Overflow info I found interesting
- Thread starter mscichlid
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Charlutz
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The reefers are far ahead of us freshwater folks in terms of overflows and sumps. Reefcentral is a great place to go for DIY plumbing projects. It's also great for lighting and stand building systems simply because they invest so much more into their equipment and livestock that they are willing to invest more in their stands and other accessories. I've seen some stands that are intricate and ornate beyond what you'd think possible for a DIYer. That overflow design you linked is one of my favorites and if I ever had a large tank in a common area where silence was at a premium, I'd definitely go that way.
Something else to remember is that reefers want to pull waste from the surface before it begins to break down into nitrites and nitrates so that their protein skimmers can remove it. We typically want larger media areas to break down waste into nitrate since it's not as harmful to our fish. Reefers do not use trickle filters anymore while they are great for our tanks. Probably most importantly, our stock loads are many times higher than the reefers. Our fish generate far more solid waste. We feed more food to our fish. Our overflows are geared to accept a lot more solid waste and usually can be not quite so long since the goal isn't to skim as thin a layer as possible.
Even with the differences in objectives between fresh and reef systems, there is a ton we can learn from the reefers. Great article!
Something else to remember is that reefers want to pull waste from the surface before it begins to break down into nitrites and nitrates so that their protein skimmers can remove it. We typically want larger media areas to break down waste into nitrate since it's not as harmful to our fish. Reefers do not use trickle filters anymore while they are great for our tanks. Probably most importantly, our stock loads are many times higher than the reefers. Our fish generate far more solid waste. We feed more food to our fish. Our overflows are geared to accept a lot more solid waste and usually can be not quite so long since the goal isn't to skim as thin a layer as possible.
Even with the differences in objectives between fresh and reef systems, there is a ton we can learn from the reefers. Great article!
londonloco
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Hmmm, I am purchasing a 125g with a trickle sump. I have a much larger sump left over from my 120g reef I was going to use, thinking bigger holds more water is better. The old reef sump has a large sponge in it, I was thinking about putting some bio balls in the compartment directly to the left of it. So, from right to left, water in, bio balls, sponge, water out. I want to set up a Tangy tank, with Multi's, Sumbu's, Calvus and a few mid swimmers. Comments please....
PS sorry to hijack this thread...
PS sorry to hijack this thread...
