330 gallon setup and sump build

[jvc66]

I ised a 2 inch gate only out of inexperience lol. See i figured both 1.5 inch siphons would need the larger gate but after seeing how little the gate is opened i feel like you woulf be fine with the 1.5 inch gate. I want ragin_cajun to chime in before you make any decisions based off my advice. I'd rather be proven wrong than give you bad advice


Meh all these heaters fail eventually find one that lasts let me know lol

Hopefully he has some good info lol. And heaters suck. I hate the jaegers. Is the ranco easy to use? Never even seen one so I wouldn't even know what to do with it when I got it

 

[jaws7777]

Hopefully he has some good info lol. And heaters suck. I hate the jaegers. Is the ranco easy to use? Never even seen one so I wouldn't even know what to do with it when I got it

Yup i like it. Built like a brick.

Woefulrelic helped me with it.

 

[Fish Tank Travis]

I really like my InkBird heater controller. It's very easy to use. I also use AquaTop heaters, mainly the 300W heaters. They have been good for me so far and my longest lasting one has been going for over two years. Both are priced very well on Amazon.

 

[jvc66]

I really like my InkBird heater controller. It's very easy to use. I also use AquaTop heaters, mainly the 300W heaters. They have been good for me so far and my longest lasting one has been going for over two years. Both are priced very well on Amazon.

Will have to take a look t the aquatop. Haven't really looked in to them. Everyone hasn't negative reviews about heaters now a day so I try and take it with a grain of salt. Seems like all of them aren't junk lol

 

[ragin_cajun]

I ised a 2 inch gate only out of inexperience lol. See i figured both 1.5 inch siphons would need the larger gate but after seeing how little the gate is opened i feel like you woulf be fine with the 1.5 inch gate. I want ragin_cajun to chime in before you make any decisions based off my advice. I'd rather be proven wrong than give you bad advice


Meh all these heaters fail eventually find one that lasts let me know lol

If you're using a pair of 1.5 inch drains, I THINK you'd be fine with a 1.5 inch gate. I have 2 inch siphon drains, I used a 4 inch slice gate, and that is just WAY too big. Frank started doing his tank, we talked back and forth a lot about this. As you can see, he went with considerably smaller gate than 3 inches for 2 1.5 inch drains, and he's saying he could well have used a smaller gate vale.

If you went with a pair of 1.5 inch drains, AND you're SURE you won't want to upgrade to 2 inch drains later, you should follow Frank's advice and go with 1.5 inch slice gate.

Now, about 2 inch drains. I have a 540 gallon tank, I ran 2 inch siphon drains thinking I might one day go with even bigger pumps than the pair of 2400 GPH Laguna's I have now. I never needed bigger pumps yet (fish only, freshwater). I could have gone with 1.5 inch drains to be honest.

So could you in a 330 gallon tank. If you decide to go saltwater one day, you'd probably still be OK with 1.5 inch siphon drains since the higher circulation required for nice reef tanks require either power heads or closed loop from the floor of the tank to get directional control of increased flow on corals.

1.5 inch drains, 1.5 inch slice gate, gotta be all you'll ever need in that tank. At least with fish.

I don't keep stingrays, if you want to you should post in their section and ask them what flow rates you'd need. I really think if I had rays, my flow rates would be fine (6-8 times turnover in a 540), but I'm just guessing about that.

Don't forget to plan for a drip system. The drip and filter socks are the greatest thing I've ever done. Put a controller on your heaters, too. On all your tanks. All heaters freak out eventually, and you'll be keeping these fish for years. Think in terms of years on all this equipment and tank plans.

 

[jvc66]

If you're using a pair of 1.5 inch drains, I THINK you'd be fine with a 1.5 inch gate. I have 2 inch siphon drains, I used a 4 inch slice gate, and that is just WAY too big. Frank started doing his tank, we talked back and forth a lot about this. As you can see, he went with considerably smaller gate than 3 inches for 2 1.5 inch drains, and he's saying he could well have used a smaller gate vale.

If you went with a pair of 1.5 inch drains, AND you're SURE you won't want to upgrade to 2 inch drains later, you should follow Frank's advice and go with 1.5 inch slice gate.

Now, about 2 inch drains. I have a 540 gallon tank, I ran 2 inch siphon drains thinking I might one day go with even bigger pumps than the pair of 2400 GPH Laguna's I have now. I never needed bigger pumps yet (fish only, freshwater). I could have gone with 1.5 inch drains to be honest.

So could you in a 330 gallon tank. If you decide to go saltwater one day, you'd probably still be OK with 1.5 inch siphon drains since the higher circulation required for nice reef tanks require either power heads or closed loop from the floor of the tank to get directional control of increased flow on corals.

1.5 inch drains, 1.5 inch slice gate, gotta be all you'll ever need in that tank. At least with fish.

I don't keep stingrays, if you want to you should post in their section and ask them what flow rates you'd need. I really think if I had rays, my flow rates would be fine (6-8 times turnover in a 540), but I'm just guessing about that.

Don't forget to plan for a drip system. The drip and filter socks are the greatest thing I've ever done. Put a controller on your heaters, too. On all your tanks. All heaters freak out eventually, and you'll be keeping these fish for years. Think in terms of years on all this equipment and tank plans.

Thanks for all the info. Not really a big saltwater person and don't see myself venturing that way especially with a tank this size so I think I am ok in that aspect.

In regards to the 1.5" gate I would like to try that but the ones I have looked at all seem to be schedule 80? I don't want to be reducing the flow rate before I get to the gate so not really sure where to go with that. I didn't look at the gates like you used on your setup yet so maybe that's an option?

drip system is on my list for the future. Would make everything that much easier. I am looking at getting the ranco controller just don't know to much about it. Not a lot on YouTube either from a quick search about them. I am looking for heaters now as we speak. Any recommendations on what's worked best for you? I know they arnt the best now a days.

Main goal at the moment is to find something to use as a sump. I think a 90 gallon is going to be to tall under my 33" tall stand at 24". I found a few acrylic sumps near me that are 20" tall from a guy that I wanted to see if I could just remove the baffles in he been jerking me around and won't return messages

 

[ragin_cajun]

I'll measure out my stand height and sump height when I get home. Give you some good numbers you can live with for clearance you really need to have. I worried a lot about this when I sized all my stuff, too.

 

[jvc66]

I'll measure out my stand height and sump height when I get home. Give you some good numbers you can live with for clearance you really need to have. I worried a lot about this when I sized all my stuff, too.

Thanks that would be really helpful. If I had some extra cash laying around I would have had Chris build me a sump hole I was doing this build. That's the part I'm now to worried about. I put up a WTB ad on the market place to see if I get any hits

 

[DN328]

Best prices on them is on EBAY or Amazon.
Then, evaporation throughout the week would cause my drains to need adjusting again before the next water change. Now that I have my DCP pumps, I usually bump them down a few percent when I top everything off after a water change. Then, throughout the week when I start to notice a few bubble noises, I bump the pumps up a percent and all is well for a few more days. I usually bump it up a percent two or three times between water changes and then start all over on water change day. I haven't touched my valves in months.

I know ATO are more important for marine tanks, but I found adding one for freshwater helps at well. I have a 5 gallon jug/container that fits right next to my sump, and adds water to the return pump chamber. The benefit is that it keeps the water level essentially constant. I end up having to fill up the 5 gallon container every ~11days. I don't need to adjust my DC pump to keep the same level of flow. I have the SmartAqua, and considering the $$$ and time we spend in this hobby, I thought $150 was worth it in the long run. Just wanted to share for others. Of course, this is all moot if I had drip...but that's a different thread ;-).

 

[DN328]

Main goal at the moment is to find something to use as a sump. I think a 90 gallon is going to be to tall under my 33" tall stand at 24". I found a few acrylic sumps near me that are 20" tall from a guy that I wanted to see if I could just remove the baffles in he been jerking me around and won't return messages

Food for thought...if you plan on using PVC for plumbing, you'll also want to factor that in for head pressure (can't remember if anyone or I had mentioned). I have Herbie overflow on my 300 (including sump volume), but I only have (3) 1" pipes, including dry edrain. I don't have an over populated tank either though.

What you plan to keep aside, I think you will be more than fine with 1.5" drains, ball/gate valves and all.