110galreef's -250gallon Deep Dimension In-Wall Reef Build

[110galreef]

Well here is a little insight to the basement & fish room layout. This pic shows the back of the basement, where the fish room was determined to go! The room is basically 16' wide and like 30' deep! Its that far back left area. The front edge wall of the room will go left to right where the flat basement wall is at on the right.

 

[Jarret]

Well now you could obviously go with a much larger tank with all that room!

 

[110galreef]

Well now you could obviously go with a much larger tank with all that room!

trust me.....thought about it.

Thought about going like 6-12" longer or 6-12" wider. Each 6" L or wide add likes 25g to the mix. It seems at about 250, cost start to go up as lighting and materials jump a bit! Plus miantenence starts to get a tad more....Oh and more electricity for CLS & Pumps & skimmers.

225g should be plenty and I should have great aquascape opportunities w/ the deep dimension of 36"...But hey 42" wide is still a possibility as I don't have the tank ordered yet!

 

[Jarret]

Yes cant wait to see the actual tank and what you do with aquascaping. As I've mentioned before 60x36x24 is what I plan to have when I setup my tank. I think it should provide plenty of aquascaping options.

 

[110galreef]

Recomendations on a epoxy/bonding agent for the aqua scape?

 

[110galreef]

Well now you could obviously go with a much larger tank with all that room!

I am kicking around 66Long opposed to the 60Long. If the price doesn't significantly jump and I can verify it fitting, i will go that route. That puts thge tank at just under 250gals! :fun4:

I may be the most indecisive reefer out there. But I hate saying..."I wish I would have..............."

 

[110galreef]

Ok...so a little more perspective on the fish room & layout. Also I just finished staining my concrete basement floors. It came out awesome! Excuss the crappy phone pics.....wifey lost (misplaced) the digital camera.:thumbsup:

The first pic shows as you walk down the stairs and look at the fish tank. The second shows how the tank layout on the floor. The layout behind the furnace is a sump placement option. AT the moment I will probably use Vortechs for the additional flow, thus the sump will be under the tank.

 

[110galreef]

Here now is the finished floor looks & some more looks of the fish room

 

[Jarret]

Any updates so far? Can't wait to see the tank and the aquascaping!

 

[110galreef]

Yup....I officially ordered the tank!

I decided on a 66l x 36w x 24T. So about 250 GALLONS Now!

:lol2::dance:

I went w/ an external coast to coast overflow. I only went about 26" long. As i will only be flowing about 600gph thru the sump and if the overflow is to long I will have a very hard time getting proper flow over the opening. However in the future if i ever sell it, this overflow will still easily handle 1500gph flow. as toothles it still has much more surface area than a standard overflow for this size tank.

I went w/ a black background as well.

For the few following and since this has just got going and i made so many changes to my original plans.....and i can't edit my title to reflect a new Gallon size i may just start a new Build thread and let this fizzle out to the bottom. I may see if a moderator can change the title!

If i make a new one you will all know for sure.

Thaks for tagging along:fun4:

 

[deehz]

110galreef+140,
I made it! That fish room of yours is a beast. Floors look fantastic. The contractors that did the work on the floors did a tremendous job. Kudos to you for going for a finished concrete look (only and proper way to go for a basement).

Hey, have you gotten your LED's yet from Steve? I hope you add this to the build. I am definitely following this thread.

 

[110galreef]

110galreef+140,
I made it! That fish room of yours is a beast. Floors look fantastic. The contractors that did the work on the floors did a tremendous job. Kudos to you for going for a finished concrete look (only and proper way to go for a basement).

Hey, have you gotten your LED's yet from Steve? I hope you add this to the build. I am definitely following this thread.

Haha...Thanks for finding it! :reading:

The floors i actually did myself! I will upload better pics monday! The floor came out a lot better than i thought. Had to mix two colors for the awesome leather look!

No LED's yet. I am gonna do some more research and pull the trigger ina week or two. no huge rush as tank wont be here for 2-3 weeks. I however, will definitly have the LED build on here:beer:

 

[deehz]

Well, in that case, you did a GREAT job on the floors! Crack open a couple of cold ones and cheers to you. :beer:

I also agree, don't rush on the LED's since you have time to play around. Are you still considering Steve's or are you going to look for possibly a better quality LED like the CREE's for you DIY?

I think, I have seen a thread here on RC for group buys on CREE's. My understanding is that they purchase them for a relatively great cost. I know for sure that nano-forums runs a monthly/weekly group buy on LED's (CREE's). Here is some good reading on PAR, wattage (joules), lumens, luminescence, photosynthesis, etc. Its about the wavelength of our light source in our tanks.
Thanks!
http://www.sunmastergrowlamps.com/SunmLightandPlants.html

http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_Lighting.html

 

[110galreef]

if you think my crappy cell phone pics ook good just wait till monday for the good pics.....

I prefer Captain & coke fpr my beverage! :beer:

I am leaning towards cree's. Thanks for the heads up on the Group Buys. I will keep an eye out as 120 of these LED's add up so any savings would be awesome. i will look at the suggested reads!

 

[jmait769]

Hey, congrats on the tank order!! You are off to a great start. :thumbsup: Will be tagging along for sure!!

Jay

 

[deehz]

No, 120 CREE's would not be cheap! Can't wait for Monday to see the pics. I realy like how you are being methodical on this build. Patience is a virtue right. :thumbsup: It reminds me of a certain person that is doing the same in our club with his great build (I think he posted right above me!).

 

[110galreef]

Hey, congrats on the tank order!! You are off to a great start. :thumbsup: Will be tagging along for sure!!

Jay

great to have you! your build has helped me decide & design some stuff for this build!

 

[110galreef]

No, 120 CREE's would not be cheap! Can't wait for Monday to see the pics. I realy like how you are being methodical on this build. Patience is a virtue right. :thumbsup: It reminds me of a certain person that is doing the same in our club with his great build (I think he posted right above me!).

Yeah it is looking like ~ $1300 give or take DIY. I will lay that out w/ the build tho. Also i didn't consider a CREE group buy. That may save a hundred bucks or so too!!

I figure, since i am starting fresh, the extra cost of about $500-$600 (compared to 250w MH's & VHO/T-5's & all needed) that the startup cost will be for the LED's;........ the pure energy savings, no bulb replacement, not needing a chiller cost, plus no chiller running electrical savings, less heat & evaporation, etc.....almost pay for the lights day one. The inststant savings is the probability of not buying the chiller. Lets hope this works out right!:thumbsup:

I am looking at about 650w alone in light savings. I also want to keep this setup as effecient & monthly billing cost as possible! Alone this right here is about $18/mo energy savings.:dance:

 

[deehz]

Yeah, look on the forums for group buys on LED's. Hey any nickel that you can save especially in this hobby is worth it. What a lot of people don't realize is the real cost savings of an LED setup. Like you mentioned, it not just the light but the other equipment you don't have to purchase or maintain. T5's and MH you have to buy new bulbs every year; everyone upgrades the ballast on these fixtures; chillers aren't cheap to purchase or maintain; heat/evap; etc. The savings are astronomical when you add everything up.

I had a reefer argue with me about the cost of an led versus the savings. Lets just say he wasn't the smartest tool in the shed. He couldn't see past his own shadow. He just kept talking about how expensive they are. Yes, they aren't cheap but they do pay themselves off within the first year or two. He couldn't see past the savings in electricity. I don't post in that forum anymore.

I have convinced the wife that I want to go LED next year. All I have to do is sell the MH that I have. When you post your LED build, I am going to ask a ton of questions. I understand electricity and how it works and flows and have great soldering abilities. Its when you get to all of the capacitors and such is where i go huh. You are doing a great job!

 

[110galreef]

Can't wait for Monday to see the pics. I realy like how you are being methodical on this build. Patience is a virtue right. :thumbsup:

Better pics as promised!
1st : Is basically standing in the fish room where the tank will be.
2nd: back of fish room looking towards the tank. You can see the layout on the floor.
3rd: Just a random fllor shot in the basement
4th: Another shot from one side of the basement looking toward the tank....
Still have some molding & trim work, but the hard laborious work is done!

WELL...except for the tank build!:spin2: :spin3: :hmm4: