Albright
New member
Hi everyone!
I have finally started the construction of my "dream tank" and as I have learned a LOT simply by reading and examining what has and hasn't worked for others on here I wanted to bring everyone along for the ride.
A number of parts of the plan are still somewhat up in the air and I am VERY open to advice and being critiqued. I am by no means an expert on everything and always appreciate someone lending some hard learned advice. So please, feel free to let me know if I am approaching something wrong.
Viewing Room: The display tank will be an in wall setup viewable from the front only from a "general purpose / hang out" room in my basement.
Fish Room: 27' x 12' dedicated room in finished basement. The display tank will be fully housed in this room. It will also contain all related equipment including filtration equipment, the RO/DI unit & storage, water change tanks, etc. There will be a centrally located floor drain in case of emergencies and with access designed to drain large quantities of water during water changes or other maintenance. A large basin sink will be installed with two faucets. One will provide tap water while the second will provide RO/DI water. I have never seen this done before. Is there any issue with running the RO/DI through a faucet assuming of course that the plumbing, fixtures, etc. are PVC? I hope to have a complete layout done this weekend and will surely post it once it is. The walls will be finished with green board and the furnace seen in the pics below is being moved out of this room.
Display Tank: 120" long x 66" deep x 34" high = 1165 gallons. It will be constructed of acrylic. Builder is not yet decided on but I am leaning heavily towards one which I have heard many good things about and has been helpful so far. Unfortunately I have just learned that 1" black acrylic isn't the cheapest material around so the back may very well end up being transparent. With the depth of 66" however I don't think this will be that large of an issue. I plan to keep the rock work a good distance away from all 4 sides so all should be kept very clean also.
Lighting: Either a whole lot of LED lighting or a MH/actinic combo. I have a 48" Solaris currently on my 120 and I am mostly very happy with it. The quality is great but I am still a bit unsure as to how I like the look of the light itself. It is the H series (400 watt 20k) and it is bright but not as quite as MH IMO and although it provides a shimmer effect it is not quite as strong as MH. This may be one of the last things I decide as the 120 is very new and I'd like to evaluate the performance of the Solaris over the next couple months before making such a large investment in them
Flow: This one is completely undecided. I have never used a closed loop before and I am afraid to. I have always used power heads and own and love both Tunze streams and Vortechs. However, neither will work with magnets at a 1" thickness. That leaves me with the standard Tunze mounts which I don't love. Any input here would be great. I getting closer each day to deciding on giving the closed loop a try but I worry of a failure resulting in the floor drain being used for what I hope it will never be.
Any input on closed loops on a system this size is greatly appreciated. I'm totally new to them and do not even know if i'd like to drain from the back/sides or bottom and return through the bottom or top. The other issue with the CL is the lack of flexibility it provides vs. power heads. I am assuming however that employing an OM device and some locline for a bottom return or other adjustable returns such seaswirls for over the top returns would at least partially solve this problem.
This is the last aspect to be decided upon before the tank order is placed.
Substrate: This will be a SSB for decorative purposes only. I know it can get messy with a lot of flow but I've never been a big fan of the bare bottom look (some look great, just not for me). It will be kept to a minimum and kept as clean as possible.
Stand: Metal constructed by a local fabricator. This will be started as soon as the order for the tank is placed.
Sump: The current rough plan calls for a 72" x 18" sump. This should be finalized by the weekend. In the name of redundancy there will be two return pumps. One will pump to the fuge which will be distributed through the system. The other will feed a manifold which will directly return to the tanks on the system. A third pump will feed a second manifold which will deliver water to the skimmer, reactors and other equipment as well as be used for water changes, draining, etc. Feedback here would also be great as this is the first system near this scale I am attempting. As I mentioned, I'm very open, so please don't hold back.
Fuge: The as yet undetermined size fuge will be located above and fed from the sump and will gravity feed into the main display, frag tank, and any other livestock holding tanks connected to the system.
Frag/Prop Tank: This will be located on the back wall of the fish room on standard height cabinets. It will be fed by both the fuge and the main return pump manifold.
Additional Displays: I plan to place a few smaller "private" displays alongside the Frag/Prop tank on the cabinets along the back wall. These will be for small species tanks, non-medical/non-QT isolation, etc. They will be tied into the main system via the fuge drain and main return pump and they will drain into the main sump. I am also toying with the idea of being able to take these offline easily making them independent systems if needed.
Skimmer: I'm 90% decided on the Deltec AP1006 with SCH. (http://www.deltecusa.us/proteinskimmers/ap1006.php). The only alternative I am considering is the BK 650 ext. If anyone can make a good argument for the BK over the Deltec (or vice versa) please do so.
Calcium Reactor: Undecided. I seem to notice a lot of success with the Schuran Jetstream reactors and people always seem to rave about the GEO reactors. I may also go with the Deltec PF1001 to possibly keep the whole system Deltec. Feedback appreciated.
Fluidized Reactors: 2 or 3 Deltec FR1016 or FR1020 off the equpiment manifold for running Rowaphos or carbon if needed.
Controller: I will be using a Neptune Systems ACIII Pro as I currently have one and I am familiar with it and have not had any problems with it tho the AquaNotes software could be vastly improved.
Tank Temp Control: If MH are used I will definitely be running dual chillers (model undecided) for redundancy. If I go with the LED lighting I may go with only one. A LFS informed me that they no longer carry titanium heaters because if you placed two of them too close together they will go haywire and just keep heating the water. Has anyone ever heard of this before?
Environment Control: I briefly discussed humidity/temperature control with my HVAC guy the other day and will be going over it with him in much more detail within the next two weeks. There will certainly be a dehumidifier unit in place. He has said there are two types. One which vents air outside and one which doesn't. I am waiting on details of both from him so I can investigate them myself.
Power Backup: A dedicated breaker box will run for the fishroom and a natural gas generator will be installed to provide emergency power for outages to the vital equipment and vital home appliances.
This was just typed now in one sitting and as it is late I'm sure there are some mistakes, oversights, etc. This is hardly a complete plan, but rather just an introduction to this project. It will be a long project and I'm happy to be able to bring people along with me and receive feedback at the same time. This is my first undertaking anywhere near this scale so please, let me know where I am wrong as I am sure I am in at least a few places.
The hole in the wall (114" x 37"):
The hole with a CD Case for scale:
Another (messy) basement shot:
I hope to place the tank order within 2 weeks as well getting the stand construction underway. I am also attending and plan to pick up equipment @ the upcoming MACNA in Pittsburgh. I will be driving there from NJ in case anyone else from the area is.
I will be updating this as often as things happen. Wish me luck!
I have finally started the construction of my "dream tank" and as I have learned a LOT simply by reading and examining what has and hasn't worked for others on here I wanted to bring everyone along for the ride.
A number of parts of the plan are still somewhat up in the air and I am VERY open to advice and being critiqued. I am by no means an expert on everything and always appreciate someone lending some hard learned advice. So please, feel free to let me know if I am approaching something wrong.
Viewing Room: The display tank will be an in wall setup viewable from the front only from a "general purpose / hang out" room in my basement.
Fish Room: 27' x 12' dedicated room in finished basement. The display tank will be fully housed in this room. It will also contain all related equipment including filtration equipment, the RO/DI unit & storage, water change tanks, etc. There will be a centrally located floor drain in case of emergencies and with access designed to drain large quantities of water during water changes or other maintenance. A large basin sink will be installed with two faucets. One will provide tap water while the second will provide RO/DI water. I have never seen this done before. Is there any issue with running the RO/DI through a faucet assuming of course that the plumbing, fixtures, etc. are PVC? I hope to have a complete layout done this weekend and will surely post it once it is. The walls will be finished with green board and the furnace seen in the pics below is being moved out of this room.
Display Tank: 120" long x 66" deep x 34" high = 1165 gallons. It will be constructed of acrylic. Builder is not yet decided on but I am leaning heavily towards one which I have heard many good things about and has been helpful so far. Unfortunately I have just learned that 1" black acrylic isn't the cheapest material around so the back may very well end up being transparent. With the depth of 66" however I don't think this will be that large of an issue. I plan to keep the rock work a good distance away from all 4 sides so all should be kept very clean also.
Lighting: Either a whole lot of LED lighting or a MH/actinic combo. I have a 48" Solaris currently on my 120 and I am mostly very happy with it. The quality is great but I am still a bit unsure as to how I like the look of the light itself. It is the H series (400 watt 20k) and it is bright but not as quite as MH IMO and although it provides a shimmer effect it is not quite as strong as MH. This may be one of the last things I decide as the 120 is very new and I'd like to evaluate the performance of the Solaris over the next couple months before making such a large investment in them
Flow: This one is completely undecided. I have never used a closed loop before and I am afraid to. I have always used power heads and own and love both Tunze streams and Vortechs. However, neither will work with magnets at a 1" thickness. That leaves me with the standard Tunze mounts which I don't love. Any input here would be great. I getting closer each day to deciding on giving the closed loop a try but I worry of a failure resulting in the floor drain being used for what I hope it will never be.
Any input on closed loops on a system this size is greatly appreciated. I'm totally new to them and do not even know if i'd like to drain from the back/sides or bottom and return through the bottom or top. The other issue with the CL is the lack of flexibility it provides vs. power heads. I am assuming however that employing an OM device and some locline for a bottom return or other adjustable returns such seaswirls for over the top returns would at least partially solve this problem.
This is the last aspect to be decided upon before the tank order is placed.
Substrate: This will be a SSB for decorative purposes only. I know it can get messy with a lot of flow but I've never been a big fan of the bare bottom look (some look great, just not for me). It will be kept to a minimum and kept as clean as possible.
Stand: Metal constructed by a local fabricator. This will be started as soon as the order for the tank is placed.
Sump: The current rough plan calls for a 72" x 18" sump. This should be finalized by the weekend. In the name of redundancy there will be two return pumps. One will pump to the fuge which will be distributed through the system. The other will feed a manifold which will directly return to the tanks on the system. A third pump will feed a second manifold which will deliver water to the skimmer, reactors and other equipment as well as be used for water changes, draining, etc. Feedback here would also be great as this is the first system near this scale I am attempting. As I mentioned, I'm very open, so please don't hold back.
Fuge: The as yet undetermined size fuge will be located above and fed from the sump and will gravity feed into the main display, frag tank, and any other livestock holding tanks connected to the system.
Frag/Prop Tank: This will be located on the back wall of the fish room on standard height cabinets. It will be fed by both the fuge and the main return pump manifold.
Additional Displays: I plan to place a few smaller "private" displays alongside the Frag/Prop tank on the cabinets along the back wall. These will be for small species tanks, non-medical/non-QT isolation, etc. They will be tied into the main system via the fuge drain and main return pump and they will drain into the main sump. I am also toying with the idea of being able to take these offline easily making them independent systems if needed.
Skimmer: I'm 90% decided on the Deltec AP1006 with SCH. (http://www.deltecusa.us/proteinskimmers/ap1006.php). The only alternative I am considering is the BK 650 ext. If anyone can make a good argument for the BK over the Deltec (or vice versa) please do so.
Calcium Reactor: Undecided. I seem to notice a lot of success with the Schuran Jetstream reactors and people always seem to rave about the GEO reactors. I may also go with the Deltec PF1001 to possibly keep the whole system Deltec. Feedback appreciated.
Fluidized Reactors: 2 or 3 Deltec FR1016 or FR1020 off the equpiment manifold for running Rowaphos or carbon if needed.
Controller: I will be using a Neptune Systems ACIII Pro as I currently have one and I am familiar with it and have not had any problems with it tho the AquaNotes software could be vastly improved.
Tank Temp Control: If MH are used I will definitely be running dual chillers (model undecided) for redundancy. If I go with the LED lighting I may go with only one. A LFS informed me that they no longer carry titanium heaters because if you placed two of them too close together they will go haywire and just keep heating the water. Has anyone ever heard of this before?
Environment Control: I briefly discussed humidity/temperature control with my HVAC guy the other day and will be going over it with him in much more detail within the next two weeks. There will certainly be a dehumidifier unit in place. He has said there are two types. One which vents air outside and one which doesn't. I am waiting on details of both from him so I can investigate them myself.
Power Backup: A dedicated breaker box will run for the fishroom and a natural gas generator will be installed to provide emergency power for outages to the vital equipment and vital home appliances.
This was just typed now in one sitting and as it is late I'm sure there are some mistakes, oversights, etc. This is hardly a complete plan, but rather just an introduction to this project. It will be a long project and I'm happy to be able to bring people along with me and receive feedback at the same time. This is my first undertaking anywhere near this scale so please, let me know where I am wrong as I am sure I am in at least a few places.
The hole in the wall (114" x 37"):
The hole with a CD Case for scale:
Another (messy) basement shot:
I hope to place the tank order within 2 weeks as well getting the stand construction underway. I am also attending and plan to pick up equipment @ the upcoming MACNA in Pittsburgh. I will be driving there from NJ in case anyone else from the area is.
I will be updating this as often as things happen. Wish me luck!
Anyone who lives or ever happens to be in the area will be more than welcome to come and see and enjoy it. After all, without RC this wouldn't be happening.
