chrisguy
New member
Howdy all!!!
I've loved the large tank forum for as long as I've been an RC member. I'm in the early stages of setting up a 180 as a peninsula room divider. I welcome all advice (and encouragement
)
Background
Having had a Saltwater Reef for a little over two years I've become totally hooked on this hobby. I was very disheartened when the 120, which was a living piece of artwork in our dining room, sprung a leak and had to be taken down. I considered getting out of the hobby but my loving wife convinced me that this was a minor bump in the road, nothing more. So it was decision time. I had a couple options. One of the quickest solutions was to purchase a new 120 gallon tank and simply replace the old tank and get back to business. Another option was to attempt to repair the current tank. While logic stated that both of these were quick and cost effective, the desire for bigger, better and different said otherwise. It was decided that a new tank would be setup as a room divider, between the family room and the kitchen. At that point I was on the hunt for a 6 foot tank. Having loved the 2 foot of depth to work with, I knew I needed to get at least a 180 gallon setup.
"Project 180" is a sequel to my previous "Project 120" tank upgrade. Last time I moved from a 55 to a 120. This time I'm moving from a 120 Gallon (4'x2'x2') tank to a 180 (6'x2'x2'). This change is happening due to the fact that the 120 started to leak in January of 2007 and was taken down. At that time all fish and corals were relocated to a 300 gallon horse troth, located in the laundry room. All occupants have been living in the troth (aka "the tub") for the past 5 or so months.
Project 120 Tank Setup
~ Tank - 120 gallon AGA. Originally undrilled, two 6" x 6" x 16" Weir style overflow boxes were added.
~ Lighting - 2x250 MH pendant with 2x110 VHO, dual fans and moonlights.
~ Circulation: Sequence Dart on a Closed Loop with zero head loss.
~ Sump: Home made Acrylic tank (Thanks Melev for the great instructions) about 40 gallons, sits under the stand
~ Heat: 2x250 Watt heaters in the Sump
~ Return Pump: In Sump Mag 12
120 Gallon Tank Photo (as of 01-05-07)
Constraints for the new build
~ The new tank is 6' wide by 2' tall by 2' deep and again is an undrilled all glass tank. The sides are not tempered. The tank will be setup as a peninsula, so one of the short sides will be drilled for a close loop drain and a Weir style overflow box will be installed. The tank will be viewable on the two long sides and through one short side.
~ The tank will be located in the Family room, which is about a 6" step down from the kitchen. For this reason, the stand height will be about 36 inches to accommodate viewing from both rooms.
~ Sump location still to be determined (under the stand or in the basement). If under the stand, the stand might need to be a little bigger (wider) to accommodate the dimension of the Sump.
~ It will be necessary to reinforce the floor under the tank as the tank will be oriented parallel to the floor joists.
~ Two dedicated 20A circuits will be installed to support the tank and all equipment.
~ I love Deep Sand Beds, so I will have one in this tank as well.
Equipment to Reuse
~ Skimmer (ASM G2 with recirc and gate valve mod)
~ DIY Auto Top off
~ Neilson Kalk reactor
~ Heater (currently have one of the 250watt heaters, one broke)
~ Sump if it will fix into the new stand (or as basement sump)
~ Sequence Dart for tank circulation (closed Loop)
~ OM 4-way (closed Loop)
~ Mag 12 for Sump return if the sump is under the stand.
Lighting
My 4 foot hanging pendant is not going to work on a 6 foot tank. A local reefer was getting out of the hobby and breaking down her 125 gallon 6 foot tank. So I picked up a 3x250 HQI MH pendant with 2x140 VHO, dual fans and moonlights. All lighting is in excellent condition.
Progress Thus far
Got the new tank home
Installed 2 20Amp dedicated circuits
Reinforced the floor
Looking from the floor up at the joists
SketchUp of the Tank
I've since decided to move the closed loop drain down slightly so that I can add two more bulkheads for closed loop returns from the OM 4-way. The other two returns will be routed over the top of the tank and output on the opposite side.
Immediate next steps:
~ Bulkheads and misc plumbing was already ordered (Savko)
~ Order glass to make the overflow box
~ Decided on basement or under stand Sump
~ Finish drilling the holes (2 done, 3 to go)
~ Finalize the stand design
~ Order
I've loved the large tank forum for as long as I've been an RC member. I'm in the early stages of setting up a 180 as a peninsula room divider. I welcome all advice (and encouragement
)Background
Having had a Saltwater Reef for a little over two years I've become totally hooked on this hobby. I was very disheartened when the 120, which was a living piece of artwork in our dining room, sprung a leak and had to be taken down. I considered getting out of the hobby but my loving wife convinced me that this was a minor bump in the road, nothing more. So it was decision time. I had a couple options. One of the quickest solutions was to purchase a new 120 gallon tank and simply replace the old tank and get back to business. Another option was to attempt to repair the current tank. While logic stated that both of these were quick and cost effective, the desire for bigger, better and different said otherwise. It was decided that a new tank would be setup as a room divider, between the family room and the kitchen. At that point I was on the hunt for a 6 foot tank. Having loved the 2 foot of depth to work with, I knew I needed to get at least a 180 gallon setup.
"Project 180" is a sequel to my previous "Project 120" tank upgrade. Last time I moved from a 55 to a 120. This time I'm moving from a 120 Gallon (4'x2'x2') tank to a 180 (6'x2'x2'). This change is happening due to the fact that the 120 started to leak in January of 2007 and was taken down. At that time all fish and corals were relocated to a 300 gallon horse troth, located in the laundry room. All occupants have been living in the troth (aka "the tub") for the past 5 or so months.
Project 120 Tank Setup
~ Tank - 120 gallon AGA. Originally undrilled, two 6" x 6" x 16" Weir style overflow boxes were added.
~ Lighting - 2x250 MH pendant with 2x110 VHO, dual fans and moonlights.
~ Circulation: Sequence Dart on a Closed Loop with zero head loss.
~ Sump: Home made Acrylic tank (Thanks Melev for the great instructions) about 40 gallons, sits under the stand
~ Heat: 2x250 Watt heaters in the Sump
~ Return Pump: In Sump Mag 12
120 Gallon Tank Photo (as of 01-05-07)
Constraints for the new build
~ The new tank is 6' wide by 2' tall by 2' deep and again is an undrilled all glass tank. The sides are not tempered. The tank will be setup as a peninsula, so one of the short sides will be drilled for a close loop drain and a Weir style overflow box will be installed. The tank will be viewable on the two long sides and through one short side.
~ The tank will be located in the Family room, which is about a 6" step down from the kitchen. For this reason, the stand height will be about 36 inches to accommodate viewing from both rooms.
~ Sump location still to be determined (under the stand or in the basement). If under the stand, the stand might need to be a little bigger (wider) to accommodate the dimension of the Sump.
~ It will be necessary to reinforce the floor under the tank as the tank will be oriented parallel to the floor joists.
~ Two dedicated 20A circuits will be installed to support the tank and all equipment.
~ I love Deep Sand Beds, so I will have one in this tank as well.
Equipment to Reuse
~ Skimmer (ASM G2 with recirc and gate valve mod)
~ DIY Auto Top off
~ Neilson Kalk reactor
~ Heater (currently have one of the 250watt heaters, one broke)
~ Sump if it will fix into the new stand (or as basement sump)
~ Sequence Dart for tank circulation (closed Loop)
~ OM 4-way (closed Loop)
~ Mag 12 for Sump return if the sump is under the stand.
Lighting
My 4 foot hanging pendant is not going to work on a 6 foot tank. A local reefer was getting out of the hobby and breaking down her 125 gallon 6 foot tank. So I picked up a 3x250 HQI MH pendant with 2x140 VHO, dual fans and moonlights. All lighting is in excellent condition.
Progress Thus far
Got the new tank home
Installed 2 20Amp dedicated circuits
Reinforced the floor
Looking from the floor up at the joists
SketchUp of the Tank
I've since decided to move the closed loop drain down slightly so that I can add two more bulkheads for closed loop returns from the OM 4-way. The other two returns will be routed over the top of the tank and output on the opposite side.
Immediate next steps:
~ Bulkheads and misc plumbing was already ordered (Savko)
~ Order glass to make the overflow box
~ Decided on basement or under stand Sump
~ Finish drilling the holes (2 done, 3 to go)
~ Finalize the stand design
~ Order
