Some pointers for setting up a tank with sump

[kareen]

Some pointers for setting up a tank with sump

Calculate how much your display tank volume. (Length*Breadth*Height)

This piece of information will allow you to calculate what the desired tank turnover rate is. It should be around 4 to 8 times which means a 400l display tank will need at least a 1600l/hr return pump from sump to display. The higher the return pump, the better due to faster oxygen exchange and “cleansing powerâ€. Please check up the return pump capability from the manufacturer as you cannot assume 1600l/hr rated return pump still delivery the same output at 1.6m height. BTW, remember that for every bend in pipe design also means output losses. Ideally a straight pipe up from pump is the best. Do not underestimate this consideration ‘cos return pump runs all day long and minimal reduction of wattage power is significant over a long period of time.

Once, you have the desired turnover rate; make sure there is no bottleneck at the overflow design. Overflow compartment tend to have a waterfall and water gushing sound. That is why there is a Durso pipe to silence the sound. What my experience is that Durso pipe is quiet but at the same time lower the speed of water going down the sump.

With the tank turnover rate, you should be able to determine how “fast†the tank water to be “cleanse†by the skimmer. Basically think of it this way, “dirty†water coming down at certain rate, and the skimmer pump is drawing water at X times faster. Roughly, this should indicate how fast your system is capable of. This is important and differs for ones who keep “dirty†water corals.

As for lighting requirement, it is depends on what ones choice… MH or T5. What I gathered is, 150W MH for 2 feet height and higher for deeper depth. Not much experiences on T5 though….

Chiller requirement is dependent on the heat generated by overall system. JBJ website has provide some help on determining the chiller size for its chiller; which I believe can make use of through some kind of co-relate the output graph of two chiller brand. Also, consider an airy location for chiller is desirable for an efficiency.

http://www.jbjlighting.com/prod_chiller_size.asp

PS: I hope this serves some help and this is not an extensive one just some of the lessons I gather along the way and if there is any misconception, please do correct me.

[kareen]

I find this simple program extremely useful when considering different metric conversion for calculation.

Convert.exe

[kareen]

Durso pipe construction

AquaSilencer.pdf

[kareen]

Article on lighting I have kept for myself....

light.pdf

[kareen]

your electric bills You have to rename the file extension to a .xls format....

Cal_electricity_bill.xl0