My dad and I have been reefing for about 7 years, we recently took down our latest 90 gal reef tank several months ago. It was beginning to have some issues, maintenance was a pain with the way it was set up (we were newbies) and I no longer live there so all of that maintenance was put on him.
when we took down our 90 gal we knew there were a few thing we wanted to modify about the fish tank area. I tore up the old tile which was popping up, took down the paneling, adjusted the electrical so outlets were higher up, put up green board and retiled.
Originally we were going to set the 90 gal back up as just a FOWLR... but after all this we decided we had to go bigger if we were only going to be doing fish. so giving that the tiled area is 9.5 ft by 5 ft we decided on a 240 gal in wall tank. I will be framing 2 walls making this a corner in wall tank wit the front and right hand side showing. there will be a door on the left side (about 3.5 feet of space on the left) and 2.5 feet of space behind the tank. the tank will measure 72x30x25.
Now before we actually sign off on this tank, were trying to figure out exactly how we are going to do this, most importantly what equipment will we be using. when were were reefing with a 90 gal, things were simple. but I have found myself completely unfamiliar with equipment rated for a tank this size. also I'm not sure what is considered over-doing-it since this is going to be a FOWLR tank. I'm going to post some questions below as to different types of equipment.
CONTROLLER. First I think I should start with the controller since different types of equipment have different compatibility with different brands of controllers. it isn't yet decided that we will even have a controller. we did want to set up a fairly automated system to reduce our work load but they are a little pricey. Ive looked at the apex mostly because there is simply more BRStv videos on them (LOL) I like the idea of having the new one that comes with all of these nifty probes but it's pretty expensive.
LIGHTS. I'm used to needing some pretty nice lights for my reef tank. But here we should be able to simplify right? spectrum is only going to help with algae control since there will be no coral. we want something bright enough to light this large tank evenly, but don't want to pay for tech that we aren't going to need. dimmability would be nice, especially is it can be controlled by our controller should we get one. hopefully someone can recommend something that is good for this 6x2 tank. oh yeah and definitely was LEDs for their low heat and low energy usage.
FLOW. powerhead are another thing I have gone back and forth on. I know i still need good flow to keep things like cyanobacteria down should water even get that bad. but were no longer keeping coral (we used to be SPS dominant) what a good power head that isn't going to break the bank and maybe only 2 of them would suffice. again, having these being controlled by a controller would be nice if we were to get one. then again, I don't really care for a wave/seiche action in a FOWLR tank so maybe fancy powerheads that connect to a controller aren't a high priority of mine.
RETURN PUMP. Internal or external? what GPH rating for a dual overflow tank with about 5ft head pace. also it seems that in my time off DC pumps have really taken off, which is pretty cool. We would like to plumb the return pump to also utilize a couple accessories. I think I like internal the best, less change of a leak that is outside of the tank and we don't have to worry about getting the pump wet.also should we hard plumb this? I would think so its probably a cleaner work space when you do.
TEMP CONTROL. This is a crazy one for me, we have never needed more than a 300W heater before. So is there someone out there making heaters for this size tank? if so what are there prices? how much energy are they using?!? my other thought was to install a re-circulation loop from the hot water heater which isnt very far from the tank. A re-circulation loop could easily be controlled by a controller yes? if we go this route what will I need? what material would the coil be mad of (PEX? Stainless?)? what is the general consensus on energy usage for internal heaters v. re-circulation loops?
SKIMMER. So this one I think we have down. because reef or FOWLR the skimmer depends on your bioload which is pretty much always dominated by fish. so generally just looking for recommendations on skimmers for this size tank, it will likely be medium to well stocked. Internal is probably better right?
Wow, that's enough talking from me. If you are going to recommend some equipment can you please provide descriptions of what you suggesting. I'm not familiar with every model umber out there so something like "you should get a BrandX 1234 Skimmer rated for 325 gal" it would be extremely helpful.
Thanks All.
when we took down our 90 gal we knew there were a few thing we wanted to modify about the fish tank area. I tore up the old tile which was popping up, took down the paneling, adjusted the electrical so outlets were higher up, put up green board and retiled.
Originally we were going to set the 90 gal back up as just a FOWLR... but after all this we decided we had to go bigger if we were only going to be doing fish. so giving that the tiled area is 9.5 ft by 5 ft we decided on a 240 gal in wall tank. I will be framing 2 walls making this a corner in wall tank wit the front and right hand side showing. there will be a door on the left side (about 3.5 feet of space on the left) and 2.5 feet of space behind the tank. the tank will measure 72x30x25.
Now before we actually sign off on this tank, were trying to figure out exactly how we are going to do this, most importantly what equipment will we be using. when were were reefing with a 90 gal, things were simple. but I have found myself completely unfamiliar with equipment rated for a tank this size. also I'm not sure what is considered over-doing-it since this is going to be a FOWLR tank. I'm going to post some questions below as to different types of equipment.
CONTROLLER. First I think I should start with the controller since different types of equipment have different compatibility with different brands of controllers. it isn't yet decided that we will even have a controller. we did want to set up a fairly automated system to reduce our work load but they are a little pricey. Ive looked at the apex mostly because there is simply more BRStv videos on them (LOL) I like the idea of having the new one that comes with all of these nifty probes but it's pretty expensive.
LIGHTS. I'm used to needing some pretty nice lights for my reef tank. But here we should be able to simplify right? spectrum is only going to help with algae control since there will be no coral. we want something bright enough to light this large tank evenly, but don't want to pay for tech that we aren't going to need. dimmability would be nice, especially is it can be controlled by our controller should we get one. hopefully someone can recommend something that is good for this 6x2 tank. oh yeah and definitely was LEDs for their low heat and low energy usage.
FLOW. powerhead are another thing I have gone back and forth on. I know i still need good flow to keep things like cyanobacteria down should water even get that bad. but were no longer keeping coral (we used to be SPS dominant) what a good power head that isn't going to break the bank and maybe only 2 of them would suffice. again, having these being controlled by a controller would be nice if we were to get one. then again, I don't really care for a wave/seiche action in a FOWLR tank so maybe fancy powerheads that connect to a controller aren't a high priority of mine.
RETURN PUMP. Internal or external? what GPH rating for a dual overflow tank with about 5ft head pace. also it seems that in my time off DC pumps have really taken off, which is pretty cool. We would like to plumb the return pump to also utilize a couple accessories. I think I like internal the best, less change of a leak that is outside of the tank and we don't have to worry about getting the pump wet.also should we hard plumb this? I would think so its probably a cleaner work space when you do.
TEMP CONTROL. This is a crazy one for me, we have never needed more than a 300W heater before. So is there someone out there making heaters for this size tank? if so what are there prices? how much energy are they using?!? my other thought was to install a re-circulation loop from the hot water heater which isnt very far from the tank. A re-circulation loop could easily be controlled by a controller yes? if we go this route what will I need? what material would the coil be mad of (PEX? Stainless?)? what is the general consensus on energy usage for internal heaters v. re-circulation loops?
SKIMMER. So this one I think we have down. because reef or FOWLR the skimmer depends on your bioload which is pretty much always dominated by fish. so generally just looking for recommendations on skimmers for this size tank, it will likely be medium to well stocked. Internal is probably better right?
Wow, that's enough talking from me. If you are going to recommend some equipment can you please provide descriptions of what you suggesting. I'm not familiar with every model umber out there so something like "you should get a BrandX 1234 Skimmer rated for 325 gal" it would be extremely helpful.
Thanks All.
