New 135 gallon

[Jim]

Hey all, my name is Jim. I have a 55 gallon saltwater running a Fluval 306. I just added a 135 to the house with a sump. I'm new to the sump thing, so anyone with any tips or suggestions I would like to hear from you. It is up and running and I'm letting the tank "cycle" before adding anything. It's also got the in sump skimmer too. Also looking for some frags, coral or anything you have. I live NE in Schertz. Thanks.......

[JerryD120]

Welcome to MAAST! Any questions just ask. This is a very resourceful site, and organization!

[ramsey]

Welcome Jim! What questions do you have about running a sump?

In general, make sure your sump is big enough to hold the overflow water if you turn your return pump off.

Make sure it has a bubble trap after the skimmer to keep bubbles out of your display.

Don't use bioballs or other bio media if you have live rock, they'll become a nitrate factory.

If possible, have more than one drain from your display (for failsafe).

Invest in an auto top off unit. You'll likely be having to top off your tank everyday by hand to keep your salinity stable if you don't.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. I'm sure others will chime in with tips or tricks.

[hobogato]

welcome jim, when you get a chance, lets see some pictures

[Jim]

Thanks for replying everyone. Ramsey, the sump came with bioballs and I've already added a few pieces of live rock. The guy at the fish shop said it would be ok. I'll keep an eye on the nitrate thing though. The sump is big enough to handle a power outage or in case the pump fails. I'm looking to get a snowflake eel in a few weeks, then add from there, a blue tang and other stuff. Thanks....Jim

[Jim]

Hey hobo, how do you add pictures to this ? I'm a blonde ! LOL

[hobogato]

here is a thread with a tutorial that erik harrison typed up a while back

http://www.maast.org/showthread.php?40582-Posting-Pictures-A-Tutorial

[ramsey]

Thanks for replying everyone. Ramsey, the sump came with bioballs and I've already added a few pieces of live rock. The guy at the fish shop said it would be ok. I'll keep an eye on the nitrate thing though. The sump is big enough to handle a power outage or in case the pump fails. I'm looking to get a snowflake eel in a few weeks, then add from there, a blue tang and other stuff. Thanks....Jim


Yeah, just keep an eye on it. If you want to keep them, it'd probably be best to rinse them really well occasionally. Also, is the eel going to be your first fish? They can be really aggressive and might harass or even eat other fish you add after it. Just something you might want to look into.

[Jim]

MMucho thanks......I'll take a look at it.

[Jim]

I was told and even read up about eels, and they can be a good first addition to the tank as they are hearty (hardy?) enough to withstand a transfer. I built a PVC tunnel system under the sand for the eel to hide. Also any fish larger than an eels mouth, he will not eat. Care for eels is on the easy level. I know someone who hand feeds and pets his eel. They can be aggresive if you let them go hungry. They are also escape artists, so I made sure my tank has a tight fittiing glass top with a hood on top of it.

[Jim]

I followed that link and read it. There is another link called an Image Resize Tool that says you have to download. When I clicked on it, another page came up that said "We're sorry the page you requested cannot be found." :-(

[Jim]

Here's another question......the water level drops in the sump and the tank fills up to the tippy top. I've taken water out, but it keeps happening. How can I keep the weater level up in the sump and down in the tank ? Thanks.....Jim

[ramsey]

Here's another question......the water level drops in the sump and the tank fills up to the tippy top. I've taken water out, but it keeps happening. How can I keep the weater level up in the sump and down in the tank ? Thanks.....Jim

I just wanted to make sure you researched eels before you got one. It certainly sounds like you have!

Can you give us more details about your overflow and return pump? You might be able to adjust the overflow depending on what kind of overflow you have. For example, if your tank is drilled and has a durso drain, moving the durso pipe down might do the trick.

You might also be able to increase the size of the drain which means the display would drain faster and not get so "full". I realize that option is not usually as practical.

Yet another option would be to run a smaller return pump, put a ball valve on it or make a small manifold and have a valve on it to control how much water goes to the display. Just putting a valve on the return might put undue strain on the pump. The manifold would work best and would give you more control over the flow into your display. A manifold can be as simple as putting a "T" on the return line, one side would go to the display and the other would drain back into the sump. You'd need to put a ball or gate valve on the line that goes back into the sump and that would control how much water goes to your display. That's what I had on my 185 before I broke it down. I had multiple "T"s and ball valves and feed a couple of reactors off one pump. Does that make sense?

[stompylee]

​I think Ramsey is right... sounds like your overflow can't keep up with your pump. Happen to me on my first sump because I didn't account for the size of my overflow and tube. I just threw a really big pump at it. That's OK I needed to mop my floor anyway :applause:. Here is what I did to fix the problem.

On the back of the pump box or on the manufacturers website there is a head height scale that will let you know what your gallons per hour will be after the height. If you don't have it (or you want to get geeky with it) just use this one http://reefcentral.com/calc/hlc2.php and pick your pump. Keep in mind that there are many variables that reduce flow when calculating GPH. These include head height, elbows or sharp turns in your plumbing, in-line canister filters and smaller-than-recommended outlet tubing which is why this calculator has soo many fields. If all you have is a tube just add the diameter for the tube and the pump (or one close to it) and you should be set.

Once you get the GPH then you use http://www.reefcentral.com/index.php/drainoverflow-size-calc to figure out how big your drains and overflows should be. Your GPH on the return should be less than the drain flow rate.

A good rule of thumb is to try to turn over your aquarium volume four times an hour. This means that the pump you choose should be capable of moving 5 times as many gallons per hour as your tank holds. In other words, if you have a 135 gallon aquarium, your pump and filter should produce a minimum flow rate of 540 GPH and you GPH on your drain must be able to handle more than that. I turn over my tank about 4 times when I ran these numbers. HTH