First Marine Tank - Planning Asisstance Required Please

[r0cksteady]

Hi Guys,

Currently I have a 3ft fresh water community aquarium and in about 6 months would like to take the jump and start a reef tank (spending the full 6 months researching it fully).

My wife and I are currently renovating our house and there is an opportunity for me to include a complete floor to ceiling setup in the renovation process.

I am looking at a tank 179cm wide X 76cm deep X 120cm tall (1632.48 Litres \ 431.26 US Gallons) in size.

I need help in a few ways:

1. Pretend like money isnt an issue and assist me with product recommendations for the list of equipment I below so I get a realistic view of whether this is plausable
2. I need people to make sure I havent forgotten anything from the list of equipment
3. Can I \ Should I have my tank any taller as I certainly am not really restricted in height (floor to ceiling) where Im at my max width and depth.

Thank-you everyone for taking the time to read this and I really appreciate how helpful everyone is on this forum. Any information is appreciated

__________________
ABOVE TANK

Size - 50cm gap from roof (170cm Length floor to ceiling)

Lighting - 6 tube fluorescent lighting. 1 x Full spectrum bulb, 1 x Plant oriented bulb, 1 x Metal Halide, 1 x Very High Output, 1 x Actinic Blue & 1 x Actinic White
__________________
IN TANK

Tank - 179cm X 76cm X 120cm (1632.48 Litres \ 431.26 US Gallons)

Gravel - Black (Depth?)

heater - Need two heaters (one as backup)

Wavemaker/Surge Device

__________________
BELOW TANK

Wooden Stand - Strong enough to hold 1 Litre of water = approx 1 Kg / Needs to be 100% level otherwise will cause stress on joins.

UPS - Stable Electricity - Need to total required wattage

Filter - Eheim canister filters - 5 times the flow rate of the capacity per hour.

Timer - For lights

protein skimmer

Sump Tank

Water Pump - Backup Pump Also

Water Purifier (Deionizer\Reverse Osmosis)

Plumbing: Drainage

Electrical:
Safety switch \ Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI)- Water Vs Electricity
Power Outlets
Celing Fan

 

[demonsp]

www.glasscages.com

Custom made low zinc or lead glass i forget wich mineral. This is a beutiful start. They can supply stand also.

 

[r0cksteady]

Dead link

Dead link

Hi,

Links dead, thanks all the same.

Would you have any feedback on the actual list above or be able to recommend say a heater that is capable of details 430 gallons etc.

Many thanks.

 

[bertoni]

The sticky note at the top of the forum has links to articles on substrates and lighting. Metal halide and fluorescent are different technologies. The water purifier need not be below the tank. There might not be room, in any case.

 

[demonsp]

http://www.glasscages.com/

 

[demonsp]

hmm says popups blocked , just type it in . The sites great.

 

[r0cksteady]

Thanks demonsp, link worked.

Thanks bertoni for the direction.

 

[cd77]

Wow, can't wait to see pictures of the build process and results -- you may want to cross post this in the Large Reef Tanks forum here at RC.

 

[demonsp]

If money is no option pls send pics and update.

Even if not, lets see. GL

 

[cd77]

Use some CAD software (or similar) to draw up the specs and post it here or in the large reef tanks forum.

One thing I noticed you didn't mention is evaporation and topoff. I have no clue where you plan to put this tank -- but it sounds like a very ambitious project.

This is nowhere near as crazy as the 6000 gallon build being discussed now, but if money is no concern, have you thought about at least hiring a professional consultant (or consultants) for design/structure, plumbing, electrical, proper flow, etc..?

 

[r0cksteady]

Thanks guys for the feedback. I did not a ceiling fan but didnt realise that I would need to go to the extent of an evapourator. Do you have an example of what I should \ could use?

I will definentely post pics of the progress \ plans etc as seeing other peoples projects is what has inspired me about my own.

One of my brother in law is an electrician and the other a tilier (he can do plastering etc) so Ive got the construction covered. Also where im building the tank requires me to move our hot water service meaning that I have the plumbing available to get the tank \ sump connected straight to the sewerage \ main water supply.

My wife does interior design in CAD so that is a great idea, I never thought of that.

I'll check out that post too thanks.

Are any of you guys able to recommend actual products for any of the things listed ie. A heater that is capable of heating that volume of water? Or how much light would I require with those dimensions?

 

[bertoni]

That tank is rather tall. I'd guess 3 400 W MH bulbs would be good if you want a lot of high-light animals.

I'd skip the Eheim filters and use some Tunze Streams or similar pumps.

High-end protein skimmers would include Euro-Reef, Deltec, H&S, Bubble King, and Bubble Master. I'd get a Euro-Reef, since they're a bit more affordable, but given the absolute lack of any objective data on skimmer performance, we're all just guessing.

Heating requirements can vary, but I'd probably use 3-4 heaters totalling about 2000 W total, and I'd definitely buy a good temperature controller, like the Ranco.

 

[cd77]

Your profile says you have 3 months experience with a 15 gallon FW tank.

You have four total posts, all in this thread.

Now you want to start building a four hundred and thirty-one gallon reef within the next six months.

In my own humble, uninformed ridiculous opinion that may get modded to outeer space -- you're a quadriplegic wearing a lead vest jumping into the deep end of a sulfuric acid pool without so much as a single water wing.

Why not start with a 50, 75, or even 120 gallon AGA or perfecto or something and see how the hobby treats you for a year or so before jumping into a big tank like that? If you bought a 75, it'd make a killer sump/fuge for your 420 when you upgrade and you could certainly transfer all of the livestock and rock..

I'm not trying to insult you by any means -- I myself dream of putting a built-in 300 or 400 gallon tank in my own home and I'm sure I could afford it, but I'm more the type who learns how to walk before he runs. I don't want to keep you from your dream, I'd just hate to see such an ambitious (and expensive too) project not work out the way you want/expect it to.

You've had a 15 gallon freshwater for a mere three months. Will you still be interested in it 3 months down the road? What about your 420?

 

[Thinslis]

Depending on your stocking you'll want a good Calc reactor, a Chiller depending on the climate, a controller like a Aquacontroller Pro....

 

[r0cksteady]

Thanks Bertoni,

Exactly the sort of advice I need!

Do you recommend a wave maker device? If so what one would suit my setup?

Is there any negative effect to my having the tank so tall? Should I go less? Can I make it work or do you think all round it would look and work better more proportionate?

Hi cd77, thanks for your input I do appreciate all constructive critisim and advice, this is something I am seriously considering whether to start or not that is why I have given myself 6 months to go through the process of upgrading FW tanks over that period (already upgrading this weekend to a 3ft) to a and see how I enjoy the work involved and how in tune I am with the fishes life cycle. I am planning on starting a smaller Salt Water tank next year though that is not what im so concerned about as its this project im looking to plan early.

First hand I have just gotten back into my FW tank but my brother in law is a mad aquarium hobbiest with 8 tanks a 6ft and 5ft being the highlight including breeding tanks etc. and has sucessfully been doing so for the last 3 years. He is the one who has inspired me and is working with me through the process (god knows he doesnt want me killing fish or wasting money either) though his experience is limited to FW at the moment.

I am not looking to jump into something without fully understanding the gravity of it all and thats why I am hitting the forums to get advice and knowledge.

Thanks thinslis I havent heard of a calc reactor so I will read up on that now. Can you recommend a Chiller that would suit this setup?

 

[Thinslis]

I can not honestly recommend a chiller since I have no experiance with one, but you will need to consider the possiblity that you may need one (they can be expensive). Calcium reactors dose calcium into your tank continuously. Research them, if you plan to go SPS you will need one with a tank like that.

Also you will need an auto topoff system to combat the evaporation, an RO/DI unit to handle the volume of water you will need to be changing and toping off.

 

[cd77]

You'll probably be looking at a 3/4HP unit (may require a 220 outlet) to cool that sucker. You may be able to do a couple 1/3HP's though I really don't know. The big chillers I've read about usually don't mention tank size so much as flow rate.. I'd seriously try cross posting this in the Large Reef Tanks forum as well -- the people who frequent there may not come to the Newbie forum too often.

 

[r0cksteady]

Thanks again. Im reading through the large tank forum now. Lots of great stuff there. Though my tank sounds small compared to some of the ones on there. lol.

cd77 I was thinking about what you said and I also thought that everywhere Ive read said that larger tanks are a lot easier to maintain than your smaller ones. Do you think that a step up tank will make a difference rather than taking the larger one slow?

 

[r0cksteady]

Hey demonsp im looking at that glass site and cannot see what you were referring too can you give me a bit more info as to where on their site they list what youve recommended or can you tell me what the benefit is vs normal glass?

 

[r0cksteady]

Did you mean Starphire (aka low-iron glass)? Can anyone confirm that this does make a difference or is it more of a wank feature? Like fluffy dice in a car?