Looking at setting up a large tank

[MBVette]

Hello, this is my first post here so please bear with me.

I am opening up a day care center in a few months and was hoping to be able to put a large reef tank in the lobby. Myself and my brother have done smaller scale reef tanks (less than 100 gallons) but this tank is going to take a bit more to setup.

The area we are looking to put a tank in is 7' wide and currently set for 18'' deep but can push it to about 24''. The area currently is blank floor to ceiling, so there is plenty of room for the setup. We will have a custom cabinet built in around the tank to make it look correct also.

I received a quote from a local shop that does setups and maintenance for the aquarium setup, live rock, and sand. The quote came out to approx 8k including install and tax.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[am3gross]

i would do it for 7k.... LOL! what are you planning on keeping in the tank? i think that is the 1st question to ask yourself.... go from there when you figure out the answer.

for fish only you should be able to get it alot cheaper then 8k... when you start doing coral and such that is when the price starts to go up.

 

[MBVette]

Im looking for a reef tank w/ both coral & fish. I know that causes to price to go up. But 8k w/o livestock seems crazy to me.

 

[MBVette]

just as an FYI here is the quote I got

 

[Doahh]

Ditch the glass "Versa Hood"

 

[viggen]

I would do a different skimmer... I think there are better skimmers out there for the money ($400ish with pump).

Mag-18 I think they are on the noisy side.... but I prefer external pumps. If internal is what they/you want to do I would use a eheim or something like that. Not as much flow as the mag18 but quiet & it will last 20+ years. I wouldn't think you would not want lots of flow going through your sump anyways......

lighting - depending on what you want in there MH's might not be required (I definantly prefer them I only have a fish tank). With the crossbrace in the middle I am not sure it would be a good idea to put a MH bulb over that brace, thus you could get by with two 175w, 250w or 400w MH bulbs (depends on what you want in there) with say icecap ballasts & luminarc III reflectors. Cooling fans wouldn't be needed & it would be a a few hundred less then $1400 they quoted. I have a similar setup on my 260g (going to be swapped temporarily to a AG 210g soon) & it works great!

If he's using the mag1200 for circulation/closed loop. Spend that $200 on a Sequence Dart/Snapper. More flow... less electricity.... quieter.... or just add acouple korilla (or whatever they are called) pumps for added flow. Barely use any power & depending on the model LOTS of flow!

Not sure why they want THREE 400watt heaters. I use a single 300w heater (or is it 250w) on my 260g as the main heater. Then a second 200w one as a backup set 5ish degrees lower, but it never kicks on. The MH lights will keep the tank plenty warm!!

I also did not see anything about a RO unit, auto top-off etc. This is definantly something you will want!!!! Will everything be mounted under the tank or do you have room elsewhere to hold the filters??

 

[Tangwich]

First let me say that you are incredible smart for coming here and asking for advice before pulling the trigger on anything. If I would have known about RC before getting my entire setup, there are many things I would have done differently and saved tons of money.

Anyway, back to your quote, besides what was mentioned by Viggen which I agree with, the Live Rock is waaaaaaaaay too expensive. If you post a thread in the local section of the forum, I'm sure you can find people selling well established Live Rock for $3 a lb or less. If you want then to handle everything, let them do everything EXCEPT the rock part. That way, you can get it cheaper and you can also do your own aqua scape. Good luck from one Vette lover to another.

BTW, give us some info on the Vette and pictures, lots of pictures

 

[Tangwich]

* Incredibly smart

 

[MBVette]

Thanks guys. The live rock is a huge issue for me, that cost is friggen crazy, and no way would I pay him for that. Tangwich I am considering what you said; and have him do the setup of the tank but then I handle the sand/rock & the rest of that setup.

I will go back to him with the suggestions Viggen said, and I will let you know what he comes back with.

 

[MBVette]

oh Viggen, everything will be mounted underneath.

 

[wardworld]

If you wanted to take your time, lurk here on RC, ask a bunch of questions, look at others' set-ups...you could probably do it for half that. However, the biggest "enemy" is patience. I currently have 2 tanks (a 120 and a 90) and it's still taking me 3 months to set up my 180. Mostly the length of time is related to research (and finding good used deals here on RC).
Just my .02

 

[~sp0ok~]

[welcome] mbvette

 

[Untamed12]

$120 for plumbing supplies? That is really low.

 

[viggen]

O yea... forgot to say that since the 2 of you have some experience you guys should install it yourself!!! It's really not that dificult & I feel it's part of the fun on this hobby.

Like others mentioned.... just keep reading this site to get info/see pics of other setups. If I was closer I would come over & help.... but since I am in Ohio it would be kinda diffucult

Are you close to DC?

 

[drpo21]

Do your research and you'll easily save a few thousand dollars here on RC

 

[Mr. Brooks]

Build it yourself. It'd cost half as much and look twice as nice. You'll have fun, trust me. I was nervous about doing certain things on my own. I'd go out and get quotes on what it'd cost to have certain things done by "professionals". Once I saw the cost I'd get motivated to figure it out for myself. Sure I made a mistake or two here and there. But everything I've done has ended up being easier than I thought it would.

Definately look into an RO/DI unit connected to an auto top off device.

I have a Spectrapure Maxcap RODI in my bathroom that feeds a 5 gallon resevior next to my tank via a float valve. Then a Tunze Osmolater top off device. I have 6 fans on my system. They keep the temperature constant while my 3 - 400 watt metal halides run for 7 hours. Water evaporates quickly but I don't notice because the tank is constantly topping itself off. I have a chiller but have no need for it. It never turns on. Could've saved some money there.

It will take more time doing it yourself, mostly in learning and researching stuff. In my opinion that's half the fun. You'll be constantly changing your design and equipment list.

Listen to the people that've been around a while and tried all the gadgets. Don't listen to everyone. There's still a lot of bad info and opinions floating around.

I chose not to listen to some sound advice on some aspects of my tank (not knowing it was sound at the time). I'm now building a much improved tank, armed with info from the last.

For instance, I'll never install another closed loop ever again. If you have the money, buy some Vortechs. If you're on a tight budget, get the Koralia Magnums.

Go with low flow in your sump.

Buy a tried and true high quality skimmer, don't skimp on this piece of equipment.

Quaranteen all fish. Dip all corals, Quaranteen them if you can.

Don't pay $6 a pound for live rock. Buy dead rock and seed it with a small amount of live rock, or buy "used" live rock for around $2 a pound.

Oh and what Untamed12 said about $120 in plumbing being low is totally true. Expect to pay a lot more than that, especially if you're going with a closed loop. You wouldn't think it but bulkheads and true union ball valves can really add up.