Re: FOWLR Setup W/Anemone 7/10/08
Thank you for your thoughts Scott.
<Welcome.>
Despite the desire to get started right away, upfront design will hopefully pay off in the long-run and your suggestions will undoubtedly make it a better system.
<Looking before leaping, careful planning will indeed payoff. Do it right, do it once!>
The crew's time answering non-stop newbie questions is really appreciated. The pressure-fit baffles suggestion could save a lot of rework since I am new to refugium design. Once the design is confirmed to be correct, I can fix them permanently.
<A nice way to do it, movable baffles until you are happy, then permanently adhere. You may find the movable baffles are so nice you will leave it that way!>
Two follow-up questions...
1) On the dedicated close-loop for the T4, is the return simply a loop over the side of the tank?
<Basically the same return manifold you had on your original diagram. As for the intake, yes, over the side of the tank with a strainer. You will need to prime this much of the same way as most canister filters, leave an open PVC T at where the intake comes over the top of the tank, add water until the line is full, cap off the T and start the pump. Do be sure to put the strainer low enough into the water to stay below the waterline during any tank maintenance. This will eliminate the need to re-prime every time you do a water change.>
I am not really in a position to be drilling the tank. For such a simple question, I've had a hard time finding any web advice on this or a dedicated product other than a very expensive overflow box. An expensive add-on overflow box (several hundred $) is out of the budget for now.
<At the risk of being self serving, do check out Glass-Holes.com (my site). This can be done much cheaper, building your own box is also quite easy. The drill bits are so inexpensive I strongly encourage you to consider this if you are in the very least DIY inclined. Even diamond coated Dremel bits will work.>
The wife is already wondering how long the new kitchen cabinets will have to wait due to this.
<Been there my friend!>
2) I'm still unsure about lighting. Some articles here say NO is the way to go and avoid metal halide, others say a 28"h tank is too deep for NO.
<It is if you want light loving livestock in the bottom half. NO can be done, depending on livestock and placement, but it does require quite a few bulbs and is not used too much anymore. Do consider the new HO T5 bulbs also.>
Some of the FAQs are old so the state of the art may have changed. There is a lot of conflicting advice to the new reader. Maybe the nuances resolve those inconsistencies but it is hard for newbies to resolve.
<I understand, you seem to read a lot of advice, all situation specific, so each is a bit different.>
It seems through reading newer FAQs that a mix of HQI and actinic might be needed for anemones in 28" of water.
<If you have any hopes of the anemone living towards the bottom of the tank (it will go where it wants to), halides are going to be your best bet for this. Some 250 watt lights will do the trick with a 10000K bulb. With the higher Kelvin bulbs you lose usable light, you will want to keep all that you can with this depth in a tank. Also, do be aware that anemones are notorious for moving around, stinging, killing other corals, and eating smaller fish as well. If you wish to convert this tank to a full reef down the road, do check out the link below and related FAQ’s to know what you are getting into. Have fun, Scott V.>
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/anemones.htm

------------- Previous Note, slightly edited -------------

Goal (from a totally newbie perspective, for sure) is lots of pretty rock, about a half-dozen or more pretty fish, an anemone for the fish to interact with (I've since learned these are not for beginners) use of LR, LS and under-tank DSB to keep water conditioned properly. Any necessary support creatures would be added as needed.
175g main tank with a custom made 50g refugium/DSB/skimmer under the tank.
Main Tank:
Oceanic 175g bowfront main tank with ½" LS bed because I do not want to build a full DSB in the main tank. I kept to only ½" to keep the aerobic activity in the bed.
Main tank to use a mix of base rock and plenty of Fiji LR keeping clearance near walls for cleaning.
Water movement from a custom built manifold plus the two built-in reef-ready overflow boxes with LocLines.
Manifold fed by T4 1250 gph pump while overflow-box LocLines are fed by Rio 700 gph pump. <Scott V. - Looking at the diagram, I would limit your outputs to four ½" with this pump, but the beauty of PVC is cheap, easy experimentation. Also, do consider running your T4 on a dedicated closed loop, your overflow (I assume they are dual 1"?) will not handle the flow of this pump. This leaves the Rio as your sump return, just right for these drains.>
Lighting TBD (see question above). < Scott V. - This will be a determining factor re an anemone.>
Refugium:
Refugium under tank built upon a plain 50 gallon glass tank and partitions for bubble control and settling chamber. {WWM advice} I would like to understand the fluid dynamics of the baffles a bit more here but I'm sure that will come with more research. <Scott V. - Research and seeing it in action. Just remember water will always find it's way where gravity pulls it. Do check out the article on pressure locking sump baffles, this will allow you to adjust if need be: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_3/cav3i1/Baffles/baffles.htm .>
Use of a 6" DSB with a 5" base of fine aragonite then a 1" layer of LS. <Scott V. - You can skip the live sand, it will populate off the rock in time.>
Heaters in the refugium. <Fine.>
EuroReef skimmer in the refugium. <A good choice.>
LR, critters and plants/algae stuff that I need to read more about in refugium. {WWM advice} Need to learn more here but that too will come. <You will learn much more in the process.>
Refugium Lighting TBD but the cabinet has two fluorescent bulbs mounted in it. May not need to go overboard here.
Possible retired equipment based on WWM advice that was included in my lot but I may be able to eBay includes MR-400 wet/dry, extra powerheads, UV sterilizer and 1/3hp Cyclone chiller with digital temperature control. <Do hold on to all of this. The powerheads and chiller in particular may come in handy.>
Quarantine Tank:
The 10g FW tank I was going to sell will be used for a quarantine tank instead.
Water Prep:
I've read about water treatment using RO/DI to prevent phosphates from the water source but have no idea what that means. < http://www.wetwebmedia.com/phosphatemar.htm>
I will research it more. The lot I bought includes a deionizing filter kit and five filters but I'll have to research more on this whole topic. <Sounds like a full blown RO/DI unit, a good choice.>
Cycling:
I've read the process for rocks only first, cleaning, cycling, adding LS, then livestock etc. This could take the rest of the summer, but I am excited. <Slower is better here.>
Lots of advice here on specific species. Thanks! <Welcome.>