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as others have called it im going to the dark side. i scored a deal on a 75G reef ready and stand ($330 brand new)i have been searching for all the ins and out of equipment i need but i had a question about water flow. i here 10x tanks size is appropiate water flow is that for filtration or just amount of current needed. the reason i ask would be able to use a lower rated pump, in combination with power heads instead of using one big pump?
a buddy of mine recomended that i get a magdrive (mag 12) for my tank but i also noticed the hefty price tag

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The one thing you have to make sure is that your overflow will be able to handle the mag 12. I'm not sure it will to be honest, though it might.

You can definitely use powerheads in combination to your return pump for flow. However 10X turnover isn't really that much if you are planning a reef setup. You'll really need quite a bit more than that. I'd get whatever the highest rated pump your overflow can handle and then have a couple high rated powerheads....maybe two koralia 4s would be good.

Welcome to the dark side.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

ok so the high water flow isnt needed just for filtration. its more for the reef. in that case what flow rating should i be looking for from a pump. my overflow has a 1" hole and a 11/2". with the stand and tank im looking at 5-6ft. of head. can anyone recommend what rating pump and or any specific pumps i should look at. and matty my wallet thanks you for telling me not to get the mag 12.

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I think you'll be between a mag 7 and 9 for optimal flow.

I think 1" (the larger hole is for the drain) drains can only handle 600 gallons per hour. I'm not exactly positive here though. You'll lose a 200ish gallons per hour I'd guess due to head loss, elbows, and other fittings.

I'd personally get the mag 9 and split the return - one to the display and one back to the sump. The one running back to the sump can have a ball valve to regulate the amount of flow going to the tank.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

whats the return to the sump for? is it to relieve pressure. or for filtration such as uv, and chiller?

if its for uv or chiller i already have a secondary for that. i just need a primary to the tank. is there any other brand pumps comparable to the mag drives?

one other thing whats the second hole for? i thought they where both used as drains

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The other hole is generally used as the return.

The return back to the sump is to reduce the amount of water going into the display.

I suppose you could use the second hole as another drain and plumb the return over the back of the tank.

I'm not really familiar with other pumps. So I couldn't really help you out with that.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

i see. that makes sense so that way there is no plumbing out side of the tank. if i plumb the return through the second small hole i sill need a bulkhead to seal the hole right?

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Sure do.

Sounds like you got the hang of this

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

yeah right after i read your post last night i saw i picture of someones setup and i saw one bulkhead drain, and the other for a return and it all made sense.(im a very visual learner)

no that i got an idea of plumbing and water flow i need help with lighting. im starting out as a fowlr tank, with intentions of doing a reef tank in the future. i have read up on some corals, and see that they have low med and high light requirments. my prolem is these terms are reletive. i cant find a standard for low/med/high lighting. so when it says moderate lighting that means what in terms of watts. i got a 75g that im setting up and i cant figure out what lighting to stick up top. im looking at the 48"corlife pc unit, with 4x65w would 260w over 75g be enough. or am i destined for mh lighting? my beef with mh is that my preffered viewing time is in the evening/night time after work, which is also the time my fiance likes to watch tv. the tank and the tv share one wall of the room. with mh lighting i fear we will need sunglasses to watch the television.

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Welcome to the SW side. Here is a post from a friend of mine with equipment suggestions and ideas. Hope all goes well.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=76139

It's easier for us to fit you a lighting scheme to the types of corals you would like to keep.

If you want sps,at least 2X150w halides with additional actinic supplementation or 6X54w T5HO will be necessary.

Lps, softies, and a few carefully selected and placed sps would do well under 4X110w VHO, 4X65w PC, 4X54w T5HO, would all be good choices. In the last group, the T5HO would probably be the most light, followed by the VHO, and then the PC. I probably wouldn't attempt any sps with the pc setup on that tank. Also, the T5s would need good individual parabolic reflectors to be classified as such.

HTH
Matt

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

since i cant really afford halides and a chiller, and the electric bill is alreay high im gonna have to settle with low light. so that would be lps's right? i was looking at the coralife 4x65 pc 2 are 10,000k and the other 2 are actinic. would this be sufficient? i also have a 36" dual T5 unit

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The pc unit, as stated above, would be fine for a lps/softy tank.

I'd suggest two 4' T5HO bulbs with individual parabolic reflectors for an lps/softy tank.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

thanks for the suggestions ill look in to it. im also looking for a cheap but strong stand. any suggestions on where to go, or websites to look at.

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