Swoop's 300g Deep Dimension Build

[Swoop]

Well having been out of the hobby for about 4 years, my last tank being a 46gallon bow front, I have decided to reenter the realm of a reef tank.

Of course during those 4 years the wife and I went from a 900sq ft house to a 4600 sq ft house so naturally I had to go bigger than a 46 gallon. Enter the Marineland 300 gallon Deep Dimension. I'm sure all of you know the dimensions by now but for giggles, 72" x 36" x 27". No basement here so the sump and all the goodies will have to reside under the tank in the stand.

Anyway at this point I'm not gonna bother anyone with an equipment list, since I am just starting to put one together but I do have some questions I'm hoping someone can answer. Tank isn't ordered yet so I can still go smaller if need be.

Below are some pics of about where the tank will sit in my hometheater/game room. At this point I have two primary concerns with a tank this large. First as you can see the front right corner of the tank will only sit about 3 feet away from my left front speaker and slightly farther away from my TV and all my electronic goodies.

Is this to close? Do I run the risk of introducing salt or corrosion into my electronics? My plans are to have a canopy and an enclosed stand other than the back of the stand for ventilation. If you look at another picture you can see that the speaker is also slightly to the right of the proposed tank location and also angled away from the tank slightly. I guess an additional concern would be the bass from that speaker.

That speaker has a 300watt subwoofer in the bottom of it with 3 12" woofers, do I run the risk of shattering the tank if I decide that I want to hear Transformers 2 in its full glory?

I don't really have the option of shifting the tank farther away from the speaker because of a couch on the other end. My only options are to go with a shorter Deep Dimension tank or drop down to a traditional 24" deep tank. Neither of which I really want to do but would if I had to. :sad1:

My other question at this point is humidity, isn't everyones. lol. Over the past year I have had a humidity gauge in this room and for the most part at anytime of year the humidity sits around 45% to 50%, depending mainly how long the A/C is off or on for. Should I be concerned with having to possibly introduce a dehumidifier, or is that something that I won't really know till the tank is up and going? I will be using T5s, probably stay away from MHs if I can.

Well thats it for now. I'm sure I'll have alot more to post as things ramp up once I get the tank actually ordered and start on building the stand. Here are some additional pics of where the tank will sit.

As you can see I have two sets of double outlets for the tank. Total of 40 dedicated amps on GFCI breakers strictly for the tank. Hopefully that is enough juice.

 

[PSU REEFER]

Looking like a good start. I have my 150 in the same spot as you w/ my sub and speaker about 2.5-3 ft from the tank and 58'' plasma on the wall where your tv is w/ no problems ---going on a yr and a half like that. Everything is located in my basement. Hope that help and enjoy.

 

[tgunn]

Is that a concrete floor? Either way you should be okay with the sound system in there.
My old 140g setup was on the main floor and in the same room as my home theatr setup with 12" sub and I never had any problems with it.

Now humidity may be an issue with a tank that size. My 140 required me to put in an hrv. I also opted to have my canopy vented so that all the hot humid air was vented into my fishroom where the hrv intake was. It kept the house nice and dry but any metals in the fishroom tended to rust pretty bad. In short, it is much easier to overplan the ventilation and not have probs down the road.

 

[Swoop]

Yep concrete slab floor. 3000psi concrete with wire mesh, also had fiberglass put in the concrete mix. Where the tank will sit is about 12 ft either way from a footer and not just any old footer but footers that are about 30" wide by 24" deep with 3 runs of rebar. Hopefully I have no issues with the weight of this setup.

As part of my planning I've been researching a Aprilaire Whole House Dehumidifier. While more expensive than a portable in room one, I like the idea of not having any additional heat added to my room. Also the Aprilaire can be used in localized mode to focus only on problem areas rather than the entire house.

Sounds like I'll be budgeting that in.

 

[tgunn]

Yep concrete slab floor. 3000psi concrete with wire mesh, also had fiberglass put in the concrete mix. Where the tank will sit is about 12 ft either way from a footer and not just any old footer but footers that are about 30" wide by 24" deep with 3 runs of rebar. Hopefully I have no issues with the weight of this setup.

As part of my planning I've been researching a Aprilaire Whole House Dehumidifier. While more expensive than a portable in room one, I like the idea of not having any additional heat added to my room. Also the Aprilaire can be used in localized mode to focus only on problem areas rather than the entire house.

Sounds like I'll be budgeting that in.

You shouldn't have any problems with the stereo system causing the tank problems then. Very little vibration will transfer through the floor to the tank. I had my stereo up loud enough to knock some photos off the wall without any ill effect on the tank. I once looked over and thought the front pane was vibrating, but it was just the reflection of a picture frame on the wall that was shaking.

The choice of ventilation equipment has a lot to do with where you're located as well. I'm up in Canada, and 9 months out of the year it's pretty cold and dry outside. The HRV worked great my case because it uses the warm humid air to wam up the cold dry air coming back into the house. The net effect was that the humidity level was around 20% in my house during the winter, despite the tank. During the summer I was still venting out more humid air than was coming back into the house. My A/C kept up with that no problem.

The other nice thing with an HRV is that it keeps the air in the house nice and fresh year round.

Just something to think about since a dehumidifier uses a lot of power compared to simply exchanging air in the house. However, that said, depending on your location an HRV may not be the best.

Tyler

 

[the_rider]

I don't think you will have any problem concerning your electronics but my concern is more stereo/frequency wise. I'm not an expert on that matter but what concern me is that your tank is close from your speaker and having it close to the corner may create a "loophole" for some frequency originating from your speaker. It may either sound too boomy or you could lose some frequency from this speaker. If other can jump in on that matter

 

[Swoop]

I've read up in the past on HRVs. Not sure that would be the way to go in this case. I live in North Florida, hot and humid outside most of the year so bringing that humid air into a space that I am trying to make less humid might be counterproductive. But I will do some additional research and talk to my HVAC guy.

The_rider, your thoughts are the same ones I'm having as well. By going with a 6ft DD tank I've created a corner where sounds can get trapped. Maybe I should step down to the 5 footer.

 

[Swoop]

Okay so if I decide that the 6ft DD tank is just to much floorspace would I be better with a 5ft DD tank or go with a more traditonal 6ft tank that is only 24 inches front to back.

Just trying to figure out which would be better, more linear length or more depth front to back? Anyone with experience with both types of tanks feel free to weigh in.

 

[tgunn]

I've read up in the past on HRVs. Not sure that would be the way to go in this case. I live in North Florida, hot and humid outside most of the year so bringing that humid air into a space that I am trying to make less humid might be counterproductive. But I will do some additional research and talk to my HVAC guy.

Ah, okay, then that changes things quite a bit. It still wouldn't be a bad idea to try to separate and condition the air involved with the tank separately. In the summer I had a hard time keeping the house cool with my tank until I directed all the canopy exhaust air into the fish room, effectively separating that air from the rest of the house.

Okay so if I decide that the 6ft DD tank is just to much floorspace would I be better with a 5ft DD tank or go with a more traditonal 6ft tank that is only 24 inches front to back.

Just trying to figure out which would be better, more linear length or more depth front to back? Anyone with experience with both types of tanks feel free to weigh in.

I would DEFINITELY go with more front to back depth. My 140g was 28" front to back and I often wish I had even more front to back depth. It really gives you better options for aquascaping with the extra depth.

Have you thought of partitioning that little corner off to the right of the tank and making it an equipment closet of sorts for your tank? Skimmers, frag tanks, etc would all fit in there, as well as storage for various tank supplies.

Then you'd be eliminating that dead corner.

 

[Bax]

+1 on staying with the deep dims.

Looks like a great location for the tank. Venting the hood is a huge plus. I like tgunn's thought of a closet in the corner.

 

[Swoop]

I would DEFINITELY go with more front to back depth. My 140g was 28" front to back and I often wish I had even more front to back depth. It really gives you better options for aquascaping with the extra depth.

Have you thought of partitioning that little corner off to the right of the tank and making it an equipment closet of sorts for your tank? Skimmers, frag tanks, etc would all fit in there, as well as storage for various tank supplies.

Then you'd be eliminating that dead corner.

I like that idea. Looks like I'm headed to the drawing board. Of course that means sheetrock and painting, ugh after doing this house I swore I wouldn't do it ever again, lol, but I will definitely give it some major thought and sketch some ideas out.

Based on you and Bax's feedback I'll be staying with a DD tank. If I can make myself pull the trigger on a closet in that corner then I'll go with the 6ft tank, otherwise I think I'll go with the 5ft.

As for ventilation of the canopy, my first thought is to put a some kind of vent in the wall directly behind the canopy and run ductwork through the wall cavity to something like a Fantech fan in the attic then vent it out a soffit vent. Maybe tie it to a humidity or temp switch in the canopy to trigger the vent fan.

Hehe maybe I should just get a nano tank.

 

[Swoop]

Well after 7 days of contemplation I pulled the trigger today. Ordered the 300 Gallon Deep Dimension tank and the matching Monterey Stand. Stand will be here next Tuesday and the tank the week after.

I'm not gonna build a closet or anything but I am prepared to invest in a whole house dehumidifier from Aprilaire if I start to run into any humidity problems. I will be using a glass top and the Monterey Canopy to begin with and see how that goes.

I know the Negative Nancys will snicker about my choice of stand but honestly while I have the tools and the know how to build my own I just didn't feel like. Yes I know the Monterey stand isn't as tall as most people like but after countless measuring and using 2x4's as placeholders I'm fine with the 29 inch height of the factory stand.

Gonna be making my own glass sump using a donor tank. Skimmer section on one end, fuge on the other with the return in the middle. In sump Skimmer and Return pump.

From what I understand clearance inside the stand is 26". Sould be fine for my first skimmer choice, ATB 1050. For my return pump I'm leaning towards an ATB Flowstar, not really sure of the size yet. Considering 2 or 3 VorTechs for water movement inside the tank.

Definitely going with T5 lighting, primarily for heat related reasons. Still up in the air as to wether I want to install a retro setup inside the hood or go with something like the Aquatinics Constellation setup.

That's about all I have at the moment. No pics to post yet because stuff is on order. This will be a slow process. Funds dicate that I can only purchase so much stuff every month.

Anyway thats about all for now. I'll update when there is something to update

 

[Marchingbandjs]

Sounds good, i'm subscribed...

 

[strout]

Tagging along also. The only thing I would do a bit differant would be to swap the TV and the fish tank around in the room, the tank needs to be in front of the sofa.

 

[Galantra]

Congrats we need to making the pick on the 300gal can't wait to see photos. I am currently working on mine as well went with a custom stand myself will it be a reef tank?

 

[Swoop]

Tagging along also. The only thing I would do a bit differant would be to swap the TV and the fish tank around in the room, the tank needs to be in front of the sofa.

Well there is another sofa on the wall opposite where the tank will sit so that will have to do.

Yes Galantra it will be a reef tank.

The AquaIllumination LED lighting system caught my eye tonight. Appears they have a newer version in the works but 3200.00 for the 6ft fixture might be a little steep but who knows. I'm really intrigued by that fixture. Just have to figure out how to justify it to the spousal unit and get her to be patient since they aren't even selling the newer fixtures yet.

Wife already has ideas about this thing being up and going by Christmas, I told her she will be lucky if we get it going by July.

I did order a roll of Blue Life Aquarium Background Film in black. When I had my 46 Bow I painted the back glass and didn't really care for the end result. So I'm gonna give this film a go.

 

[Galantra]

Have you looked at other types of LEDs? I am also looking to make the change to LEDs and the cost up front versus the saving in the long run still bothers me.

You need to tell the wife the amount of the tax only and not the full cost and she won't worry at all

 

[serpentman]

Personally, I would spend the extra scratch on a kick a$$ skimmer. To me, even when considering electrical and bulb replacement costs, I think for LED's are still way too pricey.

To get a return on investment vs. a $1200 MH fixture, conservatively speaking I think it would take at least 3-4+ years. IMO, the technology is advancing quickly which should result in higher quality and lower costs in that same time frame. If it was me, the odds would be that I would end up replacing the LED's before they really "pay for themselves".

 

[Swoop]

So while I have been sick home with either Swine Flu or a terrible sinus infection I decided to sketch some layouts for my rock setup. Keep in mind these are rough sketches and don't take into account any bridges between structures or variations in height. For obvious reasons things in the front would be shorter in height than things in the back.

Anyway lemme know what you guys think. Would love some input.

 

[Swoop]

Personally, I would spend the extra scratch on a kick a$$ skimmer. To me, even when considering electrical and bulb replacement costs, I think for LED's are still way too pricey.

To get a return on investment vs. a $1200 MH fixture, conservatively speaking I think it would take at least 3-4+ years. IMO, the technology is advancing quickly which should result in higher quality and lower costs in that same time frame. If it was me, the odds would be that I would end up replacing the LED's before they really "pay for themselves".

My thoughts behind going LED are twofold, on one hand there is the cost savings over running a MH setup or a T5 setup. More importantly though is the heat issue. LEDs don't put out much heat compared to MH or T5s which translates directly into lower cooling costs for the tank whether that cooling is coming from a chiller or the A/C.