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Saltyfish

Banned
Joined
Nov 18, 2008
Messages
928
Location
Spokane Valley
So I am new to this board. In fact I have never been part of a reef board and I am finding it very interesting and helpful.

I am the type of hobbyist that goes to the store and talks to the sales person to set up his tank. In most cases you can buy everything right out of the local shops and you are happy with it. If you are not happy with it you can always upgrade and not be out too much money.

I grew up in Spokane until I was 16 and then I moved to California. While I was in Cali I had several fresh water tanks and a couple small reef tanks. When I got back to Spokane I dragged my 240 gallon tank with me. I set it up in my living room and much to my surprise my wife was very supportive of it. This year I changed the entire set up from 240 to 300 Stand Canopy, sump pumps UV filter etc. Again it is still fresh water and I love fresh water. In fact I said I would never do another salt water again.

In September being bored, I thought I would start up a 55 gallon I also dragged from California. What the heck I have the equipments it only going to cost me Live rock, Sand, Fish, filter media and of course corals. I thought to myself I have to be careful I don’t want this to get out of hand I want to keep it at 55 gallon for a few years.

In October I called the manufacture of my 300 gallon to see how it was going and such. We kind of built up a friendship with the design of the tank and sump so we call each other every once in a while when we not too busy. He was telling me how he got this order in September for a 630 gallon tank from a guy for a reef tank. I was thinking I still have that 240 maybe I should start a bigger tank. I went to the LFS here to get my fix for colors and the beauty of it all. Kevin's is the closest so he is the lucky (maybe not so lucky) winner that gets to see my smiling face at least once a week to "just look"

Now November, Ok I have lost my mind! I gave me tank builder a call and I asked how the 630 was coming along, he told me it is done BUT... Oh gosh not the but! The person who ordered it thought he had 36" doors to where he needed it to go and found out his insurance would drop him if he had the tank installed. Oh I feel the pain of the wheel turning in my head, and my wife is going to start feeling the pain in the pocket book. I worked out a SCREEEEEEMINNNN deal on this 630 gallon tank with a 42" high steal 2" tube stand. You might say it was a absolute gift for this price. I told myself, Self don't worry you can sell it for twice as much if you need to.

More of the Now, talking to the LFS again and now breaking down and reading all over the internet, talking to board members, etc to get the knowledge to pull this one off. At first I went crazy trying to find equipment and I realized I don't need that right this minute; I don't even have the tank yet.

Due in December: No my goal was not to have it all bought, shipped and set up by now. I have realized this week if I don't slow down I will ruin all this hard work and planning. So I searched the web and I found "What not to do when building a reef tank" Most of it I already knew but it was the last line that caught my attention.

Go Slow or all your hard work will be for nothing.

So I have scaled back to this for now and I will update this post as time goes by.

2 Wahoo pumps
1 Hammerhead

Matt is building my protein skimmer and just started
After I get the protein skimmer I will design the sump and stop for a few months.
 
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That should make for a wonderful setup. Definitely keep this thread up to date as you progress with this tank build. Where are you planning on setting this tank up at? Living Room? Garage?
 
Basement, I am going to put it in the entry way of my office and then build it into the wall.

I will have to cut open a doorway through the laundry room, but there was on there before that I covered up.
 
This seems like a very large...but fun project. I went from a 30g to a 240g in the 2.5 years since my daughter was born (30, 65, 120, 240..) the wifey was NOT HAPPY but it has kept me sane. So believe me, I know the bug :) What are the dimensions on the 630? What kind of plans do you have for it as far as livestock is concerned? Can't wait to follow the build.
 
96" x 48" x 31.5"
(length x width x tall)

I am not sure for live stock yet although I know I wont be doing any SPS for a while (Sorry Kevin)

My wife is NOT happy either but I know either way I will not be sane. If I do it she will never let me live it down how big it is and if I don't do it I will forever say that is the tank that got away.

My long term plan is to build our next house and have this in the foyer so everyone will see it when they walk in the door. I believe that will be the final resting place for this tank if I ever get to building the new house and stop spending the money on aquariums and Hot Rods.
 
this looks like it will be a very nice reef system, I cant wait to see it running!!!

The skimmer is going to be Bad A$# too..

matt
 
I really hope the skimmer is bada## I think my tank is going to depend on it.


On another note since I do not plan on doing SPS will I need a CR too?

Anyone got suggestions to help keep my hands out of the tank once I get it set up?
 
I really hope the skimmer is bada## I think my tank is going to depend on it.


On another note since I do not plan on doing SPS will I need a CR too?

Anyone got suggestions to help keep my hands out of the tank once I get it set up?

no CR needed for a softy tank.
a nice Auto top off works wonders for cutting down on time working on your tank...
 
So this is what I got and planning

1 630 gallon tank
1 Stand for tank
2 Wahoo return pumps
1 Hammerhead closed loop

Coming
1 custom protein skimmer

Lots of Pipes

When i bought this house the person before me had a shop in the garage so I have an extra electrical panel with lots of space so I am adding four circuts for the running of this tank.

I still have not picked out my lighting yet. I am stuck between T-5 HO and VHO. I will have ONE 400W halide in the center of the tank. I am going with a 400W because the depth of hte tank and I am only planning on one clam.

Another area I am still considering is the Sea Swirls, I have been told by many that with a HammerHead Closed loop I should not need the Sea Swirls.

Anyone want to ring in on these points?
 
sea swirls help make the flow more random, i have 2 closed loops and 14 holes drilled in my tank and it still isn't very random. if you choose not to go with a sea swirl a motorized ball valve would work with the closed loop
 
YES the Sea swirl will give you more random flow. I've never had a closed loop set-up but have seen plenty in action and heard of all the horror stories like leaks and maintainence to make me want to stay clear of them and most have said to me that the flow is not random enough. If you do decide to use Sea Swirls I would reccomend the Wavy Sea unit over them just because of the built quality and that it is fully controlable as in the speed and where your stop points are.
 
Wavy Sea seems like the way to go but I have read the down side is if the power goes down they do not turn back on until you manually reset them.

I just wonder how long the power goes done before it resets and wont start again. I have a generator on the house but the switch over is set for 15 minutes. I guess I could add a small APC UPS to the mix to keep them programmed. Would be nice if they had a 9volt battery back up for the programming of the units.
 
Well a few more days of reading and planning. I found a thread that really helped me decide on my pumps and how to set them up.

I ended up buying another one because my skimmer will need two. A mag 12 to supply and a PW 250PS for Recirculating. Since I do not want to go over 32 inches tall on the skimmer so it all fits under the tank Matt has designed a Dual Stack Recirculating that should handle up to 1000 Gallons pretty easy.

I decided to go with a bigger skimmer so I can always add SPS later on. I never want to limit myself from the beginning. I like to buy bigger and scale it back with valves or smaller pumps.

Another thing that has changed in my design is I will only be using 1 Wahoo pump for a return. I am going to slow it down through the sump for now and I will still use the HammerHead for the closed loop. Then it looks like I will have it go into 6 Wavy Sea's.

For now my ATO (Auto Top Off) will just be a smiple float valve in the sump.

I tried to design the sump over this weekend but I saw so many designs I am so confused. I think I might just do two Rubbermaid Stock tanks and plumb them together.

I would like to find a good heater. I use a Jalli on my fresh but I have never been happy with it. In fact I think this is the first year I am not rushing to replace it because it burned out and I did not notice it until the fish we not moving too well.

I really want to get this tank going my Blue Spotted Jawfish is not doing too well and I think a lot of it has to do with the old tank not being able to keep the temp stable. I really dont want to put anymore money into my 55 gallon corner unit. In fact I am thinking of just giving it away once I get the beast set up.

Well back to more planning.
 
saltyfish,

if you want some ideas on in-wall design,skimmers, etc., take a look at my custom 375g Jason @CFI built for me. I am very pleased. I would have like to get a 500g tank, but the dimension of the wall wouldn't allow it. :(


start with page 2 and go thru page 6:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7329275@N05/page2/

page 6 is where the wall is cut out to my garage...(let there be LIGHT !!) :)

As far as the wife not being happy, join the crew. my wife is not happy that this is an expensive hobby, however she keeps telling me I need more color in the tank...hmmm.....:)


Kirk
 
We have a sequence barracuda running our closed loop system with four 3/4" seaswirls and another barracuda running our return from our sump on our 300 gal aquarium and we do keep sps. We will eventually add tunze streams to the system as more flow is needed.
 
it measures 48 x 24 x 20.5...it is a fairly good size sump and enough room to house my H&S skimmer that is rated for 700 gallons.

Jason @CFI made it. I really like the dual chambers..great for placing carbon or phosphate remover.
 
We have a sequence barracuda running our closed loop system with four 3/4" seaswirls and another barracuda running our return from our sump on our 300 gal aquarium and we do keep sps. We will eventually add tunze streams to the system as more flow is needed.

Thank you, (Crying) but no thanks. I dont want to change my design again. I already have an extra pump or two.

Seriously thank you I will keep that in mind if I am not happy with the Wahoo. The Hammerhead should work out great for me. I just wish all the parts were here. I love the building part
 
Another week has come and gone with not a lot of action.

My 55 gallon tank freaked out on me, I can't figure out the exact problem but I put more money into that one. I lost a total of 4 fish, one I got in th emiddle of the tank freaking out and I did not realize it was the water.

I remember years ago having the same problem so the first thing to replace was the skimmer. I went with a ASM G-Mini. I got to say so far I am pretty impressed with this little guy. The second was a 10 gallon water change.

So really more research this week and I have come to the conclusion that I will need a lighting expert help me pick out the lights. I believe this will be the very last item I will deal with. So if you are close to Spokane and would like to come over when I get this set up to help me plan it all out I would be forever grateful.

For those of you waiting on a good deal on a 55 gallon tank I believe when I get the big tank set up I will be giving this one away. Yes FREE, no UV or Skimmer but stand sump tank canopy. Pretty good start for someone wanting to try reefing but dont want to fork out a lot of cash.

Well talk to you guys and gals next week.....
 
I know I wont be doing any SPS for a while

Suuuuurrreeeeee!!!!!!! I give it 2 months after filling that you will :)

Sounds like you are going through the same wonderful "build" process that we all seem to ejoy so much. Lots of your plans sound really solid.... as for lighting, pay a lot of attention to setting up a hood with GOOD reflectors. They can make a 250w mh work better than a 400mh in a poor reflector.

Have fun!


"Nothing good ever happens fast in a Reef Tank"
 

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