Future 90 gal

[Fishfighter]

Bare bottom covered with rock. Covered w coral. Full of fish. Starting in the spring. Any ideas? Anyone done anything like it?

 

[Khij159753]

What kind of fish you like? I'm doing about the same thing my tank is cycling now except I'm having a sand bed.

 

[Fishfighter]

I just don't see the point of sand unless housing fish that require it witch I can live without. Variety is the most important thing to me. Tons of cool fish but I don't want to run a thread on fish but the concept of a bare bottom tank with no general aqua scape just a bed of life rock. Lots of flow and plenty of caves and places for corals.

 

[obscurereef]

What's your future lighting? Getting a sump? Going all out or as cheap as possible? Craigslist or new? A mixed reef tank or one specific type? Protein skimmer or allll natural haha?

 

[Fishfighter]

All great questions and I'm glad you asked. Looking for maybe someone with experience in this type of tank. Bad and good experiences. Learn from someone else's mistakes before I
Make them kinda thing. Time to think and open for suggestions.

 

[Fishfighter]

New, all out, with sump, the works. Plan on this being a very long term project. Current tank gives me my fix but this would be my dream tank.

 

[obscurereef]

I have made my share of mistakes . One random one is especially if your tank is on the carpet or the second floor, make sure you have a way to get your sump out if it breaks or just run the risk of having to take apart your entire system and replace the sump and have a drenched floor (this didn't happen to me btw).

 

[obscurereef]

Will you do vinegar dosing? I've always wondered about that...I don't want to do it as I fear I'll overdose or mess it up

 

[Fishfighter]

This will be a basement tank. Building an entire work room behind complete w sink and ro di unit. Will also serve as laundry room. Flooring is a good thought. Display will be built into wall. Will be a lot of work and planning but

 

[Fishfighter]

It will be the hobby of a lifetime.

 

[obscurereef]

If it's going to be in the basement, be pre-planned for a while, and done right, and have the water so close, why not have a larger tank than 90 gallons?

 

[Fishfighter]

That's a very good question. We're buying a house in the spring so I'll have to check my space but 90 would be minimum.

 

[baron1282]

Fishfighter

I have researched a lot and most of the awesome fish need more than 90 gallons. A 180-200 gallon tank would house way more fish than you could dream about. For instance

Buy Saltwater Fish | Reef Safe Fish | Vivid Aquariums

That is a list of fish that someone gave me when I asked about a 90 gallon tank. A lot of the fish I want needs more than a 90 gallon tank. Also if your just doing a bare bottom tank whats the harm in adding live sand for some extra bio-filtering? I think you should reconsider adding some kind of sand on the bottom with just rocks.

To me that does not look as cool as say.

I just think the sand adds a little extra touch that your fish would appreciate.

 

[Fishfighter]

I don't really want to stack up but try to cover the bottom w rock. Hard to explain but you would not see the bottom at all. All caves would be vertical and not horizontal that you typically see. I want something that no one else has If any very few. Maybe use some large sized rock rubble so that water could flow throughout.

 

[Fishfighter]

And that's a poor example of a bare bottom tank. I've seen some that would blow your mind. Plenty of time to research.

 

[baron1282]

Yeah, I saw one on the internet that did look really cool. A lot of rock so you could hardly see the bottom. The rock was the bottom, so I get where you are coming from now and I think if you do it right it will look really cool.

 

[Fishfighter]

Like I said I've got time. I don't care if it takes 5 years to complete the tank. I might be a year or so before I even put rock down. Pretty much building a basement around the tank. Putting it in a wall and building a work room behind. Shouldn't take more than a couple of steps to have everything I need. I want it to be easy maintenance. Plus if I ever sell my house would think that it would increase the value.

 

[baron1282]

I would not integrate the tank into your house in hopes it increase the value. I don't think it will decrease the value but it will deter future buyers and limit your market for potential home buyers.

First a lot of people don't want to deal with a fish tank.

Second your leaving your tank you spend a lot of money on and it does nothing to add to the value of the house.

Third do you plan on taking the fish you have with you when you move? What if I don't take care of the fish like you have been doing. What if I didn't want the fish you wanted and have in the tank.

So unless you plan on living at your house for the rest of your life, I wouldn't integrate it. Unless you make it easy for you to get out and set up somewhere else. If you plan on selling the house down the road get a 200 gallon tank with a stand and all the plumbing for it in the stand. That way you can move the tank when needed. It's going to be a rough move with something that big, and all your fish might not make it. With proper planning it can be done with minimal damage and hopefully with all the fish alive. Plan on getting a crew of fellow fish friends when you decided to move a tank just for the tank move.

I just don't think it's wise to integrate a tank into a house unless you plan on never selling it. An Idea would be to make the space for it, but put a stand under it, that way when you do move all you leave behind is a wall which could be turned into a closet.

 

[Poon]

FYI - you can integrate it, just remember to plan on an exit strategy. Walls are easy to fill in, ie your opening should be built to enable easy full in. If I was going to buy your house it would increase the value for me...

Sounds awesome with fish room behind it. Read Serk's 300 gallon in wall reef build thread on this site, I read the whole thing on day (took me 4 hours) but it is a great resource from start to finish.

 

[baron1282]

Poon, I am not saying he shouldn't do it. It's his house. lol Just plan on being able to take it out easily (Like it's ever easy.