220 gallon reef tank

[Knox_RBP]

I'm gonna post so this stupid notice will go away and I couldn't think of anything better than my 220g. So here goes:
it has a rapids pro filtration system with built in protien skimmer. I have tapped off of the over flow and added a 35 gallon tank with a dsb. I'm using the spare pump that came with my pro rapids to pump the water into the shell of a emperor hob filter as a return. I also have my heaters and coralife skimmer (rated to 125g) in this tank. I will soon be adding a 10 or 20 gallon refugium to the setup also. Lighting is 72 inch Outer Orbit 3x250w 10K HQI-MH w/ 8x39W T5 HO & 24 Lunar Lights model 1079. I currently have approx. 100 lbs mix of live and base rock. 2 clowns, 1 blue damsel, 1 3 stripe damsel, 1 scooter blenny, 1 pencil urchin, 1 condy anemone, 1 blue starfish, 2 sand sifting cucumbers, 2 brittle stars and various snails. Corals include several xenia, green button polyps and other I can't remember the names of at the moment. Here are a few pics, sorry about the quality.

Edit: only the 1 MH light to the right is on in the pics

[ceejayt2k]

Sweet setup...are you planning to have open water fishes as well? Nice tank and lighting.

[Knox_RBP]

Curretly I'm planning on doing the right side reef and leaving the the left side open so when I add my hippo tang it has plenty of room. I'd like to built the reef up about 2/3 of the way with a slope on the front.

[Jstdv8]

Needs quite a bit more rock. at least double that.
Good start.
May I ask why you are only going with a 10-20 gallon fuge?

[Knox_RBP]

well yeah, like I said the rock is going to be half the length of the tank by 2/3 the height. will be about 3 or 4 times whats in there now. As for the fuge, I saw not reason not to, I have lots of empty tanks so I figure I can take one of my 10g or 20g tall and put it to use. Is there any reason that would be a problem? I didn't find aything online t ay that bigger would be issue. In case you're wanting to know, it will be external and mounted higher than the tank.

[Jstdv8]

well yeah, like I said the rock is going to be half the length of the tank by 2/3 the height. will be about 3 or 4 times whats in there now. As for the fuge, I saw not reason not to, I have lots of empty tanks so I figure I can take one of my 10g or 20g tall and put it to use. Is there any reason that would be a problem? I didn't find aything online t ay that bigger would be issue. In case you're wanting to know, it will be external and mounted higher than the tank.

My appoligies, I didnt see the 35 gallon sump in your first post. was thinking 20 gallons under a 220 gallon tank would be a waste of time except for a good spot to hide the heater :)

[Knox_RBP]

It's all good. I wanted to do the refugium seperate for a few reasons.
1. Add to the total gallons of the setup. Almost 280g total.

2. The filter uses an overflow, hence suface water. From what I've studied it is better not to use suface water in a refugium.

3. By having the water level in the refuge higher than the main tank, I can pump water in and let it drain out. I'd rather not waste the time and money on copepods just to have them sucked thru an impeller causing who nknows what kind of damage to them.

[Jstdv8]

The idea of having the fuge higher for pods is sweet. Santamonica that promotes the turf scrubbers mentions an above the tank setup for pods to empty into the tank. He says with his scrubber that you could feed at least 6 mandarins with all the pods it produces.
Most people ive discussed with about the pumps say that the pods are not harmed by the pump. who knows

[Knox_RBP]

yeah i've gotten mixed answers on copepods and a pump so I'd prefer to be safe. I may at some point set up a closed environment where I can pump them thru an impeller, clollect them and examine any effects but I really don't have time right now.

[Knox_RBP]

Figured I'd just ask this here instead of starting a new thread. I have a coralife CF light with a 50/50 bulb. Anyone know if there's a reason not to use it on my refugium

[duke33]

I'm just learning but I don't see what it would hurt.

[Amphiprion]

Figured I'd just ask this here instead of starting a new thread. I have a coralife CF light with a 50/50 bulb. Anyone know if there's a reason not to use it on my refugium

Try to get a 6500K or lower color temperature. It tends to be better for plant growth in that it usually has more PAR per watt compared to 50/50 lamps.

[Knox_RBP]

So I can just change the bulb in the fixture or would it be more practical to just use a different setup? I remember seeing people use fairly cheap light setup from home depot and suck that had those ratings you mentioned.

[Jstdv8]

I use a cheap clip on lamp with a reflector and a 27 watt swirl style CFL, I think its 5000k

[Knox_RBP]

that's exactly what i was thinking of but couldn't remember exactly. Thanks

[jayghmi]

Not to side track, but is that a bio wheel in the picture?

[Amphiprion]

So I can just change the bulb in the fixture or would it be more practical to just use a different setup? I remember seeing people use fairly cheap light setup from home depot and suck that had those ratings you mentioned.

Do you mean the bulb temperature didn't work? I've had better luck with the lower color temps on many occasions. You can even confirm it in dry weight of the algae, if you'd like to compare. You just won't get the same amount of light with a 50/50 lamp compared a lower Kelvin lamp, assuming they are the same wattage.

In the instances that don't seem to work, most of the limitation is elsewhere and not light-related at that point. Light limitation can certainly occur, though, assuming there are adequate nutrients in the tank. That's not always the problem though (and usually not), which is why I recommend bright lighting for a refugium--as much as you can manage and it still be practical. Some folks even use metal halides, but that's largely impractical for most people--both in terms of electricity and heat.

[Knox_RBP]

Not to side track, but is that a bio wheel in the picture?

yeah it was still on the emperor shell.