Hey All!
Well, I have been mostly a lurker for some time now. Secretly plotting...I mean planning my new tank
My poor fishes are running out of space and while I am happy to see them out growing their current 90g tank the thought of moving up in the world to bigger and better things both scares the be-geezers out of me and makes me so excited I can't sleep at night....like the rest of you I'm sure!
Yes, my husband thinks I am a lunatic....but aren’t we all.
I have been reading, and reading, and reading everything I can try to get my hands on, or my eye balls for the ideal setup for what I want, what my fish need and what my husband will let me buy....so of course a bit of sacrificing will have to happen here and there.
I can't go much bigger than an 240g and don't know if I really want to anyway. My husbands uncle is an electrician and bless his heart has offered to run water lines and the electric through the walls to down stairs for us. I want this setup to be as maintenance free as possible so trying to plan ahead with a lot of things. I won't have a fish room or anything of the sorts besides the room under my tank. Sucks I know, but that is life. On that note, everything has to be QUIET.
I have the RO/DI plumbed downstairs and have my fresh and salt reservoirs currently live down there...I will be using an auto top off and am going to automate (not quite sure yet how though) my water changes).
Of course, I still have a lot to decide on. This system has to be great for my fishes and would love to have the ideal environment for SPS eventually. What little I have now....lets face it, mostly nothing
doesn't thrive under my lights.
I know I would really like to go with a Deltec, have a fuge(external to the sump and under the stand) and have some great lighting...of course, DH draws the line at LEDS. My money will have to go towards the skimmer or the lighting and so I am compromising on lighting....knowing I can still get something great for around $2000.
I managed to pick up a great used tank (custom built) for the sump last weekend off of kijiji and it works out to about 56g. So, of course planning that too will be my next big project.
Now before I go trotting off to my builder (great guy bty) to get not my first tank quote, or second but THIRD quote, I want to make sure this is a good design and its gonna work. I really don't want to waste his time with my stupid mspaint(no cad for me drawings) unless I have some feedback from you fine people. Besides, I don't think my DH can handle any more of my doodle sheets lying around.
So, I don't know much more beyond this picture at this point. I have ideas about a return pump, reactor and such but nothing I have completely decided on yet. So I am very welcome to feed back. I don't mind constructive feedback either, but please...I know I am stupid enough without someone spelling it out to me
I really like the look of elos tanks so a rimless for me I hope. I also really like the idea of a side overflow. Since I am short, too short to reach even half way down to the bottom of my current tank and barely far enough back to fix backing, I want to be able to have quick access to the overflow without needing my 6 foot husband to do it for me. I am not sure how this will work for future wave makers and such so if there are any of you out there with a side external overflow…I would love to hear from you.
I am paranoid about closed loops. I don’t need a slow leak on a $13,000 floor so no loop for me. There are a lot of great pumps out there now and with so much to choose from I am sure I can find something that will give me some great flow.
As for my overall look, I will go with a shallow bottom (white sand…I have read so much about the black sand lately and although it looks great, I don’t want the tank to be dark). I love that idea…German I think….and I think invincible posted it on his blog, the artificial reef that gives a 2 dimensional look….would LOVE to try my hand at that. I won’t be doing any GREAT STUFF artistic work but will be going with a very open aquascape so my fishes feel like they have acres of swimming space.
Just one final note...I have read about the Herbie method and have been following BeanAnimals thread. Love them to pieces for their inspiration and ideas. Making things not quite so complicated for the rest of us keeps this hobby thriving! So, that said, I will be using Bean's idea. I am hoping to tee and feed my skimmer from the overflow...of course that will depend on the skimmer I eventually pick.
As for now, just looking on feedback on this first version…of course, I would be lying if I said it was my actual first….
Looking forward to your comments!
Cheers!
Ps, hope this image appears!
Well, I have been mostly a lurker for some time now. Secretly plotting...I mean planning my new tank
My poor fishes are running out of space and while I am happy to see them out growing their current 90g tank the thought of moving up in the world to bigger and better things both scares the be-geezers out of me and makes me so excited I can't sleep at night....like the rest of you I'm sure!Yes, my husband thinks I am a lunatic....but aren’t we all.
I have been reading, and reading, and reading everything I can try to get my hands on, or my eye balls for the ideal setup for what I want, what my fish need and what my husband will let me buy....so of course a bit of sacrificing will have to happen here and there.
I can't go much bigger than an 240g and don't know if I really want to anyway. My husbands uncle is an electrician and bless his heart has offered to run water lines and the electric through the walls to down stairs for us. I want this setup to be as maintenance free as possible so trying to plan ahead with a lot of things. I won't have a fish room or anything of the sorts besides the room under my tank. Sucks I know, but that is life. On that note, everything has to be QUIET.
I have the RO/DI plumbed downstairs and have my fresh and salt reservoirs currently live down there...I will be using an auto top off and am going to automate (not quite sure yet how though) my water changes).
Of course, I still have a lot to decide on. This system has to be great for my fishes and would love to have the ideal environment for SPS eventually. What little I have now....lets face it, mostly nothing
doesn't thrive under my lights.I know I would really like to go with a Deltec, have a fuge(external to the sump and under the stand) and have some great lighting...of course, DH draws the line at LEDS. My money will have to go towards the skimmer or the lighting and so I am compromising on lighting....knowing I can still get something great for around $2000.
I managed to pick up a great used tank (custom built) for the sump last weekend off of kijiji and it works out to about 56g. So, of course planning that too will be my next big project.
Now before I go trotting off to my builder (great guy bty) to get not my first tank quote, or second but THIRD quote, I want to make sure this is a good design and its gonna work. I really don't want to waste his time with my stupid mspaint(no cad for me
drawings) unless I have some feedback from you fine people. Besides, I don't think my DH can handle any more of my doodle sheets lying around. So, I don't know much more beyond this picture at this point. I have ideas about a return pump, reactor and such but nothing I have completely decided on yet. So I am very welcome to feed back. I don't mind constructive feedback either, but please...I know I am stupid enough without someone spelling it out to me
I really like the look of elos tanks so a rimless for me I hope. I also really like the idea of a side overflow. Since I am short, too short to reach even half way down to the bottom of my current tank and barely far enough back to fix backing, I want to be able to have quick access to the overflow without needing my 6 foot husband to do it for me. I am not sure how this will work for future wave makers and such so if there are any of you out there with a side external overflow…I would love to hear from you.
I am paranoid about closed loops. I don’t need a slow leak on a $13,000 floor so no loop for me. There are a lot of great pumps out there now and with so much to choose from I am sure I can find something that will give me some great flow.
As for my overall look, I will go with a shallow bottom (white sand…I have read so much about the black sand lately and although it looks great, I don’t want the tank to be dark). I love that idea…German I think….and I think invincible posted it on his blog, the artificial reef that gives a 2 dimensional look….would LOVE to try my hand at that. I won’t be doing any GREAT STUFF artistic work but will be going with a very open aquascape so my fishes feel like they have acres of swimming space.
Just one final note...I have read about the Herbie method and have been following BeanAnimals thread. Love them to pieces for their inspiration and ideas. Making things not quite so complicated for the rest of us keeps this hobby thriving! So, that said, I will be using Bean's idea. I am hoping to tee and feed my skimmer from the overflow...of course that will depend on the skimmer I eventually pick.
As for now, just looking on feedback on this first version…of course, I would be lying if I said it was my actual first….
Looking forward to your comments!
Cheers!
Ps, hope this image appears!
