Dream reef tank ... what if?

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mojo's reefer

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Mar 31, 2004
Messages
1
Location
Austin, TX
I've read a couple books and a million web sites, and am ready to take the plunge into a large (greater or equal to 150 gal) reef tank. Although I'm intrigued about the experimentation involved in establishing a new tank and the experience to be gained in "trial and error," I am not all that interested in slaughtering hundreds of marine creatures while I learn the ropes. Theoretically, if you had unlimited funds and could assemble the best comprehensive fantasy SYSTEM possible for a reef tank of 150 gallons or more (+/- fuge, sump, lighting, pumps, filtration, etc), what would the components include (including brand names)?
Tough question, but this is an educated forum.
 
Brand names arent as important as performance. There are many skimmers and pumps out there that preform as well as any other, but are not "the" one to use.

My dream tank....

800gallon long reef ready

400 watt halide lights mounted on an arch above the tank. The would come on in sequence to simulate the sun as much as possible.

Fuge (200gal) that is plummbed into the system. The largest fuge I have ever heard of is Bangs 900gal lagoon. (If you really want to talk about the ultimate, the tank would be plummed into the ocean for a complete water change 10x per hour. These tanks exsist in Ca.)

Skimmer and Ca reactor. I have seen several of these large enough to run a tank this size...they are usually around 8 feet tall or more.

Enough Wave makers adequate to create a totally random current through out the tank.

Dont forget the refill system and R/O unit.

I know I didnt give you any brand names (Im sure someone will help you out with that)...but thats my "ultimate."

If you want to see what it would look like...here is a 850gallon that a fellow reefer owns. http://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=88577&highlight=850

Squishy
 
Incredible 850 gallon tank. OK, maybe I was getting a little ahead of myself. What I'm really interested in is equipping a 150-250 gallon tank, and it would be impossible for me to perform water changes from the ocean living in Austin. If anyone has the time, maybe future responses to this question could be written with these reasonable limitations. But thanks, Squishy, that 850 gal tank was awesome to see!
 
Okay...reasonibly ideal...how about that.

I'm going to assume you want an sps tank just because that falls more into the "ultimate" category.

Lights:

For every 2sq ft of water, one 400watt M/H with an XM 20k bulb.
Also four VHO actinics.

Skimmer: Turbo Floater 1000 is an excelent skimmer...but I cant say if it is the best since I havent tested them all.

Calc reactor. This does not have to be store bought, but you will want a PH gauge on it.

100gal sump under the tank. This would house xenia as the preferred method of toxin removal (also generate cash flow! :mrgreen: ) and a pod haven. A water pump instead of a power head is a must. Das filtration avaliable by opening a valve. (I have this on my system right now...Its great)

A top off system of some sort.

Im not sure what else you could add that you would really need. A wave maker capable of handling at least 4 pumps would be great.

Squishy
 
150 gallon tall from www.glasscages.com
pfo 2x 400watt halides with 10000k coralvue bulbs with spider refectors.
250 lbs. of live rock.
1 inch of live sand in bottom.
4 maxi jet 1200s on a wave master pro.
red sea berlin skimmer.
thats it. stable city.
 
I think micheal nailed it. If it was my 150 though I would use an AquaC EV series skimmer (just because I have no exp with red seas, but love my AquaC) and because I love them I would put a 150G fuge under it.
 
I would prefer a longer tank rather than a taller tank. Tall tanks can be a PITA to aquascape IMO.

Ideal depth would be 20" and no more. 6' long and 2' front to back.

LIght that with three 400W MH bulbs and 3 6' Actinic VHOs

Put a pair of Little Giant 4-MDQX-SC pumps in closed loop as well as another providing circulation from the tank to a 40 gal sump. Connected to the tank aswell would be a 29gal refuge lit with 2 or 3 55W PC bulbs.

Aquacaping would be done with live sand and 200lbs of live rock.
 
2 logins

Simple mistake ... forgot I registered months ago when I first entertained the possibility of getting into aquaria. Any way to delete one of them?
 
Thanks for all of the helpful replies. I feel much better prepared to get started aquiring the things I'll need. Anyone have any recommendations regarding a good company(s) to order from on-line?
 
Just was curious. Some folks register two nicks one for work and one for home. Dont make any sense to me. I was refering to the two accounts used in this post as they both have a join date of March 31 04.
 
2 accounts

fishfreak,
Don't have a good answer for you ... maybe a computer glitch or something. Anyway, I'm still interested in finding out some names of reputable companies from whom I can order equipment on-line. Any recommendations? I know that Liverock.com is mentioned often in the forum; any reliable acrylic tank companies, etc? Thanks, and looking forward to setting up my system so I can begin a gallery of my own.
 
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