Advise needed for new shallow tank idea

[Clement Chen]

Hi guys,

I have a 2g pico tank running and thinking of upgrading, I am very inspired by all the nice reefers shallow tank here in the forum, some have really amazing shallow tanks.

I need some advise on the equipment etc. Want to start a mixed reef, with sps. I am on a tight budget.

Here is my proposed tank build with sump, the display tank is about 37L and the sump will be also about 40L not including the FW reservoir. DP will be glass, Sump will be using old acrylic tank to convert.

First question is my sump too big? Second where should my chiller pump be? Third I have a tubby ATO where should i place the float switch?

Equpiment list

Light: E.Shine Aqua Beauty 70W LED Light ($350)

Skimmer: Probably a 100L skimmer (Any recommended brands?)

Chiller: Hailea 100A (bought for $170, 6mths old)

Chiller pump: around 600L/hr (Any recommended brands?)

Return pump (How big should this be?)

Current PAR 38 3B 2W for refuge

Will be using Current nano tank water pump as a wave maker 1 220l/hr and 300l/hr (Enough?)

Am I missing out any equipment?

Will have DSB and LR with chaeto for refuge, maybe some pods

Should I get any type reactors? What else should I take note of for keeping SPS?

All advise is greatly appreciated

[Guest]

A big sump is good for more water volume and equipment upgrade in future.

Maybe you want to consider a FR for phosphate remover and nitrate remover as well?

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

[Evolutionz]

Grats on your upgrading! since you have a tight budget, here's some suggestion from me :

Equpiment list

Light: E.Shine Aqua Beauty 70W LED Light ($350) - Go over to Eshine website and ask the sales rep about buying from them instead. i think the 70W version is USD100+ and with 30+ USD Shipping fee. total should be around 200 SGD only. but u losses the warranty. their price are much cheaper compared to local retailers.

Skimmer: Probably a 100L skimmer (Any recommended brands?) with your tank size, a Bubble Magus Nac3.5 sounds good enough.

Chiller: Hailea 100A (bought for $170, 6mths old)

Chiller pump: around 600L/hr (Any recommended brands?) Go for rio, though alittle more expensive, but its very energy saving.. uses probably 1/4 the wattage other pump uses for the same output.

Return pump (How big should this be?) go for the best, probably a 1000 - 1500l/hr Eheim pump.

Current PAR 38 3B 2W for refuge

Will be using Current nano tank water pump as a wave maker 1 220l/hr and 300l/hr (Enough?) Definitely not enough. Get yourself a Jebao Wp25 and a dimmer or a universal adapter to tune it down.

[Clement Chen]

thanks for the advice! Will slowly start getting the items. probably in a few more months den i start

[Boonboy]

IMO, your display tank is too shallow. Unless you do not intent to have LR in it or you are only planning as a frag tank.

[angmoh]

The return pump compartment may be too small, so does the skimmer compartment. For skimmer, you probably need to allocate a 20x20cm space.

Float switch should be placed in the return pump compartment.

a 60cm sump tank may be just nice for a skimmer, return and a small refugium. You probably need to do away with the reservoir, or forego the refugium.

[angmoh]

for your reference...

[Clement Chen]

IMO, your display tank is too shallow. Unless you do not intent to have LR in it or you are only planning as a frag tank.

for a shallow tank what is the ideal height? i dun want too high den look like normal tank

[Clement Chen]

The return pump compartment may be too small, so does the skimmer compartment. For skimmer, you probably need to allocate a 20x20cm space.

Float switch should be placed in the return pump compartment.

a 60cm sump tank may be just nice for a skimmer, return and a small refugium. You probably need to do away with the reservoir, or forego the refugium.

thanks angmoh. Will probably do a separate reservoir. thanks for the input

[Boonboy]

for a shallow tank what is the ideal height? i dun want too high den look like normal tank

Usually, the purpose for a shallow tank is for ease of maintenance. Personally, it depends on how long is your hand. If you are planning for mix reef(SPS,LPS&soft corals), then it becomes more challenging with a shallow tank. The amount of light and flow requirements differ greatly between SPS and soft corals.

[Clement Chen]

thank you for all ur advice. gave me something to think about. maybe Will go 2ft by 1ft by 1ft

[veliferium]

You can also take a look at other forums, esp nano-reef. That was one of the sites which I have been visiting quite frequently and also allowed me to narrow down to the dimensions I want.

For me, I could only accommodate a maximum of 3ft and a breadth of 2ft.

I wanted more open space in my aquarium in order to showcase a more open rock scape. So I ended up choosing a 2ft breadth.

Depth is usually quite dependant as you can never get enough of shallow tanks, especially these days where it's all the trend now. I feel that you should go with your own perception for depth. Try to look at as many different dimensions of tanks as possible to expose yourself to how it would 'feel' having that piece of dimension in the room.

HTH

[Clement Chen]

You can also take a look at other forums, esp nano-reef. That was one of the sites which I have been visiting quite frequently and also allowed me to narrow down to the dimensions I want.

For me, I could only accommodate a maximum of 3ft and a breadth of 2ft.

I wanted more open space in my aquarium in order to showcase a more open rock scape. So I ended up choosing a 2ft breadth.

Depth is usually quite dependant as you can never get enough of shallow tanks, especially these days where it's all the trend now. I feel that you should go with your own perception for depth. Try to look at as many different dimensions of tanks as possible to expose yourself to how it would 'feel' having that piece of dimension in the room.

HTH

Thanks man! Will continue looking at other builds. was thinking of doing a 3 compartment sump. then maybe section of the refuge to add 6l reservoir. i dont want so many tanks around. n i think my sump quite big. even bigger then my display

[Clement Chen]

just got a bubble magus 3.5 from a fellow reefer. one step closer

[Clement Chen]

guys got a question. should i hook up my return pump to the chiller and out to the dp? if so i probably can only use a 1000L/h pump cause that is e max rating for my chiller. Will this be too small flow for e dp?

[ReDDeviLs]

try to run chiller pump seperately.

too much headloss to share chiller and return pump.

for a new setup i would priorities some purchases.

1) return pump

2) lighting

3) chiller

usually for my practise i would op for reliable brand because these are what i consider the heart of a reef tank.

have fun setting up.

[Clement Chen]

try to run chiller pump seperately.

too much headloss to share chiller and return pump.

for a new setup i would priorities some purchases.

1) return pump

2) lighting

3) chiller

usually for my practise i would op for reliable brand because these are what i consider the heart of a reef tank.

have fun setting up.

for lighting i decided to go with 2 par 38

return was planning a ehiem compact 2000. a guy at a small lfs was saying can run through a prefilter filled with carbon etc so dont need reactor. was planning this then chiller then dp. maybe headloss cut by half? which then around 1000l/hr still 20x dp size.

maybe can try out first. if cannot den go for another pump

[Boonboy]

For your considerations...

For chiller feed if your flow rate is higher then the chiller max flow rate, you will not be able to achieve good chilling effect. On the other hand, you want your tank turnover to be high. Lastly, you need to know how much flow your overflow can manage.

I would suggest 2 return (for redundancy). You can run one return through your chiller and the other through your carbon. With 2 returns you can place them at opposite corners and give your display extra current/turbulence/flow(save on wave maker)

Just ensure the total flow of the 2 return pump is lesser then your overflow. Otherwise your display will overflow.

[Clement Chen]

For your considerations...

For chiller feed if your flow rate is higher then the chiller max flow rate, you will not be able to achieve good chilling effect. On the other hand, you want your tank turnover to be high. Lastly, you need to know how much flow your overflow can manage.

I would suggest 2 return (for redundancy). You can run one return through your chiller and the other through your carbon. With 2 returns you can place them at opposite corners and give your display extra current/turbulence/flow(save on wave maker)

Just ensure the total flow of the 2 return pump is lesser then your overflow. Otherwise your display will overflow.

ok thanks for ur input. Will consider 2 pumps then