210+ & 120+ double Peninsula Island with Bar.

[garcastle2]

The 90ga in my kitchen needs to move to the basement to allow for a decades needed kitchen reno. So why not upgrade the heck out of things?

Currently the tank has a basement 20ga sump with 50ga deeper sump/Fuge and an MRC MR-2 skimmer all powered by a Hammerhead pump to drive up the 11+ feet (and an old Eheim as the Fuge return).

After several designs, this is the latest candidate:

The bar already exists on the top/smaller half of the basement. By building the stands to the same height and building in slots for the foot wide inserts, the stands will match the bar trim while allowing for an immense amount of bar seating. Many of the seats will be able to see through a tank or two.

The whole horse-shoe area will evolve into other uses for the kids as well since the insert ledges can come out and the bar stools can be stacked out of the way.

By moving the bar to the larger side of the basement, it also means it will be a true wet bar due to the utility sink behind it.

The position of the two display tanks also takes into account support beams, ductwork, and plumbing that is otherwise too close. The larger tank stand will get all the tank plumbing most of the way to the sump and back, but some plumbing will need to be out in the open. I'm hoping to build an enclosure for it to protect it and make it more obvious/avoidable.

I will post the equipment details next. I'm hoping to do things in stages since the entire basement will end up moving around or getting replaced.

Cheers,
G.

 

[Chrisrush]

Looking forward to this. Combines 2 of my hobbies as well. Reefs and HB. Whatcha got on tap?

 

[DC650]

Best of both worlds.

 

[garcastle2]

Tanks sizes and on tap.

Tanks sizes and on tap.

DT#1: 210-250ga
DT#2: 120-135ga
Sump: 125ga
Fuge: 90ga
Frag: 50ga

The Sump will be a 125ga glass tank with a Reeflo Hammerhead plumbed in as the main driver for everything. The stand for the Sump will enclose the Sump while also supporting the Refuge and Frag tanks.

The longer display tank will be roughly 250 gallons depending on which exact height I go with. It will be 72"x30"Dx27 or 30"H.
Lighting will be a mix of 250w Radium halides and Radion Gen2s (possibly PROs) mounted within two powder-coated aluminum housings I picked up. I won't worry about buying the Radions until after I have the tank bought and setup, so more options may become available by then for the LED parts. I have all the halide gear already.

The shorter display tank will be roughly 135 gallons and will be 48"x24"Dx27 or 30"H. Since I won't have space for bar stools on the backside of this tank, I don't need it as deep and the overall volume of this system will be big enough.

The Fuge will be the current 90ga DT re-purposed. This will also let me take my time with setting up the new DT's while still getting the 90ga out of the kitchen.

The Frag tank will be my original salt tank, an old 50ga that currently has partitions in it. I may end up getting a deeper and lower tank, we'll see. The Sump stand will be big enough to support a 24" deep tank later if need be.

All the returns to the tanks will have some method of random flow, whether they use Sea Swirls, Moceans, or Hydra Aquatics Twists. If the Twists work, they would be the frontrunner since I could plumb a few of them down the long edges of each tank and no electricity involved.

By mixing halides and LEDs, I will be able to have nice control as well as appreciable power when I want it. I'll also be able to swap each unit out when wanted (not quickly, but the option would be there).

The two DT's will be Starphire on both long sides and one end. The bartop like inserts will let people sit on barstools at the tanks, eat/drink, and be able to see other people on the opposite side of the near clear tank.

More descriptions to come.

Cheers,
Gordon

 

[garcastle2]

The bar has a 6-tap tower for 6 homebrews. The variety wildly changes since I like to dabble. I keg everything except for the Meads and really heavy beers.

Cheers,
Gordon

 

[SUPPOReefer]

Fish and beer!! The two loes of my life. Can't wait to see the progress.