Looking for advice on this aquarium quote/setup

ryancw01

ryancw01

Member
That tank is going to be sick! I am a reefer and I don't mind the fake look at all. Reefs can be alot of work sometimes with all the extra additives, lighting, etc. We have a Eel tank with all that fake stuff at my office and I think it looks really cool how it is. I know it is fake obviously, but the average person that looks at it is just saying, "oh wow...look at all the pretty fish"...
Plus you get to have all the fish that you couldnt normally have with a reef setup. Best of both worlds.
 
oceansidefish

oceansidefish

Active Member
Aqua....I would say that I agree with going ahead and getting the tank stand and canopy from them...However I would ditch the sump they want to sell you. It's going to be alot more hassle than it would need to be. You would be much better off using a 75g with a GOOD quality skimmer and a DSB in it. Bio balls are not really worth the trouble IMO.... Check out the Inland Empire Marine Society, you might be able to find someone to help you set it up. We can help you design the sump very easily here. It would be alot less maintenance this way and you will get a much better result in your tank that with a wet dry.
 
oceansidefish

oceansidefish

Active Member
Also you really wont need LR in there. I am assuming that there is enough porosity in the perma-coral piece for bacteria to take hold. The sand will then help you out. If you throw a Remote Deep Sand bed in the sump you will be golden. It would be an extremely low maintenance tank.
 
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aquatix

Guest
In terms of the sump, here is the info I got from the company:
The sump will be 30x12x18,and the protein skimmer can be connected to bulkhead we provide inside of sump. Stand has 28 -29'' of head room.
How is that for room? Skimmer fit ok in there? What if I put live rock in the sump, will it fit?
 
crimzy

crimzy

Active Member
Originally Posted by aquatix
http:///forum/post/3019151
In terms of the sump, here is the info I got from the company:
The sump will be 30x12x18,and the protein skimmer can be connected to bulkhead we provide inside of sump. Stand has 28 -29'' of head room.
How is that for room? Skimmer fit ok in there? What if I put live rock in the sump, will it fit?
That's a pretty small sump... and again, bio balls are not the way to go. The 28-29" of head room should be ok for most skimmers. However if they are talking about connecting a skimmer to a bulkhead, then you are going to be looking at an external skimmer, which you DON'T want. The thing you should expect with most skimmers is that they will overflow at some point. You want a sump where the skimmer in the sump so if/when it overflows, it will just overflow back into the water and not onto the floor.

Depending on how the sump is designed, there may be room for live rock. However, as stated a few posts above, I think that you'll be much happier getting different pieces from different sources and having a better design for this system. JMO
 
salt210

salt210

Active Member
as Crimzy has stated bioballs are a pain and if you can put together a sump with a refugium you would be much better off
 
crimzy

crimzy

Active Member
Originally Posted by aquatix
http:///forum/post/3019172
What is the pain with bio balls?
They hold debris, which turns into nitrates and reduces the water quality. Live rock rubble is a more porous, natural surface and does not produce as many nitrates. Also with a refugium, you are cultivating macro algae such as chaeto and/or caulerpa to reduce those nitrates. Also, a fuge gives you an opportunity to add another sand bed and scavengers that will naturally feed on waste and uneaten food.
To keep a healthy system, those bio balls would have to be regularly removed and washed, which is pretty difficult when you are reaching into a sump with only about 10 inches of access.
 
oceansidefish

oceansidefish

Active Member
I much agree with crimzy....again I think you are better off getting everything but the sump and skimmer from Tenecore. You could run a nice WM Research AS-250 in there with no problems, a chamber with say a nice 6" sand bed and even a refugium and an Auto Top off container.
 
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aquatix

Guest
Originally Posted by Oceansidefish
http:///forum/post/3019190
I much agree with crimzy....again I think you are better off getting everything but the sump and skimmer from Tenecore. You could run a nice WM Research AS-250 in there with no problems, a chamber with say a nice 6" sand bed and even a refugium and an Auto Top off container.
How big is all that and what is the cost? The rep said that the sump I mentioned above is the biggest I could fit through the stand door. The back is closed off except for a few holes...
 
crimzy

crimzy

Active Member
Originally Posted by aquatix
http:///forum/post/3019508
How big is all that and what is the cost? The rep said that the sump I mentioned above is the biggest I could fit through the stand door. The back is closed off except for a few holes...
I'm not sure about the specific item mentioned by Oceansidefish, but I can pretty much tell you that most other options will be less expensive than what you are getting. Even if the sump won't fit through the doors, it can be lowered into the stand from above, before the tank is set on there. However if you do this then you can't get the fuge out without removing the tank.
 
oceansidefish

oceansidefish

Active Member
If they are custom building the stand then I would tell them to make it without a center brace so you can get a better sump in there. If not find a carpenter... The WM Research Skimmers are absolutely awesome. IMHO they are every bit as good as the ATB skimmers but at a lower cost. With a 6ft tank you should definately be able to use a 4ft 60 or 75 and then add in an ATO tank.
 
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aquatix

Guest
this is the stand:

And it's closed in the back except for some holes... They also said it isn't possible to set in from the top of the stand either.
So, if I go with this stand, 30 inches appears to be the longest the sump can be.
 
oceansidefish

oceansidefish

Active Member
I thought you were going with a 6ft tank???? I would get someone to make you a stand....That thing is going to be a PITA with maintenance....You want wide double doors on the stand. Most local LFS have a carpenter they use to make custom stands. It would probably be a better plan. THen you can stain it whatever color you want.
 
crimzy

crimzy

Active Member
Originally Posted by Oceansidefish
http:///forum/post/3020060
I thought you were going with a 6ft tank???? I would get someone to make you a stand....That thing is going to be a PITA with maintenance....You want wide double doors on the stand. Most local LFS have a carpenter they use to make custom stands. It would probably be a better plan. THen you can stain it whatever color you want.
I agree with Oceansidefish. That looks like a tank that's 4 ft long.
Not to be negative but that is a very poor design for a 170 gallon aquarium. You will be very limited with your fish choices because you will not have much surface area on a tank with those dimensions. A 6 ft long tank will give you so many other options.
Sorry to be negative but for the money you are paying, you will not end up happy with this system in the end. As a comparison, my 450 gallon tank, with all top notch parts, was about $5,000.00, (though I did buy some used equipment). I would scrap the entire Tenecor plan. If I have some time today, I'd be happy to put together a proposed nice system for you, within that budget, that will be a much higher quality system. I would never spend that kind of money on a 4 ft 170 gallon, with a wet dry filter and a fake coral insert with no live rock.
It's a poor system...
 
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aquatix

Guest
no no, that is an example of what it will look like. The tank is 6 feet long, thus is the stand :)
 
oceansidefish

oceansidefish

Active Member
Originally Posted by aquatix
http:///forum/post/3020076
no no, that is an example of what it will look like. The tank is 6 feet long, thus is the stand :)
I would still ditch buying the stand from them, it's a very very poor design for a fish tank....I would find someone to make you an open backed stand with large double doors and no center support to get in your way...
 
deejeff442

deejeff442

Active Member
my friend built me this stand 6 foot long.
two double doors and the center support that holds the doors is removable.
it is held in place by steel sheets and screws with a 2 by 4 header on top.
so the whole front can be open.
although my sump sits next to it.
i could easily fit a 90 gallon under it.
 
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aquatix

Guest
i guess I'm now starting over from scratch... very frusterating...
 
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