new house big reef tank ideas and suggestions PLEASE COME IN!!

[1000rrstunna]

So I bought a house..... the basement is my blank canvas and i will be finishing it as soon as we close.... of course there is going to be a fishroom! I want to do a big tank minimum of 180 gallons that I just bought from Aquatica on sale last month... but i'm considering doing a 8 ft monster instead... problem is that I don't know if i want that water next to my furnace area and that the 8ft tank wont fit in between the beam support and the furnace while giving me ample room to work on the furnace should something happen to it... . I'm going to sketch up a drawing of my basement and show you guys what I'm talking about. will the salt in the evaporation absolutely kill my mechanicals? is a 8ft tank too much work and maintenance? i always wanted a 8 ft tank and i can get a 96x24x27 for 1600$ no overflows and run two reef synergy 16" shadows on it... or do i stay with my sale 180 and put the 16" shadow overflow on it and be happy.... if i got 8 ft the tank must be in front of the wall.. if i stay 6 ft it can be an in wall... i'm almost thinking it will be better to do it outside the wall anyhow since it will make the basement more three dimensional and i can make something from the top of the tank to the ceiling with access to work on it from the front only, hid the lights and keep that evap water away from my furnace... also with all the room left behind the wall i can do the sump back there a frag tank and a qt system plus all of the tanks mechanical stuff...



the two items to the right of the furnace are the water heater and the ejector pit.... so i have room and a supply/drain for my ro system and a water changes right there a nice mixing station will be built

looking for pros and cons of these setup from owners with other big systems and or in wall systems.. i'm open to any suggestions.

equipment I own so far

16' shadow overflow
reefoctopus 202s skimmer 8"
180 gallon non reef ready tank ( considering selling for 8 footer)
2- 300 watt finnex titaniums
1-mp40 qd
180 lbs of new marco rocks dry rock

equipment on my considerations list

vectra l1
hydra 52 hd or radion g4 pro OPINIONS PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE i have always been an ai guy but that new lens looks pretty sweet...
another mp40
sump decision

 

[xj_matt]

I personally would put the tank on the outer wall. And for access panels I would make the sides removable as well why your at it. If it where me buildng this set up as well I would make a access panel coming the the wall on back side in the wall as well so you could get to the back of the tank as well seeing you will have a full blown canopy to the ceiling that way you would have 180°to work on you tank still

 

[goatous]

Looks like a fun project!
If money wasn’t an issue get your 8’ (270 gal/1000 L) tank and keep your 180 gal as a sump. Run your plumbing through the wall into the mechanical room to isolate the noise and mess. I don’t think you will get salt corrosion with your mechanicals but if you are worried, just cover your sump to minimize evaporation/spray. Build a nice base for the 270 to house the electrical, controllers and a mini-freezer for food. Floating canopy above for your lights.

 

[Illinijoe]

Congrats on the new house. Get what will make you happiest since not often you get a blank slate and you'll be living there a while

 

[Danieldv6]

Congrats..now..to have a fish room..PRICELESS

 

[jrwoltman]

Keep it away from the furnace and exposed ductwork. Over time rust will be an issue. Even with minimal evaporation, you will put a lot of salty vapor into the air with that sized system. Just my humble opinion.

Congrats on the house and tank!!!

 

[1000rrstunna]

I think keeping it outside the room is the smart idea. I can keep the other stuff behind the wall and trim it out nice on the front side... Plus I love looking through the side glass. I don't like just viewing through the front.

What are your thoughts on the lights. I'm tempted to try a g4pro. On my little 34 and see if I like it for this build coming up. I have a hydra26hd on it now. Never liked the controllability of the radions. Or the color. I think the AI. Makes the corals pop more

 

[Joe5688]

I wouldn't be to concerned with a tank/sump in the furnace room. As long as it's not a sealed room u'll be fine. My 40 sump has been in my furnace room for 3.5+ years and i have no issues with any of the house plumbing or furnace showing signs of rust. I do think that it keeps the house more humid which is fine for me cause then my humidifier doesn't need to run lol

 

[Sawdonkey]

I think keeping it outside the room is the smart idea. I can keep the other stuff behind the wall and trim it out nice on the front side... Plus I love looking through the side glass. I don't like just viewing through the front.

What are your thoughts on the lights. I'm tempted to try a g4pro. On my little 34 and see if I like it for this build coming up. I have a hydra26hd on it now. Never liked the controllability of the radions. Or the color. I think the AI. Makes the corals pop more

I agree. Not a huge fan of in-wall tanks. I do like when people do semi-wall tanks though. The ones where they are about a foot out of the wall or so. They don't penetrate the room so much, but you can still see in from the ends.

 

[1000rrstunna]

I agree. Not a huge fan of in-wall tanks. I do like when people do semi-wall tanks though. The ones where they are about a foot out of the wall or so. They don't penetrate the room so much, but you can still see in from the ends.

is working on your tank difficult due to the 30" height... I also considered a 220 but this scared me off

 

[Joe5688]

30" tank is a pain in the ass but take it from someone who had a 6' and 8' tank, get the 8'. It's a much more impressive size and it looks amazing even when empty lol

 

[Sawdonkey]

is working on your tank difficult due to the 30" height... I also considered a 220 but this scared me off

Well, put it this way, I always have a step ladder nearby when working on the tank and I purposely don't wear deodorant when I know I'll be doing tank work. I can reach the bottom of the tank with my fingers, but I usually use some grabbers if I'm picking something up. I use scrapers on rods to keep the glass clean. Just need the right tools.

So, is it a pain in the ass? Kind of, but I do like the taller viewing window. I've learned to work with it and would buy a 30" tall again.

 

[1000rrstunna]

kinda thinking ill go this route from planet aquariums....

 

[Sawdonkey]

kinda thinking ill go this route from planet aquariums....

Do you need the third return in the middle? It would look cleaner without it. Jealous you're building this. So many things I'd do differently if I could start over (and you're doing most all of them).

 

[1000rrstunna]

Don't need it... May switch to two 1" based on codys reccomendations then t it to 2 ea 3/4" loc lines per side. And run a Vectra l1

I posted this thread looking for insight. Please share. Reef central builds are insane many ideas coming from there. I hope one day she will look like yours saw... The fish area behind the tank will also be pretty intense... The contract on the house was finalllllyyyy approved through attorney review today. Close 1-13-16 then I gotta do the basement build out and create my play pen lol. I wanna order the tank this week. I'm just scared if I can get it downstairs. There's a 4x4 landing 1/2 way down with just over 8ft of ceiling to stand her up and make the turn.

 

[oblivionis]

I really like to look of an in-wall system. I had a in-wall setup at our old house. While I did not have the furnace in the fish room I never experienced any moisture issues. When I was building the fish room I installed an exhaust fan but I ended up never running it because there was no need for it. If you're worried about moisture put a strong, quiet Panasonic exhaust fan in there. Here is a very old picture of my setup.

 

[1000rrstunna]

im having second thoughts about getting this thing down the stairs.....





the landing is big and the ceiling is over 8' tall but im not sure if i can stand it up and rotate it the stairwell is about 36" wide also with railings removed..

 

[ultimatemj]

As someone that has their tank in their "TV room", I would make sure your tank location and seating arrangement allow you to see it. If you have to walk to it, and stand to look at it, you will not look as much. We have only 1 seat in our TV room that allows you to see both the TV and the tank...and everyone prefers that seat

I haven't heard what "style" of reef you are planning...SPS, LPS, softie, mixed, predator, etc...but this choice could have a big impact on how you want to build it out.

You asked about 30" depth, but if I had the room for it....and since I'm not an "in wall" fan and agree with your comments about "side views", I would go at least 30" wide! Not sure if NewFish sold their 600?, but that was an awesome shape (I think it was 96"x60"x24").

I would also put some thought into maintenance...with a big tank the water change method, water mixing station and a sink need more planning than dosers, skimmers and such. And don't forget a QT approach.

If you are going for SPS, you may want to reach out to [MENTION=1673]ReefDweller[/MENTION] and see if he'll let you check out his impressive in wall setup.
http://www.chicagoreefs.com/forums/showthread.php/23885-Ending-with-the-yr-Photos-of-my-piece-of-the-ocean
View attachment 19332

 

[1000rrstunna]

one of those is a video click it

 

[ultimatemj]

oof....what are the landing dimensions?

A big glass tank will be an adventure...acrylic would be much easier to work through there.

Wait, how big are the windows? MAYBE the room needs more light anyway...if the walls are stick construction, make the openings/windows bigger and bring it in during the minor construction