Bellster165
11/24/2015, 08:07 PM
I have a 180 gallon tank that purchased when I was in college about 10 years ago from someone off of ebay. The guy had the tank set up as a reef tank and included most of his equipment with the purchase. I have had the tank set up as a freshwater tank and when I finally finished my basement I moved the tank down there and set it up a saltwater tank this summer. After looking at my electrical bill the last few months I need to make my setup way more efficient or I am going to go broke. I am also a teacher with two kids and a third on the way so money is tight. My biggest issue is that I think that sump is too small and I cant get it out from inside the stand to replace it because of a big center brace. The tank has two overflow boxes that drain through two filter socks into a 30 gallon oceanic reef ready sump with a Kent Marine Nautilus TE skimmer with a Mag 7. I also have another powerhead that feeds a carbon and GFO dual reactor that I picked up off of bulk reef supply and two 300 watt heaters in the sump. The sump then drains through a bulkhead into two Mag drive 18s that pump back into the tank. I added a separate 10 gallon tank that I added acrylic baffles to and made into a refugium that has some mangroves and chaeto. I originally tried to split one of the drains from the overflow into the fuge and then pump back into the sump, but couldn't get flow equalized and had to add another pump that sends water from my sump into the fuge. I also recently added two Hydor Koralia 3rd gen 2450 gph powerheads with a hydor smart wave controller for more circulation. I currently have the tank set up as FOWLR until I can afford a better lighting setup as right now I have a light that I got from Home Depot with 4 54 watt T5 bulbs.
Please give me some ideas of how to improve this set up because running three mag drive pumps, two circulation pumps, and a pump for my carbon and GFO and then two more pumps for my fuge is making my electric bill go through the roof. I have been saving up to replace the protein skimmer that I got with the tank and one of my thoughts was to get one like a reef octopus that I can drain into my fuge and that will eliminate one pump.
This week one of my Mag 18s died so I was going to take the money I have been saving for a new skimmer and buy a new mag drive but then I saw that they are not recommended for external pumps. So I am now considering using one external pump instead of the two mag drives, but I am not sure how to split the pump so that it sends water back up to both of the returns by the overflow boxes.
I attached a picture of a my sump and refugium. Please help...
Please give me some ideas of how to improve this set up because running three mag drive pumps, two circulation pumps, and a pump for my carbon and GFO and then two more pumps for my fuge is making my electric bill go through the roof. I have been saving up to replace the protein skimmer that I got with the tank and one of my thoughts was to get one like a reef octopus that I can drain into my fuge and that will eliminate one pump.
This week one of my Mag 18s died so I was going to take the money I have been saving for a new skimmer and buy a new mag drive but then I saw that they are not recommended for external pumps. So I am now considering using one external pump instead of the two mag drives, but I am not sure how to split the pump so that it sends water back up to both of the returns by the overflow boxes.
I attached a picture of a my sump and refugium. Please help...