opinions needed on a 275 set up

[astranotus]

Hi all...I haven't been on this site in a while..I'm a member of "SWAM"..(Salt Water Addicts of Maine)..And recently got a 275G..And wanted more thoughts on this matter ..being a newbie...I am interested on what you guys would use for lighting???I have 2 ballasts..1 is a Coralife 2x175MH..and the other is an Aquamedic 658W...2x250 (+) 2x39W T-5...I also have a 8x54W T-5 system on my 75..was hoping that I can use these somehow to make sufficent lighting..the Tank is 85Lx24Dx31H....And the other issue is drainage..I want to have 4-2" bulkheads..or should I go with 4-1.5" bulkheads..I am not sure but thought that a 1" bulkhead can drain like 500GPH.??I would like to have 2000GPH go through a 75G sump and pump back up..like a 4' head...through a closed loop..with many 1" jetports...So I guess what I am asking is what would you do..for lighting and flow???

 

[MikeG]

For lighting I would say you should be good if you use the two 250's in the middle and the 2 175's on the outside. You will notice that the center will be brighter if that doesn't bother you. I would use as many of the T5's as you want for actinic. You could also use a couple of the bubls to run daylights on the outside with the 175 watt MH to try to get a more even looking light.

As far as the drains, a 1" durso drain can normally push about 800 gallon per hour. I would think you would be fine using two 1.5" drains if they have standpipes and not just drilled through the back of the tank. As for flow through the sump, I usually don't suggest much more than what your skimmer pumps move. Any more and your pretty much just circulationg water and a return pump is the least efficient way to do so.

For in tank flow, I would use powerheads like Tunze's or Korilas or use a closed loop system. A closed loop is not quite what you described in your post, a return is never a closed loop. It can not have any portion of it open to the air. It would consist of a drain in the tank that directly feeds a pump. The pump then returns the water back to the tank. This set up basically eliminates head pressure.

 

[astranotus]

Well I don't know if the bottom is tempered or not..I suppose I can find out..but would drill the back of the tank...do you still think 2 1.5" is good or go to 1.75 or 2" ..2 of them....I thought a closed loop was when you have the return water pumping back up into the tank going trough PVC and I built a manifold with a couple of jet ports in it with loc line creating the current in specific areas...isn't that a closed loop???

 

[astranotus]

Well even though it has been a while..I have the 275 up and running for 6 (+) months now...And this is what I came up with..And for lights..I have 3x250W 14K Pheonix and 8x36w T-5 actinics...

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Worked great//love the frag shelf..just the loc line idea i scratched..just flows into the tank..

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And this is the display

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[jayinh]

very nice job, how big is your sump?