FishWife August 27, 2007 Share August 27, 2007 Hi, We are looking for a local club because we are returning to the hobby after about a five year absence and WOW have things changed! To orient you, when we took down our 75 Gal tank last, plenums were the big news, and we'd never heard of refugiums at all. Sigh. We have a pre-drilled with overflow 80 Gal Bow, a 75 gallon rectangular tank, and a 30-gal Hex. We want to put the two bigger tanks on one water system, ideally with the filtration/refugia to live in the mudroom (between the two tank locations) or basement. We *think* we're going to put the hex to work as our quarentine tank, just sitting next to the bow so we can enjoy new fish without exposing our system to them too soon. In returning to the hobby, we've been reading up and, given our new desire for both a refugium (or two?) and linking two display tanks on one system, we need HELP with plumbing. Ulitmately, in the site where the bow now sits, we envision a 250 gallon tank for corals evenually. But that's later. Right now, money's tight, so we're concentrating on fish (read: easily moved later) and on plumbing refugiums, skimmers, etc. remotely for a large, multi-tank system to which we can add the coral tank when we're ready. We know a lot about the animals we want to keep, and are fairly cautious planners. Our REAL need is in the "what pump, pipe, true union, etc. do we use now?" department. We are true beginners on the hardware side of things. Is anyone interested in helping us out with online (or perhaps in person) advice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMsAquarium August 28, 2007 Share August 28, 2007 First of all Welcome Back!! We are glad you have found us. Wamas is a great club and our members will be more than happy to help out. What you are descibing can be easily achieved in several ways. What really matters is your house configuration and were the various tanks will be located in relation to the sump and refugium. This will dictate what type of pump(s) and the associated plumbing, as well as all other equipment will be needed to make an efficient system. The good news is "Yes it's doable". As for eqipment costs, there is a For Sale/For Trade section on this forum but it is only accesible to Wamas paid members. The membership fees are: - $20 per year for an individual - $35 per year for a family - $10 per year for a teacher - Students free * This fee is one of the most valuable investments that you will ever make as it will give you access to more sections of this forum and more. We look forward to hearing more about your plans for this great system, and will be more than happy to lend assistance, both online and on site. Cheers JM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason the filter freak August 28, 2007 Share August 28, 2007 (edited) Welcome!!! Your project sounds awesome. I'm still can't figure out the plumbing on just on 75 gal. My ignorance of PVC masterworking aside. You can not find a better, more active, friendly, out going, helpful... the list goes on, bunch of people than wamas. The knowledge and advice I've gained here have been the best investment in my marine hobby ever. It's easily worth the $20 many times over. Welcome, you'll find plenty of help with your plumbing issues here, there are plenty of helpful members in MOCO and just around in general. Edited August 28, 2007 by jason the filter freak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishWife August 30, 2007 Author Share August 30, 2007 (edited) THANKS for that warm welcome, guys! How do we join? (Actually, I see the join thing: what I meant was, "Can I join as a teacher, since I'm a homeschooling mom on a low budget?") And, when is your next meeting? Also... is there a "notify" feature so I can find this thread again? I have email replies enabled below, but I didn't get emails when you replied... at least, I didn't notice any. So, I was looking for it under "general" but finally remembered that I posted under DIY Edited August 30, 2007 by FishWife Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMsAquarium August 30, 2007 Share August 30, 2007 (edited) THANKS for that warm welcome, guys! How do we join? (Actually, I see the join thing: what I meant was, "Can I join as a teacher, since I'm a homeschooling mom on a low budget?") And, when is your next meeting? Contact the Membership Director (HowardofNova) or any of the other officers :-) Also... is there a "notify" feature so I can find this thread again? I have email replies enabled below, but I didn't get emails when you replied... at least, I didn't notice any. So, I was looking for it under "general" but finally remembered that I posted under DIY Clicl on MY Controls (upper right on your screen and you will find the options on how to get replies to your posts. Edited August 30, 2007 by JMsAquarium Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMsAquarium August 30, 2007 Share August 30, 2007 Clicl on MY Controls (upper right on your screen and you will find the options on how to get replies to your posts. And from there click on Board settings and you will be able to select the alerts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishWife August 31, 2007 Author Share August 31, 2007 Got it. We've joined the club! (Don't we all love clubs?) Now, we are looking forward to meeting you all IRL in the futre. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite August 31, 2007 Share August 31, 2007 Hi there, Welcome to WAMAS and back to the hobby! It's good to see someone else who lives up here and not in Virginia! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishWife August 31, 2007 Author Share August 31, 2007 (edited) OK! So, now we're full fledged members. Here is my question :( : Picture three rooms back to back: kitchen -- mud room -- den We are putting in each of these rooms the following: [Kitchen] 75 gallon rectangular, non-drilled tank (wants to be mostly fishies). This backs up to --> [mudroom] with space for refugium (or more than one) w/deep sand bed/algae and... a sump??? ... a skimmer??? (This is where we're lost.) This mudroom can service both tanks... [den] Reef ready 80 bow (wants to be mostly a reef tank with clown pair and anemone). OK: how would YOU plumb them? The bow and the 75 both have room underneath. I could: 1) Put sumps/skimmers under each. 2) Have both dump into a common sump in the mudroom and then ...?... pump them thru a refugia...?... and then...?.... pump to a common water supply that... flows back to each? 3) we have two canister filters... we have a smaller skimmer that could go under either tank, and we could also build a nice, large DIY skimmer to use in the mudroom on the total water supply...? How big a refugium? Is more better? Two refugia linked? 4) Pumps are a mystery to us. Honest. Talk lots about tank turnover when you reply. OK; that's all for right now! Edited August 31, 2007 by FishWife Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMsAquarium September 7, 2007 Share September 7, 2007 OK! So, now we're full fledged members. Here is my question :( : Picture three rooms back to back: kitchen -- mud room -- den We are putting in each of these rooms the following: [Kitchen] 75 gallon rectangular, non-drilled tank (wants to be mostly fishies). This backs up to --> [mudroom] with space for refugium (or more than one) w/deep sand bed/algae and... a sump??? ... a skimmer??? (This is where we're lost.) This mudroom can service both tanks... [den] Reef ready 80 bow (wants to be mostly a reef tank with clown pair and anemone). OK: how would YOU plumb them? The bow and the 75 both have room underneath. I could: 1) Put sumps/skimmers under each. 2) Have both dump into a common sump in the mudroom and then ...?... pump them thru a refugia...?... and then...?.... pump to a common water supply that... flows back to each? 3) we have two canister filters... we have a smaller skimmer that could go under either tank, and we could also build a nice, large DIY skimmer to use in the mudroom on the total water supply...? How big a refugium? Is more better? Two refugia linked? 4) Pumps are a mystery to us. Honest. Talk lots about tank turnover when you reply. OK; that's all for right now! Well, if you have the space in the mudroom, I would put there a single sump big enough to handle all your other tanks returns. And a single refugium as well will do. Each tank would drain into the common sump, then one dedicated return pomp per tank would get the water back into each display. As far as turnover, there are different approaches, would the pump will be the major turnover producer or will there be power heads in the tanks as well? The diameters of the pipes as well as vertical and horizontal distances between the tanks and the sump will dictate what type of pump you would need for each. This would need some brainstorming in order to calculate the flows as well as the head and friction losses. Easy enough, but paper and pen will be needed here A single powerful skimmer would be cheaper than one per tank. Basically, it is not too complicated but definitely needs to be planned ahead. I am a big fan of one sump system handling all. This will also symplify the water changes and maintenance routines. Give us more feed back as far as distance bweteen the tanks and sump in mudroom and the likes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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