Challenging 260 gallon set up

[cujo31]

Ok folks. I have probably bitten off more than I can chew, but if you dont challenge yourself you dont grow. I have inherited an aquarium, 1 foot wide, 3 feet tall 12 feet long. Yes 12 feet.
Outside of flow and lighing, and being relative newbie (1 year into hobby) my plan is to set this aquarium into back wall of man cave with bar in front of it.
I want to go reef, but need ideas, suggestions and any free advice I can get to set up aqua scape, corals, types that will do well in this configuration, types to avoid etc. Heck even if you just wanna tell me I need to have my head examined (my wife does so daily) let me know. Cheers and thanks.

 

[cujo31]

By the way, yes drilled in bottom, 1 for sump2 for return

 

[TonyEnr]

Definitely a sump filtration system. If drilling is too troublesome, an overflow box and return pump will work fine. Also, it may benefit you, considering the length of the tank, to have two sumps (one being a wet dry ad the other possibly being a refugium). Be sure that the tank is still accessible once it's in the wall. Might want to check out some suspend-able LED fixtures for lighting for corals (produce least amount of heat since it'll be in the wall). Water flow...you can use a couple large powerful pumps or a series of smaller pumps all over the tank that you can adjust to your liking (that is a long tank). Check out Vortech pumps or Hydor pumps...you can hook them up to controllers so you can adjust them to your liking.

 

[Shirtlessbill]

Wow! Congrats. I agree above with the idea for multiple filtration setups.

I think a possible oversight is another tank for storage water. With a tank that size you'll need to have water ready and on hand.

 

[begginersluck]

Totally agree with shirt. You'll need plenty of water at hand for large water changes and top ups.

I've just setup a 200 litre drum in my garage for saltwater and I only have a 300 litre tank lol

 

[Sniperhank]

That actually won't be too bad. Tank is drilled, do you have to make a stand or canopy for it or does that come with it as well? What I would do it light the tank with taotronics or one of the other knock off LEDs that can support corals to save some money as this will be an expensive adventure.

Also, look around for a good deal on rock. I'd either go with macro/base rock or with the reef ready stuff...depending on what the price is. This way you can assemble everything dry while you set up the rest of the system, as the lighting will need hung and so on.

With the tank only being a foot wide, I'd be careful when choosing corals. I say this because some, like montipora will grow out rather than up and quickly run out of room and you'll be stuck with either a coral grown onto each glass side of your tank or be fragging constantly.

 

[Shirtlessbill]

Any chance we can have pics of the space you"ll be working in?

 

[Robert_ellis]

Following... Hopefully with pics!

 

[cujo31]

Thanks for all the input. The process is right in its infancy stage. As of right now the aquarium is still on the sled we moved it in. I have stripped all the caulking and am going to be re-sealing the whole thing. THEN I have to build the stand (using 6x6 and 4x4 beams). The aquarium will be the centerpiece of my man cave sitting behind a bar on one wall. And yes there will be a minimum 18" service access "hallway" behind the tank. It will run parallel to exterior wall so I can vent all excess heat and humidity to the outside world with relative ease.
I am planning and planning and re-planning because I am working with a clean slate if I plan it out well I wont run into any after thoughts down the road. A tub of this size is tough to re-modify or re-tool once it is set up.
I have to set aquarium then build the man cave around it so it will take some time before I even have the tank cycling, let alone populated. At this point I am doing as much research as possible and asking as many questions as I can because I really only have one shot to set this up and do it properly.
As stated I am a relative rookie, spent the last 2 years just reading, and reading and researching and researching before I even considered an aquarium. Started with a 33, up to a 55, still fowlr, but just learning as much as I can before I really start sinking money into this. Slow and steady. Plus I am just a simple blue collar family man, so I do not have the bank roll to go nuts like some of these boys do with their beauty set ups.
I promise to attach photos as I proceed. If I still have your attention, most importantly what types of corals should I be avoiding? I would like a nice mix and hope to get good enough to add some Acros too