newbie need advice, direction

[dubontour]

Hi all, came accross this turf algae scrapper while looking at a few fish forums and i have to say it seems to good to be true but on seen the results that some lads have posted i am seriously thinking of trying it out.

I am setting up a 440 litre or 116 US gallon marine tank over the next few weeks and want to see what i need and what is the best setup for me to try. The tank has a sump so i think one of the sump designs would suit me best but which one???

For this size of tank what size mesh do i need.

And what flow do i need over the mesh, is a feed from the tank return the best way or is a feed from a pump better.

It is critical that the setup is not noisy or smelly or the wife will be smacking me with the frying pan :shock: :shock:

An and all advice warmly welcomed

Should of put this at the top of posting but hey, name is Jeff and i live in Ireland, original from Dublin but living in Meath. I have being keeping tanks for a few years now but this is my first marine tank so i am trying to get everything right at startup and i am on plenty of forums to hopefully learn from other peoples mistakes. Any other paddys on here????


Cheers

Jeff

[ChrisD]

Hi Jeff

Best to do some reading of various threads including the FAQs as it will answer your questions and provoke some thoughts as to what design is best for you.

To start the basics, as based on the FAQs etc...
You need 116sqin screen if lit both sides. 232 if single sided.

Flow is 35gph per inch width of screen. If your tank return flows above the required figure I'd use that as there's less cost and heat in the system.

My wife is sensitive to noise and smell too. No smell I've ever noticed. Noise is there but, depending on the cutting of slot etc is ok I think. That's against a backdrop of a near silent tank as I don't run my skimmer during the day.

Have a look at the various designs in the FAQs and find one that fits your space, budget and build skills. Good luck!

Chris

[dubontour]

Thanks for the info Chris, will do a bit of reading up and see what i come up with.

Cheers

Jeff