment since we have plenty of spare tanks available. The tank will contain the following.

Festivum
Rotkeil pair
12 loaches
6 red/blue Columbian tetra
6 diamond tetra
12 rummynose tetra
6 snakeskin barbs
1 clown pleco

We have a 4x65W Coralife fixture that will move to it. We will plant it with mostly "cheap" plants since we KNOW our fish tear at them and don't want to go "high tech". We have various plants available to go in it (crypts, anubias, vals, etc.).

So now to the questions... Are baffles needed in the sump (20-29G)? Any thoughts about plumbing this? We have 2 XPs that will move to it. We have plenty of lighting available for the sump as well. Any thoughts about plants that could help in there?


I miss anything Hun?
 
Oops- We may choose to run one XP with the sump. Any ideas about return pump size?
 
The tank is already drilled in the back and includes 1 inch bulkheads if that makes a difference for return pump size. Neither of us have ever used a sump before so forgive our noob questions, lol.
 
You said "bulkheads"...does that mean there is more than one? Each 1" bulkhead is usually rated at about 600gph flow.

What are you planning on using the sump for? Trickle filter? Veggie filter? Just a place to hide the heater? It looks like you are planning on keeping at least one canister running, as well as getting the sump going?

IME, with a properly sized wet/dry, you can get away with 3-5x turnover on your return pump just fine. The problem with that is its not a whole lot of current in the tank. In my messy cichlid tank, I had to add a powerhead to eliminate a big dead spot.

For a return pump, if you want to go submerged, something like a Mag 7 would be ok, or an Eheim 1260. I use all Mag pumps, mostly because I'm cheap. They're decent quality, pretty efficient power-wise, and good prices. Kind of a middle-of-the-road in all respects. They can be used externally, but its a lot of extra work and its easy to break them when screwing the fittings onto the housing.

Answer some of the questions above and I'll give you some more ideas.
 
Thanks!!! I thought we'd probably use a Mag pump (submerged), but was unsure of the size. If we go this route, I think we'll skip the canister and use powerhead(s) just to keep the display uncluttered. Mainly the reason we'd run a sump on this tank is because it is already drilled with 2 bulkheads- it was used as a reef tank. Would you advise using some plants in the sump for nutrient export? Do people do that in FW (I know it's often done for a reef tank)?

We're still considering this deal, but only if the tank we purchased yesterday falls through somehow. We were able to find a 125 tank, stand, and canopy for $350 delivered. New tank should be delivered today. I don't think it's drilled, but if it is, I'm sure we'll be back asking some more questions, lol. Thanks again for the advice!!! :D
 
Yes, veggie filters can be used in FW systems, the easiest thing to do is create some sort of compartment with baffles using either eggcrate or glass, toss a light lover it and put in some fast growing stem plants.
 
are the bulk heads different diameters?

on my 75 the drain/overflow is larger than the return.. the return is 1" the drain 1 3/4-2"
set with an external 1250 gph return pump.
my 110 has 1 1/2 return and 2 1/2 drain but running a quiet one 6000
the bulk heads are used to seal the drilled holes.
 
I think the BHs are the same diameter on the 75, but not sure. We'll pass on the 75 for now as long as the 125 is delivered as expected this evening. The 125 isn't drilled so it may simplify things for us. Plus, it should allow us to consolidate the fish we had planned to AND allow us to increase some schools. :)

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