Custom 160 Build Thread - Finally!!

Jgoal55

Jgoal55

Active member
Ok, well after much talk I finally will be putting this build thread together. And wile I cant promise that it will be good because I am really lazy about posting pics and stuff, I do promise that I will try my hardest to make this a nice thread.

Please feel free to critique anything as imo, there is no better method of learning. While not new to the hobby and while I do consider myself somewhat knowledgeable, I am the furthest thing from an expert and I hope to learn quite a bit through this thread and all your comments and experiences.

None of the ideas and concepts are originally mine. In fact, the design of the tank was inspired by GlassReef's tank seen here: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1482007&perpage=25&pagenumber=1

While my thread wont be anywhere as neat or elaborate or interesting, I hope you enjoy it at least half as much as I have enjoyed dreaming up this thing and finally having it become a reality.

I will tell you that the set up is far from complete so this thread will be pieced together slowly but surely. For now, I'll start off with some pics I got today of the tank being built and where I plan to go. Enjoy!

The tank: The tank is 60L x 28D x 22T; built by Felix from Reefsavvy.com, the tank has 3 sides starphire with an external Beananimal style overflow (http://www.beananimal.com/projects/silent-and-fail-safe-aquarium-overflow-system.aspx) and a smoked (black) back glass (this idea came from Felix who has been invaluable through out this whole process. I think it looks great! Felix has been very communicative and has answered every question I've had and thats a lot of questions. And not just about the tank, but about everything related to it). The tank will be eurobraced all the way around.

Lighting: I am in between two set ups right now and sorry to all the MH fans out there but they are both T5 options: Choice #1 is the ATI 8x80w Powermodule, Choice #2 is the 8x80w Icecap Retro fit kit. My decision is going to come down to deciding how I want to place lights in my canopy. I am not sure yet but Im not in a terrible hurry to make that decision. Opinions are welcome.

Skimmer: Will probably upgrade this later on but for now I have the Octopus EX-200. It does an overkill amazing job on my 90 but Im sure once the new tank is fully stocked Ill probably want something that can handle a bit more.

Sump: Not sure yet. Going to see one that may work very well on Friday. About 100 gallons.

Return: Right now Im going with a Mag 12 because its what I have and its what I have always used and they have been flawless.

Flow: - Two Vortech MP40w's. Incredible products.

Sandbed: yes, about 3in deep

Canopy and Stand: Being built by a carpenter friend of mine. I'm building the stand extra high at 40" to keep the tank at eye level. Inspiration came from here and while it wont be as elaborate, I think it'll end up looking pretty nice where it's going. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1213499&perpage=25&pagenumber=1

Now for the part youve all been waiting for:

Jgoal55


Weir notch close-up for access to the external overflow:
Jgoal55


Jgoal55


Jgoal55


I hope to have a few pics of the stand being built later this week. For now, thats all I've got. :)
 
sweet looking tank ... i was just talking to Felix and Rick about that a day or 2 ago..

Cant wait to see this completed..

tagging along...
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15515903#post15515903 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Linesider
Cant wait to see this completed..
Click to expand...

Haha....me either!

I just went by the new place to take a few more measurements and realized exactly how huge this thing is.....and with the cabinet and stand it may look like a monstrosity in my living room....lol...hopefully this thread will se its end before my wife kills me. She is totally ok with this but I dont think she realizes how much space this is taking up.....lol

I love how fish tanks rule our lives.
 
question on lighting

question on lighting

Nice set up will be watching it unfold..
did you choice T5 over MH because of the 22" height or do you think T5s will put out the same quality lighting (ie: W, Ks )
 
Re: question on lighting

Re: question on lighting

Thanks Mike! Im really happy about the tank dimensions.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15518944#post15518944 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gmanreef
Nice set up will be watching it unfold..
did you choice T5 over MH because of the 22" height or do you think T5s will put out the same quality lighting (ie: W, Ks )
Click to expand...

Gman, I chose T5 simply because its what I have always used and I have had a lot of success with them. As far as cost goes, the halide setups I was considering were pretty much equal even when you talk about power consumption. Halides drew more but not a ton more. Imo, the energy savings with T5's are a bit overplayed sometimes but of course it depends on your setup.

More than anything it was a "why fix it if aint broke" approach. My corals now grow like weeds and I love the colors I get from the T5's. That said, I seriously miss the shimmer and do wish that I could replicate that somehow. The Current Powerbrites are decent but when the lights are on full blast they get washed out.

Overall, its clear you can have great tanks with both setups but I do feel that you can do just as well with T5's as you can with halides, and yeah you save something in power so why not. Bulb replacing runs you about the same as well depending on the number of lamps. But its about equal to replace 8 high end T5 lamps as opposed to 3 high end halide bulbs.

As for the height, didnt really factor in but i guess to a point if I had a really deep tank i probably would lean more towards halides or a combo of the two. hth.
 
Gman, you're going to love this!

I should have mentioned at the beginning that I am extremely indecisive and I change my mind many times before I ever make a decision when it comes to my reef tanks.

So, I have decided that I may end up going with halides after all. In thinking more about the situation and after seeing another tank with halides I decided that I absolutely love the shimmer and I have a chance to get it with halides and where wattage is concerned, I wont be running too much more than if I went with the 8x80w Icecap retro kit.

here is the breakdown:

Icecap 8x80w overdriven retro kit: 800w (bulbs run at about 100w)
MH setup: 500w in MH lamps and 4x80w overdriven T5's so 400w in T5s for 900w total

Basically, for 100 more watts I get my shimmer.

Also, I could go with the Iwasaki's 175w and run 750w total which is less than the T5 setup. Thing is Im tentative to go with 175w because options are so limited and Im not sure Ill love the color of the Iwasaki's so Ill prob go with 250s either Pheonix 14k or Radium 20k's

I was originally thinking I would need 3 MH lamps but found that the Lumenmax Elite covers a 30"x30" area so I think 2 will be plenty on my tank.

So why did I completely rule out the PM? Mainly because its only 17.5" wide and my tank is 28". Supposedly from everything Ive seen the PM would spread light over my whole tank even at just 17.5" but I have my doubts about that and I wasnt going to spend that cash with a doubt in mind. Also because the fixture isnt meant to run in a canopy and the furniture looks better with one. I could have designed the canopy to fit the PM but I figure why spend that much money on a such a nice fixture that I can never see. lol. ;)

So yeah, looks like im going with a MH T5 combo after all. For now...lol.
 
jgoal i ran mh on all my tanks before switching over to t-5s i ran 250s just like u will be running imho i tried ALOT!! of bulbs there are only 2 bulbs i liked in se mogul 10k xm superb growth blah color and by far the nicest would have to be the radium on hqi ballast ok growth, another really nice bulb would have to be the helios 20k but alot of people had problems with the bulbs i saw this bulb in a members tank and was blown away. gl with your choice and again this is just my 2 cents.
 
sump

sump

hey Jorge did you decide on a sump yet:rollface: ..
your stand is high enough for a little mongrove forrest :D ..
whar you think.
 
Stag - so you're saying you like the T5s better overall where coral growth and health are concerned or did your corals do well under both set ups?

I have always used T5 with spectacular results. But obviously there are halide tanks with results just as good. IMO, what really seperates T5s asthetically is the color pop on the corals themselves. I'm hoping I can get that color with the 4x t5 bulbs though I may need 6.

Gman, have thought about mangroves but am not convinced of the benefits yet only b/c since I don't dose anything in my tanks currently, I'll lose too much mag. However, if I start dosing Its something I would consider.
 
Now we are talking but the wattage is not gonna be enuff- that is a fact of life.

Many tanks and many lights have proven this IME.

I'm glad u are gonna play with the big boys well semi pro LOL J/K
 
overall my corals grow slower under t-5s but look better. to be honest with u i will be going back to halides on my next setup but that is only cause the tank is going to be 36 wide and it wont be efficient to run 12 bulbs on that sucker i think u should be happy with the halides. i will personally run 400 watters on my next tank since i was never happy with the 250s on an ic ballast.and have seen amazing tanks that run 400 watters well if im not mistaken gasman and rogger run 400 watters and there tanks are always amazing, but then again im the type of person that if i dont end up liking the 400 watters i will slap on 12 t-5s lol.
 
LOL. Yeah I'm kind of like that too.

Only issue I have with running 2 400s which I think would rock my tank is that if add any supplemetal lighting i think I'll run into heat issues. I'd be looking at 1200w!!
 
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