Hi everyone,
Firstly I'd like to express how nice it is to join such a friendly and informative group of hobbyists like yourselves. I've gathered some great insight from you guys since I've joined here and feel much more confident in starting my set up now since I first developed some interest a few months back.
I'm slowly but surely gathering equipment and knowledge to start my tank RIGHT, hopefully within the next couple of months. Here's a breakdown of what I have so far:
Substrate: flourite black (its been very difficult getting a hold of aqua soil in Toronto, Canada without outrageous costs...still paying off my student loans
)
Lighting: 3x55 Watt with AhSupply wannabe DIY reflectors
DIY stand and canopy that I'm really proud of
Tank: 55 gallon (fish only aquarium at the moment) but might upgrade to a 75 gallon..still thinking about it
30 Gallon sump which is hosting my biomedia and heater
pressurized CO2 system ready to go. I've made a dual venturi reactor as per Tom's design and have also inherited a mazzei injector 384 to experiment with when I have the chance.
Turbo twist 6x UV sterilizer
My main concern at the moment will be to establish good circulation from the start and this is where I would appreciate some input. At the moment I've got my tank drilled on both sides with an internal overflow on one side and the return coming from the other side with horiontal spray bar across the bottom. I've got two problems with this setup. Firstly, I don't get enough flow as I have to slow down the pump in order for the water to drain adequately through the overflow. Secondly, the spray bar pushes the water out with too much velocity which causes my fish to get pushed towards the front of the tank if they get in the way. Ultimately, I'd like to set up a closed loop for filtration/circulation and would like some advice on this. I'm thinking of drilling another two holes at the tank bottom so that I have two intakes to the pump and two outlets as well. Would it be better to have both intakes on the top and outlets on the bottom or vice versa. Or would it offer better circulation to have an input and output at both the top and bottom of the tank? Also, in terms of pumps, I've got a Mag7 and a Mag 9.5. So i can either do two separate loops or have the Mag9.5 run the whole system. Would the Mag9.5 provide adequate flow for a 50 or 75 gallon? If so, still adequate with the mazzei 384? I'll most likely have an external heater/UV sterilizer and canister filter (maybe nu clear 533) in the set up as well.
Sorry for the lengthy post, but some advice and/or details of your experiences would be much appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Immy
Firstly I'd like to express how nice it is to join such a friendly and informative group of hobbyists like yourselves. I've gathered some great insight from you guys since I've joined here and feel much more confident in starting my set up now since I first developed some interest a few months back.
I'm slowly but surely gathering equipment and knowledge to start my tank RIGHT, hopefully within the next couple of months. Here's a breakdown of what I have so far:
Substrate: flourite black (its been very difficult getting a hold of aqua soil in Toronto, Canada without outrageous costs...still paying off my student loans
Lighting: 3x55 Watt with AhSupply wannabe DIY reflectors
DIY stand and canopy that I'm really proud of
Tank: 55 gallon (fish only aquarium at the moment) but might upgrade to a 75 gallon..still thinking about it
30 Gallon sump which is hosting my biomedia and heater
pressurized CO2 system ready to go. I've made a dual venturi reactor as per Tom's design and have also inherited a mazzei injector 384 to experiment with when I have the chance.
Turbo twist 6x UV sterilizer
My main concern at the moment will be to establish good circulation from the start and this is where I would appreciate some input. At the moment I've got my tank drilled on both sides with an internal overflow on one side and the return coming from the other side with horiontal spray bar across the bottom. I've got two problems with this setup. Firstly, I don't get enough flow as I have to slow down the pump in order for the water to drain adequately through the overflow. Secondly, the spray bar pushes the water out with too much velocity which causes my fish to get pushed towards the front of the tank if they get in the way. Ultimately, I'd like to set up a closed loop for filtration/circulation and would like some advice on this. I'm thinking of drilling another two holes at the tank bottom so that I have two intakes to the pump and two outlets as well. Would it be better to have both intakes on the top and outlets on the bottom or vice versa. Or would it offer better circulation to have an input and output at both the top and bottom of the tank? Also, in terms of pumps, I've got a Mag7 and a Mag 9.5. So i can either do two separate loops or have the Mag9.5 run the whole system. Would the Mag9.5 provide adequate flow for a 50 or 75 gallon? If so, still adequate with the mazzei 384? I'll most likely have an external heater/UV sterilizer and canister filter (maybe nu clear 533) in the set up as well.
Sorry for the lengthy post, but some advice and/or details of your experiences would be much appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Immy