Blog Comments

you also have to account for tee's and elbows, for head pressure

I was planning to use the glass-holes kit. I only want to flow 5x the tank volume (400 gph+/-) through the sump. At 5'+/- head back into the tank, the Mag 12 will flow around 1100 gph. Bulk Reef Supply recommends using a Mag 3 (350 gph+/-) for their biopellet reactor and I'm figuring around the same for the charcoal reactor (maybe less). A Mag 7 would work for the return to be between 3x & 5x tank volume, and uses 70 watts of electricity. A single Mag 3 could power both reactors at an electricity use of 37 watts. The Mag 12 will do the job at 110 watts of electricity.

Either way 90 or 75, you will be better off with two than one. I would suggest you use two 1in drains or bigger, I don't know what your options are. Drains are are safer and in my opinion easier to silence the bigger they are. If you are doing two glassholes overflows I would do the 1 1/2 in ones and tie them together a few inches below the holes. Mag 12 should do the trick, but you will have to plumb it efficiently.

I may have to rename the blog...I've been measuring the tank and depending on where I measure, the tank could be a 75 or a 90. If manufacturers use the outside dimensions of the trim the tank measures 48.5" x 18.5" x 23" @ 7.48 gallons per cubic foot that's 89 gallons...If tank manufacturers use the inside dimensions, the tank measures 47.25" x 17.25" x 22" @ 7.48 gallons per cubic foot that's 77 gallons.

I don't know what the tank manufacturer called the tank, but I'm going to call it a 75 based on the inside dimensions, although once I get sand and rock in there it'll actually have less than 75 gallons in it.

When I put water in it today the "rough edges" on the seams mostly disappeared, yay. So I'm going to leave them alone for now.



Blown - I had two tubes of GE type 1 windows and doors but chickened out because it said it wasn't for aquariums or below the water line. I know alot of people have used it with good results, but like I said, I chickened out.

GE type 1 is cheaper and stays clear.

The silicone probably turned white because of humidity in the home.

Great blog post, look forward to seeing what you do next. Also I just recently purchased the same 75 gallon tank! I noticed this by the glass brace in the center. I can for sure tell you that the glass isn't tempered...I tested it the same way you did and drilling went just fine. Good luck!

Yep, makes sense. A single MP-40 should provide reasonable flow in the tank by itself for now. Then I can always add an additional MP-10/40 down the line if I desire. I also have the return which could be directed to any low flow spots that may manifest. And as pointed out, when I get upgraditus in the future the MP-40 would move to a larger tank better than the two MP-10's.

I think my course is set. Now if the weather would get back into the normal for this time of year 40's, I could redo the seams and get this project on it's feet.

Thanks for the feedback.

Hat I too had a couple of Koralias and got about one year out of each one before both quit. I did routine maintenance and yet they still burned up. Two mp10 would definitely cover the 4ft tank, and they may be the better way to go over 1 mp40. I use two mp40's on my five ft tank, one on either end and turned down to about half way. One key to any power head is not to point them directly at the rock work. running them above the the rocks allows for more random water flow and the undertow of these pumps will sculpt your sand and keep things from settling.

The other thing to think about is upgrades. I have the upgrade shakes in my body, partly due to us moving into a new house and not wanting to move the tank I don't necessarily like. I know that these 2 mp40's are going to transfer to a 6 ft tank with no problems.

Ya tank looks great, Blake! Ahhh, algae comes, then it goes. You will have better luck with ya parameters in the larger tank.

I have two Koralia Evo 1400's on my 75 gallon tank. But Midnight is right, if I could I would go with the mp40 pump. That will prolly be my next upgrade. Although I do have good flow in my tank, I believe I would have greater options with the mp40. You can look into a local reef club for a mp40 so you can save money.

Wow, thanks for making me take another look in that direction, Midnight. I've always sort of dismissed the Vortech powerheads on my 29 gallon because of cost vs benefit for that tank. But compared to the cost of a snapper, 1" scwd, cutting holes in the tank and all the plumbing, these powerheads look alot more reasonable. They're also much more economical electrically speaking as well.

So, of course, that generates a few more questions. One MP-40 flows between 100 and 3000 gph in different modes. One MP-10 flows between 200 and 1575 gph. So would there be any benefit getting (2) MP-10's and running them master/slave over the one MP-40? 1575 is about 20x turnover, 3000 is 40x. Are the MP-10's powerfull enough to push water around in a 4' long tank?

Thanks again for the input thus far. We're closing in on which parts to order.

If you have not bought any of these pieces of equipment yet, I would just buy an 1 Vortech MP40 es and call it a day. These pumps are so great you would not be disappointed. Not only would you have the flow but you would also have vary variable flow through the tank. I know the price looks high at first, but if you actually calculate power consumption, durability, and lack of heat transfer to the tank it will win out. Really the only downside is that you can't use sugar fine sand because it will get blown around too much.

Thanks for the welcome Mark and hat.

Hat, I'll try to get a picture of the 29 up later this evening.

Mark, I thought about putting a tee in the 1 1/2" bulkheads with strainers on both sides of each tee. I don't know if that would help to keep from sucking in a fish or not. Good to know about the spray bars, I'll not plan on using them.

Do you think the (3) 1 1/2" holes across the back would significantly weaken the pane? Would I be better off using an intake pipe like you had in your set up, or do you think there's too much risk of damage to the snapper in that configuration?

Thanks for your thoughts.

Having two 1.5" drains leading down to the 2" intake can work. Bigger strainers will help prevent too much suction that could hurt any nearby livestock, but they are hard to hide.

If you want to use the SCWD, I'd just have two clean returns rather than spray bars. They usually don't look nice, and clog up easily.

Hey Blake, welcome to the site! I've had a 29 gallon also and upgraded to a 75 gallon. I will follow ya progress. How's about a pic of ya 29 gallon?

The snapper hybrid has a 2" intake and the documentation says not to restrict the inlet. The overflow kit I plan on using comes with a hole saw the correct size for a 1 1/2" bulkhead. The area of a 2" pipe is approximately 3.14 sq in. (2) 1 1/2" pipes have an area of approximately 3.5 sq in. So I was thinking I could use the hole saw that comes with the overflow kit to drill two more holes for 1 1/2" intakes. Those would combine into a 2" pipe to feed the pump. The snapper would feed a 1" scwd which in turn would feed two "spray bars". One on each end of the tank.

Congrats on the upgrade. I enjoyed my 29g reef for 7 years, so I know where you are coming from.

Regarding tempered glass, I've heard about this test but never done it myself so I really can't advise what you are looking for. Many tanks do have a tempered bottom panel, which usually has a sticker to indicate this (often viewed looking down from inside the tank). The walls are normally not tempered and can be drilled for an overflow.

Understandably, it does make one nervous to turn a glass panel into swiss cheese for a closed loop application. How many holes total do you have in mind? What about a single hole for the suction side, and then returns over the back wall into the tank? Or would you prefer one-out and one-in instead?

Fixed the pictures.