Joe's 190g 60x36x20 SLOW Mixed Reef Build.......

[Jflip2002]

Alright, so I got a real good deal on a 190g Acrylic tank, with stand. Its 60x36x20, with two internal overflows, though only one is drilled right now for some reason

Here is my plan for the tank, equipment, stocking, etc.

Lighting:
(2) Lumenarc III reflectors Lumenarc Reflector
(2) 175w 15k Iwasaki SE Bulbs
Dual 175w halide ballast of some sort
(4-6) 54w T5s. Either 2 daylight w/ 2 actinic, or 3 and 3.

Skimmer/sump:
Im leaning towards an ASM G4+ skimmer. Its rated for much more than my tank will be, but thats a good thing
Eheim 1262 return or along those lines. I will also have a refugium section in the sump this time.

Flow:
Sequence Dart linked to an Oceans Motion 8 way.
(2) Tunze 6045s modded (currently have)
Some sort of spray bar, either connected to the Dart, or to its own pump.

Heres a rough desired diagram of my flow:

Though I may make the flow pattersn:
1&4, 2&3, 5&8, 7&6 . Any input on that would be great.

Stocking:
Im not sure if Im going Barebottom or a Sandbed yet, its up in the air.
(20-30) Snails of varieties
(60-80) Crabs of varieties
Pair of Percs (current)
Yellow Tang (current)
Powder blue Tang (The #1 Reason why I upgraded!)
Blonde Naso Tang
Jawfish
The rest will be whatever I like at the time.

Coral:
Im hoping to eventually go mainly SPS when I get a calcium reactor
SPS, LPS and some softies though, a total mixed reef.

I picked the tank up on 2/15, and it sure was a mess. Heres how it looked when I got it from the LFS/Board shop's storage.

Muffin was not happy with the coraline, as you can see lol.

 

[Jflip2002]

So the tank is clean, it took a few hours of scrubbing with Vinegar, but its clean now! (And Muffin is happy lol)

I also peeled that ugly green background off with a scraper. And its now painted black with Krylon Fusion paint and clear coat.

I may copy one of the Gentlemen's design to the rear of his tank with the foam and rock stacks, and go that route. But Im not quite sure.

 

[Jflip2002]

I had a bunch of medium sized rocks. Rocks I didnt want to just stack up and risk tumbling over, causing me hours of frusteration in a tank this large (Im used to a 60g frusterating me). So I had some free time today, and went to OSH, bought some Portland Cement, and cemented some of these medium sized rocks into a decent sized fixture with caves. This time I also made many of the fixture with shelves and flat tops also, so I would have places for frags and what not to grow into full colonies.

 

[Jflip2002]

Heres my current 24x24x24 60g cube, where I'll be taking the rest of the rock from, along with the current fish, coral, and inverts. The tank was BB at one time, but no longer.

 

[tbone28]

I like the depth of your tank! Have you considered 250W halides?

 

[Jflip2002]

Yeah, I have. I have a 250w halide on my 60g. Im kinda up in the air, but I could use that extra 150w saving on my power bill. This tank is pretty shallow at 20" deep, and I think I can keep anything in that tank I want, with a couple 175w Halides. I really only want table acros and montis on the top, as far as SPS go. The rest will be LPS and shrooms. I think 175w will be fine, though Im not sure.

I wonder how much more a month itd cost to run 250w halides instead of 175w.

 

[Jflip2002]

And thanks for the compliment. I like the depth too, its what drew me to the tank, along with the price lol. Im hoping to have a very Mini set up like Steve Weasts old tank. Not so much the coral or flawless design, but the canyon set up.

 

[Jflip2002]

Oh yeah, forgot my lighting decision..I should write these down...

I will go 175w halides if I go BB, since you need less light, due to less phosphates.

If I go with a DSB, I will go 250w halides.

That was my thinking, I knew I had a reason for going with less lighting potentially lol.

 

[tbone28]

Yes, I love S. West's canyon design.

 

[badewilly]

One quick question.

Is the tank acrylic or glass?

 

[badewilly]

Sorry I just read your opening post and saw that it is acrylic.

Th

 

[mcliffy2]

Jflip - nice score. Love the dimensions, my 60x36 footprint tank should be arriving in the next couple weeks. With only 20" of depth I think you'll be fine with 175s, but I agree going with 250s would be better. Or go with T5s

Only suggestion I might make is that you'll need a lot more flow. I am planning on 3-4 vortechs plus a snapper split return hooked up to sea swirls in my 60x36x26.

 

[Jflip2002]

Youre probably right with the flow. I will use the flow I listed as a start. I eventually would like to get a couple Tunze 6101s in the rear corners on a controller, or a wave box. I also may just get a Cuda instead of a Dart, from the get-go. I just cant see spending an extra 85watts or so, on only 900 extra GPH. Especially when Tunzes only run about 50w or so for the big boys.

 

[tbone28]

I also think you should go 250w's. You can always hang them higher initially. When you need em, you'll already have em, instead of upgrading.

 

[Jflip2002]

Or 175Ws and some T5s? I fear the electric bill of 250ws.

Also, with the said needed increased flow, Im already going to use more electricity on a CLS pump.

 

[tbone28]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11942770#post11942770 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Jflip2002
Or 175Ws and some T5s? I fear the electric bill of 250ws.

Gotcha! Just noticed you live in CA!! Understandable. I went from a halide tank to a T5-only tank for that purpose.

 

[Jflip2002]

Yeah. So I may go with (2) 175w Iwasaki bulbs, which have great par, (3) 6500k or 10k T5s, and (3) actinic T5s.

Though I guess that wont save much, I guess if (2) 250w and (4) total 54w T5s are 716w. And (2) 175w and (6) 54w T5s are 674w.
So (2) 175w halides, and (4) 54w T5s, are a real option at this point. If that means I can only keep SPS towards the top of my tank, then so be it.

I also dont wanna fry things. Im fearful shrooms and Xenia along the bottom will fry with (2) 250w halides, and only a 20" deep tank.

 

[mcliffy2]

My shrooms grow way faster than Id like under my 400w halide in my current tank...if you can kill them, please let me know how

 

[Jflip2002]

Lol. Well looking at the pics of Weasts tanks, he has SPS towards the bottom of the tank. So I guess instead of viewing it as if I were limited to keeping softies, I guess I will be more unlimited with the amount of SPS I can keep.

I love the canyon look of Weasts tank, especially the table Acros. The table acros and monti caps are probably my favorite things involving reefs... along with the Powder Blue Tangs.

 

[tbone28]

that exact pic is the desktop on my computer