100 Gallon Tank Build Questions For New Reef Keeper

[jsaustin86]

Hello All,

I am going to be new at keeping a reef tank and am getting started. Here are a few questions to start I am sure i'll more so pardon my ignorance. Ive visited quite a few shops in the area recently but they want to charge me over 1000.00 bucks to drill my tank and build a sump. I can do both and have had exprience doing it.

My questions are this.

1.) My tank is a 5ft 100 gallon and I plan on drilling it with two internal overflows one on each end. How many holes and what size bulkeads and overflow boxes do yall suggest?( how many GPH an Hour)

2.) What size skimmer would yall suggest? I like the idea of an internal and would like to use a 40 long for the sump build.

3.)How do I calculate what size of return pumps will be needed?

Thanks

New Keeper

[wizardx322]

2x 1" drain and 2x 3/4" return

[Timfish]

I would just use one overflow with one 1" bulkhead fitting for the drain and skip the skimmer. Turnover rates through the sump/refugium do not have to be large, just a few per hour works fine. Delbeek and Sprung cover the different filtering methodologies real well in "The Reef Aquarium" Vol III

[Sascha D.]

$1,000 is way too much for drilling a tank. I bought my 150g brand new pre-drilled for 40% less than that. Since Bio left, I don't know of anyone in the club that drills tanks. I know Fishy Business does it for $25 per hole and $200 for a sump, but he's pushy and he'll try to talk you into things you don't want or need. I wanted him to drill a 180g coast to coast overflow for me in July, went in with the tank and he spent 30 minutes trying to talk me out of what I wanted and into his "system" of overflows. I just walked out. I guess he builds them himself. He also charges 100% higher than http://www.drsfostersmith.com/. I remember he wanted to sell me a Mag 12 for $250 this last summer. I completely stopped going there after that. I'm strictly a River City Aquatics guy now. You might want to contact them about drilling a tank. Aquadome is a popular place, but I've never been there.

You can drill your own holes with the purchase of a $25 diamond bit. A lot of people do it, but you should know that sometimes the glass breaks if you do it wrong and you have to be sure your glass isn't tempered. http://www.glass-holes.com/ is a popular site for DIY overflows.

1. I like the idea of two overflows for surface skimming. You'll lose quite a bit of internal space with drain lines drilled through the bottom of the tank, but it looks cleaner from the back IMO. External overflows are cleaner from the front, but you'll see PVC pipes in the back of the tank. I would suggest painting the back of the glass blue if you do an external setup.
2. Skimmers. Some use them and some don't. Everyone has a brand that they like. I hear SCA skimmers are good. Reef Octopus is popular and they took quite a bit of the marketshare when they came out in 2002. The only thing I would say about buying a skimmer is to make sure the footprint will fit into your sump and under your stand before you buy it. Also, the more bubbles the better.
3. Head Loss Calculator and Overflow Calculator will help you a lot. I would go with 5x turnover through the sump and two 10x circ pumps in the display.

[jestep]

First big question, are you certain your tank doesn't have a tempered bottom? Since you already have the tank you definitely need to figure this one out. Many off the shelf tanks will have tempered bottom panels which you cannot drill at all.

Drilling is really easy to do yourself once you know you can do it. Get a diamond drill bit and use an electric drill on a fairly low speed with a lot of water. There's instruction on the internet on how to do it. I would anticipate about 30 - 45 minutes per hole on that size tank if you're being very careful.

You can get glass panels and silicon your own overflow boxes.

Total cost should be under $50 including the bit and the panels.

Sump is another story. Would probably glue some glass panels in a 40 breeder.

I'm a big fan of eheim return pumps. They aren't the cheapest but they last a long time and are very quiet and efficient. Both the hobby and the compact pumps are great pumps.

[Robb in Austin]

I'm hoping that $1000 included an extra zero.

[(Bio)³]

His sumps aren't worth what he charges.

When drilling use low speed low torque so it slips if it catches and flow water over the drill site. Let the weight of the drill push through instead of forcing it through.

I like glass-holes.com they have great service and products.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

[Sascha D.]

I used a 40g breeder that I got from Petco during the $1 per gallon sale. They have it once every 3 months or so.

Lowe's will cut glass baffles for you, so you don't have to do it yourself. I used GE 100% silicone to glue the baffles in.

[mFrame]

The club has a set of various size bits available for loan to premium members.