The 480gal Fish Condo Has Begun

[rnelson]

Well, it's almost here, my new 480 gallon acrylic tank!!! Getting excited!!! I ordered it in December so I've been waiting awhile. I had 2 240gal tanks in the fishroom, one acrylic and one glass. I sold the LR out of it to a guy in Dallas (about 180 miles from me), then sold the rest of it to a friend of mine here in town. I broke down the glass 240 a couple of weeks ago and sold the tank/stand/canopy/sump/return pumps to a friend of mine at work. I kept the sand, LR, powerheads, and lights to go on my new tank.

The new tank is 3/4" Polycast acrylic with 2 overflows, 1 in each corner. They are supposed to be corner overflows because I'm planning to keep a shark and wanted to minimize any 90 degree angles. The dimensions are 96" long, 24" tall, and 48" front-to-back. I'm really excited about the 48" front-to-back, never had a tank like that.

For the stand, I'm going to use cinder block filled with concrete, then I'm going to use 4 6" steel H-Beam (4" flange) to span the cinder block stacks....I may or may not put concrete blocks in the middle....here is an overhead view:

The fishroom is 10'2" X 11'3"....here is a diagram:

Here are some pics of the room:

Lights will be 4 250W Hamilton 14K MH, supplemented by 4 24" 20W VHO's (2 Actinics and 2 50/50's). Ballasts for the halides are a pair of dual PFO's.....for the VHO's it's an IceCap 660. I also have a set of moonlights with a dimmer switch. The lighting cycle will be 2:00PM - 11:00 VHO's, 4:00PM - 9:00PM MH's.

The sump is kind of small, 100 gallon drilled acrylic. I haven't decided whether to add an additional refugium or use the compartment in the middle of the sump.

Powerheads are a pair of Tunze 7400/2 with a controller and 4 Tunze 6060 Streams.

Pumps are a Sequence Dart for return and an Iwaki MD100RLT to power the skimmer.

The skimmer is a custom TriggerSys dual Beckett....it's 48" so it's going in a cabinet beside the tank. Here is a pic:

I've got about 370 lbs of Live Rock (220 Bali, 80 Tonga, 70 Fiji) sitting in tubs right now....a few pics:

I'm using the sand out of my 240 glass tank, about 275 lbs. I also bought 180 lbs more that is still in the bag. I use the CaribSea Aragamax Sugar Sized sand, also known as oolitic. Since I'm planning on keeping a shark, I wanted as fine a sand as possible.


The stock list will include either a Horn shark or an Epaulette. I may try a Yellow or Cortez ray also. There will be either a Goldentail or Whitemouth Moray, a miniatus grouper, and several tangs. For a cleanup crew I'll be using a bunch of Tiger Cowries.


Well, that's about it for now.....I was tracking my tank online a little while ago and it's in Dallas, about 180 miles east of me. It is supposed to arrive on Monday.


I welcome any and all comments or ideas.....if I'm doing something really ignorant or ill-advised, chime in.


Thanks

 

[clekchau]

cool room decor, a mappa puffer would be cool in there too

 

[rnelson]

Thanks...

I'd love a Mappa Puffer, but I've read lots of people warning about puffers and sharks together....the puffers tend to pick on the sharks skin, especially the eyes....

I had a Stars-and-Stripes puffer for about a year in a 240 FOWLR tank.... loved that fish!!! Unfortunately, he jumped out of the water and landed on the top bracing area of my acrylic tank and was not able to get back to the water.

 

[clekchau]

are you relying on just the live rock for biological filteration?

 

[46bfinGA]

Man your tank is very similar to mine. I was planning on doing a shark tank at first,but the list of other fish i wanted would just not work out well with a shark.I cant wait to see how yours turns out.Im still in the process of setting mine up as well. How do you plan to do your returns?Im using a Dart on my return as well.I'm also going to use a dart on a closed loop to increase flow inside the tank,i hope to not have any powerheads in the tank,but was unsure if the dart return would be enough to keep the detritus suspended. Heres some pics of mine........I went with a wood stand on mineCost me around $150 in lumber 2x10's and 6x6's.

Good luck with the stand,i was hoping to use I beam's as well,but due to time constraints I chose to go with wood

 

[Soltaker]

Re: The 480gal Fish Condo Has Begun

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9599762#post9599762 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rnelson


The new tank is 3/4" Polycast acrylic with 2 overflows, 1 in each corner. They are supposed to be corner overflows because I'm planning to keep a shark and wanted to minimize any 90 degree angles. [/B]

So out of curiosity, why not go with external overflows and free up even more real estate in the display?

 

[rnelson]

clekchau,
LR and a 4" DSB......do you think that's adequate?

46bfinGA,
Nice tank.....I thought about doing mine in wood but I figured the cinder block/beam would be stronger and more simple....simple is good, for me anyway! Your stand looks pretty heavy duty though, good luck with your setup!


Soltaker,
Do you mean HOB overflows with a siphon tube?

 

[coreno16]

If you take a look at the tank above you will see what he means. It's the same concept as an in tank overflow. The slots are just drilled through the back side of the tank and the box is mounted outside. No siphon U-tube. Looks like an awsome tank build. Goodluck, ill be following along.


- Cory

 

[rnelson]

Coreno16,

Gotcha......too bad I didn't think about that before I had mine built....actually though, having the overflows round out the corners may be better for my situation with keeping a shark since there will be less 90's....the out-of-tank overflows do leave more room in the display though.

 

[46bfinGA]

FYI,you will need close to 1000 lbs. of sand to get a 4" sand bed.You will need to double the amount you have allready planned.Im going to be using the same amount on mine.

The external overflows are nice,but in your situation with sharks i believe your right about having less 90% angles for them to run into.

 

[46bfinGA]

46bfinGA,
Nice tank.....I thought about doing mine in wood but I figured the cinder block/beam would be stronger and more simple....simple is good, for me anyway! Your stand looks pretty heavy duty though, good luck with your setup!


[/B]

My stand is probably overbuilt ten times over,but it was fun to build and I will feel much safer underneath it, working on the sump.

 

[eckrynock]

You may want to go with just 1 or 2 inches of sand in the display to save a little dough. With a fish room, I would do a "remote deep sand bed in a bucket". Just fill a trash can to about 3 or 4 inches of the top with cheap play sand, drill an in and an out into the can with a small pump to feed it, great nitrate control.

 

[rnelson]

46bfinGA,
Yeah, your stand looks pretty stout, better to overbuild and get that peace of mind!
I had about 3" of sand in my other tank but I'll probably go with 2" in this one.

eckrynock,
I've heard of people doing that remote DSB.....I was looking at some of the TetraPond products to use for this purpose.....I used to use a Fluidized Bed Filter on a 125gal freshwater aquarium, but it would be way too undersized for my new tank.

 

[rnelson]

Speaking of remote DSB, do you think it would be better to go with that or go with a refugium? I could always go with both, but between the two, which would help best with nitrate control?

 

[rnelson]

eckrynock,

What size trashcan do you think I'd need for the DSB? Would it be better to buy a longer shallower container such as a rubbermaid tub or a taller/deeper container like a trashcan?

 

[eckrynock]

I'm pretty sure the deeper the better. I would say a 45 gallon can would work. I think the rdsb would be a better nitrate controller than the fuge but I would do both.

This thread is worth reading :
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=595109

 

[rnelson]

Thanks, I'll read it......so, a tall trashcan with input at the bottom and output toward the top? How much sand???




Oh also, I forgot to mention earlier.....I had a webcam on each of the 240's.....I will be using both on the new tank, 1 on each end.....they are PTZ so you can pan around with them......

 

[eckrynock]

No, input and output both on top. You just want a steady stream of water to run across the top of the sand. You don't want the bottom layers to be disturbed.

 

[rnelson]

I've read about half the article.....I originally thought this whole setup was like a fluidized bed filter where the flow would be constantly stirring the sand....from reading the article it looks like the in/out are both at the top and is a shallow water depth....interesting

 

[rnelson]

Ed, looks like we posted at the same time

I will have a bunch of 33gal trashcans left over after I fill the tank.....would one of those work well or do you think I need 2? Will Lowe's PlaySand work fine for this?