Advice on tank purchase and plumbing please :)

Hello Everyone,

I'm finally getting close to setting up a planted tank and would appreciate some advice on plumbing and what type of glass to get on my tank. I've been thinking of getting a rimless 75 Gallon with the bottoms drilled for a closed filtration system. The tank will be made with ½” glass and I’m not sure on whether to go with Starphire or normal float glass (for half the price). I haven’t had the opportunity to see the difference in person so would appreciate some input from those of you who have seen the difference.

My second issue is figuring out what size of bulkheads to fit at the bottom of my tank. My pump is a turbosea 790P (high pressure ~ 800GPH) with ¾” inlet/outlet which will power the nu clear 533/547 and ETH 300/UV sterilizer. I am unsure of whether to use the mazzei 384 for my CO2 injection and if the one pump will offer enough pressure to do everything, or to use my mag 7 with fractionating impeller instead of the mazzei. Will having a 800GPH high pressure pump AND a mag7 be too much flow for a 75 Gallon?

If I use only the turbosea 790P then i’d imagine a 1” bulkhead draining from the tank should be enough but if I’m going to wye off and feed the mag7 as well, I’m guessing I’ll need a larger diameter drain to avoid starving the pumps....any suggestions? Since I’m new to all of this, any advice would be appreciated...even if its obvious .

Here is what I have at my disposal so far in terms of equipment:
- 75 gallon rimless (soon)
- Old fluorite black used in another non-planted tank for about 2yrs
- Hydor eth 300 heater
- Coralife turbo twist 3x UV sterilizer
- Coralife turbosea 790P high pressure pump
- Nu clear 533 and 547
- Mag 7 with fractionating impeller
- Mazzei venturi 384
- Pressurized CO2 (Rex Grigg regulator and Fabco needle valve)
- Milwaukee ph controller (as a fall back rather than the main source of CO2 control)
- Vortech MP40
- Lighting - still considering whether to go for a premade fixture or DIY something to match my stand – I’m estimating 4x54W T5’s with separate switches (2 bulbs/switch) so that I’ll have the full 4 bulbs only as a midday burst.

Its taken me a long time to collect everything but I figured I’d save the actual tank purchase for last when I’m finally settled back home in Canada. So here I am. Thanks in advance for any advice!!!

p.s. sorry for the lonnng post. I just thought that I'd provide as much info as I could think of to give you guys a better understanding of what I'm hoping to set up.

Cheers,

Immy

 

Thanks Gerry and Biollante for the quick reply and very useful suggestions!!

I Think I'll have two closed loops to keep the inside of the tank looking as neat as possible. Here's what I have so far...

First Loop:

1. 1.5" Bulkhead out from the tank
2. wye off, ball valve to household drain
3. union to turbosea 790P pressure pump then two parallel legs from output of pump
4a. Leg1 - Mazzei + bypass and then NC 547
4b. Leg2 - NC 533
5. Converge two legs and have a bypass from the converged line with UV sterilizer and gate valve prior to UV unit to control flow
6. Heater inline after UV bypass
7. wye-in water source for refilling tank from household water line with Watts L1170 thermostatic mixer to regulate water temperature going into tank
8. Bulkhead return with locline Y 3/4"

Second Loop:

1" bulkhead from tank to Mag7 needlewheel and return with locline Y 1/2"

This will help me keep the mp40 out of the tank and allow me to tinker with both the mazzei and the needlewheel before deciding which way to go.

My tank manufacturer insists on having the holes drilled and then tempering the bottom for added safety so I have to be precise about where to have my bulkhead holes. Gerry, you mentioned staggering the returns to the tank. Any suggestions on Placement of loop1 return and loop 2 return?..... or any further suggestions in general? I'm thinking of doing the 1.5" drain hole approximately 5" from the back of the tank and 3" from the side of the tank. The bulkhead for loop2 would be approximately 4" from the back of the tank and maybe 6" from the side of the tank. The returns would be on the other side of the tank and pretty much in symmetry except hole sizes. Do you think this would work? Any other suggestions?

I know I've got a lot of work to do in terms of laying out the plumbing but am hoping to get the tank ordered first with the basic bulkhead layout.

I really appreciate the advice!!!!

Thanks again,
Take good care,
Imran