cbui2 and makoJ - Glad to have you guys aboard, I can use your help for sure. Please chime in when you have ideas for me, since it'll be much easier for me to change things or implement new concepts now. That goes for everyone following this thread. I'm not proud, and I still feel like a newbie.
gkarshens - Ha, yeah, my plan was to build the house around the tank, but my wife had other ideas. She has been great and is going along with this tank build, but I had to agree to fit the tank in after first setting up a functional home. That's why the tank is 6' instead of 8', as elongating the tank would have meant eliminating one of the columns in the living room, which was not happening. I also wanted a much larger tank room, but I'll settle for what I got.
purebullet417 - Thanks man.
ChrisMc73 - I only have 2 other AGE tanks. One is in my office (450g) and it's staying right there. The other is my rimless 203g, and fishypets is getting that one.
fishypets - You can come over any time you want, you know that. As for TOTM, I shudder to even write those 4 letters in a row. I've got a LONG way to go before even thinking about that. I just want a nice reef in my home that I can enjoy and tinker with.
Jar*Head - Don't get me wrong, bro, I LOVE your external wavebox idea. It's just that, in 5 years when there's something better out there, I'd be stuck with 2 extension boxes and 2 holes in the side of the tank that would be useless. If this were a tank I'd be setting up for 5 years or less I would go for it, but this will be my last tank for at least 15 years.
yeniraki - I'm glad you've been enjoying my other tank thread. When I set that tank up, I new I would be moving to a new home, but not quite this soon. An opportunity arose and we took it. In the interim I couldn't go 'tankless' so I set up the rimless tank, thinking I could enjoy it and experiment for a few years. It just didn't work out that way. I will really miss having a rimless display tank, but I'll be able to see it at Clint's (fishypets) house, and my frag tank will be rimless.
tanya72806 - email sent
GMFett - Thanks bro! I'll call you later today. I really value your opinions since you have my dream tank and a lot of experience with this size tank, so please keep me on track with this project.
RyanBrucks - Looks like we think alike. I'm not familiar with the tradewinds chiller, I'll look into it. I don't want to rely on evaporation alone, solely because I don't want to increase my water topoff usage. On the other hand, the energy used to create the electricity to run a chiller probably exceeds the cost to the environment than using extra water ... so maybe I should stick to the Eco-cooler?
Bax - Good to have you here my man. LOL, the 2-part comment was more of a jab than an actual recommendation (can't believe you brought that up - you're like an orca!). I agree with your float valve switch recommendation, and I'll probably still use the osmolator in the 40g reservoir to deliver the topoff to the sump. I would like to see how other large tank owners handle their topoff. Sounds like a nice topic for a new thread.
Jim_S and tbone28 - Thanks guys, please help me out when you can.
hansmatt - Thanks for the suggestion! I feel exactly as you do regarding the corner pillar, but it has a necessary function in the home to provide for the arch over the tank. I am very disappointed that the side view will only be 3 of the available 4 feet, but on the other hand it may appear that the tank opens up when viewing it through that panel, know what I mean? The other problem that corner piller causes is the inability to pass a magnet cleaner around the corner to clean the glass. I have solved that problem by ensuring the pillar is not load-bearing. The builder will cut out a door in the hollowed pillar, and I'll be able to open the door and pass the magnet through. Pretty cool, hu?
And as for the typos, well, it seems that when this thread is viewed on a Mac (like I did at home last night) some of the punctuation (like the inch symbol, dashes and apostrophes) becomes scrambled since it was originally typed in Word. I'll try to fix that if the administrator allows it.
