250000 litre pool conversion to reef tank!

[Albertastorm]

1.) In the long run you may regret those stands, it will depend on how corrosive the various parts are but I had parts of a craftsman tool chest start to corrode just from the filter room being on the other side of a basement.

2.) The nutrients a skimmer can remove and what various types of algae can remove are most likely different. A skimmer helps to remove detritus and particulate matter as well as various doc's including the things that will lead to nitrates and phosphates. Algae will help with phosphate and nitrate as well as some of the compounds that will turn into those, but it's not going to do it nearly as efficiently as a skimmer. You could have a giant pool of algae along with a more humid basement, higher lighting costs, higher evaporation and water usage that in turn means more heaters running more often, yellowing compounds increasing carbon costs and a great need to run a carbon reactor and some risk of an algae die-off polluting your tank and killing off your "filter". I've run skimmerless tanks before, they're not necessary, but they have many benefits, including helping boost PH, and few downsides.

All that said, that skimmer is pretty small for the size tank you're planning and you may want to consider returning and getting something along the lines of the sro-5000, especially if you're looking to go heavy on high light corals like Acropora.

3.) The rollermat is pretty cool, but totally not needed. You could run filter socks and just have a bunch on hand and change every few days and still save a bundle. Personally I run without any mechanical filtration of that type and have for years. I do have more particulate matter buildup than others, but also feel I'm not filtering out a lot of beneficial and natural foods for corals and various critters as a result.

4.) Lighting... You could get by with 3 as a bare minimum or you could run up to 8, just depends on what you're trying to accomplish and how dense of an SPS population you expect to have. 4 is probably a good place to start. For bigger tanks I still like T5's or even MH if heat isn't an issue for the room it's going in. However, if you prefer or like the look of LEDs and don't mind the up front spend then go for the radions. Shadowing and spread as well as the up front costs are the negatives of the LEDs, while heat warming a room and bulb replacement costs are the negatives of T% or MH. Looks wise it's personal preference, but that's why I prefer MH and T5.

5.) Ditch the reactor if you only want things you need or are greatly beneficial. If you have a properly sized protein skimmer they often do more harm than good since they become very difficult to regulate and can drop nutrients dangerously low.

Good luck with the build!

Thanks for your input
Gosh ...I hope rust is not an issue...we will see.
I will have an exhaust system in equipment room so hopefully keep humidity down.
The skimmer will remain in sump...just in case...will also consider resizing.
I will have bypass on roller mat...but my experience with removing waste as quick as possible begs me to give it a go!
Putting the Radions perpendicular to tank will hopefully result in even light dispersal.
And yes still contemplating the reactor.

 

[Albertastorm]

Well not ALL of us do! Storm where abouts in Alberta are you?? what brand is that tool chest? didn't get a good look at the pictures

On a farm near Stony Plain...you?
SPG International..their semi commercial line..took wheels off tank stand ...left on sump stand.

 

[Ike]

A fair amount of people are doing bourbon barrel stuff or heavily charred/toasted oak barrels for liquors, probably in part because of the huge bump in popularity bourbon has received. Lemon Hart should taste the same as it does in Canada, so maybe they secretly switched it out for the local stuff There's not much adding of Bourbon to other liquors that I've seen, but TONS of "artisan" distilleries popping up. Many of them are also doing rye, and many of them are simply doing private label/bottling/barrels with Alberta Distilleries, Whistlepig being the biggest one...

 

[JoshH]

Well you're definitely better off with SPG than most other manufacturers. I might suggest some form of plywood between the tank and the chest though, most of those chests don't have a crazy amount of cross bracing in there centres which is fine if you toss another chest on top as there outer frames are designed to hold the weight of the tools. However your tanks weight will be distributed over the entire surface and not just the outer edges, This might lead to issues down the road with sagging in the centre of the tank. Just my thoughts and you may have already thought of it. Awesome build though and it will be cool to see it all come together! I live in Calgary BTW.

 

[Albertastorm]

A fair amount of people are doing bourbon barrel stuff or heavily charred/toasted oak barrels for liquors, probably in part because of the huge bump in popularity bourbon has received. Lemon Hart should taste the same as it does in Canada, so maybe they secretly switched it out for the local stuff There's not much adding of Bourbon to other liquors that I've seen, but TONS of "artisan" distilleries popping up. Many of them are also doing rye, and many of them are simply doing private label/bottling/barrels with Alberta Distilleries, Whistlepig being the biggest one...

OMG ...noooo....if you take Canadian Lemon Hart...mix it with the cheapest bourbon you can find...that's what US Lemon Hart tastes like
Opps..now I've made a whole bunch of enemies((...considering 99 % of the subscribers to this site live in US...sorry guys your rum sucks... if your ever up near Stony Plain Alberta. Ill prove it to ya))))

 

[Albertastorm]

Well you're definitely better off with SPG than most other manufacturers. I might suggest some form of plywood between the tank and the chest though, most of those chests don't have a crazy amount of cross bracing in there centres which is fine if you toss another chest on top as there outer frames are designed to hold the weight of the tools. However your tanks weight will be distributed over the entire surface and not just the outer edges, This might lead to issues down the road with sagging in the centre of the tank. Just my thoughts and you may have already thought of it. Awesome build though and it will be cool to see it all come together! I live in Calgary BTW.

Ahhhh...your down in the banana belt....and oh yes don't worry...tool box rated for 5600 lbs but I am a German farmer... we over build almost everything...I have this baby...the one that holds my DT...beefed up!
Tank came with 1/2 inch plywood and stand came with 1/2 in high density foam...then used treated lumber added to internal structure.
But now everyone tells me its going to rust out and collapse ..that would suck

 

[JoshH]

Well it's no where near as cheap as a crapsman and your sump isn't internal on the cabinet so it might not be as bad as some people seem to think. if it's powder coated inside and out its no different than the 100s of steel framed stands you see on here all the time

 

[JoshH]

whoops craftsman

 

[Albertastorm]

Well it's no where near as cheap as a crapsman and your sump isn't internal on the cabinet so it might not be as bad as some people seem to think. if it's powder coated inside and out its no different than the 100s of steel framed stands you see on here all the time

Yes...Right???...but I am second guessing...I thought would be so cool to have the storage drawers below...nice blk color in my mostly dimly lite office...we will see...could have got Costco's Stainless steel version,,but not 24 inches wide
Do you know Mitch from Bow Valley Aquariums?

 

[JoshH]

It's a very cool idea, have a look inside the stand and see how well it is painted. Maybe throw another coat of paint on the interior. And I attempted to contact him for a sump build but he never got back to me. I had horrible luck with local custom venders for my project and had to go outside Canada to find someone even willing to respond to my emails.

 

[Albertastorm]

It's a very cool idea, have a look inside the stand and see how well it is painted. Maybe throw another coat of paint on the interior. And I attempted to contact him for a sump build but he never got back to me. I had horrible luck with local custom venders for my project and had to go outside Canada to find someone even willing to respond to my emails.

I think we all are suffering in this Alberta economy...he was very helpful...reasonably priced ... delivered to my house and helped place tanks!
Do you have link to your build...scratch that I can search
Yes a rust inhibitor sprayed on inside of stand would be a great idea!!!

 

[JoshH]

Well he can't be suffering too much, didn't bother with my business and I'm dropping $1500 on my sump set up I do have a link to my thread if I can scrounge it up. There isn't much going on with it now as I'm waiting for the sump to be finished. I also haven't been able to decide on sand for it yet. leaning towards tropic eden but for 1 30lb bag it's $120 with shipping so not sure if I want to take a hit like that for sand...

 

[Albertastorm]

Ok????.....it took a newbie from Calgary Alberta Canada... to come up with best suggestion yet?????
Spray on rust inhibitor...yes its a real thing!!!!
We were all very quick to run down my tool chest tank stand idea.....but took a newbie from Alberta Canada to suggest...did I mention Alberta Canada))))......if I did not I would like to take this moment to mention...that a young reefer from Alberta Canada suggested a rust inhibitor would be a good idea on my powder coated tank stand)))

 

[JoshH]

And I don't think everyone was quick to down your tool chest stand, there were quite a few who were/are excited to see how it all turns out And they just want to see you succeed with your project so if they have a concern they are going to voice it going off of there own experiences. That's why we are all here to share our experiences and knowledge to help one another out. A happy reef keeping experience is the main goal for every member here

 

[Albertastorm]

And I don't think everyone was quick to down your tool chest stand, there were quite a few who were/are excited to see how it all turns out

I know but I have to get them fired up

 

[JoshH]

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/my-rsm-c-130-build.277137/

There's my build, unfortunately it's going to be staying empty for the next couple months due to us moving, not much point setting it up just to take it down before it even cycles

 

[Daniel Strickland]

At least get you some Snap On tool boxs!!

Great idea btw.... I am pretty careful spraying ANYTHING near my tank water. But any oil based liquid wiped on with a rag will inhibit rust..

I really like my roller filter.. wish it flowed a larger volume but like you I built in a bypass so I can change my flow to whatever I want. Right now I am passing everything through the filter and it is pretty easy to keep my nutrients in check.. I am trying to start up a ATS but no growth as of yet..

 

[JoshH]

Snap on *Drool* wish all there stuff was made In North America though, especially given the price of there stuff lol

 

[Albertastorm]

At least get you some Snap On tool boxs!!

Great idea btw.... I am pretty careful spraying ANYTHING near my tank water. But any oil based liquid wiped on with a rag will inhibit rust..

I really like my roller filter.. wish it flowed a larger volume but like you I built in a bypass so I can change my flow to whatever I want. Right now I am passing everything through the filter and it is pretty easy to keep my nutrients in check.. I am trying to start up a ATS but no growth as of yet..

There we go!!!
Thankyou...we will see ...
Yes great thing is no water yet..can spray it on without risk!
I cant afford snapon))..did I mention I was from Alberta Canada... where we depend on oil prices for our great above average economy!
Yes that was my first concern..flow volume...but I would sooner ad new fresh food then have my corals and fish eating old rotten food!
Which has bin mentioned a few times that with my roller filter I would be making the water too clean???

 

[Albertastorm]

Ok...going to make some friends or enemies here...this is me 5 years ago!