are these choices ok????opinions please

[1spotpooalot]

Ok....i Think i went in deep this time. I got a 210 gallon tank with 2 closed loops featuring 5 1" bulk heads. Also 2 overflows which I need to send to a planned 55 gallonsump/fuge. I am hearing all kinds of talk so far. Fuge...dont fuge...bio ballls...no bio balls...filter media...and these are useless.
So my plan is...210 gallon running the 2 closed loops off of 1 external pump. I am looking at the Iwaki pumps. Are these decent pumps? and how much water can I or should I suck through 2 1 inch bulkheads and push back into 3 bulkheads. I know (i think) that water will only drain through a 1 inch at 600/hour and x 2 this would be 1200 but can I and should I pull more through?
now for the sump. This will be a 55 gallon which I plan on converting over to a 3 compartment housing for 1) A refugium, and 2) an area for the return and waste pump (waste for water changes that is) and 3) a compartment for the skimmer which I plan on using the Aqua C ev 180 w/mag7(I`m not sure if this skimmer will suffice for the size system)

this is just the begining...please excuse my plumbing inexperience. My current 72 has no sump and I`m using a HOB remora pro (which is why I stuck with Aqua c

[Geoff]

could you post a pic of the tank with all of the bulkheads in it?

what kind of tank do you want this to be? what corals/fish are you interested in keeping? those holes are a bit small for a conventional CLS. you might want to look into running eductors on the outpus of the CLS's usning a hause of a pump like the Iwaki's. i would also suggest going with 2 seperate pumps for the 2 CLS's. makes it easier to change the flow patters around.

Honestly, i would put a true settling tank on that size tank. let gravity do your siphoning for you. i am in the process of adding a 30g conical settling tank to my 125g. this will pull the detritus out of solution so that i can easily remove it by turning a valve.

not sure the EV180 is enough of a skimmer for that size system. also a 55g tank is prolly to small for a 210 also, even if just used for a sump. it is not really the gallons size that is the problem it is the thin dimensions of a 55 that may give you problems. i would use a Rubbermaid 50g feeding tank instead. this is what i have on my system. they make other sizes also depending on the amount of room you have.

as for your drains being small, not a big deal. the amount of flow through the sump should equal the amount of water your skimmer can process. even some of the most powerfull skimmers are not able to process more than 1000gph. in most cases they are only processing 40-50% of the pumps rated capacity.

G~

[1spotpooalot]

Well first off I am going to go with a FOWLR system but I want this to be able to convert to a reef later down the road with ease. So basically I want it set up for reef but I will have no corals and I will have non reef safe fish (until I can get a bigger tank).

Well hera is a pic. It seems strange to me that it has 5 bulkheads. I thought there should be an even amount. But I`m just still a bit of a beginer ESPECIALY on plumbing and sumps

[1spotpooalot]

I`m sorry...these are 1 1/4 " bulk heads and drains

[1spotpooalot]

Though these measure 1 1/4 I guess they are actually 1" bulkheads because the ID will lesson as the pipes are put together.
Sorry once again.

[Geoff]

very strange arrangement of holes. do you know how the tank was setup with those holes?

i do not like to put inlets behind LR, they can get clogged and are a real pain to clean out when they are behind the LR. i do like the one bulkhead up high, but i would have rather used that one as an outlet and not as an inlet.

i am going to have to keep looking at the pic for a while.

G~

[1spotpooalot]

lol...It is starnge but I am going to use flex pipe and extend the blkhead through the rock in order to facilitae flow and cleaning. In a sense I will be able to re direct the flow from under the rock.

[1spotpooalot]

My plan is to use the 2 bottom holes as my suction and the top 3 as my returns