deweyhowell
New member
Ok, now that I am all moved into my new Seattle home, I prepping for my 180 gal build. I will describe it along the way here with pics. I welcome any and all suggestions/feedback as I've been an avid reader for some time and really appreciate all the experience here at RC.
I've been planning this for several months and thinking about equipment, stocking and overall goals for the setup. I am planning a standard 6x2x2 180 gal display with sand and a large, but interesting rock aquascape. This will house softies, lps and a range of fish and inverts. I like smaller, rock dwelling fish (probably partly from my African cichlid roots), but do plan to have a larger fish or two for the open swimming spaces. Under this display with be a 50-75 gal sump with plenty of room for all the equipment.
Finally, there will be a 75 gal refugium tank also plumbed to the system. Probably a bit different than some refugia that just grow some algae and don't offer much display value, this will be a place for some macro algae, pests from the main tank, perhaps some GSP/Xenia and possibly a pair of gold stripe maroons and a BTA that can make these 75 gallons their entire domain without bullying the main tank. I suspect I will spend a great deal of my time enjoying this tank as much as the main display.
I will be starting this with the package from Richard at TBS. I've ordered from him twice in the past and the quality of the life and bio-diversity are second to none. I know there will be gorilla crabs, mantis, pistols, etc that I will have to manage and decide ultimately where they live in my setup, but that is much of the fun for me. Between the display, the sump and the pest refugium I should have lots of options.
Following advice from a previous thread on my basement setup, I will be prepping the rooms in a month or so including dealing with flooring, electricity, plumbing for a mixing station to support AWC and temp/humidity control.
I will post some pictures as the room prep progresses. I will also post the equipment I am considering as I finalize that list as well as stocking plans further down the road.
Please follow along and let me know if you have any questions or suggestions.
I've been planning this for several months and thinking about equipment, stocking and overall goals for the setup. I am planning a standard 6x2x2 180 gal display with sand and a large, but interesting rock aquascape. This will house softies, lps and a range of fish and inverts. I like smaller, rock dwelling fish (probably partly from my African cichlid roots), but do plan to have a larger fish or two for the open swimming spaces. Under this display with be a 50-75 gal sump with plenty of room for all the equipment.
Finally, there will be a 75 gal refugium tank also plumbed to the system. Probably a bit different than some refugia that just grow some algae and don't offer much display value, this will be a place for some macro algae, pests from the main tank, perhaps some GSP/Xenia and possibly a pair of gold stripe maroons and a BTA that can make these 75 gallons their entire domain without bullying the main tank. I suspect I will spend a great deal of my time enjoying this tank as much as the main display.
I will be starting this with the package from Richard at TBS. I've ordered from him twice in the past and the quality of the life and bio-diversity are second to none. I know there will be gorilla crabs, mantis, pistols, etc that I will have to manage and decide ultimately where they live in my setup, but that is much of the fun for me. Between the display, the sump and the pest refugium I should have lots of options.
Following advice from a previous thread on my basement setup, I will be prepping the rooms in a month or so including dealing with flooring, electricity, plumbing for a mixing station to support AWC and temp/humidity control.
I will post some pictures as the room prep progresses. I will also post the equipment I am considering as I finalize that list as well as stocking plans further down the road.
Please follow along and let me know if you have any questions or suggestions.
