Rubbermaid Tank...how to

[tunicata]

Hi there,
Im going to be starting up a 150 gal rubbermaid tank in the fall.
I want to plan now.

I want it to be a tank that mainly has LPS, (I am in uber crush with candy canes) and other invertebrates (non-coral).

How do I outfit this, anyone have pics of a tank like this that explains the general design for the plumbing inept?

I would like the bottom to have sand and have the frags to come and the parent colonies all in the same tank. I don't plan on having tons of stuff in the tank.

 

[Krish]

Is this going to be like a holding/frag tank???

 

[tunicata]

yes, yes it will be.

Sorry, I re-read that and see that I left out a lot of what I was thinking.

I see on youtube sixyreef has something like what I want. A rubbermaid tank that holds both the mother and frag colonies. I want to make sure mine can house inverts as well (cleaners and just fun compatible stuff), so that's why I want it to have sand.

I was thinking that I could maybe make a quart of the tank have egg crate above the sand on one side for the frags, and the rest of the tank be open sand for other stuff.
Does that make sense at all?

I'm told and I read that most of the corals I want need low to moderate flow and moderate lighting. I don't plan on having any fish unless for some reason I find it has some great benefit not provided by something in the existing plan.

I don't want to have a mechanical filter, hence another reason for the sand bed, live rock and cleaners. I have been interested in growing mangroves and other plants to help water chemistry. In other words trying to use 'natural'/biological methods to have this operation.

Is that enough information for folks to get the vaguest idea of what I'm talking about?

 

[IAP Brian]

Yup, that's enough info. I have been running two 150 gal rubbermaid tubs together for about 4 yrs now. I have primarily used them as live rock storage, curring and grow-out tanks but in the last year, I have used them for a lot of coral holding. I love the durability of the tubs, they are extremely strong. They are also easy to drill and add plumbing to. The only difficult part is getting rid of the stock 1 1/4" and replacing with a 1 1/2 or 2" bulkhead. That requires a dremel, roto zip, or router and a bunch of silicone or epoxy. Depends on what kind of pump you want to use for circulation and or closed loop. If you want to use an Iwaki or similar pump then the 1 1/4 is no problem. If you want to use a Dolphin or Sequence pump then you will have to mod it or plug off the 1 1/4 (I would also use silicone on their rubber gasket) and drill the other side. I have some pics of my set-up that I'll have to dig out for you. Basically you can run it just like a 150 gal tank with a sump.

 

[IAP Brian]

Here are some pics. I think it is easiest to run a sump above the tub and pump water into it, then let it gravity drain back to the tub. This would work really well for a fuge sump and your mangrove grow-out. Wouldn't have to worry about pods and critters going through the pump to get to the tank.