New 180 gallon reef tank

[jiggly75]

Hello

We have upgraded from our 90 gallon to a 180 gallon. The 180 is setting empty right now because i'm not in a hurry and have alot of questions about plumbing I need to get out of the way. I have never used external pumps or had dual overflows before.

Do I need to drill my sump and use a bulk head to feed an external pump? I'm leaning towards Blue line pumps because alot of people say they are quieter. Is there a better quieter pump out there? I'm also having trouble deciding on what size would enough for both returns. I know I need to figure in head pressure and stuff like that. I just don't want to under power the returns. And there's know reason to go over board either. I'm pretty much have know idea how to choose the right pump! Both of my LFS's say the opposite things about the same pumps!

This tank will be bare bottom with lots of flow. What would be good to put on the bottom of the tank to protect the glass from accidental falls?

All ideas and opinions welcomed happily . Thanks in advance for any ideas!

[Randy1]

I just bought a blueline hd 70, pretty quite it is fan cooled so there will be some noise. I'm plumbed into the basement so I needed a pump to handle head pressure. If you're plumbing udder the cabinet I'd try a sequence pump maybe a dart reef flow. Most manufacturers have charts for calculating head pressure. I have a lot of flow too and had to use crushed coral for my bottom, there was no way to keep the same in place. Good Luck

[mandarin_watcher]

I also am setting up a 180, I didn't drill my sump, I just took an extra 75 put my baffles in and at the end of the sump area I left an extra chamber for my MAG 24. So just find a submersible pump for your return.
As for the bottom of a BB tank, I have read, Some are going with nothing, and some I believe they are useing (Star board)???, It is probly just kind of styrofoam board. I believe it is 1/4 or 1/2inch sheet. One I seen said they found black so it blends in with the bottom. It doesn't look so obvious.

[jiggly75]

Thanks for some quick replies! I'm going to look into the sequence and dart pumps. I'm trying to stay away from the mag pumps because the external pumps seem to have more power with less electric consumption.

I'm starting my first batch of home made rocks using portland cement and crushed oyster shells today. I'm hoping to save some money even if I only use it for base rock.

[jiggly75]

The new tank has been running for a week now! We decided to use 2 blue line 55's. One for the return and one for the skimmer(MR-2 with dual becketts). We bought 40 lbs. of marshall island cured rock and 40 lbs. of kaelini tonga cured rock. Already had 80 lbs. of live rock from the 90 gallon. We put 70 gallons of water from the 90 gallon and filled the rest with fresh RODI saltwater. There has been no traces of amonia and only2-5 ppm of nitrate! Shouldn't this new tank have to cycle for at least 4-6 weeks?