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View Full Version : Help with water flow in new 120 g reef tank


phragman53
06/23/2007, 06:30 PM
I'm upgrading from a 38g to a 120g reef tank this summer. Things are still in the planning stages and nothing's been purchased - yet. The tank will contain a variety of soft and hard corals, various inverts and some fish. Since I'm new to RC please excuse my lack of acronyms as I'm still learning. It is a custom tank in that I can put the overflows and any number of bulkheads wherever I want.

The set up as I now plan it is

48x24x24 custom glass tank - 3 sides with Starfire glass
Pro Berlin sump (30 g) with built in refugium (separate feed)
Main pump - Sequence Dart
ASM G2 skimmer
Aquactinics Solar Flare T5
Phosban reactor
ReefKeeper 2

My questions for now mostly involve optimizing water flow.

1. I'm planning two overflow boxes (1 1/2" drains and 1" returns). Does it matter where they go in terms of preventing dead spots? I would rather not have them in the corners as they would be seen when looking in the tank from the end. I notice that the AGA 120s put the overflows centered in each half of the tank. Would you see any problem with the AGA set up?

2. We are also planning a closed loop system for additional water movement with a mag 18 pump feeding two 3/4" bulkheads which again can be placed wherever I want them. Right now they're planned to be 6" from the front and side. I plan to point them backwards toward the rear corners of the tank. Obviously I want to hide them in the LR so this will affect their placement My goal is to have large amount of water movement and provide the three types of movement - surge, laminar and turbulence - with no dead spots and no obvious hardware. Where would I best put them to complement the overflow returns? Any other thoughts on optimizing this setup?

3. Even with the ReefKeeper should I consider a SCWD for the closed loop system?

Your comments are appreciated. I will post pics of the progress once I get going.

janakaybravo
06/23/2007, 06:48 PM
For flow the Vortechs are great and don't take up much room. The Seio's are good too but very large. I don't like the overflows in the corners either. They look bad from the side.

EBOLII
06/23/2007, 07:35 PM
http://www.oceansmotions.com

that may assist in thinking ideas