240g/265g Setup Help

nzafi · Jan 18, 2015

I am in the market for a new tank and want to go with a sump. I am in the research phase and wanted to get some input.

Setup
- Looking at something like a 240g or 265g
- Requirements really are 7ft to 8ft tank and at least 2ft wide, max would be 30in
- I am trying to stay full setup under $3K and have been able to find 240g acrylic tanks for $1800 excluding stand and filters. I suspect 30in wide is out of my budget unless I go used
- I can get a marineland 265g (7ft x 2ft x 30in) for $1800 but its glass. Was aiming for acrylic because I'm worried about such a large tank being glass but heard this tank is sturdy
- Stock will be 2 piranha. Currently have a 10in rhom and looking to split the tank and place a manueli on the other side
- I am checking out craigslist but there isnt much. Either people ask too much or the tanks need rehab and I am not looking to do that.

Questions
- What size sump do I need for these tanks? I was reading you want around a 1/4 of the display tank so I was thinking either 75g or 90g sump
- How much turnover? I was thinking I should aim for about 1200gph so I was thinking something like a jebao dc-1200. I will be getting powerheads to increase flow in the tank for the fish
- Still need to figure out heating. Currently have 2 300w heaters for my 75g. Will probably use these and figure what else I need. Considering internal pumps give off heat I am waiting to see how this works out.

I currently have a 75gal running a fx5 for my rhom. I have never setup a sump but sounds like it is easy enough. Instead of buying another 75gal for the sump, I was thinking of using my current 75g as the sump and I would just run the water level low with the fx5 until I get the sump up and running. Is this a treacherous? I just want to avoid buying more tanks.

Any help or thoughts are greatly appreciated.

nzafi · Jan 28, 2015

Bump! No feedback whasoever?

Lepisosteus · Jan 28, 2015

You have a lot of questions, tomorrow after my exam I will look into it for you

axs377 · Jan 28, 2015

A 75 gallon sump should be fine. The 265 will drain up to 1400 gph, so I'd aim for as close to that as possible. You could get an adjustable return pump or add a ball valve to a more powerful pump. Also pumps are rated at 0 head, where you are likely to have a 5-6' rise, so no that pump is too small IMO.

Ziggy99 · Jan 31, 2015

I have a 260 gallon discus tank and a 180g reef. I use a 1000w true temp titanium rod heater. It has a digital controller. I like it very much.

Wailua Boy · Feb 1, 2015

You could opt for a non glass sump(stock tank, tote, etc.), save a few bucks and still have your 75 for use or sale.

axs377 · Feb 1, 2015

Sorry just reread the pump flows 3000+gph you would be fine with that

nzafi · Feb 1, 2015

Thanks for the feedback all.

ragin_cajun · Feb 2, 2015

You should read this..... http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...23425-300-gallon-SA-CE-community-build-thread!!

I think you need to be thinking about how you'd do overflows in the tank that you get. Because if it's not drilled, you could drill it anywhere you want, and if you have plenty of room and it doesn't matter how far from the wall the back of tank is, you could do an external "coast to coast" type overflow. And if you did that, you'd have room to run beanimal drains.

I did the Herbie drains like JC did in the thread above. It does run dead quiet as advertsised, but you have to be sure to keep air out of all drain lines--that took me a few weeks to realize. I'd love to do Beanimal, but I don't have room in my overflow boxes.

Also, another big decision is how big the drains/holes need to be. If you haven't drilled a hole yet, then it's easy to make the hole bigger--it's just a mental decision. But if you drill a 1 inch hole, it's a big pain to make that hole 2 inches if you need to later. So, drill the size hole you need the first time. Drill a 2 inch hole, and put a reducer in the bulkhead, I say. Well, 1.5 inch. 2 inch is just huge for a drain, especially if you have 3 or 6 of them.

DN328 · Feb 3, 2015

I think you should be fine with the Jebao 12000. I run the Waveline 10000 for my return pump and 12000 for closed loop circulation.

Speaking of closed loop circulation, if you are going custom, you may want to consider drilling holes for a closed loop system. You would need additional plumbing and pump, but you likely would not require powerheads. Nothing wrong with powerheads, but the appearance of the closed loop can be much cleaner since you don't have anything attached to the sides of your tank. Depending on your overflow, you can have the hard plumbing from the tank directly down to your sump (which would presumably covered up in the tank stand).

I'm actually new at the hard plumbing stuff, but learned a lot doing from a family member who helped me through it. I have a peninsula style tank with overflow on one end. We then had holes drilled for 3 drains, the third being the Beananimal. The returns plumbing go from the sump to the overflow as well so everything is "hidden" in the overflow at the tank level. If you do go the hard plumb route, I would definitely advise to use gate valve on your main drain. I chose not to go with the Herbie, so aside form being able to adjust the pump speed with DC pumps, the gate valve really helps control water flow and reduce the noise by fine tuning the amount of water you allow to drain. I hope this remotely made sense, but wanted to share and how some advance planning/thoughts will help before you get started.


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240g/265g Setup Help

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