Designing a new tank - what do you wished you had done differently?

[Smarkow]

I coated the inside of my stand and canopy with Flex Seal. You know , the **** you see on the commercials where they paint a screen door and use it as a boat. Works great, I can dump 10 gallons into my stand and it will hold it until dry. Cleans easy and looks great. But it will peel off if you are too rough with it.

Yeah I will do this in the future! I have not paid a price for not waterproofing but I still wish I had done it from GO.

 

[Ferrell]

Been able to fit in a bigger tank!!! Besides that real happy with everything else

 

[Hairmetal89]

Wish I would have used black pvc in my corner overflows (120 gallon) instead of white. They are visible from certain parts of the room and I wish they weren’t as prominent. Was such a pain to plumb I’m not going to redo. Basement sump would be great too. Good luck!

 

[Hairmetal89]

Wish I would have used black pvc in my corner overflows (120 gallon) instead of white. They are visible from certain parts of the room and I wish they weren’t as prominent. Was such a pain to plumb I’m not going to redo. Basement sump would be great too. Good luck!

 

[Neoalchemist]

Wish I would have used black pvc in my corner overflows (120 gallon) instead of white. They are visible from certain parts of the room and I wish they weren’t as prominent. Was such a pain to plumb I’m not going to redo. Basement sump would be great too. Good luck!

Me too, I planning on covering them with black cling film.

 

[K1ng]

Buying a whole 220g setup as my first reef tank and being rushed to do things. Planned my stand with only the thought of it being structurally sound, without a centre brace which inevitably meant thicker wood. Didnt even take into consideration equipment getting in and out of the stand as well as the height of the equipment in the stand (Skimmer is wedged between a centre brace). Thankfully this is my first build and ive learned leaps and bounds for my next one.

 

[Trickman2]

Things I love and some things I didn't on my newest build. I put a lot of thought into this design and you should check it out. Worth a quick glance. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/trickman2s-280-gallon-upgrade.369124/
Loves:
Height of my Stand -Make it higher
Steel Stand powdered coated (Wasn't sure about this but it has been great)
Kalk Stirrer - Avast Marine
Triton style sump
Dual overflows
water change system (DI, Salt mixing station)
Tray with leak sensor under the main pump.
Open Stand concept
MP60
Lighting under my stand
Floating reef
Canopy for lighting
Nyos Skimmer
Maggies mufflers


In the Middle:
T5 Hybrid Light system - Cost to run and bulbs
1 Inch acrylic - Requires heavy duty magnet cleaners and MP60's
Fine Sand
Cost of canopy for lighting
Spyglass reactors - Avast Marine
Checkvalves inside overflows (not sure how much flow this is costing me)


Dislikes:
Neptune flow sensor
AC Dolphin Ampmaster pump
Not going with dual DC pumps
Not planning a QT ahead of time
Need to build outside covering for Stand.
Noise - due to a completely open stand
How the canopy moves up and down is not easy.
COST

If you have any questions feel free to ask

 

[Fisherman Joe]

Think some of the key messages here are a ghost overflow and coat the inside of the stand.

I still can’t decide if I want a sump the whole length of the 4ft cabinet or if I want a 3 foot sump and a 1 foot cubicle for dosers etc.

 

[Neoalchemist]

Think some of the key messages here are a ghost overflow and coat the inside of the stand.

I still can’t decide if I want a sump the whole length of the 4ft cabinet or if I want a 3 foot sump and a 1 foot cubicle for dosers etc.

Learned this one a long time ago the, hard way. Either get the largest sump possible from the beginning or put a sump sized door in your stand. I had to convert a stand once to a removable cross member to change sumps once. That sucked with a fully stocked tank.

 

[Dragon52]

Made a bigger Stand & thought out a better wiring/plug arrangement for the electrical.

 

[Fisherman Joe]

If I have a 4 foot tank, can I get a 3 foot sump, with top up tank, and a 1 foot divider and have enough volume for the triton method?

The Red Sea reefers seem to have this layout. Does this work?

OR do you get a 4 foot tank with a 4 foot sump and put the equipment elsewhere? This option is one the wife hates...

 

[Neoalchemist]

If I have a 4 foot tank, can I get a 3 foot sump, with top up tank, and a 1 foot divider and have enough volume for the triton method?

The Red Sea reefers seem to have this layout. Does this work?

OR do you get a 4 foot tank with a 4 foot sump and put the equipment elsewhere? This option is one the wife hates...

I use a 36 (30 gallon long) inch sump. My top off is routed from another room but there is just enough room for a doser and bottles and power strips. I mounted a shelf up high for the doser and mounted a fold out control panel so besides the bottles there's still some extra space. It's the top off that takes up all of the space. Plus this way I can run as big of a top off as nessicary for vacations and such.

 

[Fisherman Joe]

I want a big top off but the tank will be against the back wall in the dining room. I really want it to be neat so it will have to go all in the cabinet under the tank! Good advice though.

 

[Mattman1977]

Not much to add that hasn’t already been discussed. One of my biggest pains is filling my ato tank and not spilling. I know it seems like it’s not a big issue but with my tank being in the living room with wood floors water spillage can cause a issue and I haven’t taken the time to run rodi line through the attic and walls, not sure I ever will run a rodi line either.
Oh other issue I had with my first tank stand build was my sump was to close to the floor, sitting on 3/4” plywood, so couldnt get a siphon to clean out the sump or drain it

Matt

 

[K1ng]

My sump is also on the floor and recently had to redo the baffles. One way I found to empty the sump if its to low to siphon is to use a small pump to get whatever water you can out and then use a shop vac. Works like a charm!

 

[NinnJinn]

Pretty much my biggest thing that I wish I would have done was ripped up the carpeting where the tank sets and put in something more waterproof....

Two different times sump has flooded and both times flooded when I was gone overnight so the water just soaked into the carpeting. So now about a foot of carpeting surrounding the entire 125 gallon tank looks like my college dorm room back in the nineties.

 

[PeterG]

I inherited a "free 90 gal. fish tank" about 2 yrs and several thousand dollars ago so I was content with existing plumbing, sump etc.
After reading some comments here about leaking and flooding one thing I am very happy I added was EPDM rubber pond liner to the inside of my cabinet before putting it all together. The 45mil stuff is really strong and guaranteed for like 20 yrs outdoors. I just cut it to come up 4"-5 " on all four sides of the cabinet and so far so good. Saltwater has not had any noticeable effect as yet.
I had some left over from when I put in a Koi pond in the yard but you can buy a small quantity of it online. Here's a link to a site I just Googled: https://www.thepondguy.com/product/...er-gardens-fish-ponds-pond-liner-underlayment
Good Luck and have fun.

 

[markfmvl]

drill the back glass not the bottom..

 

[jsvand5]

drill the back glass not the bottom..

That’s definitely a good one.

My main regret is settling for a 6 foot tank instead of going with 8ft

 

[Eagle_Steve]

The only thing that I wish I had done differently on current tanks is the paint/liner inside the stand. I wish all my stands would have been built like I have done with my sons new build. Build the stand and then paint the inside with implementation epoxy/paint. In short, tractor paint with an epoxy hardener. It is relatively cheap, tough as nails, fills in gaps and screw holes, water proof, chemical resistant, and darn right tough.

Even though this was unintentional at first, as I had some white left over from restoring my ford tractor and figured why not use it. The kicker is, I was working on the stand outside, and a huge storm blew in and soaked it. The rain just beaded off of it and upon close inspection, all joints where the wood met up were sealed up and the water was easily wiped away. Added a 2" lip of wood around the base where the sump will sit and then painted it. Same thing, where the wood butts up, the gaps or lines are filled. From here on out, all stand will have tractor paint with the epoxy hardener added lol.