my 29 gallon

[LightsAreBright]

Hi,
I am starting a 29 gallon reef after my old tank cracked.
here are my diagrams, if it looks ok, im going to place the order in today for it.

Tell me what you think about it.

 

[Craig Manoukian]

Not a closed loop expert, but it looks good to me. Is that the back of the tank we are looking at? 18" high I presume.

 

[ReefLady]

Welcome to ReefSanctuary!

I take it we're looking at the back of the tank here?

 

[Craig Manoukian]

Post tag team, eh Travis?

 

[LightsAreBright]

yep, thats the back. I just came back from ordering it. I changed the 1.25" to 1.5" bulkheads, since they dont have 1.25" bulkheads. Ill just reduce the piping.
its gonna take 3 weeks!

 

[mps9506]

Why do you want to go over the back with the two additional closed loop returns? why not just stay with two? It will be much cleaner of a setup that way IMO. Or are you going to be using sea swirls? Just seems like 4 outputs for one closed loop pump would be a bit excessive and reduce flow at the given outputs more than I would like, unless you plan on having an ampmaster 4000 on there...
Otherwise looks good.

 

[LightsAreBright]

the extra outputs are going to be blowing from the front of the tank to the back. Im going to be using a blueline 30x HD. I checked on reefcentral's head loss calculator, and it still puts out around 980 gph.

 

[mps9506]

I like the idea, but divided by four outputs, each out put is only pushing about 200 gph, some more than others because most of the water will want to travel the easiest way out, ie least head...

 

[LightsAreBright]

Will that still be good for the SPS?

 

[LightsAreBright]

how can i direct the flows coming out of the holes? They dont make any loc lines for anything bigger than a 3/4"

 

[mps9506]

I just think you are diffusing the flow too much. You have the right idea though. I think it you just stuck with two outlets for your closed loop you will be fine, that tank is not that large, so I don't think you need four outlets.
I do like the idea of the flow returning from the front however. It is hard to ensure all the corals get good flow from that angle. That is why I like sea swirls even though they do cost a lot for what they do. You also might want to consider a spray bar manifold to go across the front with a smaller closed loop pump in additio to what you already have.
Flow is a very difficult issue to deal with and honestly it is always difficult to say if you have enough flow until you actually put the setup into action and have yur rock and coral in there.
As your corals grow you will find your flows need will change as well.

sorry no concrete answer
Mike

 

[LightsAreBright]

how can i put locline y fittings on the outputs? They only make 3/4" and below. How can i make the flow go all around the tank? I had dead spots in my old tank, and i dont want any with this one.I dont really want to do a spray bar and get a seperate pump. Sorry for all the questions. I just dont want the tank to be made, and then change my mind.

 

[LightsAreBright]

Also for the pump, should i get a 1100 gph, or spend an extra 20 bucks and get 1270 gph? do you think the 1100 gph will be fine?

 

[mps9506]

Keep asking. It saves a lot of trouble to do it right the first time.
I erpsonally have never used loc lin so I'm honestly not sure. I have just used elbows and such on the bulkheads to direct the flow, I always thought the loclines appeared to constricted flow too much. But if you use a bulkhead with a slip fitting just slid a short length of pipe in it with a 45 elbow or 90 degree elbow to direct the flow You want enough flow coming out of there that it should spread out a good deal, espcially when it hits the frist obstruction.

 

[LightsAreBright]

so basically, get a strong pump so that when it hits something, the flow will "shatter" and spread right? So for that, i think i should get the 40hd-x. Will that be too much flow?
hehe sorry. I cant decide.

 

[mps9506]

Ones thing I have learned is that it is VERY difficult to have too much flow in an SPS tank. As long as you aren't blowing the flesh off the corals with a concentrated flow of water they seem to thrive.

 

[LightsAreBright]

ok 40hd-x it is. Do you think i will get good coverage with the flow? i was thinking that the mag 9.5 can take care of the top part of the tank, and the closed loop take cares of the middle and bottom part of the tank.

 

[mps9506]

Sounds good to me...
if you decide later on you need more flow then really all you need to do is upgrade the pumps, and perhaps you can then add on some other returns.

One other thing I didn't mention, make sure you have enough room in your sump to take up the water volume when your return pump cuts off. Looks like you will drain quite a bit of water with the returns going through the wall. The water will drain to the bottom of those return holes. I wouldn't recomend a check valve either, just ensure your sump can hold the extra water volume.

Mike

 

[LightsAreBright]

The returns are only 2" below the top of the tank. But, yeah, ill double check. If it cant hold it, ill go out and buy a 20 gallon or something for the sump.
Thanks.