This will be replacing my current 233g A.G.E. tank which has served me very well since 2007. It will be going in the front of a home theater. Room will be set up for high end 2-channel audio listening with reef visible, or 7-ch home theater with drop down screen concealing the tank. All equipment will be going in the stand below the display tank; there is access to back of the tank via an exterior bathroom that I gutted into a fish room 
Tank is being built by Deep Sea Aquatics (I'm following Tom Hudson who used to be at A.G.E.) and will be mostly similar in construction to my current tank he made, just deeper and a bit taller with PVC bottom and starphire glass front. Also my current tank has an acrylic perimeter brace which I think is no longer offered, although mine has not had issues.
I have a maximum ~ 48" usable depth for adequate clearance in the fish room behind the tank, and am opting for an internal overflow to keep things as neat as possible and minimize external plumbing; if I went with an external overflow, I would have had to drop the tank depth to 42" - so I'm not really losing any space in the display itself.
All the equipment will be going underneath the tank, in the stand. I have been trying to get a quote for a custom ECO Dreambox sump system but that doesn't seem to be happening. Fortunately I can probably get something similar, with English fittings, made locally. I was willing to spend big bucks on a BK Super Marine 250 and RD3 pumps but based on some of the recent customer service issues, I'm thinking I'm better offer with cheaper Chinese or American made stuff that I can easily swap in the event of a failure.
Tank will be drilled for closed loop with four 1" returns and two 1-1/2" drains, using a Reeflo Dart pump, which will insure flow around the aquascape elements. The rear coast-to-coast style overflow will have three 1-1/2" drains used in the "Bean Animal" configuration with left side emergency draining leading to the pump compartment of the sump, high flow siphon drain leading to the filtration/skimmer compartment of the sump, and low flow standpipe feeding a refugium for pods, as I plan on keeping mandarins and leopard wrasses. I will only turn over the display tank volume 3-4x per hour as I want this to be a quiet setup. I'm not sure yet if I will use a traditional internal skimmer or do a hybrid setup with a more efficient recirculating pump operating inside the sump (which obviously would have to utilize a submersible pump), gravity fed via the siphon. The latter scenario would preclude use of pre-sump mechanical filtration i.e . socks but I have mixed feelings about them anyway, as they will be a nuisance in terms of maintenance. I've operating my current setup without any such mechanical filtration without any issues. I am trying to minimize all external plumbing, hence not interested in a conventional external skimmer arrangement, also they tend to be too tall and I only will have about 32" clearance under the tank. There will be two 1" return lines plumbed through the overflow. Additional circulation in the display tank will be delivered by a pair of MP60s.
I am opting for LED lighting this time around in part because I live in Arizona, and my electric bills are already quite high in the summer. At this point I am considering primarily Radion G3 Pro versus GHL Mitra 6200. The Orphek Atlantik V2.1 is tempting too with its larger coverage but a little hesitant to go there.
Here is the tank diagram that is about to be approved. If anyone sees anything amiss please let me know ASAP!
I will be working on the final sump design this weekend which will be designed and built similar to the Royal-Exclusiv ECO Dreambox with first compartment accommodating filter socks (may or may not be used), second filtration compartment protein skimmer and internally plumbed biopellet and carbon media reactors, and final pump compartment. Refugium will be separate from the sump.
My installer seems keen on UV but if I do anything along those lines, I will probably add an ozone reactor. I learned my lesson first time, and will be using quarantine tanks for all new fish and coral additions!
Tank is being built by Deep Sea Aquatics (I'm following Tom Hudson who used to be at A.G.E.) and will be mostly similar in construction to my current tank he made, just deeper and a bit taller with PVC bottom and starphire glass front. Also my current tank has an acrylic perimeter brace which I think is no longer offered, although mine has not had issues.
I have a maximum ~ 48" usable depth for adequate clearance in the fish room behind the tank, and am opting for an internal overflow to keep things as neat as possible and minimize external plumbing; if I went with an external overflow, I would have had to drop the tank depth to 42" - so I'm not really losing any space in the display itself.
All the equipment will be going underneath the tank, in the stand. I have been trying to get a quote for a custom ECO Dreambox sump system but that doesn't seem to be happening. Fortunately I can probably get something similar, with English fittings, made locally. I was willing to spend big bucks on a BK Super Marine 250 and RD3 pumps but based on some of the recent customer service issues, I'm thinking I'm better offer with cheaper Chinese or American made stuff that I can easily swap in the event of a failure.
Tank will be drilled for closed loop with four 1" returns and two 1-1/2" drains, using a Reeflo Dart pump, which will insure flow around the aquascape elements. The rear coast-to-coast style overflow will have three 1-1/2" drains used in the "Bean Animal" configuration with left side emergency draining leading to the pump compartment of the sump, high flow siphon drain leading to the filtration/skimmer compartment of the sump, and low flow standpipe feeding a refugium for pods, as I plan on keeping mandarins and leopard wrasses. I will only turn over the display tank volume 3-4x per hour as I want this to be a quiet setup. I'm not sure yet if I will use a traditional internal skimmer or do a hybrid setup with a more efficient recirculating pump operating inside the sump (which obviously would have to utilize a submersible pump), gravity fed via the siphon. The latter scenario would preclude use of pre-sump mechanical filtration i.e . socks but I have mixed feelings about them anyway, as they will be a nuisance in terms of maintenance. I've operating my current setup without any such mechanical filtration without any issues. I am trying to minimize all external plumbing, hence not interested in a conventional external skimmer arrangement, also they tend to be too tall and I only will have about 32" clearance under the tank. There will be two 1" return lines plumbed through the overflow. Additional circulation in the display tank will be delivered by a pair of MP60s.
I am opting for LED lighting this time around in part because I live in Arizona, and my electric bills are already quite high in the summer. At this point I am considering primarily Radion G3 Pro versus GHL Mitra 6200. The Orphek Atlantik V2.1 is tempting too with its larger coverage but a little hesitant to go there.
Here is the tank diagram that is about to be approved. If anyone sees anything amiss please let me know ASAP!
I will be working on the final sump design this weekend which will be designed and built similar to the Royal-Exclusiv ECO Dreambox with first compartment accommodating filter socks (may or may not be used), second filtration compartment protein skimmer and internally plumbed biopellet and carbon media reactors, and final pump compartment. Refugium will be separate from the sump.
My installer seems keen on UV but if I do anything along those lines, I will probably add an ozone reactor. I learned my lesson first time, and will be using quarantine tanks for all new fish and coral additions!
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