New tank... Input apreciated

[MBC2012]

Hey guys. MB and I are seriously thinking about pulling the trigger on a new custom tank. As you all know, with a new tank comes with other upgrades as well. For us its a complete renovation of our bedroom. Carpet out and tile in. Floor drain installed for another "OH MY GOD" situation. This remodel would take us into next year with a addition which would give us a new bedroom making the current bedroom a sitting room. All equipment will be in the cellar as we planned to do with the Elos tank.

So, with those decisions still up in the air, I have taken the liberty of getting some quotes. The tank will be 3/4" glass with Starfire glass on three sides. Two overflows centered on the black back wall. Number of drains / returns to be determined. This tank will be eurobraced. Stand to be built be tank builder.

So, main question is of corse how big do we go? Keep in mind the Elos was the 160Xl. 200 gallons, at 5 feet long, 31.5" deep and 24" tall. I immediately went to thinking about a 6 footer. More specifically a 300 DD from Marineland. After reading some horror stories i have decided to keep looking. Have received several quotes so far from the big name guys and am leaning towards Coast to Coast in NJ.

So.. looking at the wall, six footer would fit no prob. Heck... a 84" would also fit.. Wait, if we planned on moving the doorway, during the remodel i think a 96" tank will look amazing.. Lmao. MB is just at this point shaking her head.

So, tank dimensions I'm looking at:

1- 84" X 32" X 24" =275 gal

2- 84" X 36" X 24" = 310 gal

3- 96" X 32" X 24" = 315 gal

4- 96" X 32" X 24" = 355 gal

So, lets chat it up. Oh, one more thing.... at 36" wide, a window will have to be taken out so the tank can come in the front window. LMAO... we did talk about replacement windows.

 

[Tweaked]

Whoa.. those are big boy numbers. How exciting!

 

[Blitzie]

Oh Custom yea
In a bedroom I would go with an External coast to coast overflow drilled for a bean style drain. The siphon style drain is silent and the external overflow in invisible from the front of tank.

I have a 24" deep Eurobrace now and my next tank will be rimless for sure (or very small Eurobrace) as I find the Eurobrace to hinder the cleaning of the front glass.

Good luck

 

[seagull18]

Definitely would consider Synergy Reef with Ghost Overflow if your able to handle the long wait time and if you have a big enough budget.

 

[MBC2012]

Also, would love to hear what people are running in their basements as for equipment, fuges, etc.

 

[MBC2012]

Definitely would consider Synergy Reef with Ghost Overflow if your able to handle the long wait time and if you have a big enough budget.

Didn't know Synergy made glass tanks? And to be honest, as for a warranty, Coast to Coast has the best. The big name guys don't even come close to the 5 year offered by C to C

Love their ghost overflows, but my thoughts about a coast to coast are it would just make this tank wider than i would want.

 

[Masedaddy]

New tank... Input apreciated

I definitely think the Eurobrace will hinder cleaning the glass.... But with that said, I would go as big as I could. A 355 gallon tank in your bedroom would be AMAZING!!! I would make as many doorways as you could 36 " wide. I'm assuming if you are putting in a floor drain that you're going to have your floor reinforced as well.

 

[MBC2012]

I definitely think the Eurobrace will hinder cleaning the glass.... But with that said, I would go as big as I could. A 355 gallon tank in your bedroom would be AMAZING!!! I would make as many doorways as you could 36 " wide. I'm assuming if you are putting in a floor drain that you're going to have your floor reinforced as well.

Floors was reinforced with a few headers when the Elos was up and running. And the drain would be, well just incase. Figured tile is the way to protect the house.

 

[Masedaddy]

I agree tile will be a lot better than carpet in case of an tank failure of some other incident involving a lot of water...

 

[MBC2012]

Weeding through quotes. Amazing the price ranges. The warranty is only good with their stands, which tack on 2-3K.

I know theres horror stories from probably every tank builder out there. Also sure all of them have hundreds of satisfied customers. So, lets here from you guys. Thoughts?

Anyone hear or looked into http://www.customaquariums.com ? Prices are unbelievable, and if i gotta buy a stand to get a warranty, Im going to look for the best warranty out there. Theirs is A lifetime using their stands. Waiting for a quote, but looks to be half of what the bigger guys are quoting.

 

[BfishLpond78]

Will this be a in wall setup or exposed stand? I ask because if its through wall maybe you could negotiate just a frame built that will still carry a warranty and it wont hit the wallet as hard.

Whats the goal of the system? FOWLR, softies, mixed, sps?

What kind of ventilation do you have in the basement?

How crazy are you with your sump setups? I only ask cause I usually go pretty overboard...

As far as basement goes, make sure everything is easy to do. If it were me i would have everything setup at waist height to avoid having to bend over or cram my fat hind end into weird positions.

I always told myself that I would add on a tank to the system that was roughly 10-20% the system volume in order to perform quick water changes without having to turn off anything. two drains to the sump, 1/4 of the return flow to the empty water change tank. This tank would have a drain straight to a slop sink or some other drain. Shut off flow to this tank, drain it...then fill it up with new water and then turn on valve back to main system...voila...done. no buckets, no fuss. heck you could even mix the water in that tank if you really wanted to.

 

[MBC2012]

Will this be a in wall setup or exposed stand? I ask because if its through wall maybe you could negotiate just a frame built that will still carry a warranty and it wont hit the wallet as hard.

Whats the goal of the system? FOWLR, softies, mixed, sps?

What kind of ventilation do you have in the basement?

How crazy are you with your sump setups? I only ask cause I usually go pretty overboard...

As far as basement goes, make sure everything is easy to do. If it were me i would have everything setup at waist height to avoid having to bend over or cram my fat hind end into weird positions.

I always told myself that I would add on a tank to the system that was roughly 10-20% the system volume in order to perform quick water changes without having to turn off anything. two drains to the sump, 1/4 of the return flow to the empty water change tank. This tank would have a drain straight to a slop sink or some other drain. Shut off flow to this tank, drain it...then fill it up with new water and then turn on valve back to main system...voila...done. no buckets, no fuss. heck you could even mix the water in that tank if you really wanted to.

Hey Mike. This will be an exposed stand against the wall that is at the foot of our bed. Will be temporary until that room is turned into the sitting room to our new bedroom addition.

Main goal of this tank will be FOWLR. However, depending on the fishes, i will try to put somethings in there for color and visual movement.

Ventilation in the basement will have to be thought about. Floor is braced for the old tank. Has 2 shelves that are built off the floor. One at 2 feet and the other at 4. Thought was to drain into a 150 gal rubbermaid tub which will hold sock filter, rock and skimmer. Pumped through a 80 watt UV, with the outlet of that getting split up between my 80 gal and the rubbermaid tub. The 80 will be used as a fuge / frag tank. Pumped back up to the tank which will be roughly 13' above.

I am thinking about playing around with a Genesis Auto water change system to keep things in order.

 

[Useful_Idiot]

Sounds like you just can't get away from the hobby. I've had trouble with the frag tank I plumbed off my return. The water was too clean and to coral didn't do as well as in the display with the dirtier water. I've read from two other people who had the same experience and know another guy who said the same. So maybe plumb the 80 off the water going into the sump unfiltered?
Also I've been reading on AA about the dimyco system. It's not available for the hobbyist yet but there was a recent article where the guy built his own. I think that would be a cool project I hope to try in 2 years or if they release a small model.

 

[MBC2012]

Sounds like you just can't get away from the hobby. I've had trouble with the frag tank I plumbed off my return. The water was too clean and to coral didn't do as well as in the display with the dirtier water. I've read from two other people who had the same experience and know another guy who said the same. So maybe plumb the 80 off the water going into the sump unfiltered?
Also I've been reading on AA about the dimyco system. It's not available for the hobbyist yet but there was a recent article where the guy built his own. I think that would be a cool project I hope to try in 2 years or if they release a small model.

Great point. Maybe split the drain side with ball valve to adjust flow going into the 80. Using the overflow to drain into the Rubbermaid sump.
Do you have a link to that reading? I'd be interested in giving it a read.

 

[balz3352]

I also would go coast to coast bean animal drain.

 

[Useful_Idiot]

Here's some info. It's like a deep sand bed that you pump a carbon source into and have circulation within the sand bed keeping the nitrate reducing bacteria at perfect levels.
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2012/2/aafeature

And here's an article where it was used on a small scale and worked well until the acrylic let go. I don't think it would be too make what he made and I wonder about the growth rates you could get with clean water and all that extra plankton floating around.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2015/7/aafeature

 

[MBC2012]

Thanks for that Patrick. I'll give it some attention this evening. Kinda sounds like the Aquaripure filter I'm running currently. Feed it 2X a week and it has taken care of my nitrates extremely well

 

[MBC2012]

Wow.. Almost a year has gone buy. The fish are all doing well in the temporary 125 in the basement. In fact MB and I have started buying fish for the new tank to be ordered this week. I am between 2 tank builders. Miracles and Coast to Coast.


The Miracles tank will be 96X32X24 Eurobraced with 2 internal overflows. Delivered to nearby dock for pick up. This will have 3 sides of Starfire glass, metal stand and 5 year warranty.


The C2C tank is more expensive, fortunately NJ isn't out of the way for pick up to help offset the higher cost. Looks like a 84X32X24 is the choice, until i see the quote for a 96X32X24. Might just say why not, seeing how the warranty is 10 years.

 

[james30ct]

Wow.. Almost a year has gone buy. The fish are all doing well in the temporary 125 in the basement. In fact MB and I have started buying fish for the new tank to be ordered this week. I am between 2 tank builders. Miracles and Coast to Coast.


The Miracles tank will be 96X32X24 Eurobraced with 2 internal overflows. Delivered to nearby dock for pick up. This will have 3 sides of Starfire glass, metal stand and 5 year warranty.


The C2C tank is more expensive, fortunately NJ isn't out of the way for pick up to help offset the higher cost. Looks like a 84X32X24 is the choice, until i see the quote for a 96X32X24. Might just say why not, seeing how the warranty is 10 years.

I think the external c2c would look better with more room to scape but I dont think you could go wrong with either choice.

 

[MBC2012]

I think your right James.

Im justifying the cost difference with a 5 or 10 year warranty. This tank is going to sit up against a wall, so access to bulkheads in the c2c is a concern. At 96X32" I don't think myself or the fishes are going to mind the internals.