Need advise: New 4x2x2 setup

[imanewbies]

Hi to everyone. Firstly, pardon me if i posted this in the wrong section but thought this was probably the best place for me to post this to get the right feedback.

I'm intending to get a 4x2x2 tank along with a 2.5x1.5x1.5 sump. My plan for this setup would be a FOWLR setup for bigger predatory fish.

Right now, the specie that i will want to keep are groupers. Either from the hind family or the polka dot grouper. Do you guys think a 4x2x2 is alright for the polka dot grouper?

I don't have other species in mind at the moment, any suggestions? Don't have any interest in triggers or eels. I think it'll be rather dull to have just 1 grouper in such a big tank.

For the maintank, i would have approx. 60kg(maybe a little more) of LR, which is approx. 120lbs. I'm thinking very hard, whether to have a DSB or to just go for bare bottom. Groupers are known to dig to form hiding spots among the base LR, so a DSB might not be the best idea unless i put nets below the sandbed to prevent disturbing the lower layers. Any input on this? Just some advise so i can make a more informed decision.

In the sump,I would have a skimmer, biological filter media(probably biohome or broken pieces of LR) combined with filter wool at the top of the bio media. What skimmer do you guys recommend? Budget for the skimmer is aimed at around S$200(live in Singapore) or less. I currently own a Weipro 2014 skimmer but i feel it might be insufficient.

For water flow of the maintank, i currently have a Tunze Turbelle 6060 which i'm going to use but i intend to add at least another Tunze Turbelle 6060(or 2 smaller wavemakers) for water circulation.

Lighting, i'm most probably going to go for FL bulbs. 1 white and 1 blue bulb.

Design of the tank i have in mind:
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/33563Tanke.JPG

Design of the sump i have in mind:
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/33563Sump3e.JPG

Any feedback on the sump and tank design would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance! ;)

[EdKruzel]

I think a 120 is a bit small for groupers; properly fed and cared for they will be far more active than most seen in the hobby.
I used a 120 as a grow out for larger fish like groupers, but only until they reached around 8''s.
There is a louti in my gallery.

[jjk82901]

as far as the tank goes and the pump. the overflow may not have enough perimeter for the flow rate of the pump (900 gph). may i suggest moving the overflow into the middle back or side depending on which sides will be view able. also you may want to consider an out of sump skimmer because i think you may have microbubble problems based on the flow through the sump. bubble traps work, but not if there is too much flow through the sump. i believe a rule of thumb is 3X volume of tank for the flow rate though a skimmer/sump. i don't know what skimmers run $ there but MRC 2 or Precision Marine would make a nice skimmer for that tank.
DSB is up to you if you like the looks, personally i would put the DSB in the refugium compartment of your skimmer with LR and cheato. algea.
JM $.02
jk

[imanewbies]

Hi, thanks for the reply.

I think i'll skip the polka dot grouper. The other species, the hinds(genus cephalopholis), those are the smaller groupers as compared to the other larger cousins like lyretail, louti etc.. From what i know, quite a few species of the groupers from the genus cephalopholis should only grow till around 8"-12".

A specie that i'm interested in is the coral hind, but don't appear to be sold here in our marine market.

Regarding the perimeter of my overflow, i haven't marked out the length and breadth of it yet. I only have the height which is derived based on my old 4x2x2 which sprang a leak. I'm going to custom build my tank, so I am most likely going to discuss with the tank maker and decide on this. Don't think i'll shift it, preference is to leave it on the left hand corner(towards back) of the tank.

i believe a rule of thumb is 3X volume of tank for the flow rate though a skimmer/sump.

May i know how do i calculate this? Based on what? Flowrate from the overflow box? Can elaborate a little, don't really understand what you mean here. :confused:
I should get a pump that is 3x the flowrate of the volume of the tank for my skimmer? Thought this is based on the pump recommended based on the skimmer specs?

I'll check out the 2skimmers mentioned and see if it can be bought locally. I'll consider carefully having an out of sump skimmer instead of in-sump.

Thanks for the feedbacks.. ;)

[imanewbies]

Digging up this old thread.. don't want to start another thread.

After much thinking, i've finally gotten myself a new 4x2x2 tank with a 2.5x1.5x1.5 sump. I haven't started on the piping yet but i hope to have the piping done with water running in the system within 1week.

I'm still rather undecided between bare bottom or a really thin sand bed of 1". At this point in time, my decision is leaning towards bare bottom. However, I would like to get more feedback before i finalize my decision.

I've browsed some posts on Reefcentral, I've read about using starboard(hope i didn't get the name wrong) as a base for the rocks if opting for bare bottom. What is this material? I can't find much information on it.

If I leave the bottom as glass, I'm going to make racks using eggcrates and PVC pipes as support to place the rocks on. This should provide alot more stability for the rock structure as compared to stacking rocks on the bare glass bottom.

Any other suggestions?