ShelflyfeAndy
New member
Hello fellow reef lovers!
It's been a while since I've been in the hobby, a relocation made me sell my setup in upstate NY, and move to the gulf coast of Florida. Back in those days PC actinics and MH lighting, and calcium reactors were still the rage, I ran a 90 with mostly SPS"¦ After I moved to Florida, I thought the 7000 gallon Koi pond I built in my front yard would satisfy my love of aquatic life, but it's not enough, and I want to get back into reef keeping. It could be that I've taken up diving lately and see so many fish that I loved in the hobby! I'm interested in what some of the people that have kept up with the times think about my current idea.
I have a closet in my entry that measures ~36" x 26", and since no one wears a coat here in southern Florida, it has never had anything in it other than my vacuum cleaner! So the project begins! The back side of the closet is on a wall in my living room next to where I have a 60" flat screen mounted, and the couches point directly towards. I want to do a built in wall, SPS dominated tank, that might also accommodate some reef fish that I catch from the local reef (see bottom for more on that).
Main Tank: 36x24x25, about 95 gallons, I was also thinking maybe 31 tall, making it 118 gallon, I've always believed the bigger the better when it comes to maintaining a stable environment, but it would be crazy to try to go with more than 30" deep, I'll spend a fortune in lighting! This is not a standard size made by Aqueon or Marinland, so I doubt I'll find something at my LFS"¦ I'll probably inquire if they work with custom size reef tanks, but so far online it looks like glass cages will do what I'm looking for, obviously drilled, I'd probably look into 2 overflows if I go to 118 gallons, starphire glass on the front, and I'll paint the back and sides black so you don't see the inside of the closet.
Water Movement: (2) EcoTech MP40
Lighting: (2) AI Hydra hung front to back, I was also thinking maybe the new Hydra 52, I don't want to under size the lighting, but trying to not blow a fortune. And I can add a third Hydra for the price of 2 Hydra 52.
Sump: The prefab sump/refugium options are very costly, so I'm thinking of locating a local acrylic supply house, I have a table saw (and many power tools, and good hands on ability) and have worked with acrylic in the past. I think I could assemble myself a custom sump after I review some designs"¦ I'm thinking a footprint of 36x24 just like the main tank, and it will sit below, I don't need to worry about cabinet constraints because I'll be supporting the tank just with a frame that I build, which might even be supported on the studs rather than feet. I want to run filter sock(s) in the first chamber (1 or 2 depends on if I have them put in 1 or 2 overflows) not sure if I need 4" or 7", I still have an ASM G4+ skimmer "œin the closet" which would also go in the first compartment. 2nd chamber would be the refugium, miracle mud, maybe I'll go find some mangrove saplings around my island (they are everywhere), and some macro algae from the LFS, and lit by (1) 12" TrueLumen 12k/453nm strip (no clue if this is right, never ran a refugium before). Third chamber is for the return pump water, I have an Iwaki 950GPH external pump "œin the closet", and I was going to run 2 BRS deluxe (single) reactors for carbon and GFO T'd off either a Cobalt 1200 or a Mag 3, separate flow control to each reactor, fed back to chamber 1 of the sump. Tunze Osmolator on a bucket that I keep filled with RO/DI water. Dose with BRS 2 part solution, using their dosing pumps, and timers, but look into also automating the Mg.
"œIn the closet" is equipment I didn't get rid of when I moved, and has been sitting in a tub for the past 5 years, the skimmer, pump, RO/DI, hydrometer, other misc stuff"¦ If you think something is better, cooler (ie heat from pumps), quieter, let me know"¦
I also have a chiller, but I'm not planning to use it on this system, my goal is to keep this energy efficient! But if temps get high, I guess I'll be hooking that up too.
I plan to rip all the drywall out of that closet, redo with cement board, and possibly finish with tile"¦ Should I put a ceiling (bathroom) vent fan in to pull hot/moist water up/out to the attic (and is there a solution to automate that)? It currently has folding panel louvered doors, I wonder if I need to do something better with that to make it sound proof. I do not want my living room be loud like it used to be! I like hearing crickets chirping and the frogs mating calls out in my pond. I'm considering putting in an exterior door to the closet if the tank makes too much noise.
Stocking the tank! frags dot org was a good place to find good price frags to start stocking, but it looks like that site is pretty much dead"¦ Is there anyplace that is selling frags at reasonable prices? I checked craig's list, and everyone seems to be trying to make money on that too"¦ their prices are same as an LFS that has to pay storefront/huge electric bill (showroom)/etc"¦
Collecting! Now that I'm diving, I see so many reef fish that I see in the stores, usually for tens or hundreds of dollars! I would prefer to collect myself, and that might also be an interesting point of interest in my home that all fish species are collected in local waters. FWC says I can take 20 fish per day, 5 per species, with some additional restrictions (which I would observe, I am a conservationist, not a poacher). Anyone have some experience with what equipment I could use? Around here they are more interested in selling you a spear gun than a way to collect fish alive.
It's been a while since I've been in the hobby, a relocation made me sell my setup in upstate NY, and move to the gulf coast of Florida. Back in those days PC actinics and MH lighting, and calcium reactors were still the rage, I ran a 90 with mostly SPS"¦ After I moved to Florida, I thought the 7000 gallon Koi pond I built in my front yard would satisfy my love of aquatic life, but it's not enough, and I want to get back into reef keeping. It could be that I've taken up diving lately and see so many fish that I loved in the hobby! I'm interested in what some of the people that have kept up with the times think about my current idea.
I have a closet in my entry that measures ~36" x 26", and since no one wears a coat here in southern Florida, it has never had anything in it other than my vacuum cleaner! So the project begins! The back side of the closet is on a wall in my living room next to where I have a 60" flat screen mounted, and the couches point directly towards. I want to do a built in wall, SPS dominated tank, that might also accommodate some reef fish that I catch from the local reef (see bottom for more on that).
Main Tank: 36x24x25, about 95 gallons, I was also thinking maybe 31 tall, making it 118 gallon, I've always believed the bigger the better when it comes to maintaining a stable environment, but it would be crazy to try to go with more than 30" deep, I'll spend a fortune in lighting! This is not a standard size made by Aqueon or Marinland, so I doubt I'll find something at my LFS"¦ I'll probably inquire if they work with custom size reef tanks, but so far online it looks like glass cages will do what I'm looking for, obviously drilled, I'd probably look into 2 overflows if I go to 118 gallons, starphire glass on the front, and I'll paint the back and sides black so you don't see the inside of the closet.
Water Movement: (2) EcoTech MP40
Lighting: (2) AI Hydra hung front to back, I was also thinking maybe the new Hydra 52, I don't want to under size the lighting, but trying to not blow a fortune. And I can add a third Hydra for the price of 2 Hydra 52.
Sump: The prefab sump/refugium options are very costly, so I'm thinking of locating a local acrylic supply house, I have a table saw (and many power tools, and good hands on ability) and have worked with acrylic in the past. I think I could assemble myself a custom sump after I review some designs"¦ I'm thinking a footprint of 36x24 just like the main tank, and it will sit below, I don't need to worry about cabinet constraints because I'll be supporting the tank just with a frame that I build, which might even be supported on the studs rather than feet. I want to run filter sock(s) in the first chamber (1 or 2 depends on if I have them put in 1 or 2 overflows) not sure if I need 4" or 7", I still have an ASM G4+ skimmer "œin the closet" which would also go in the first compartment. 2nd chamber would be the refugium, miracle mud, maybe I'll go find some mangrove saplings around my island (they are everywhere), and some macro algae from the LFS, and lit by (1) 12" TrueLumen 12k/453nm strip (no clue if this is right, never ran a refugium before). Third chamber is for the return pump water, I have an Iwaki 950GPH external pump "œin the closet", and I was going to run 2 BRS deluxe (single) reactors for carbon and GFO T'd off either a Cobalt 1200 or a Mag 3, separate flow control to each reactor, fed back to chamber 1 of the sump. Tunze Osmolator on a bucket that I keep filled with RO/DI water. Dose with BRS 2 part solution, using their dosing pumps, and timers, but look into also automating the Mg.
"œIn the closet" is equipment I didn't get rid of when I moved, and has been sitting in a tub for the past 5 years, the skimmer, pump, RO/DI, hydrometer, other misc stuff"¦ If you think something is better, cooler (ie heat from pumps), quieter, let me know"¦
I also have a chiller, but I'm not planning to use it on this system, my goal is to keep this energy efficient! But if temps get high, I guess I'll be hooking that up too.
I plan to rip all the drywall out of that closet, redo with cement board, and possibly finish with tile"¦ Should I put a ceiling (bathroom) vent fan in to pull hot/moist water up/out to the attic (and is there a solution to automate that)? It currently has folding panel louvered doors, I wonder if I need to do something better with that to make it sound proof. I do not want my living room be loud like it used to be! I like hearing crickets chirping and the frogs mating calls out in my pond. I'm considering putting in an exterior door to the closet if the tank makes too much noise.
Stocking the tank! frags dot org was a good place to find good price frags to start stocking, but it looks like that site is pretty much dead"¦ Is there anyplace that is selling frags at reasonable prices? I checked craig's list, and everyone seems to be trying to make money on that too"¦ their prices are same as an LFS that has to pay storefront/huge electric bill (showroom)/etc"¦
Collecting! Now that I'm diving, I see so many reef fish that I see in the stores, usually for tens or hundreds of dollars! I would prefer to collect myself, and that might also be an interesting point of interest in my home that all fish species are collected in local waters. FWC says I can take 20 fish per day, 5 per species, with some additional restrictions (which I would observe, I am a conservationist, not a poacher). Anyone have some experience with what equipment I could use? Around here they are more interested in selling you a spear gun than a way to collect fish alive.
