davidfrances
New member
After almost a year of planning, last week I ordered two (yes, that's 2) 250 gallon Marineland Deep Dimension tanks from Midwest Reefs, my local aquarium store. I finally completed finishing off my basement, and purposefully designed a space for both tanks. Both tanks will have factory stands and canopies, and will sit directly on the basement slab. I'm expecting to take delivery of the tanks in 2-3 weeks, so I'm now in the process of sorting through and cleaning all my old aquarium equipment and seeing what can be reused, repurposed, sold or otherwise disposed of.
Both tanks will be Berlin method, bare bottomed. In the 90's, I ran all my tanks without substrate, and had very few problems. After a few months, the glass was covered in coralline algae and soft coral and polyp growth usually followed. In the mid to late 2000's I ran a shallow sand bed in my tanks, and seemed to have nothing but problems with dissolved organics and algae. I understand this is a hotly contested topic, and if I change my mind, I can always gradually add a SSB after the fact.
Other significant departure from my past experience:
"¢ Lower overall turn-over rates.
"¢ Abandoning my fanatical devotion to MH's, and switching to LED's and T-5's. Specifically, I'm weary of the high utility bills and excess heat output of the MH's, and for once would like to run my reef without a dedicated chiller.
"¢ No more "œwall of reef" look. Given the footprint of these tanks (60" x 36") I'm going to incorporate reef bommies in my aquascape.
"¢ I'm thinking of trying a blackout window film for the backing on the tank. I've painted the back in the past, but if anyone has other ideas I'd like to hear them.
SOFT CORAL REEF
One of the250 gallon tanks will be a dedicated soft coral reef. I will likely have a few hardy SPS's, but not many, as well as clams. In the past, I've had good luck with montipora's and heliopora's, and will initially limit the tank to those. The remainder of the corals will be softies, including zoanthids, mushrooms, leathers, etc.
Equipment:
1. Lighting "“ 6x Mazarra Maxspect P-series LED units
2. Sump "“ modified 40 gallon breeder
3. Return Pump "“ two (2) Eheim 1262's, each plumbed to a separate overflow return.
4. Skimmer "“ Skimz SM 251 Monzter E-Series (I may need to change this depending on the inside dimensions of the stand, right now I'm worried it will be too tall)
5. Calcium Reactor "“ Korallin C-3002
6. Freshwater top-off (to maintain constant osmotic balance) "“ 25 gallon transport tank, bellows pump and float switch
7. Water motion "“ 4x Tunze Turbelle Streams (the original versions). I've had these in operation almost continuously for 5+ years and four cross-country moves without a single problem and don't see the need to change them unless they begin to fail.
8. Heater "“ TBD depending on temperature fluctuations.
FOWLR
The other 250 gallon tank will be a Fish Only With Live Rock tank, specifically dedicated to larger more aggressive marine fish. My wife and I both like the larger marine angels, and have seen photos of tanks that break all the compatibility rules. This will be one of them. I'll try to keep some of the more noxious softies here, but the focus will be fish and not inverts in this tank. Given the design of the room, this tank will receive some natural sunlight on the right side.
Equipment (much the same as above):
1. Lighting "“ 48" T-5 TEK light (8x54W)
2. Sump "“ modified 40 gallon breeder
3. Return Pump "“ two (2) Eheim 1262's, each plumbed to a separate overflow return.
4. Skimmer "“ Skimz SM 251 Monzter E-Series ( I may need to change this depending on the inside dimensions of the stand, right now I'm worried it will be too tall)
5. Freshwater top-off (to maintain constant osmotic balance) "“ 25 gallon transport tank, bellows pump and float switch
6. Water motion "“ I'm going cheap here, and will try the Hydor Koralia product.
7. I may run a UV sterilizer on this tank, especially given what I expect will be a high bio-load. I recall reading an article by Randy Holmes-Farley(?) about the interaction of UV on organics and nutrient export; I plan on doing some additional research before I commit.
8. Heater "“ TBD depending on temperature fluctuations.
Existing System
My existing system is an approximately 200+/- gallon quarantine/holding system composed of seven (7) 10 and six (6) 20H tanks drilled and plumbed to a 40 gallon sump and a 15+ year old Lifereef trickle filter. This system will handle quarantine duties and may be converted to a breeder system in the future.
I'll begin posting pictures upon receipt of the tanks (Although I need to remember how ). I'm off tonight to pick up the 40 breeder's I'll use as my sumps, and will likely order a combination of live and dry reef rock from Liverockranch.com as soon as the DD tanks arrive. You are welcome to follow along. Feedback is also welcome.
Both tanks will be Berlin method, bare bottomed. In the 90's, I ran all my tanks without substrate, and had very few problems. After a few months, the glass was covered in coralline algae and soft coral and polyp growth usually followed. In the mid to late 2000's I ran a shallow sand bed in my tanks, and seemed to have nothing but problems with dissolved organics and algae. I understand this is a hotly contested topic, and if I change my mind, I can always gradually add a SSB after the fact.
Other significant departure from my past experience:
"¢ Lower overall turn-over rates.
"¢ Abandoning my fanatical devotion to MH's, and switching to LED's and T-5's. Specifically, I'm weary of the high utility bills and excess heat output of the MH's, and for once would like to run my reef without a dedicated chiller.
"¢ No more "œwall of reef" look. Given the footprint of these tanks (60" x 36") I'm going to incorporate reef bommies in my aquascape.
"¢ I'm thinking of trying a blackout window film for the backing on the tank. I've painted the back in the past, but if anyone has other ideas I'd like to hear them.
SOFT CORAL REEF
One of the250 gallon tanks will be a dedicated soft coral reef. I will likely have a few hardy SPS's, but not many, as well as clams. In the past, I've had good luck with montipora's and heliopora's, and will initially limit the tank to those. The remainder of the corals will be softies, including zoanthids, mushrooms, leathers, etc.
Equipment:
1. Lighting "“ 6x Mazarra Maxspect P-series LED units
2. Sump "“ modified 40 gallon breeder
3. Return Pump "“ two (2) Eheim 1262's, each plumbed to a separate overflow return.
4. Skimmer "“ Skimz SM 251 Monzter E-Series (I may need to change this depending on the inside dimensions of the stand, right now I'm worried it will be too tall)
5. Calcium Reactor "“ Korallin C-3002
6. Freshwater top-off (to maintain constant osmotic balance) "“ 25 gallon transport tank, bellows pump and float switch
7. Water motion "“ 4x Tunze Turbelle Streams (the original versions). I've had these in operation almost continuously for 5+ years and four cross-country moves without a single problem and don't see the need to change them unless they begin to fail.
8. Heater "“ TBD depending on temperature fluctuations.
FOWLR
The other 250 gallon tank will be a Fish Only With Live Rock tank, specifically dedicated to larger more aggressive marine fish. My wife and I both like the larger marine angels, and have seen photos of tanks that break all the compatibility rules. This will be one of them. I'll try to keep some of the more noxious softies here, but the focus will be fish and not inverts in this tank. Given the design of the room, this tank will receive some natural sunlight on the right side.
Equipment (much the same as above):
1. Lighting "“ 48" T-5 TEK light (8x54W)
2. Sump "“ modified 40 gallon breeder
3. Return Pump "“ two (2) Eheim 1262's, each plumbed to a separate overflow return.
4. Skimmer "“ Skimz SM 251 Monzter E-Series ( I may need to change this depending on the inside dimensions of the stand, right now I'm worried it will be too tall)
5. Freshwater top-off (to maintain constant osmotic balance) "“ 25 gallon transport tank, bellows pump and float switch
6. Water motion "“ I'm going cheap here, and will try the Hydor Koralia product.
7. I may run a UV sterilizer on this tank, especially given what I expect will be a high bio-load. I recall reading an article by Randy Holmes-Farley(?) about the interaction of UV on organics and nutrient export; I plan on doing some additional research before I commit.
8. Heater "“ TBD depending on temperature fluctuations.
Existing System
My existing system is an approximately 200+/- gallon quarantine/holding system composed of seven (7) 10 and six (6) 20H tanks drilled and plumbed to a 40 gallon sump and a 15+ year old Lifereef trickle filter. This system will handle quarantine duties and may be converted to a breeder system in the future.
I'll begin posting pictures upon receipt of the tanks (Although I need to remember how ). I'm off tonight to pick up the 40 breeder's I'll use as my sumps, and will likely order a combination of live and dry reef rock from Liverockranch.com as soon as the DD tanks arrive. You are welcome to follow along. Feedback is also welcome.
