help me pick out a tank!

[Tickle]

So im mainly looking at what I should be using for a return pump right now and Im thinking on going with a reeflo dart/snapper hybrid. From the bottom of where I have the sump planned to the topmost return of the tank is about 10 at most. the reeflo in dart form at 10' does 1850gph, thats 10x turnover, but like I said I would probably like to build some manifold to run other things if need be such as skimmer, calcium reactor, feed the fuge. I found the hammerhead/barracuda model for about 40 bucks more at 10' that does 3325. The difference is about double the wattage. I do plan on having a vortech or 2 in the tank do help with the flow, which is another question that goes out to the vortech owners, do you think with 4 returns on the tank that 2 mp10s would be enough to get the random wave motion I would like or should I get the mp40 model?
Skimmer. Anyone have any recommendations? Im up in the air on the Red Sea C-skim 1800 which is rated for 400 gallon systems at about $300 bones or a RO XS250 which is rated at 250 gallons for about 500 bucks, I know Reef Octopus has a good name and reputation and wouldnt let me down, but this red sea model I have seen a pile of good reviews, its priced about right and it also has a self cleaning mode which isnt a deal breaker but thats pretty neat.

For the lighting I have decided on 4 50w multichips, 2 20ks and 2 actinics and then run them side by side and then integrate my 100 watt setup from my 40 and then sprinkle in a couple 620nm reds and a couple UV chips. I think the lighting will be the cheapest part of the build. That will put me in the neighborhood of about 400 watts. I only run about 60 watts over my 40.
I will put optics on some of the central chips to get me that punch to keep sps in the center of the tank at about mid level and I should have no problem keeping sps on the sides as long as they are high up and will be able to keep softies on the bottom with ease.

 

[Tickle]

Also what I read up on is that the solar tubes wouldnt or dont work that well up here in wisco. Plus I got to looking at it and there is a tree about 12-15' in diameter that shades the house right there and I would have to get that taken down if I wanted to put in solar tubes, the couple companies that gave me quotes just blew me away, the cheapest one wanted just about what I put down for a down payment on the place lol. Im thinking that tree looks better and better every. Plus, I have my house insured for about 3 times what it worth so if something from that tree comes crashing through my house I will welcome it with open arms lol

 

[DavidinGA]

I agree with everyone else. Not sure where you are but 180's don't come up very often around here. Last one sold for $1k, 120's sell for $3-400.

In my area I see 180's go for around $500 and 120's in the $400 range.

A brand new 180 from glass cages is only $700 where are you getting your $1k price from?!

Sent by Razr Maxx

 

[Tickle]

Ive actually got a 180 picked out thats is only 2 months old and the guy only wants 400 bucks. Im tryin to get in touch with him, but thats about the goin rate for one.

 

[Tickle]

If I was going to setup a 180 with a refugium. I would do the quiet overflow which is talked about on this forum and Bulk Reef Supply posted a video about on You tube. You have two PVC lines as drains out of the tank. One line has a gated valve to adjust the water flowing out of the tank to match the flow of what your water pump is pumping into the tank and the other line is an emergency drain without a valve if the tank ever did start to overflow. This type of drain is quiet and eliminates water ever overflowing onto your floor. My friend runs this drain system on his tank and he loves it because it is quiet and it has eliminated his tanks overflowing ever.

I would use a UV sterilizer like the powerful one's Bulk Reef Supply sells on a tank of this size for two reasons. #1 reason is it will keep your water looking crystal clear. #2 it will kill parasites when you use one that is powerful enough. My 34 gallon Red Sea looks great when looking at it from the front on it's dirtiest day, but when looking at the tank water from the side of the tank that shows through to the white wall it looks slightly greenish on the 30th day after my last water change. A water change clears this right up however and I have been doing water changes every 30 days on this tank which needs to be done maybe every 20 days on my reef tank system. I am not using a UV sterilizer on this tank(just a skimmer, both stock water flow pumps, one hydor circulation pump for extra water flow, Rox carbon and GFO). You can read about all of these products and people's reviews of these products on the Bulk Reef Supply website.

I would also read the book The Reef Aquarium by Delbeek and Sprung before building this system and spending a ton of money. This book is considered one of the bibles on reef tanks and will help you decide on exactly how you should set up your tank. I bought a used mint copy of this book off of Amazon.

Thanks, I will probably do the bean animal overflow if they tank I get allows( which the one ive picked out does if the seller ever gets back to me).
As far as UV Ive used it before and it worked but I wasnt overly impressed with it. Im looking at a ozonizer its something Ive always wanted to try and I know the people that use it love it. I shouldnt really have to worry about the parasite aspect because everything will go through a qt system and I may have a uv on that.As far as the book I was just looking at that the other day, I will hopefully be building my tank into the wall if I can find a way to access the back and sides and one end will have a book case so Im just gonna drop the coin and get a bunch of reefing books for it.

 

[moab]

Thanks, I will probably do the bean animal overflow if they tank I get allows( which the one ive picked out does if the seller ever gets back to me).
As far as UV Ive used it before and it worked but I wasnt overly impressed with it. Im looking at a ozonizer its something Ive always wanted to try and I know the people that use it love it. I shouldnt really have to worry about the parasite aspect because everything will go through a qt system and I may have a uv on that.As far as the book I was just looking at that the other day, I will hopefully be building my tank into the wall if I can find a way to access the back and sides and one end will have a book case so Im just gonna drop the coin and get a bunch of reefing books for it.

The three best books that I have are: The Reef Aquarium by Delbeek/Sprung, The Conscientious Marine Aquarist by Fenner and Clownfishes by Wilkerson. Clownfishes by Wilkerson holds it's own against the other two just fine. All three books point out different things and different ways of doing things.

I have learned quite a bit from the people on this forum... Not every question I have had has been answered by any of the books I have, but I have had these questions answered on this incredible forum.

 

[Fizz71]

Just a heads up...you don't want to have the return from your tank below the water level. That image looks like the 2 returns in the middle are coming up through the bottom and only 1/3 the way up the tank. If that's the case a power outage would drain your tank to that level....and don't say "one way valve"...don't trust them.

So this is kind of what I was thinking, I most likely wont go bigger than a 180 due to the availability of things such as skimmers and the cost of the equipment once you cross the 180 mark and the availability for a 180 seems to be alright in my area. I currently have a 50 gallon stock tank but may decide on a 100 gallon one and I also have the 40 as my main display now.
Also depending on the tank I purchase most are RR with corner overflows, If I find a undrilled one I may do a C2C overflow and that may change the plumbing to the sump but not from it. Im unsure of what size pvc to use. I was thinking 1 1/2 from the sump to a T and then build the manifold out of 1" to help maintain head pressure.
The drawing I threw up there would be the back wall of my 3 wall fish room and its viewed as if you were looking through the wall.
Any thoughts on that layout? Yay/Nay?

EDIT: Looking at the drawing again the overflow that comes all the way from the left Id probably just run diagonal across the wall till it hit the sump instead of running all the way over and angling back.

 

[Tickle]

Lol I have my 40 set up this way and I've not had a single problem. I only use 1 on my 40 because if the valve failed it would only drain about 5 gallons and my sump can handle that. I planned on using 2 of the serviceable swing style check valves on this tank and doing the weekly maintenance on them much like my 40. I shut off my return pump once every Friday to dose reefsnow/mysis mix and its off for a hour and that's when I clean my Skimmer/check valve/etc. I do appreciate the input though.

Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Fizz71]

Check valves have always scared me... serviceable or not we have a lot of flora and fauna that only needs to hold a valve open for a trickle to cause an eventual flood. IMO submerged returns are best suited for closed loops....Murphy and I have gone head to head too often for me to trust a check valve.

But it's your carpet!

 

[Tickle]

I toyed around with the idea of a closed loop. I just don't want any pumps on the main floor to help keep the noise to a minimum. My house is only 1000 sq ft so if something is going on in the other end of the house you can her it lol. Oh and PS its hardwood all the way baby, not much of a carpet fan lol. Still either water on my floor isn't going to make the Mrs happy. The tank I actually am looking into getting has two 1 1/2 holes drilled in one upper corner. Do you think one nozzel on the opposite side for a return would be enough? Or should I just run 3-4 returns along the top spaced much like the drawing?

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[Fizz71]

I don't get too overly concerned with sump returns because I don't really use them for flow. My 240g only has one small return on the end, my flow comes from powerheads. They may take up tank space, but they're MUCH cheaper to run. I originally had a design with drains and a pump in the middle for a closed loop but I too was concerned about noise..I have about 2400sq ft, but it's a split level with the tank in the middle which means I have the same distance/noise issues. All of my noisy gear is in the basement too. Plus I really wasn't sure I wanted to have holes drilled in the bottom of my tank..one small bulkhead leak and it's a complete breakdown. ..again...I'm always worried about Murphy.

And I have hardwood floors too and I really should have sealed them better before putting the tank up...I have a rubber mat around the perimeter which helps for day to day stuff..but I really have done a number on the floor in the few years it's been up.

 

[Tickle]

Hey fizz thanks for the helpful feedback. I'm going to refinish the floor once the everything is built so I'll keep that in mind. I planned on getting a vortech or 2. I was thinking 2 mp10s on the back wall and a 40 or a 60 on the side.

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[Tickle]

I've decided I'm going to go with avast products for my setup. I know they are a excellent company and I just found out that they have build it yourself kits of all their popular products and it really helps drive down the cost. I'll most likely be placing a order for their Skimmer, kalk stirrer, ato, and their swabbie kit.

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[Tickle]

ok so today I went and picked up my new 125 gallon tank ( its new to me the other guy used it for a couple months and switched back to his acrylic tank ) it has a DIY 2x6 stand with no center brace, in the middle of the stand the tank sits maybe a 1/4" off the stand, is this normal will it settle with weight? Should I add a center brace? Should I put down a solid top and foam?

 

[Fizz71]

It might flex with the weight...but considering I had a 8ft acrylic tank crack on me because my stand wasn't perfectly flat...I wouldn't trust an anything but a perfect DIY job. If it's not perfect, I'd probably get a different stand...but hey...like I said...I cracked my tank from my own DIY mistake so I'm overly cautious now.

 

[Curious George]

I saw my first Solar Tube tank last week. Large reef tank too. I was kind of disappointed. I thought they would be brighter.......it was mid-day and the sun was out too.

I know it's old school, but if I were to set up a large reef tank, I would use 400watt Halides. Yeah, they're expensive and create heat issues if not vented properly, but I love the growth and effect they have on corals over time. I just haven't seen it duplicated. I hear a lot of people say "We are testing the effects of LED's in comparison to Halides....." but no real results have been brought forth. I'm just not buying into the LED thing. I think it's a crock. I believe hobbyists want it to work out and wishfully think it will be better than halides because of the low cost to run = "Green" technology. I just don't see it. I see a lot of junk LED's out there too. Looks great on a tank, but the coral growth and color suck. The coral color is simulated by adjusting the color of the bulb. Ridiculous nonsense. LED's might sustain, but halides make corals flourish and thrive.

 

[Tickle]

It might flex with the weight...but considering I had a 8ft acrylic tank crack on me because my stand wasn't perfectly flat...I wouldn't trust an anything but a perfect DIY job. If it's not perfect, I'd probably get a different stand...but hey...like I said...I cracked my tank from my own DIY mistake so I'm overly cautious now.

Well I tried cutting some center braces and pounding them in today to see if I couldnt jack the center up, and all I did was push the bottom board down and make it have a crazy bow in it :headwallblue: I have a buddy who has some word working skills and tools and we are going to see if we cant just run the top boards through and get the tank to sit level.

 

[Tickle]

I saw my first Solar Tube tank last week. Large reef tank too. I was kind of disappointed. I thought they would be brighter.......it was mid-day and the sun was out too.

I know it's old school, but if I were to set up a large reef tank, I would use 400watt Halides. Yeah, they're expensive and create heat issues if not vented properly, but I love the growth and effect they have on corals over time. I just haven't seen it duplicated. I hear a lot of people say "We are testing the effects of LED's in comparison to Halides....." but no real results have been brought forth. I'm just not buying into the LED thing. I think it's a crock. I believe hobbyists want it to work out and wishfully think it will be better than halides because of the low cost to run = "Green" technology. I just don't see it. I see a lot of junk LED's out there too. Looks great on a tank, but the coral growth and color suck. The coral color is simulated by adjusting the color of the bulb. Ridiculous nonsense. LED's might sustain, but halides make corals flourish and thrive.

Yeah like I said I shyed away from the idea of solar tubes I heard the dont work as effective up here in the northern hemisphere. I am sold on LEDs though, I have a diy setup over my 40 and Im having crazy growth with it. I think alot of people are under the assumption a LED is a LED but thats incorrect. A photon is a photon though, if you use a quality LED and the proper spectrums your corals and tank will thrive, I did toy around with the idea of adding in some t5s though, my 1st step though is to get the tank framed into the wall and everything sitting level and skinned, then I will go about the equipment. Today I got the holes punched in the floor for the plumbing and electrical ran to the stand and the sump area beneath the tank. So progress is being made.