500ish Gal square tank build questions

[Pete_the_Puma]

Hi All!


Its been a long time.

I have moved a lot over the last few years but am finally in what I believe will be my long term home and the times has come to start planning my dream tank!

My dream is to build a tall square tank, maybe 48 x 48 x 48, that would be "in wall" and basically viewable from all 4 sides with the return in the middle. See sketch below.

View attachment 334165

The goal is to have the tank viewable from all sides and to have all the plumbing/return in a column in the middle hidden by rocks/corals. The top of the tank would be covered by a canopy and the returns and wavemakers/pumps would not be easily visible.

I am already looking into the many problems that might arise from such a setup. The weight is probably the main issues as if the tank is 48x48x48 that would be roughly 500 gallons and the water alone would weight around 4000lbs, without any of the lights/stand and other things that will be needed. Also that weight will be spread over a smaller surface area as opposed to "wide" 500 gal tanks. I am definitely planning on hiring an engineering consultant to make sure the floor can withstand that kind of stress.

I had had a 65 Gal SPS tank before and did quite well but have not had a tank since roughly 2009. I am sure things have changed quite a bit so here are a number of questions in no particular order. I have obviously been stalking the forums a bit but still have numerous uncertainties.

1. Any general thoughts about a tall square tank? Concerns? I know the light will not penetrate all the way and obviously the SPS will be concentrated near the mid/top.

2. Did we finally settle the T5 vs MH debate? I was running MH before but the bulb changing was a bit of a pita. What would be considered the best lighting option nowadays?

3. Best option for random water movement still Vortech pumps? I kind of always had wanted a Tunze wavebox do people still use those?

4. Automation: Any recomendations for electronics to run all the lights/pumps/sensors/reactors? Does one unit do it all?

5. Acrylic tank: any recommendations for a builder? I am pretty sure this will have to be a custom made tank.


Thank you guys for any input on any of those questions. I am obviously still 1-2 years from starting this project just though I would get some opinions. Also I had seen pics of similar tanks at some point in the past but am having trouble searching the threads, if anyone has or knows of a similar thread/tank let me know!


Thank you for reading all this!

Pete

 

[Pete_the_Puma]

second try at attaching the .jpg

 

[dave.m]

The only concern with a 48" tall tanks is that you must have access from all sides. There are long handled gripping tools available to help you in maintenance. You'll need them.

Not very many using MH any more, and T5s are only used by a few. Most are going with LEDs. You can reach the bottom with the more powerful cannon-type LEDs.

Most people are using the Apex Neptune smart controller to run their pumps along with many other tasks. Automation and lots of safety back-ups are the name of the game these days. The Apex is the favourite controller for all these things.

Dave.M

 

[Bogue Chitto]

I have a tank that is about 48 inches deep and I have LEDs that seem to be reaching the bottom o.k.

 

[scubadan206]

I think the best spread nowadays is LED for par punch and T5 for spectrum and light spread. Get Radions or Kessils and use a T5 retrofit or similar.

Daniel. :wildone:

 

[Pete_the_Puma]

So I've been doing A LOT of reading/research. I think it is only making things worse in terms of fueling my fever for a large tank!!

I'm going to be emailing a few tank builders next week just to get ballpark estimates, if you don't hear back from me it means my wife somehow got a hold of those numbers and decided to kill me hahahaha. I was initially thinking about ATM but after reading a long thread about a certain tank from Canada I think I might pass.

So far I have decided

Lights: 3 Radions XR 30wPro's, dont think I'll supplement with T5 or halides to start and see how things go. I was hoping to use my old chiller which is only 1/3HP but I think with only LEDs I might not need it at all.

Controller: Apex Neptune! I cant wait to program all the modes.

Return Pumps: I might just go with 2 Vectra's L1. 2 pumps for redundancy. Also keeping in mind there will be a 12ish foot head on the pump given the tank on main floor and fish room in the basement I don't think this will be too much flow. (rated for about 1000GPH at 12ish feet of head).

Powerheads: I have decided not to go with closed loops as I want as little hardware as possible on the main floor and all the plumbing/equipment downstairs in the fish room. The middle of the tank overflow will be as narrow as possible and only house the 2 overflows and 2 returns. I will thinking about 2 Vortech MP60s on oppsite sides of the tank but am worried with the returns and the MP60's all near the top of the tank (Hidden by canopy) that there will be no flow lower down where all the detritus accumulate. See 4th grade level sketch below



Will the MP60s generate flow even down low in such a setup? I was actually thinking about swapping those out for the Wav's from Neptune as they can be angled down up to 40 degrees, anyone have experience with those they seem fairly new...

Overflows: I was initially going to go with 2 Dursos for redundancy, then I started reading about BeanAnimal's setup and like it quite a bit but if my return pums are on some kind of variable return would that not screw up the BA with either more return going through the open return pipe or do I run the risk of loosing the siphon if i get less return into the tank? In the end I think I might still go with 2 Dursos because I do want a somewhat variable return from my pumps.

Below is a legendary tank from Thailand the look of which I am trying to emulate, If mine is only 5% as nice I will count it as a success. I would like my canopy to come down lower over the tank so none of the powerheads or overflows are visible. I have included link to the thread I hope the owner is OK with me using his picture.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1640915



I am now educating myself as to whether I want a calcium reactor or just dosing pumps. Any recomendations? 5 years ago I would have definitely said I wanted a calcium reactor.

I was also looking to build my own sump from serial plastic tubs plumbed together and using gravity for flow, where do people get those? Or the tall plastic reservoirs I have seen used for RO water storage? I am assuming this must be some special "food grade" plastic...

Lastly I was wondering about your opinions about: Would you place a steel frame for a 500 Gal tank right on hardwood flooring (Oak if it makes a difference) or strip it down to the subfloor?



Planning is in full swing now maybe I can talk my wife into starting this project this summer...


Pete

 

[Pete_the_Puma]

One last question:

I was thinking about using clear flexible PVC tubing for the 2 overflows from tank to sump and the two returns from sump to tank. I never see anyone use it and everyone is still using "solid" PVC piping. Why is that?

 

[dave.m]

The first concern I would have with clear piping is that it would encourage algal growth in the overflow and return pipes, interfering with flow where you wouldn't want it.

Dave.M

 

[scubadan206]

Definitely. I second that.
Your clean up crew will only last so many trips down the pipes.
You could snake the drain every few weeks I suppose.

Daniel. :spin2: