375 Gallon Tank Planning...Need Help

[Babybrown1249]

Aquarium - 375 gallon; 96Lx30Wx30T ($1,406)
Sump/Ref - 100 Gallon stock tank ($79.99)
1 - Marineland Acrylic Sump Filtration Systems Model 4 ($449.99)
2 - Closed loop system; Mocean 2000 Wave Maker (4000gph)($279.99ea)
1 - Return pump for stocktank; Reeflo Hammerhead Hybrid Pump (4950gph)($389.99ea)
1 - 75 GPD RO/DI 6 Stage *DELUXE* System ($269.99)

This is what I have so far... What do you think?

[mitchellmoto]

Looks like you got it planned What are you thinking for lights? LED? Halides?

[Babybrown1249]

I would love to go LED I just don't know how to figure out how much I need. I have seen the full coverage LEDs or doing the large canister LEDs. What do you think?

[mitchellmoto]

Yea little harder to figure power needed with LEDs. I say go with a quality brand name and add as you need them. That is the great thing about LEDs, since they are so small adding more seems easier.
I'm on the fence myself. I'm all little bit of a tech geek and love the idea of LEDs, which is why I bought the Ecoxotics for the 120gal I previously had set up. But I seen to favor the look of halides for some reason. I feel the light looks more natural, but that is just a personal preference. I think the ultimate is Halide/LED combo.

[Babybrown1249]

I have been looking at those...some MH with exotic stunners

[mitchellmoto]

I purchased 2 of the 24" panorama fixtures with stand mounts. Really like them and they looked great on my 120gal but they are far too large for my 2 nanos. Right now they are over my frag tanks in the garage. i have the 2 panaromas and a 250W MH. I'm waiting for the frag tanks to finish a mini cycle happening for some reason. Once the water parameters get back to their rightful place I will test which light shows better growth and/or color.

I would skip the stunners and get something more powerful. Stunners seem to be more for just color or for smaller tanks for your planned sized tank I'd go bigger. If you like ecoxotics then get some panorama pro modules to add to you MH.

Later
Mitch

[Babybrown1249]

Orphek Nilus 24 Inch LED Light Fixture - Black
What do you think about these. I think I would need 4-6 for the tank though?

[Babybrown1249]

Well maybe only 3...They have an equal PAR to 400W MH plus more lumens.

[mitchellmoto]

Shouldn't be a problem to place three strategically. You can always add more down the road as needed. I think the large tanks with nicely placed lights are nicer than the totally over lighted tanks. The tanks with high lighted areas and nice shadow areas look more natural. Overhangs alway place nice shadows in the tanks as well.

[mitchellmoto]

Any progress on your new setup??

[Babybrown1249]

Sorry I am deployed right now so the setup has been put on hold unfortunately but I am still planning a large tank setup. Anywhere from 240-400 whichever has the best deal at the time of purchase.

What do you think is going to be easier. I know trying to plan water flow and lighting is getting harder and more expensive the higher in water volume I go so I am trying to find the happy median.

[mitchellmoto]

No problem and please be safe.
If you aren't set on a particular size it is better because you can just look the the best deal that comes your way, rather than fixating on one size. If you are willing to make a road trip there are some awesome deals to be had in the for sale threads. I've seen great deals but they of course are never in NM.

Good luck and let us know when you get back.

Later
Mitch

[Babybrown1249]

Alright mitch, the mind is racing with this setup. I am leaning toward a closed loop system on an ~400 gallon tank from glasscages but I am not sure how to design the setup, any advice?

Oh and what are your thoughts on controllers? I have found a couple I like but I have no experience with controllers at all.

[mitchellmoto]

I have to admit I've never even played with a controller. Really there are only a few and as long as you stick with the name brand ones you more than likely won't be disappointed. Some have different features so just find what features are important to you and get that one.

Closed loops are not too difficult. Depending on how may pumps you want to run you will have an intake and several exits. Simple as that. You will of course have to put some sort of screen to prevent you fish from being sucked in.
Most people try and hide the returns in the rock work. If you have the funds and want to get fancy you can go with some ocean motions which will very your outputs to create a turbulent flow. http://www.vividaquariums.com/10Expa...0&SortBy=Price
Whom ever builds your tank should have experience at positioning them and if you talk to them I sure they can help plan it out to get exactly what you want.

[Babybrown1249]

So for the closed loop system and the normal overflows with the oceans motions. I would need what, 1 drain and 1 return for the sump and ref per overflow (2 overflows) and then put another hole in ea overflow for the drain to the closed loop and then 4 holes or 8 holes (2 Ocean Motions) for the rest of the tank (holes in the bottom)? What do you think?

[albano]

Originally Posted by Babybrown1249

So for the closed loop system and the normal overflows with the oceans motions. I would need what, 1 drain and 1 return for the sump and ref per overflow (2 overflows) and then put another hole in ea overflow for the drain to the closed loop and then 4 holes or 8 holes (2 Ocean Motions) for the rest of the tank (holes in the bottom)? What do you think?

Not exactly sure what you're thinking, but IMO you do not want the closed loop drawing from the overflows...if your water level dropped, you'd run the closed loop pumps dry, and could burn them out!

[Babybrown1249]

Theoretically (sp) If I put the closed loop drawing from the in tank overflows with little to no pipe it should not have a problem running dry. The overflow should always have water in it even if the pumps were turned off correct?

[albano]

Originally Posted by Babybrown1249

The overflow should always have water in it even if the pumps were turned off correct?

Not that I know of!...if there is no water returning to the tank, water stops going over the overflows!

[Babybrown1249]

The closed loop would immediately return the water right back to the tank though thus replacing what is being removed. That is in theory though of course.

[mitchellmoto]

He is right you don't want to run you intakes off of your overflow. Your overflows will run dry, for example anytime you shut off you sump pump your tank will drain until the water is no longer going over the overflow. You would also more than likely be pulling in bubbles if it was installed in the overflow and would put micro bubbles ever where in the tank. Another major concern would be the size of the overflow needed to handle your sump pump plus one or two closed loop pumps. You overflow surface area would need to be huge and it would probably sound like a water fall with that much water flowing over it.
The intake to the closed loop should be place lower in the tank. Should easily be hidden behind or in rock work. Just make sure you can get to it in case of needed maintenance. You also want to make sure to have valves at each intake and return under the tank. This way you can close the valve and remove the pump to regularly clean it.

So yes one intake, lower in the tank to the pump from the pump to the ocean motions and then to the returns. Returns are typically in the bottom but I can't see why you couldn't put a few in the back wall as well. I'm pretty sure you can run more than one return off each ocean motion output.
It says they can handle up to 7500gph so you could set these up and not have to have any powerheads in the tank.

Another idea would be if you have room behind the tank you can run a coast to coast overflow and have the plumbing behind the tank rather than having the overflow taking up restate in your tank. Coast to coast overflows are supposed to preform better as well. Or have your overflow on the back of the tank rather than in it. Or hell a coast to coast on the back of the tank and get the best of both worlds.

[Babybrown1249]

Ok I guess that makes sense. I will have to ask the company about a coast to coast overflow. That sounds good...then I could do the intakes low in the back of the tank for the closed loop.

How many branches do you think I could run off of each of those ocean motion outputs? I could do some returns on the wall and some returns on the floor of the tank then. The less visible equipment the better I think so if I can get rid of the powerheads completely.

Now what do you guys think of metal halides...which brands? and how many?

[mitchellmoto]

I would assume that since it can handle 7500gph you could get 2 to 3 returns off each outlet. You just figure out your numbers. If you maxed out the gph then with 12 returns ( 3 off each outlet) you would have 625gph out of each return. I would think that would be pretty good but that would be one big pump. Then again if you are talking a 400gal tank that might be better than a bunch of powerheads like you said.

As far as Halides, I have a soft spot for them. I have T5HO, metal Halides and LED and out of them all I still like the look of halides the best. They look more natural to me. Keep in mind that is just my opinion. With halides comes heat of course. How many will depend on how long your tank is. You can figure 1 every 2ft. So 6ft tank would need 3. A 250w is typically good for up to 24in deep. If you go with a deeper tank you would have to move up to 400w. As far as brands I'm a DIY guy and I've never purchased an entire halide unit. I usually buy a retro kit or just piece my lighting systems together. I do this mostly because of the price of a fixture. Man those things are pricey. I like to purchase a good quality reflector to get the most out of my lights and I usually stick to XM bulbs. I like XM because of their price.

Later
Mitch

[Babybrown1249]

I am like you when it comes to Metal Halides, I really like the look. The only thing I really like about LEDs is the reds and obviously the no heat factor. I hate the price of LEDs. The tank will be 8' so I will have to go with 4 lights...I might have to pick your brain on DIY for these, I love saving money. So 250w all across will be enough...the tank shouldn't be any deeper than 30in. I really want to try to keep everything in stand and canopy so we will see.

[mitchellmoto]

if you go 30in you should move up to 400w if you want to keep "high light" corals low. If you don't mind strategically placing "high light" corals higher and the "lower light" corals lower in the tank 250w should be fine. This will give you more places to put coral because if a coral is getting too much light you can lower them or visa Versa. Going with 250w will save you some electricity cost as well.. DIY Metal Halide are really a breeze and I can help when your ready. Also when you are ready I can send you some links on places to get good deals. I would go with 250w DE halides as the reflectors are smaller but the SE MH are slightly cheaper. With the smaller reflectors you will have more room in the canopy and you can always add just a few LED strips down the road if you want to add some color and make your coral color pop. The DE MH are supposed to be better than the SE but I have to admit I'm not exactly sure why I never really looked into it. I have both. SE on my planted tank and a SE on my frag system.