newb here

[SRIEGER]

first off i would like to introduce myself, my name is scott and i live in toms river, nj. i have been keeping freshwater fish for many years and recently took a step into the marine world, so i ask if any of my questions are dumb to you guys please bare with me, i have a drift of what im doing, but i like to be 10000% sure before i start things so here we go....

im setting up a 30 gal xtall tank, im running it open topped, canopy lighting, 4inch DSB, 40lb live rock in main tank and 5 in refug. now here is my question...i was originally going to run a HOT overflow box, down to the refug under the main tank, and return it with a submersible pump into the main tank. pretty much i would use a protien skimmer in the fug and the roch and sand as a filter. well my cousin just gave me his EHEIM wet/dry canister filter good for 100 gallons. now....can i use the EHEIM to draw water from my tank, deposit it into the refug, and use a pump and powerhead to return the water to the main tank? im going to be useing an extra 20gal as the refug so that it gives me more water volume. now im going to tone down the power of the EHEIM so that its not that strong, but what can i use to return the water that can match the flow rate??

 

[Phyl]

The matching of flow rates is not very practical. It would be very difficult to find a flow that matched *perfectly* and even if you did manage to match it, there's no saying that you wouldn't have something happen to one pump that would cause the contents of one tank to end up emptying onto the floor.

You should stick with the overflow idea. If you want to use the eheim filter I would have it move water to and from the sump.

Good luck getting started! Keep asking questions, that's how we all learned. None of them are stupid.

Welcome to the NJRC Forums!

 

[SRIEGER]

my thing is that i didnt want to use the eheim to pump water out of the fuge because i want to establish a VERY healthy copepod colony and wont the filter actually destroy that if i use it for the return? i can turn the eheim down, as so it extracts and return into the refug a minimum to medium amount of water, but what would be the smartest wat to return the water to the main tank with out destryoing copepods and brine shrimp and all the other lovly bugs im would like to establish.

 

[Phyl]

Another alternative would be to use the eheim to recirc water in the display. Personally we don't use any mechanical filtration. Rock, sand, macro algae (and a skimmer on my bigger tank).

 

[SRIEGER]

but would that kill any life forms comming out of the refug?

 

[Phyl]

Have it pull water from the main and put it back into the main.

 

[SRIEGER]

ahhhh and use an over flow to cirulate water into the fuge and and differant source to return it into the main. so the EHEIM would be the main filtration for the tank, and i would use a sub-filtration for the refug which would preserve any life being filtered out of the fuge. goooood idea thanks alot phyl. now, what would i be able to stock it with? the volume of the tank will be 50g. i was thinking of a bicolor or coral beaty. which one would be a better selection? also a 6 line wrasse or a scooter blenny? i like the wrasse because hell control the worm pop if i have any but the scooter is just down right cute!! what would be other attractive fish i could choose from?

 

[Phyl]

I'd just use a mag pump to return the water to the main (or other similar pump). I like to stock to the volume of the display alone (not counting the water in the fuge) because in the event of a power filter the only water the fish have to get oxygen from is in the display.

Stocking is such an individual thing. The dwarf angels are not always safe with some corals so I'd be inclined to skip them in a small tank (but have one in my 120).

When we were looking for fish we shopped LiveAquaria.com to see which fish would best match our parameters (tank size, corals, aggressive behavior, compatibility, etc).

 

[SRIEGER]

well i narrowed down my fish list. pretty much ill probably get a bicolor angel as stated, a scooter blenny and a blue star leapord wrasse. and yes i am aware that the blue star and the scooter eat the same things, but i have this one well covered...i think. im going to set the tank up and stock both my main and my fuge probably a few months before buying my first fish mainly to give the pods a chance to grow and populate the tanks.

 

[nagel]

Just a thought on return pumps mashing up critters..

I have a red scooter blenny in my 300g reef. I did not put him there. He was put in a 30g breeder on my system, and managed to make the trip over the overflow, through my drain plumbing, into my sump, and THROUGH my Ampmaster 3000, then the return plumbing and finally into my 300 display.

If a scooter blenny can make that trip, just how many pods does a pump destroy? I'm sure some, but I honestly think the numbers are negligible

 

[SRIEGER]

thats very true, i have it basically set up in my mind how im going to do it and im starting to piece it together. im going to build the refug this weekend and have it all connected and ready for water.