Quote:
Originally Posted by
Soccerbo24 http:///t/396360/two-large-tanks#post_3531341
I am in the process of figuring out and planning designs and costs for 2 saltwater tanks, one is an L shaped 300 gallon tank while the other is just a rectangular 200 gallon tank. I am sort of new to the hobby I guess but I have being doing A LOT of research, but I am also trying to learn from experience I currently running a 29 gallon tank with just HOB stuff, I'm soon to upgrade to a 90 gallon and use the 29 as a sump to get the sump idea down. I am currently have an occelarius clownfish, Firefish, pixy Hawkfish, strawberry dottyback and a green chromis. The plan is to build the 200 gallon FOWLR tank, with just a 2 inch sand bed, 250 pounds of live rock, a 75 gallon sump with a refugium. the other tank is going to be a 300 gallon L shaped tank similar to this one
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SR4voT5AH34 because of the weird shape I can only fit a 55 gallon tank underneath for a sump so I will have two 55 gallons with a 75 gallon refugium off side that the plumping goes through. 2 inch sand bed again with only about 250 pounds of live rock again and a few fake custom coral inserts, this tank will be a reef tank though so I want to be able to house a lot of corals.
Questions
1) Recommended protein skimmers for each that will get the job done! Research is better then anything I can tell you. There are a number of different skimmers and a number of different ways to skim. You might like a certain style, while I like a different style. Practically all skimmers in this competitive market will skim gunk out of a reef tank. Skimmer selection also depends on the amount of food fed, the nutrient levels of the tank, the type of tank you are setting up and how clean your corals like the water. FOWLR systems should have at minimum a skimmer that skims 1.5x more then a skimmer rated for the same gallons. This is where experience comes into play - you might go through a few skimmers before you find one that does really well on your system. PLUS, a skimmer is just an expensive mechanical filter - nothing does better then detritus removal through water changes.
2) RO/DI system that will give me a lot of clean water I personally prefer the Typhoon III system from Air Water Ice. Before you even buy an RO/DI unit, you need to consider what type of water conditions are coming out of the tap. Some areas have clean water with a low TDS, some areas have a high TDS reading. Some places add chlorine to the water while other districts add chloramine to the water. Some areas have soft water and some areas have extremely hard water. All of this factors into what kind of pre-filters and post filters you need for your system. If you can give me some more information about your water quality at your house... (TDS reading, chemical readings and any type of report you can get from your local water supplier, I can recommend a filter array and also suggest talking to Sarah at AirWaterIce about your system before you order. Also, RO/DI is not dangerous to drink, this is a myth that is somehow being perpetuated on these boards. If you would like to drink water from your system, they do sell RO water diverters that can push water to an RO storage tank under your sink for you to drink.
3) Best place to buy all my supplies from (power heads, filter media, heaters, etc) Saltwaterfish.com is actually a retail store and so this question can not be fully answered. I know this website sells a lot of dry goods at some pretty competitive prices, however. If you decide that this website does not offer everything you want, consider sending me a private message and I might be able to direct you to some stores that sell certain items that you are looking for.
4) cheap but good Fiji live rock I don't exactly understand the question,... were do you get it? As I said before, saltwaterfish.com is an online retail website - and they do sell some premium quality live rock at competitive prices. Consider ordering rock from here.
5) What type of over flow box and location If you are going to order your tanks, your tank manufacturer will automatically give you a "mega overflow" which comes standard in most tanks. This may or may not fit your desired needs, and there are many other types of overflows out there... durso, herbie, beananimal, ghost, ... look into all of them. Since I see you like youtube, I'm sure it won't be hard to find.
6) Pipe Thickness Depends on the application. Closed loops, drains, returns, .... gotta know more information and if you can, post a diagram. What you are talking about is a huge undertaking with a lot of money involved. Doing a lot more research will allow you to get a better grasp of it instead of asking questions on a public forum.
7) External Fans or Chillers Depends on the system. Some tanks do well with additional fans, and some require chillers. Chillers I believe are starting to fade out since the innovation of LED lights.
8) What type of power cord system to control all my timers Considering that this is a huge build, you might want to invest in a controller. I prefer Neptune Apex as a controller of choice because of the ease of operation, the ease of programming and the customer support. Controllers do just that, they control your temperature, can test your pH, salinity, ORP and even dissolved oxygen levels - and each probe is connected to an outlet that is controlled by the controller. So, if your temperature gets hot, it turns off the heater and can turn on a fan to cool the water, and it can turn off the lights to prevent overheating. If your pH gets low, it can turn on a doser or turn off your calcium reactors CO2 bottle... A break out box can also control an auto top off system, and there is even another module you can buy to get alerts when there is water on the floor! there are any number of things that you can program it to do,... and one system can even monitor multiple tanks.
9) Best lighting system for each tank FOWLR tanks don't need a whole lot of light, but it depends on the light spectrum that is best for your eyes. a few LED strip lights over a FOWLR tank will be enough to illuminate it as well as make the color of the fish bright. For a reef tank, there are many options out there - and a lot of people are turning to more high powered LED lighting and investing great money for it. The quality of the light matters more than the quantity of the light at this point in the LED game. A few good fixtures are Radions, SOL, Hydras, Vegas and even ReefBreeders. Get something that you are going to like very long term, because these kinds of lights will last a minimum of 10 years or 50,000 hours.
10) Make or Buy Premade Sump I am always in favor of DIY.
11) Return Pumps Depends on if you want internal or external.
12) any other things I seem to be missing please fill me in This will come with experience - in the year(s) leading up to your large build, you will learn quite a lot about the art of reefkeeping, and in that time you will experience most of it. Post on here, ask a lot of questions, read some good books and guides and most of all... have fun.
13) any experiences you had with saltwater tanks that would be beneficial to me! please help not starting the tanks for a couple years, just trying to get everything perfect first
Please refer to the answer for #12.
