New 300g Bullet Reef Finally Running!

[Dragonist]

In regards to help with the dead spots, I'm more like xtreme novice w/ reef equipment. What i do with and dead spots in my tank when blow sand a detritus of rocks(if i see any i get to blowing). Due to you have no sand in the areas i will get the turkey baster and suck it up personally! Alsomy clean up grew also(my gulf of mexico hermit(i have a total of 4 hermits in my 55g)usually gets in my deadspots and shifts the sand(i assume eating) detritus.

[Jadinop]

The return pump should be used primarily for filtration, what you need is circulation or in tank flow. For a tank that size, you are not going to be able to get enough flow using the return pump alone without putting massive amounts of flow through your sump. A closed loop or wave makers (Vortechs, Tunze, etc.) are going to be needed to get the water moving sufficently in your tank.

Looking at your plumbing pics, I think see a problem. The return pump intake should be connected to the sump with a pipe 1.5 times bigger than the pump fitting. It's hard to tell but it looks to me like you have a reducing fitting and some vinyl tubing connecting the pump to the sump.

Just doublechecked the specs, the Hammerhead pump has a 1.5" threaded fitting on the input/output. You should have no less than a 2" pipe feeding that pump.

[customshopguy]

Your info sounds about right, I am trying to make this sump work because I picked it up for cheap and it only has a 1 in outlet. To go larger I would have to drill the sump but I have never had any luck drilling acrylic, always seems to crack on me. I will do some research on the closed loop this sounds like an attractive alternative. Thanks for the advise.
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Clint

[customshopguy]

Ok so I did some research and it looks like a hang over back closed loop setup is the way to go.

?'s
Can i keep my current 1" outlet for my sump and put a 2" inlet pipe on the pump as you suggested and t the 1" from the hob closed loop into it?
Are there any restrictions on how for under the water the inlet or outlet for the closed loop have to be?
Can I use black abs vent pipe for the closed loop, the under the water portion anyways?
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Clint

[customshopguy]

I'm sorry, I meant any restriction on how for under the water they CAN be, im trying to direct flow under my rock mounds in my bare bottom spots.

[Dragonist]

Originally Posted by customshopguy

I'm sorry, I meant any restriction on how for under the water they CAN be, im trying to direct flow under my rock mounds in my bare bottom spots.

How about pointing a power head @ it?

[customshopguy]

I'm pretty anti-powerhead.. So I've got the plumbing parts to put on the under rock spray bar and add an intake from the top middle of the tank to improve flow in the front half of the tank.

My new question is i am running all of this on 1 pump, so can you have 2 intakes and 3 outputs on 1 pump and still have the only water level variation be in the sump or am i going to drain my sump?
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Clint

[Jadinop]

You cannot combine a closed loop and a sump system without having issues. If you add a second intake to the pump from the tank you run the risk of draining the tank down to the lowest part of the new pipe. You will be defeating the purpose of having the protection provided by the overflow wall.

One suggestion would be using your current pump for a true closed loop and purchase a smaller return pump. There is no reason to blast that much flow through the sump. If you are maxing out the 2" drain you have then you have too much filtration (sump) flow.

I can understand being anti-powerhead but at what point do the numerous pipes in the tank become more of an eyesore than a few good sized powerheads. You cannot run a 300g reef tank on a single 5800gph return pump. If we disregard the physics of head pressure and plumbing issues, at best you won't even have 20x turnover. The high flow/low wattage pumps available today can be a better option than a closed loop with a high wattage (expensive to run) pump.

[Dragonist]

Originally Posted by Jadinop

You cannot combine a closed loop and a sump system without having issues. If you add a second intake to the pump from the tank you run the risk of draining the tank down to the lowest part of the new pipe. You will be defeating the purpose of having the protection provided by the overflow wall.

One suggestion would be using your current pump for a true closed loop and purchase a smaller return pump. There is no reason to blast that much flow through the sump. If you are maxing out the 2" drain you have then you have too much filtration (sump) flow.

I can understand being anti-powerhead but at what point do the numerous pipes in the tank become more of an eyesore than a few good sized powerheads. You cannot run a 300g reef tank on a single 5800gph return pump. If we disregard the physics of head pressure and plumbing issues, at best you won't even have 20x turnover. The high flow/low wattage pumps available today can be a better option than a closed loop with a high wattage (expensive to run) pump.

don't believe him he works for a lfs....he's trying to sell you some thing !

we all know I'm playing!

[menelaus22]

lookin great man! I have no idea what that brown coral is though. It looks like favite nodules, but it's definitely too SPS in structure to be anything like favite. Is it alive? have you seen it extend any polyps? Man, it looks like you really scored big on the live rock. Great looking pieces!!!

[customshopguy]

im not sure what it is yet either, it extends its zoanthid type tenticals everyday and is healthy just dont know what it is. Welcome back J, get another tank!

[customshopguy]

Here are some update pic's. These are day 12 just after installing my new heavily debated spray bar and second pump intake. Everything is now working great and I could not ask for better flow out of a sandy bottomed tank. Just have to install a check valve in the sump's intake line and get the skimmer its own pump to sit in the sump with it.

Ohh, and the hood is on in these pic's but have not refinished it yet, it looks how the stand used to. Plan on staining it this weekend.

[Reefjunkee]

Sweet looking setup.That rock sure has a lot of life on it.Where did You get it?

[customshopguy]

its florida aquacultured rock from gulf view, has mantis shrimp that i am hunting and aptasia that i am also hunting but besides that i love it, cycled quick, shipped in water so very little die off

[Jnicho]

Awesome tank!

You can absolutely do a closed loop and and sump on the same tank...you need to run them off 2 separate pumps is all. I'm with you on being anti-powerhead...most of the flow in my 125 comes from a closed loop... I also have a couple Koralia pumps but they are hidden in some rocks down low where they cannot be seen...if that was my tank I would setup a closed loop with a good sized basket strainer for intake and use either an OM4 or even OM8 for lots of random flow...on a huge peninsula tank like that, I don't think there is any practical way to use "powerheads"...my return pump is only doing about 4X turnover to allow plenty of time for the water to be filtered/skimmed...the theory is if you have too much flow throw the sump most of the water being returned is still dirty.

That's my $.02