My future tank will look like this!!

[ashish]

After few months of RC surfing I've decided this would be my ideal tank. I love the look of a open-top tank especially with MH lighting pendants (which I really have not seen with these ones). My ideal tank was inspired by all the folk of RC and I figured why not share with you all what I got from this great community.

MY ideal tank = Aquarium with starphire, rimless/eurobrace , open top, small overflow box, basic essentials to keep a reef, bonsai style aquascape (caves, overhangs), 60% SPS and 40% softies/LPS... How I think I can achieve this:


Tank will look similar to this 300 dd (minus the overflow in this picture)
<a href="http://s1324.photobucket.com/user/ashish0584/media/marinelandtank_zps43d8bacb.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1324.photobucket.com/albums/u613/ashish0584/marinelandtank_zps43d8bacb.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo marinelandtank_zps43d8bacb.jpg"/></a>

3 x 400 watt 14k hanging pendants powered with icecap ballast (no supplement on lighting, well maybe led's because I like my corals to :eek2
<a href="http://s1324.photobucket.com/user/ashish0584/media/LBPendant1_zps2c6e2a07.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1324.photobucket.com/albums/u613/ashish0584/LBPendant1_zps2c6e2a07.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo LBPendant1_zps2c6e2a07.jpg"/></a>

18'' center overflow siliconed/drilling (DIY); tunze wavebox won't be so noisy when the overflow box is centered! Never will I sacrifice aquascaping real estate for 2 overflow boxes that are impossible to razor blade clean. If you like coraline algae growing on your overflow box that's fine but the only place I like it on my Rock's.
<a href="http://s1324.photobucket.com/user/ashish0584/media/AOverflow24001_zps59c79b3d.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1324.photobucket.com/albums/u613/ashish0584/AOverflow24001_zps59c79b3d.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo AOverflow24001_zps59c79b3d.jpg"/></a>

Build the stand 45'' high like my current stand. 6'' ledge going around the tank with crown molding under ledge. white foam base, side, door trim. Picture below 2008 <a href="http://s1324.photobucket.com/user/ashish0584/media/tankstand_zps975c6642.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1324.photobucket.com/albums/u613/ashish0584/tankstand_zps975c6642.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo tankstand_zps975c6642.jpg"/></a>

With my current 120 gallon w/2 overflo's; you can see why I'd never go for a cornerflo or megaflo again as you have only 18" to play with ( not 24''), after you figure in the space you need from the back/front it's more like 12''
Aquascaping is one of my priorities; the more rocks you have the more crowded your tank becomes. You justify "I need more corals when you don't". The flow becomes restricted, corals out grow each other, Your bio load increases, your tank can crash!!. I'll go for a nice size structure on the right with caves and overhangs and a smaller structure on the left. No more than 30-40 corals, 10-20 fish.
<a href="http://s1324.photobucket.com/user/ashish0584/media/IMG_5262_zps05c42b13.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1324.photobucket.com/albums/u613/ashish0584/IMG_5262_zps05c42b13.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_5262_zps05c42b13.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s1324.photobucket.com/user/ashish0584/media/IMG_5457_zpsb5439063.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1324.photobucket.com/albums/u613/ashish0584/IMG_5457_zpsb5439063.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_5457_zpsb5439063.jpg"/></a>


Cap that of with:
2 sea swirls in the back
Tunze wavebox on the far back corner
Combination of Tunze/Vortech for circulation
protein skimmer: Reef octopus diablo
calcium reactor: koralin or geo
controller: Apex

Unfortunately, I am a very busy man at the moment and I mean I am never around my tank. I am getting married this July and soon as I am settled and my fiance stops driving me nutts (about our wedding) ill get to work.. My 120 (business tank) will still be running but this one is for me (in my home). While this setup is very simple and no way close to the tanks I've seen on RC; it's the best possible set up for me..that's why it's "MY DREAM TANK". I'd even do this tank in a 250dd 200dd just with less equipment, after seeing thor bonsai inspired reef its clear to me "it's not the size but the motion of the ocean!!!

 

[moondoggy4]

Looks good, have you seen that Elos for sale on your side of the country awesome tank with 3 MH pendants.

 

[ashish]

Looks good, have you seen that Elos for sale on your side of the country awesome tank with 3 MH pendants.

No..where can I find it?

 

[jr_83]

Have you priced this all out? It looks expensive but worth it, pretty awesome set-up.

 

[tom obrecht]

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2283712
Elos for sale thread.

 

[madean]

probably looking at $5k

 

[Drae]

^^^ lol more then that.

 

[Clownin Aroun]

probably looking at $5k

yeah my entire setup was roughly $12k lol, and he wants a bigger tank then i have!

 

[williewilliams]

Yeah, I spoke to him, he is looking for $6,000 for it. Its a steal.

 

[moondoggy4]

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2283712 same state

 

[moondoggy4]

I will take one of the pendants for a commission, LOL.

 

[ashish]

Have you priced this all out? It looks expensive but worth it, pretty awesome set-up.

Lucky for me I have a lot of old equipment, tanks, rock, sand, t5 fixtures, mh ballasts,tunze wavebox, pumps, etc..
My set-up (for what it is) is not that expensive compared to other setups. the lighting will cost me $700-800, stand, plumbing, sump skimmer $1200, tank (unknown!), Everything else I can add slowly I have a few pumps to get me started but not planning on adding anything difficult for awhile.

If the tanks more than $2000 for the tank I might have to settle for something smaller; which is fine with me.. I assumed since it's marineland there custom tank would only be maybe $800 more then the standard (which I can get for $1400 at that fish place).

As long as it's wide, starphire, and no overflow's ill deal with it....

 

[ashish]

I just spend a while on the rim-less tank thread....wow some of these aquariums are better then what's inside there tank... I've had my set-up for 11 year (fowlr until 2007) and been stuck with a 120 gallon for way to long, just have never been in one location to go bigger.

Besides the initial expense, larger aquarium would not cost that much more to maintain then a smaller one. (maybe 15% more). I don't over crowd corals and fish anymore. Just to much cal/alk demands and biological demands.

 

[ashish]

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2283712
Elos for sale thread.

That's a very nice setup.. Unfortunately I enjoy the building process and would probably spend an additional $4000 just doing it my way. I have my own reef and to break down a system and re-locate is a nightmare. Would rather just buy a tank, lighting, skimmer, and go from there. I am sure he will make his money since elo's retail is crazy high.. i think $4K new just for his rimless tank alone - not really worth it for me I rather spend the cash on more corals and fish.

 

[ashish]

I am really thinking about doing the flow like they do it europe since I will have a wide tank. Like david saxby, stuart betram, vivid aquariums 800 gallon closed loop. Make a section that can hide 6-8 pvc pipes running down the back (neatly in a box), run piping under the substrate and shoot it out in various sections of the tank. Use a ocean's motion to alter the flow and may be have 2 sea-swirls on the back glass. Otherwise I'd need to many propeller pumps to keep the sps happy. I think closed loops main advantage is you can custom design it to fit around your aquascape. You can have valves to slow down flow in different sections, eliminate detrius build-up (vortechs / tunze's can't be in the middle of an aquascape), slow down the flow in certain sections that may not need as much flow as others, luxury of not having to worry about cleaning different powerheads, etc. If needed I can always add 1 vortech mp-40 for strong linear flow (which is better then 5).

I don't know what do you guys things about closed loop in a 300dd tank ? Has anyone seen it done like davids' http://www.ultimatereef.com/TOTM/2007_jan/

 

[ashish]

I am going to build a stand identical to this!!! best looking stand I've seen so far!
<a href="http://s1324.photobucket.com/user/ashish0584/media/tankandstand4_zps915560e6.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1324.photobucket.com/albums/u613/ashish0584/tankandstand4_zps915560e6.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo tankandstand4_zps915560e6.jpg"/></a>

 

[Drae]

I think this is nice too. Might copy it. I did not build this.

 

[ashish]

I think this is nice too. Might copy it. I did not build this.

I like that, very similar. I wonder if using foam molding mixed with real wood molding would look. Just an idea because foam molding has detailed art work.

These stands look very hard to do but it's very easy. All there doing is using crown molding on bottom and top, and the door trim. Very creative...

http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&h...bnh=185&tbnw=145&start=64&ndsp=25&tx=81&ty=76

 

[ashish]

Crazy to read this almost 9 years later and realize my 400 gallon is not that far off from what I wanted here, only bigger and better!
I would make a thread on RC but the software is not updated and I can't even drag and drop pictures. It's a shame since this site should be #1

 

[Reckless_]

A 300DD rimless was my dream tank and the top photo with a thin eurobrace also looks amazing. Do you have any pics of your 400 gallon anywhere, I would love to see how it turned out.