joshlawless
New member
So, after many years, it's time for me to get back into reefkeeping. I'd always said that just as soon as my wife and I bought a house, I'd splash out on a big, big reef tank. What with the housing crash, and living somewhere crazy expensive, and our first baby, getting that house took way, way longer than expected.
Anyhow, escrow closed, we moved in, and now it's time to splurge. So I'm posting my plans here as a placeholder for an eventual build thread, and to solicit advice from other people with large tank experience. Have a look at my plan so far and, if you don't mind, let me know if you see me heading down a wrong path:
The goal:
I want a large, mixed reef tank with SPS, LPS, schooling fish, and a few bigger showstopping fish. I want minimal visible equipment in the display, all the equipment in the stand, non-existent noise and light leakage, with as much automation and ease of maintenance as possible. Ideally, the tank should be able to autopilot without maintenance for about two weeks (with skimmate collection, skimmer neck wipers, auto top-off, auto food dispensing, etc.).
The tank
We have a nice spot against one wall in the home office for a six foot wide tank. I've always preferred the tall tanks to the wide and short raceway type, so I'm looking to go 36" or 40" tall. Bowfronts always seemed more graceful to me, but if the cost turns out to be prohibitive, I'll be happy enough with a rectangular setup around 30" front-to-back.
First conundrum: glass or acrylic (or hybrid)? For aesthetic reasons, I want as little equipment in the display tank as possible. I'm thinking that with the next generation of controllable flow diverters (like derKroon's FlowWolf) and controllable DC pumps, a closed loop system can provide great randomized flow with little intrusive piping in the tank. So I'd like to drill the bottom of the tank from here to next week - 1 input for the closed loop, 6 outputs, 3 or 4 overflow drain lines, 2 overflow returns, possibly a dry raceway through a large bulkhead. I'm not sure how safe it is to drill a glass bottom this much, so I've been leaning towards acrylic. But I'm clumsy, and the aforementioned first baby is now a toddler that likes hitting stuff with other stuff, so acrylic's scratch-ability has me worried. I'm now thinking a hybrid tank (low iron viewing panels, PVC bottom) may be best. Anyone have experience with this kind of tank? I'm soliciting quotes from Acrylic and Glass Exhibits. Anyone know other vendors in this space?
The brains
I'm a continual tinkerer with the computer, and am drawn to the Reef Angel controller for its expandability and accessible programming. Ideally, I'd like every last piece of equipment run through a central controller and web-accessible, so that together with a webcam, I can see and control every aspect of the tank remotely. Is there anything negative I should know about the reef angel, or anything that an Apex can do that the Reef Angel can't?
Water movement
As mentioned, I want a controllable closed loop system for water movement, to minimize the intrusion of pumps in the display. I'm thinking a single wide coast-to-coast type overflow box along the back wall of the tank, with submerged drains (and backup drains), return lines and preferably most of the closed loop lines concealed inside. I'll run lines from the bulkheads in the bottom of the overflow to bulkheads in the vertical panels of the overflow box for the closed loop input and most of the returns. I'd like four returns to work in alternating pairs for gyre movement (so top left and bottom right working as one pair, top right and bottom left working as another pair), and two more returns for sediment suspension (one return feeding a sand sweeping manifold line along the back of the tank, near the substrate, blowing toward the front glass, and another return coming up through the bottom of the display area, into manifolds concealed inside live rock towers).
Pumping all this water I was thinking of using one of the new Waveline DC pumps (I understand a 12000 series is coming out with non-native controller interfaces) and one of the new controllable diverters (the derKroon FlowWolf). Not sure if that FlowWolf is controllable from a central controller or not, but given how the open source community works, I'll bet someone will get it working with a Reef Angel before too long.
Lighting
It looks as though LEDs have come into their own since I last had a reef set up (~2001), so I'd like to illuminate the tank with some nice LED panels (like the Radion Pros that get such good reviews). Given the depth of the tank, I imagine I'll need to pair those with some powerful narrow-beam spots to get some useful illumination down near the substrate (although organizing the tank with high light SPS up top and lower-light LPS and zoas below seems like a natural fit for a tall tank).
The sump
I'd like the biggest sump I can fit in the stand to be fed by the wide overflow, and a gate valve on the drain line to keep the intakes submerged (for low noise). I'd like to go with a standard sump design, with a baffled skimmer region fed from the overflow, a return pump area in the middle, and a lit refugium opposite the skimmer and being fed a controllable trickle from the display overflow. For return pumps, I was thinking a matched pair of Waveline DC 6000s (once they're released) for redundancy and to feed opposing return lines, possibly with each pump ramping up and down in opposing phase to contribute to the randomness of water movement in the display.
Filtration
I'd like a generously size skimmer driven by a DC pump (for reduced heat input to the system, and not so much for the controllable pumping rate), and preferably one outfitted with a neck wiper and a good-sized skimmate collector. Still haven't determined which of the many, many skimmers fits the bill, but I'm interested in the open-volute designs I see from RLSS (DB10i) and Reef Octopus (POV). I like an elevated tank, so I'm hoping to have good headroom in the stand to work with a tall skimmer, and shouldn't actually need the space-saving design. Happy to take any input you may have in this area. I like the look of Avast's neck wiper and skimmate collectors as well. Is there any better option than these?
I'd like to have one or two media reactors on hand to run carbon and/or GFO on an as-needed basis. Is it safe to leave these plumbed and only run them occasionally? Or would leaving water sit in the carbon / GFO for an extended period of time cause something nasty to grow / leach into the water?
I'd also like to have an ozone generator / reactor setup to keep the water well polished. I would love to be able to look from one side of a six foot tank and through the other, with hardly any light loss. I would, naturally, run this in parallel with an ORP probe on the controller to prevent over oxidation. Any experience with / suggestions on this equipment?
Chemistry
For an auto top-off system, I'd like to use a low rate dosing pump dripping kalk into the sump, with a pressure sensor for water level feedback (as opposed to a mechanical float switch). I figure that between the low rate of the dosing pump and one (or redundant) pressure sensitive water level switches, I should be able to run a kalk drip without substantial risk of overfilling the tank.
At first, I won't need too much calcium or carbonate, so I may put off purchasing a calcium reactor until I start populating the tank with reef building coral, but I think I'd rather go this route than with 2-part dosing. I hear good things about the aquariumplants.com electronic CO2 regulator, and would be interested in recommendations about good calcium reactor brands and recommended media.
I'd like to keep the Mg levels high automatically (when I get to the coral growing stage), so I'd like to have a dosing pump capable of dosing both the ATO system with kalk (in response to the pressure sensor) and dosing Mg at a steady rate. Would it be better to get two dosing pumps, or is there a multi-head dosing pump that's well regarded?
Well, thanks for looking and thanks in advance for any feedback. I've got the space for a tank, the budget to set it up and run it, and a passion to get started, but I want to make sure that I plan it well and do it right the first time, so I don't have too many costly mistakes to set right down the road. Any help that you can give me would be greatly appreciated.
Anyhow, escrow closed, we moved in, and now it's time to splurge. So I'm posting my plans here as a placeholder for an eventual build thread, and to solicit advice from other people with large tank experience. Have a look at my plan so far and, if you don't mind, let me know if you see me heading down a wrong path:
The goal:
I want a large, mixed reef tank with SPS, LPS, schooling fish, and a few bigger showstopping fish. I want minimal visible equipment in the display, all the equipment in the stand, non-existent noise and light leakage, with as much automation and ease of maintenance as possible. Ideally, the tank should be able to autopilot without maintenance for about two weeks (with skimmate collection, skimmer neck wipers, auto top-off, auto food dispensing, etc.).
The tank
We have a nice spot against one wall in the home office for a six foot wide tank. I've always preferred the tall tanks to the wide and short raceway type, so I'm looking to go 36" or 40" tall. Bowfronts always seemed more graceful to me, but if the cost turns out to be prohibitive, I'll be happy enough with a rectangular setup around 30" front-to-back.
First conundrum: glass or acrylic (or hybrid)? For aesthetic reasons, I want as little equipment in the display tank as possible. I'm thinking that with the next generation of controllable flow diverters (like derKroon's FlowWolf) and controllable DC pumps, a closed loop system can provide great randomized flow with little intrusive piping in the tank. So I'd like to drill the bottom of the tank from here to next week - 1 input for the closed loop, 6 outputs, 3 or 4 overflow drain lines, 2 overflow returns, possibly a dry raceway through a large bulkhead. I'm not sure how safe it is to drill a glass bottom this much, so I've been leaning towards acrylic. But I'm clumsy, and the aforementioned first baby is now a toddler that likes hitting stuff with other stuff, so acrylic's scratch-ability has me worried. I'm now thinking a hybrid tank (low iron viewing panels, PVC bottom) may be best. Anyone have experience with this kind of tank? I'm soliciting quotes from Acrylic and Glass Exhibits. Anyone know other vendors in this space?
The brains
I'm a continual tinkerer with the computer, and am drawn to the Reef Angel controller for its expandability and accessible programming. Ideally, I'd like every last piece of equipment run through a central controller and web-accessible, so that together with a webcam, I can see and control every aspect of the tank remotely. Is there anything negative I should know about the reef angel, or anything that an Apex can do that the Reef Angel can't?
Water movement
As mentioned, I want a controllable closed loop system for water movement, to minimize the intrusion of pumps in the display. I'm thinking a single wide coast-to-coast type overflow box along the back wall of the tank, with submerged drains (and backup drains), return lines and preferably most of the closed loop lines concealed inside. I'll run lines from the bulkheads in the bottom of the overflow to bulkheads in the vertical panels of the overflow box for the closed loop input and most of the returns. I'd like four returns to work in alternating pairs for gyre movement (so top left and bottom right working as one pair, top right and bottom left working as another pair), and two more returns for sediment suspension (one return feeding a sand sweeping manifold line along the back of the tank, near the substrate, blowing toward the front glass, and another return coming up through the bottom of the display area, into manifolds concealed inside live rock towers).
Pumping all this water I was thinking of using one of the new Waveline DC pumps (I understand a 12000 series is coming out with non-native controller interfaces) and one of the new controllable diverters (the derKroon FlowWolf). Not sure if that FlowWolf is controllable from a central controller or not, but given how the open source community works, I'll bet someone will get it working with a Reef Angel before too long.
Lighting
It looks as though LEDs have come into their own since I last had a reef set up (~2001), so I'd like to illuminate the tank with some nice LED panels (like the Radion Pros that get such good reviews). Given the depth of the tank, I imagine I'll need to pair those with some powerful narrow-beam spots to get some useful illumination down near the substrate (although organizing the tank with high light SPS up top and lower-light LPS and zoas below seems like a natural fit for a tall tank).
The sump
I'd like the biggest sump I can fit in the stand to be fed by the wide overflow, and a gate valve on the drain line to keep the intakes submerged (for low noise). I'd like to go with a standard sump design, with a baffled skimmer region fed from the overflow, a return pump area in the middle, and a lit refugium opposite the skimmer and being fed a controllable trickle from the display overflow. For return pumps, I was thinking a matched pair of Waveline DC 6000s (once they're released) for redundancy and to feed opposing return lines, possibly with each pump ramping up and down in opposing phase to contribute to the randomness of water movement in the display.
Filtration
I'd like a generously size skimmer driven by a DC pump (for reduced heat input to the system, and not so much for the controllable pumping rate), and preferably one outfitted with a neck wiper and a good-sized skimmate collector. Still haven't determined which of the many, many skimmers fits the bill, but I'm interested in the open-volute designs I see from RLSS (DB10i) and Reef Octopus (POV). I like an elevated tank, so I'm hoping to have good headroom in the stand to work with a tall skimmer, and shouldn't actually need the space-saving design. Happy to take any input you may have in this area. I like the look of Avast's neck wiper and skimmate collectors as well. Is there any better option than these?
I'd like to have one or two media reactors on hand to run carbon and/or GFO on an as-needed basis. Is it safe to leave these plumbed and only run them occasionally? Or would leaving water sit in the carbon / GFO for an extended period of time cause something nasty to grow / leach into the water?
I'd also like to have an ozone generator / reactor setup to keep the water well polished. I would love to be able to look from one side of a six foot tank and through the other, with hardly any light loss. I would, naturally, run this in parallel with an ORP probe on the controller to prevent over oxidation. Any experience with / suggestions on this equipment?
Chemistry
For an auto top-off system, I'd like to use a low rate dosing pump dripping kalk into the sump, with a pressure sensor for water level feedback (as opposed to a mechanical float switch). I figure that between the low rate of the dosing pump and one (or redundant) pressure sensitive water level switches, I should be able to run a kalk drip without substantial risk of overfilling the tank.
At first, I won't need too much calcium or carbonate, so I may put off purchasing a calcium reactor until I start populating the tank with reef building coral, but I think I'd rather go this route than with 2-part dosing. I hear good things about the aquariumplants.com electronic CO2 regulator, and would be interested in recommendations about good calcium reactor brands and recommended media.
I'd like to keep the Mg levels high automatically (when I get to the coral growing stage), so I'd like to have a dosing pump capable of dosing both the ATO system with kalk (in response to the pressure sensor) and dosing Mg at a steady rate. Would it be better to get two dosing pumps, or is there a multi-head dosing pump that's well regarded?
Well, thanks for looking and thanks in advance for any feedback. I've got the space for a tank, the budget to set it up and run it, and a passion to get started, but I want to make sure that I plan it well and do it right the first time, so I don't have too many costly mistakes to set right down the road. Any help that you can give me would be greatly appreciated.
