I am helping a few people bring back to life a 1500 gal aquarium. It was in bad shape before and all we have done so far is buff the dagum thing. The tank is roughly 16ftx6x30in. It still has equipment underneath that needs removed as it has been taken off line for several years now. Currently the tank has overflows on both ends. Two 2" lines running to a 4" line leading to the sump. The sump is a simple berlin sump. There are 3 external pumps for circulation, a set of carbon reactors and an unused aquac1000 skimmer. This tank is bare bones and the guys im helping want to make it a soft coral tank. There is a lot of work that needs done to get to where we can actually start on the guts. I cant have the tank moved so the size of the equipment going in is limited. I have no access to a remote location either so nothing tall either. Money doesnt seem to be a concern with these guys so im asking for help with ideas here.
What im wanting to do is to pull out all of the equipment that is unnecessary. There are two sand filters, somesort of bioball circulation thing and the aquac skimmer. There is also a rusted over chiller unit that will be removed. I want to pull the drain lines and retighten the bulkheads as they are salt creeped over. It has a 120watt emperor uv that needs a new bulb. I will keep the uv. What im really fretting over is the sump. I want to incorporate a fuge for mostly chaeto and a dsb. This sump is 48x48x30. There is no getting in the thing to clean it or remove it easily. It is fiberglass and I thought about cutting it out. But what can I use for a sump? Can I get two 180 gal tanks and use those? One for filtration and the other as a fuge? I will also be adding a large rodi unit with a large topoff system and a asw container to help with waterchanges.
I will also be adding like 1000lbs of a nice white sand and several hundred lbs of rock. The rock is in my backyard right now. I need to bleach it and acid it.
There is no where to incorporate a closed loop system. So I was thinking of getting some seaswirls and moding them to hold some large tunze for some extra flow. The acrylic is appx 2" thick so I cant mount anything on the acrylic.
I am also looking for a good skimmer. What should I go with? Beckett style? Downdraft? Recirc? Vertex? Sro? So many choices.
Any ideas or helpful thoughts are extremely appreciated. We are hoping to start some ordering for parts next week and hopefully have this beast filled by the end of next month.
What im wanting to do is to pull out all of the equipment that is unnecessary. There are two sand filters, somesort of bioball circulation thing and the aquac skimmer. There is also a rusted over chiller unit that will be removed. I want to pull the drain lines and retighten the bulkheads as they are salt creeped over. It has a 120watt emperor uv that needs a new bulb. I will keep the uv. What im really fretting over is the sump. I want to incorporate a fuge for mostly chaeto and a dsb. This sump is 48x48x30. There is no getting in the thing to clean it or remove it easily. It is fiberglass and I thought about cutting it out. But what can I use for a sump? Can I get two 180 gal tanks and use those? One for filtration and the other as a fuge? I will also be adding a large rodi unit with a large topoff system and a asw container to help with waterchanges.
I will also be adding like 1000lbs of a nice white sand and several hundred lbs of rock. The rock is in my backyard right now. I need to bleach it and acid it.
There is no where to incorporate a closed loop system. So I was thinking of getting some seaswirls and moding them to hold some large tunze for some extra flow. The acrylic is appx 2" thick so I cant mount anything on the acrylic.
I am also looking for a good skimmer. What should I go with? Beckett style? Downdraft? Recirc? Vertex? Sro? So many choices.
Any ideas or helpful thoughts are extremely appreciated. We are hoping to start some ordering for parts next week and hopefully have this beast filled by the end of next month.
