1200 gallon reef build!!!

[cubanreef22]

Hi I am new to Reef Centeral but when setting up a tank and wanting feedback on your success(or failure) this seems to be the place to start.:wavehand:



For some quick background info I'm in the process of setting up a beautiful reef tank that hopefully will become a masterpiece. The tank its self is 12 feet long by 40 inches deep by 48 inches tall. This tank has nothing but potencial, unfortunatly it is almost at the point to be filled with water but as many people know that is only the begining. Any building questions I am happy to answer but the feedback going forward is greatly appreciated. There is almost so much to say about the tank from the lights to the skimmer so its almost not even worth posting it all, but im happy to post pics and answers to any questions to clear things up.:lmao:



Some background on me, is that i have a had a nice 125 gallon tank for a year now and a nano cube for a couple of years. If there is one thing that I have learned is that patience and research are very important to a successful reef tank. With knowing this I am confident that i can create a masterpiece. The tank is going into the family business in the wall and available for all to see. This is just the starting post so i will post a few pics and see where it goes.:rollface:



Thank you all,

Nick

 

[cubanreef22]

Hey everyone i will post some recent pics tonight because these are old

 

[Breadman03]

I'm tagging along.

 

[cubanreef22]

sounds good it will be a crazy ride but it will be well worth it

 

[dave.m]

48" is an excellent height for a tank, but how will you light it? We need all the grizzly facts and figures.

Dave.M

 

[cubanreef22]

ya we have 3 400 halides and then 4 t5 that will add a little blue and is there any details you would like to hear because now that we are past the initial instalation and we have it filled the details are endless. Sorry fo not being more exact but i dont even know where to start

 

[Reef264]

Sounds like its Gunna be a nasty build.In a good way!

 

[cubanreef22]

Ya it should turn out pretty nice

 

[Aquatron]

Hello,
You maybe should reasearch more on lighting with the kind of reef you are wanting. T5s with that depth will be little help and 1 400 watt MH every 4' is way more than their rated for. I had 5 400 watt MHs and a 2 x 2 skylight over my 750 gallon it was 8' long x 36" wide x 48" tall.

Good Luck!

 

[cubanreef22]

Thats what I was thinking as well with the lights but i had asked multiple stores and it should be ok if anything we could add another. Mine are industial 400 W with the Mongol fitting so i think with the right spectrum it should be ok. hahaha i no about the t5s they will just go over the refugium

Either way i will look into maybe adding more light thank you

 

[cubanreef22]

Actually now that u got me thinking, and after seeing the tank of the month I'm gonna double the halides and just get the double units that they sell and hopefully that will be enough

I appreciate the feedback cause i got those lights for free so i might as well upgrades... Thanks again Nick

 

[cubanreef22]

Hey fellas the tank is filled and circulating gonna wait a day or so to add the salt.... It is not cheap buying those reef crystals hahaha

 

[zdancewicz]

how much did this tank alone cost? just curious:eek1:

 

[cubanreef22]

not cheap but luckily craigslist saved us a pretty penny and we stole it for 2800, A tank this size is obviously worth more and the best part is that is was local so we picked it up ourself. We searched and talked to every tank building company and their quotes are ridiculous, But ya we picked it up cheap. I think it was actually less than 2800 but still a great deal

 

[cubanreef22]

It's too bad everything that came with the tank was freshwater junk and it was missing a 3 inch bulkhead that is impossible to find but overall I'm very happy with the purchase

 

[cubanreef22]

would a 250 gallon refugium be enough or more? Any what do you guys think of the volcano skimmer?

 

[cubanreef22]

hey guys found a nice pic of the skimmer... any comments? It really works well:bounce1:

 

[cubanreef22]

:rollface:everything is running and i took some pics of the tank filled( I will clean the glass when we add the salt)

Sorry the first one is a little blurry because i had to go into the wash lane to take it and there was no zoom on my phone.

The other one is the picture of the sump that is 30 feet away and upstairs

 

[Salte]

Salte likes!!:spin1:

 

[cubanreef22]

thanks it is defiantly coming along