Tank build - newbie again... need thoughts

[Idaho-Tank]

Hello!

I have kept salt water tanks off and on for the past 18 years. I maintained a 100 gallon reef tank for about 8 years with a lot of success. Tore it down about 6 years ago (was building a house, lost interest etc...) but kept the tank. I had built a stand and hood for it but that has since been tossed. So thats my past.

Now I am ready to pull the tank out of storage and build a new stand/hood and get back into the hobby which brings me here. My wife has convinced me to go with a fish only tank which I have agreed to do this time around (mainly due to expense and amount of work involved with a reef tank).

I am hopeful that I can get some advice from you all on the "systems" I should consider as well as any other thoughts you may have. Budget is obviously a concern but I do realize that getting started again will not be cheap. If you are interested in helping please read on.

What I have: 100 gal. Acrylic tank.. 60x18x20. Tank has always been well cared for and still looks new. Has a single overflow.... have misc. power heads, fluval canister filter, bio ball - trickle filter system, a skimmer that that should probably be replaced, lots of crushed coral sand and other misc "things". When I tossed my hood I also threw away all my HO ballasts and end caps etc.. (yeah I know.. should have held on to those...)

Stand:
Typical 2x frame construction... finish will be important to me but I have built furniture so while Im not going to spend a year building this thing it will not be a walmart style stand either. Trying to remember everything I hated about the old stand I built... Thinking I will use a 20 gallon sump but could go with a 10 or 15 too. I am not to worried about building the stand - should be straight forward but will welcome any thoughts.

Hood/lighting:
I hated my last hood...It looked fine but was not well designed.. I built it with the fluorescent ballasts and tubes mounted to the underside of the hood... it weighed a ton and was a pain for my wife and I to remove every time I needed access to my tank. I am really looking for some better ideas here. I would consider hanging lights but it wont be a reef tank and I don't think my wife would like that look. so I think some sort of fluorescent system may be best again? I know there are lots of options out there - I just don't have experience with any of them. Would really appreciate thoughts here.

Filtration:
Trickle filters is an old technology... My reef tank really filtered it self - the main thing I did was run some skimmers etc... I would like some thoughts on a good easy way to filter a fish only tank. Assume some bigger canister filters combined with my trickle filter combined with a skimmer would work?

Stock:
Not to worried about stock at this point - over the years I have kept the majority of all typical salt water fish/inverts etc.. but I am curious about the synthetic corals available now... I know thats probably blasphemy to any reef tank owners but again I am just looking for a fish only tank and don't want it to be an open sand floor and also don't want it to look like a few rocks were just tossed in.

Ok, I have written enough... please offer comments, questions, advice or if need be flame away.

 

[melosu58]

Welcome back to the hobby and to AA. 100 gallon tank is a good size. As far as the hood check out my tank in my images. You can put the bulbs across the top and just put a dome on top. I guess since you are going FO then you wont have LR in the tank. Trickle filter will be OK but you`ll need a good skimmer and frequent PWC`s to handle the excessive nitrates the system will cause. As far as the crushed coral ditch it. Go with a good argonite sand that will help to buffer the water and easy for your livestock to clean. Sorry we dont flame here. Good luck on the restart.

 

[Idaho-Tank]

melosu58, thank you for the welcome and comments.

I looked at your tank photos - very impressive tank. Im going to miss having a reef tank but have decided on a FO tank for now. As far as LR goes I am still undecided at this point. So no crushed coral? I will look into the argonite sand. Regarding the lights - my wife is going to want a hood to conceal any fixture - but perhaps a hood which rests on the tank and conceals a dome style fixture like yours.

I unpacked my tank and started construction of the stand....

The tank which needs a good cleaning at some point.

 

[Idaho-Tank]

Will start construction of the stand today... Here are my little plans.....

The front... I am going higher with my stand this time to get the tank up higher.

The guy who built this tank for me put the overflow right in the back corner... Im sure this is typical but it makes getting the overflow line through the stand top and structure a pain. I didn't plan for it last time I built a stand... this time I am keeping that corner clear of structure.

I will be starting the Hood as soon as I have the stand done... any more thoughts on lighting for me? All thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

 

[cmor1701d]

Welcome back!

Your wet/dry filter either with or without a cannister filter will handel part of the nitrogen cycle for you. As Mike said, you need to do regular partial water changes to remove the nitrate buildup.

A good skimmer will help with dissooved organics (though even that is now open to debate).

A shallow sand bed with a few rocks stacked on either end will help with filtration, give your fish some hiding/sleeping space and looks great. Either aragonite or playbox sand will do and will become live sand once there is bacteria growing in the tank.

Good luck.

 

[Idaho-Tank]

cmor1701d,

Thanks for the comments. I remember the water change routine - not a huge thing... a bit of a pain but then thats part of maintaining any tank especially a SW one.

I will be sure to add some rocks/decoration of some sort.. still thinking about live rock... Was also curious about some of the newer fake synthetic corals etc.. Some of the tanks Ive seen with these in it were really impressive.

Regarding the hood.. thinking about a fixture similar to this:
http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3733+12772&pcatid=12772

I just don't want to spend that kind of money on lighting for a FO tank. I may decide to go reef in the future so getting some fixtures I could add to would be ideal. I like the idea of a nice clean fixture like this since it can just lay on the tank and be concealed with the hood I will build. Any recommendations on fixtures?

And Go Skins

 

[melosu58]

If you are not going to have corals then just any lighting will do. You dont need the high powered lighting. And BTW go Cowboys.

 

[Idaho-Tank]

Okay so now Im waiting for the Eagles fan to chime in... LOL!

melosu58 - thanks again for your comment.. Yes I agree with you and thought about that after I left my comment (which has been edited)... Part of me still thinks I will end up with corals at some point so I would want to be able to upgrade... Perhaps just buying some inexpensive HO fixtures like the kind used in my garage will suffice for now...

I was also thinking about just biting the bullet and going with a nice lighting system now and then just slowly sneaking corals into the tank (its my wife who wants to do FO).

 

[Jimbo7]

Haha, my initial thought when I read through this "I give this guy 2 weeks of a FO tank" lol, once you go reef, you never go back. My exact advice to you was going to be to overbuy on the lights, or retro something that would be easy to add to when it comes time. You could start with some T5 retros then you could move them to the side and squeeze some MH in between when your will power is all dried up.

 

[Idaho-Tank]

Jimbo7,
Yeah you read me right... I am already dreaming about a new reef tank.... Just have to keep it secret from the wife for now.

I have the frame for the stand completed - will post up photos soon. Ordered the finish material... 3/4" Wire brushed VCG Fir.... Not all that cheap but needs to look pretty....

Quick question - I currently have a 15 gal glass tank that I was thinking of using for a sump but really think thats going to be to small. I think a 30ish gal would be better.. I would like to build a nice sump with baffles etc.. this time around. The plan is to buy an inexpensive glass tank and put in plexi baffles. I live in a little mountain town and will be heading for the big city this weekend (well big city for Idaho anyway... lol) and want to pick up as much of the supplies for the sump while Im there.

I still have a submersible pump so I won't need to drill the sump tank. So a sump tank, some 1/8" plexi and some tank silicone? anything else?

 

[melosu58]

I agree that for a 100 gallon tank I`m thinking the 15 would be too small for a sump. A 30 or 40 gallon would work nice. Added water volume is a nice thing.

 

[Jimbo7]

I would just get glass for the baffles. An Ace hardware or somewhere sells it for dirt cheap all cut and ready per your measurements. Its hard to work between plexi and glass if i remember right. a 40 breeder or 50 gallon would work really well. AGA makes an actual 50, not the 48" 55 that you see most of the time in pet stores. I used it on my 90 gallon+30gallon franken-system and loved it.

 

[Idaho-Tank]

melosu58 & Jimbo7,

Thanks for the comments. Will be looking for a larger glass tank this weekend while in boise and then plan on having some glass cut for the baffles.

Thought Id post up some photos of my stand so far.. this is just the frame obviously. Had to purchase the 2x material but the screws and MDF was stuff I had. Let me know if anyone has any thoughts...

The overflow corner drain is clear of all material.

 

[Idaho-Tank]

I am still trying to determine what do do for a sump - its amazing how complex some are. I would really like to build my own out of acrylic but not sure just yet... My previous sumps were very simplistic and really only consisted of one "zone"... I had a bio ball filled section that the input came from before dumping into the sump tank that included a skimmer. From there it was heated and pumped back up to the display tank. I am very interested in taking advantage of the time I have now and building a more useful and perhaps helpful sump. After looking at numerous examples here is where I am at... Please give me some thoughts!

If I just stick with buying a 30-40 glass tank I will then buy some cut glass to use as baffles.. I will use aquarium grade silicon to attach. Here is a design I found that I was thinking of copying.

If however I have some luck with finding a supplier of acrylic and bonding agents in my area and it doesn't look to overwhelming to do I would really like to try to build this Model J sump:

Melevsreef.com | Acrylic Sumps & Refugiums

Again, thoughts regarding these two designs would be appreciated as well as thoughts pertaining to the construction of either. Thanks!

 

[capj64]

Hi, I'm new (March 2010) and started fish only but after learning a little about the corals...well you know.

I looked at your stand, are you sure you have enough support on the corners to keep it from swaying under the weight of your tank? I can't tell from the pictures but it looks like you might have your back 2x4's going through the shelf. If it is, that'll give you some support.

Sorry, I know just enough about construction to make me an idiot

 

[Jimbo7]

Melevsreef is a great place to learn everything you need to know about sumps. I constructed my 30g frag tank out of acrylic, we documented it pretty well if you need any visual aides. Link is in my sig. I don't remember the supplier for the acrylic, somewhere online, I would not get the brand we did though, I think it leeched phosphates.

 

[Idaho-Tank]

capj64,
Thanks for the comment. When I am done I will be more than satisfied with the ability of the stand to resist the "swaying" you are describing. When I am done and have installed the finish material to the outside the frame will have adequate shear support to resist that swaying. I also have plans for a diag. support or panel in the back for mounting electrical that will also help. I know enough about construction to be dangerous too - but am also a licensed architect which makes me twice as dangerous as most.

Jimbo7,
I think Im going to go for it.. working with acrylic looks like to much fun to resist! Will be picking up a 4x8 sheet of 1/4" today I hope. Should be fun cutting this....

 

[Jimbo7]

Sounds good! I'm not sure how big you are planning on making this, make sure you do some calculations that the acrylic can take it. Some braces across the top are a good idea too to prevent bowing. Also account for a little less structe in that your seams will probably be water proof, but not perfect. It takes a lot of practice and some finesse to get no bubbles in them.

 

[Idaho-Tank]

Jimbo7,
Basically Im going to copy (or try to) that sump that Melevsreef did - Model J Melevsreef.com | Acrylic Sumps & Refugiums 40" x 14" x 16".... It will fit in my stand really well.

I will have some acrylic left over after but I figure I will need some to practice with and perhaps a stand for my skimmer etc... And I couldn't get a smaller amount on short notice from the supplier...

I ordered 1/4" cell cast. Based on the reading I did 1/4" will be adequate and I will be installing some bracing along with the baffles etc... for extra support. Having never worked with acrylic I am planning on practicing with some welds prior to putting the finish pieces together.

Need to also purchase the cements... assume I can buy this from a lowes or home depot?

 

[Jimbo7]

Sounds good then. I can't access melevsreef from work, I just wanted to make sure you did you research, which you more then did. good luck! take lots of pics.