Newbie might have bitten off a little to much.

sangria517 · Jul 28, 2024

Well, after a month of owning my little 12 gallon, I became addicted. Decided I wanted a massive tank so I could have the really fun species, a.k.a. blues Pacific tang. And in general, any other species that require large tanks brand new was out of the question due to cost. Started looking around for local guys getting out of the hobby and selling their stuff this 180 gallon tank withstand and sump for 500 needs a lot of cleaning, but it does hold water. I can confirm the guy was still in the process of tearing it down when I went to pick it up. Gave me some of the stuff but not everything which is fair. My question for the group is should I get two return pumps or should I do this one return pump and split it or do I just plumb one side and not have other return going. According to the manufacturers website, it’s 1000 gallons per hour return pump. It is a fixed flow pump, which I’m not crazy about but could do for now.

Rjukan · Jul 28, 2024

Awesome!! Great find, and have fun with the buld process!!

crazyfishmom · Jul 28, 2024

Personally I would go with two return pumps. This was if one ever goes down you still have flow. It’s insurance.

Dread Pirate Dave · Jul 28, 2024

Nice buy! Lots of stuff to plan out going forward.

Oldreefer44 · Jul 28, 2024

I use one on my 180 and keep a spare one just in case. IMO, it's good idea to do that for pumps and heaters and anything else that would be problematic if it failed. Especially since you don't want to be put in a position where you have to pay for overnight shipping in an emergency. The amount of turnover is not as important as the flow in the tank especially if you are keeping corals. The most important thing to keep in mind is that nothing good happens fast but a lot of bad does. FYI, an Atlantic Blue Tang is the only fish I ever got rid of. IME, they get very big and aggressive towards other fish.

WhatCouldGoWrong71 · Jul 28, 2024

I always run 2 for redundancy. However, please make sure to your hose clamps. Always say to your self “what could happen in this scenario”. One day, you won’t be asking yourself that, ask us all about that. Good luck with the build. Follow the kiss rules, take turn over way more important than sump turnover. Both my tanks hover around the 5-7’sump turn. There are other reasons I run 2 pumps, but, I won’t complicate things for you

I’m about an hour in front of you compared to some of the old guard around here, truly great people here.

sangria517 · Jul 28, 2024

Oldreefer44 said:
I use one on my 180 and keep a spare one just in case. IMO, it's good idea to do that for pumps and heaters and anything else that would be problematic if it failed. Especially since you don't want to be put in a position where you have to pay for overnight shipping in an emergency. The amount of turnover is not as important as the flow in the tank especially if you are keeping corals. The most important thing to keep in mind is that nothing good happens fast but a lot of bad does. FYI, an Atlantic Blue Tang is the only fish I ever got rid of. IME, they get very big and aggressive towards other fish.

Do you have one return or 2? I have two so if I go the one pump route, would you suggest I plug the other side or get a y to use both returns with one pump?