Finally starting a post for my tank upgrade!
Have been working on this for about 3 months now very slowly building up everything i need to start getting it in place and at a point now where i need the brainstrust's help to make some final decisions!
Pics are worth 1000 words, so below is the tank i managed to pick up for this, 6 foot long, 30 inches deep and 24 inches high. (Roughly about 220 Gallon's)
Have scrapped all the existing plumbing from the tank, it has dual overflows that i can set up as a Bean Animals with 32mm Pipe for the overflow and 25mm for the Emergency's, then planning on running dual 32mm returns up the back.
The old tank was used as a freshwater ray tank originally, so no salt or build up to clean up, but there are a could of marks on the glass that i will polish out before it goes in. The steel frame is in good nick, but the plywood base needs a good clean, and i will laminate this with some HPL before the sump goes.
Some context about me - I am a cabinetmaker by trade, and so plan on building this into some joinery to give plenty of storage and access to everything. Because of this i am a bit of a perfectionist (this is why this has been taking me close to 3 months already!).
My current set up is about 120 Gallons, and everything will be getting shifted across with new live rock that i have been cycling in another tank in my Garage for close to 4 months now.
This is the concept of what I would like this to look like once complete (only a rough 3d Render at this stage) -
More posts to follow, including a full run down of the gear i have, but here are my questions (for now) for the Brainstrust!
1) Are 32mm (1 1/2") Returns too large - should i downsize these to 1"?
2) I'm buying new wavemakers for this - would 2x Vortec MP40's on the LHS where they will be hidden by the joinery be enough? Or would i be better off getting 2x AI Nero7's for this?
3) 5 Lights or 4? I already have AI Hydra's for this. So i could leave a spare just in case one goes, or run with the full 5.
4) Would it be worth installing a fan above the tank to remove any moisture that may gather here to outside? (Like you would in a bathroom i guess, or is this overkill).
Have been working on this for about 3 months now very slowly building up everything i need to start getting it in place and at a point now where i need the brainstrust's help to make some final decisions!
Pics are worth 1000 words, so below is the tank i managed to pick up for this, 6 foot long, 30 inches deep and 24 inches high. (Roughly about 220 Gallon's)
Have scrapped all the existing plumbing from the tank, it has dual overflows that i can set up as a Bean Animals with 32mm Pipe for the overflow and 25mm for the Emergency's, then planning on running dual 32mm returns up the back.
The old tank was used as a freshwater ray tank originally, so no salt or build up to clean up, but there are a could of marks on the glass that i will polish out before it goes in. The steel frame is in good nick, but the plywood base needs a good clean, and i will laminate this with some HPL before the sump goes.
Some context about me - I am a cabinetmaker by trade, and so plan on building this into some joinery to give plenty of storage and access to everything. Because of this i am a bit of a perfectionist (this is why this has been taking me close to 3 months already!).
My current set up is about 120 Gallons, and everything will be getting shifted across with new live rock that i have been cycling in another tank in my Garage for close to 4 months now.
This is the concept of what I would like this to look like once complete (only a rough 3d Render at this stage) -
More posts to follow, including a full run down of the gear i have, but here are my questions (for now) for the Brainstrust!
1) Are 32mm (1 1/2") Returns too large - should i downsize these to 1"?
2) I'm buying new wavemakers for this - would 2x Vortec MP40's on the LHS where they will be hidden by the joinery be enough? Or would i be better off getting 2x AI Nero7's for this?
3) 5 Lights or 4? I already have AI Hydra's for this. So i could leave a spare just in case one goes, or run with the full 5.
4) Would it be worth installing a fan above the tank to remove any moisture that may gather here to outside? (Like you would in a bathroom i guess, or is this overkill).
