raidendex
Well-known member
Hey guys. Currently have a 180g SPS reef, which I almost recently sold due to impending move in the future. But decided to keep it after I sold off most of the corals, making the possibility of the move much better without killing livestock.
Of course as I started to think about how to do the move, it still seemed a bit daunting to drain 200g+ system into the buckets, so the empty 180 and 120g tanks, as well as, the stand can be moved to a new house. Later I thought I should just build a new stand and get a new tank, probably about same size maybe going up to 210g display. But then I thought if I'm going to upgrade might as well go big lol.
So as of right now I am planning to go with 500g tank 8'x'4' footprint with 2' height. Trying to get an estimate for the tank and the metal stand now, to see how much this would all cost. I would've built stand myself, but I'm not sure I can keep such large footprint easily square/leveled etc. So a metal skeleton that I will later skin myself sounds much safer in that regard.
If you guys have any suggestions for where I should buy tank or stand from (I'm in Orlando, FL area) please let me know. Or if you wish to share some estimates how much it should run. So far online I saw 1/2" 500g at $1800 and 3/4" 500g at $3600 or something. I would probably want to stay with 1/2" thickness at least on the walls, not sure if the bottom needs any more. As far as the metal stand I have no idea on the price or even a good design. Only have done wood stands before
Aluminum would probably be better for weight and non-rustiness , but I'm sure steel/iron whatever they use it perhaps cheaper.
So a few questions that I have so far.
- Should I be concerned with the placement of the tank in the house? It will be on the concrete slab with maybe laminate or tile in between (and likely some plywood above flooring and under the stand). Is it a bad idea to place so much weight right on the corner of the slab, could that area be pulled down by the tank and crack foundation (assuming the is no sinkhole there lol)? Should I try to put the tank closer to the center of the slab, etc.
- What would you suggest for lighting? I currently have 60" ATI 8 bulb T5 fixture. I would like to still use it. But obviously by itself it will not light the whole tank well. Do you think being in the middle edges of the tank would still supports pallys and mushrooms or would that be too far (about 1 foot wider than it is now in all directions). Another option would be to sell 5' fixture and get 2 4' fixtures, although either way I install them they will have to light 4 feet wide area. Of course I could go with 3 48"8bulb fixtures, but I'd rather now have that many bulbs or use that much power. Easiest way that I see is to just add few LED fixtures from something like reefbreeders for extra coverage. Final option would be to mount current fixture on rails and move it over the tank throughout the day and just run it longer than current 8 hours to give all parts enough light. This may be a bit too involved lol.
And here are some sketches of the sump plan. This will be 180g converted into sump. Baffles are there mainly to keep chaeto in place not as a bubble trap, so I may adjust them, but I think that is the minimum I'd want, so the water would be forces through most of the refugium instead of just passing underneath or above.
This won't be happening for a few months, so will probably not be whole lot of in the way of pictures or progress, but I just wanted to start thinking about layout etc. early
Thanks for any feedback!
Of course as I started to think about how to do the move, it still seemed a bit daunting to drain 200g+ system into the buckets, so the empty 180 and 120g tanks, as well as, the stand can be moved to a new house. Later I thought I should just build a new stand and get a new tank, probably about same size maybe going up to 210g display. But then I thought if I'm going to upgrade might as well go big lol.
So as of right now I am planning to go with 500g tank 8'x'4' footprint with 2' height. Trying to get an estimate for the tank and the metal stand now, to see how much this would all cost. I would've built stand myself, but I'm not sure I can keep such large footprint easily square/leveled etc. So a metal skeleton that I will later skin myself sounds much safer in that regard.
If you guys have any suggestions for where I should buy tank or stand from (I'm in Orlando, FL area) please let me know. Or if you wish to share some estimates how much it should run. So far online I saw 1/2" 500g at $1800 and 3/4" 500g at $3600 or something. I would probably want to stay with 1/2" thickness at least on the walls, not sure if the bottom needs any more. As far as the metal stand I have no idea on the price or even a good design. Only have done wood stands before
Aluminum would probably be better for weight and non-rustiness , but I'm sure steel/iron whatever they use it perhaps cheaper.So a few questions that I have so far.
- Should I be concerned with the placement of the tank in the house? It will be on the concrete slab with maybe laminate or tile in between (and likely some plywood above flooring and under the stand). Is it a bad idea to place so much weight right on the corner of the slab, could that area be pulled down by the tank and crack foundation (assuming the is no sinkhole there lol)? Should I try to put the tank closer to the center of the slab, etc.
- What would you suggest for lighting? I currently have 60" ATI 8 bulb T5 fixture. I would like to still use it. But obviously by itself it will not light the whole tank well. Do you think being in the middle edges of the tank would still supports pallys and mushrooms or would that be too far (about 1 foot wider than it is now in all directions). Another option would be to sell 5' fixture and get 2 4' fixtures, although either way I install them they will have to light 4 feet wide area. Of course I could go with 3 48"8bulb fixtures, but I'd rather now have that many bulbs or use that much power. Easiest way that I see is to just add few LED fixtures from something like reefbreeders for extra coverage. Final option would be to mount current fixture on rails and move it over the tank throughout the day and just run it longer than current 8 hours to give all parts enough light. This may be a bit too involved lol.
And here are some sketches of the sump plan. This will be 180g converted into sump. Baffles are there mainly to keep chaeto in place not as a bubble trap, so I may adjust them, but I think that is the minimum I'd want, so the water would be forces through most of the refugium instead of just passing underneath or above.
This won't be happening for a few months, so will probably not be whole lot of in the way of pictures or progress, but I just wanted to start thinking about layout etc. early
Thanks for any feedback!
