My New 12 foot tank Build

[extremeshannon]

Hello all,
I am excited about our new tank we bought last year. We had been running 2 x 6 foot 210 gallon tanks as our Display tanks. We ended up with Dinoflagellates and could not get rid of it. We decided to start the tank over. This was my first large tank setup and it was great until the snot showed up. After we drained the tanks to clean them we decided we never liked the gap between the tanks. So we bought a 12(12'x24"X30") foot tank to replace these 2 tanks. Not thinking of how we could get this monster down stairs were it needed to be winter came and it had to sit in the garage. Last week we got 8 guys that could help carry it down and around to the back of the house and it is finally in the house and the other 2 tanks are in the garage. Now that snow is getting ready to fall out of the sky I can start the build process.

I plan to start with Fish only and maybe some easy coral. As the tank matures I do want a coral reef and I plan to put in the lighting needed for this.

So this will be my build thread over the next 6 months I plan to get this tank up and running. There a few things I want to upgrade and make better. I have a remote sump in the garage which is about 6 feet higher than the top of the tank. I will make a new transfer tank that will be under the tank allowing the DT to drain into.

1. Quiet. I want virtually no sound. This is in our living room were we spend lots of time.
2. Sump redesign. I made my first one and it worked but I can do better this time.
3. Aqua Scape. I had way to much rock in the last one

I am buying everything I need as I can so nothing will slow me down. I have questions I hope the community can help me with.


Pumps

-Should I go Internal or external? I am able to do either with my design.

-I would like the quietest pumps. I need to be able to 10-12 feet to sump.


Aqua scape

-How much sand should I put in the DT?

-How much Rock in the DT?


I will have some pictures to post soon of tank move and tear down of the old tank. I plan to start the stand build in a few weeks and get it powder coated and installed buy the first week of November.


Shannon

 

[Michael Hoaster]

That sounds awesome! Enjoy the journey!

 

[Vinny Kreyling]

External pumps are better @ avoiding heat transfer to the water.
I went through 3 pumps to avoid it. DC pumps are quiet but many have trouble with head pressure. You need to look @ respective head pressure charts.
Fluval SP series is a well respected AC pump that can be run either way but mine did add too much heat for my liking.
Abyzz makes the Bently of DC pumps with a 10 year warranty but make sure you are sitting down when you check pricing. You are talking almost 500 gallons here.
Quiet requires a Bean Animal drain system.

 

[mfinn]

I have used more than a few ac pumps that I thought were quiet.
Fluval, Eheim, Tunze and Sicce. They are the quietest ac pumps that I have used.
However, a few years ago I jumped on the dc pump bandwagon and I'm really glad I did.
My first dc pump that I tried was the Vectra L1.
I was shocked at how quiet it was. Problem was the first gen L1's had over heating issues.
But I've heard they have corrected those issues with the L2.
I also gave the Red Dragon a try. Extremely happy with them, but like the Abyzz, there will be sticker shock.

 

[3z]

Is your tank glass or acrylic? Which tank manufacturer did you consider?

 

[aquaventions]

Do you have any pictures?