215 now in the works....

[RUSH]

Well supposedly my new 215 gallon Oceanic RR arrives sometime this week at Austin Aquariums. I have the stand almost finished, it sits on a half wall thats between the living room and dining room. I have few questions though. Since this is my first BIG tank, I'm not sure exactly what size and brand pump to use for the returns and if I should try and manifold them into different lines to blow across the tank. Also I'm using 400 watt XM 20K's, I was thinking 3 would be sufficient, would that work? I will have a diverse amount of corals and clams and would like to see some really nice growth at the sametime. Any input on this would be greatly appreciated.

Later
Chris

[Henry]

I'm also setting up a 215, but in my apartment. I have an iwaki md-40rlxt for return from a converted 55gal tank/sump. I also had another hole drilled in the bottom of the tank for a drain for a closed loop. My closed loop pump is an ampmaster 3k. The regular returns on my tank are now converted into returns for the closed loop exiting thru the overflows about 12" from the bottom of the tank, as well as a spray bar along the bottom back of the tank. The returns from the sump are coming over the back of my tank. I don't think this is going to work for you since your is setup as a divider. For lighing I'm going to go with 4-250watt mh, This was after much discussion with other members and because of the larger center brace. Good luck.

Henry

[adaminaustin]

with that size tank I would look at the Tunze.com if you want more infoon them go to RC and look under the tunze forum. They move lots of water, run cool, and don’t run much on the electric bill.
I am getting a stream for my 150g. I am going for the 6100, with a seaswirl on my return pump. that should be fine for now. If I ever want more flow I will buy another stream w/ the multi controller.

I don’t know what type of return pump I want. My main concern is heat. I hear that the GRI don’t get too hot. What do you guys think GRI or Blueline?

The other cool thing is that Roger the owner of aquatek is the owner of Tunze USA.

[TexasState]

For the return, you could use the Amp Master 3000, for pump, try the Tunze STream pump.

[matt]

I think the new blueline HD pumps are terrific. Very similar to the japanese iwakis. If you're moving lots of water through the tank without the return, you can have a smaller return pump; maybe 700gph or so. This will provide you with enough flow through the sump for a skimmer, heater, refugium, etc, and keep your overflow quiet, help with heat and electric bill. The GRI pumps have a great reputation, but I think they're a bit noisier than the iwakis or blueline HD. Not sure about that. One thing to remember is that you don't need a pressure rated pump for a return; this can help with flow, heat, and power consumption. Maybe think about the iwaki 30rxt or blueline HD 30-X. There's probably an equivilent GRI, but I think they're more known for the quality of their pressure pumps.
Again, I'm not sure about that, but somewhere I remember reading about it.

[RUSH]

Thanks for all the input ppl. I have looked at he Tunze STreams and decided to go with 2 6000's on a wave controller. Now my next question is though, the tank is 28 inches tall. Will this be enough flow in the right areas for the heigth. I'm having Acros at the top and go down from there with leathers and hard corals and clams scattered in various places. Also what I'm doing since its RR, I ordered my tank with endcap overflows since its a room devider and am wanting to cut out 2 holes in the overflow towers and concealing my pumps in there. Would this be a problem? I figured that I could use ball valves to help control the overflows so the pumps wont go dry or anything else. Once again thanks for any help.

Laters
Chris

[MikeP]

Chris - I have the exact same tank (215) with two tunze streams - they are a pain to mount on that thick glass but I have them at either side angled slightly towards the center - flow is good for the most part but I need to tweak it a little. If you are in Austin you are welcome to swing by and check my set up out for ideas since I have basicaly the same tank.