Hello All,
I am planning a large tank build after being absent from the hobby for about 5 years. I had a 29 gallon biocube running for 4 years before that. My family and I moved into a larger house last year and our basement is a perfect setup for a large scale build. Its a walkout that is half finished. I have been actively researching throughout those 5 years away from the hobby and I feel I know where I want my build to go. My grand plans are to install a 412 gallon (84"x42"x27") peninsula style reef tank. I would like it to largely mimic the structural build of Rico's new "Beast" aquarium. I plan to aquascape a Fore Reef zone below the reef crest with a cliff leading down to a valley between to rock formations with a rock island at the far end leading to a sand bed. I want the tank to mimic a little deeper zone with slightly less lighting and bluer tint. I am still trying to learn about the total plumbing system involved as I never had anything nearly as complex for my biocube. I am pretty set on an external bean-animal style coast to coast overflow with a large sump and refugium. General build schematic so far: I want to incorporate a protein skimmer, refugium with cheato and miracle mud (for pods), calcium reactor, dual return pumps (vectras or the like), radion G4s for lighting and automate as much as possible with ATO system, two large mixing tanks and a fully utlized APEX system. I am considering the Triton method as well. My concerns are several: I would be partially renovating my basement for this build and the logistics of getting everything timed out with builders, aquarium install, etc. is a little daunting. Secondly, I almost don't know exactly where to begin when it comes to arranging my sump system. The plumbing and how all aspects interact has me a little intimidated. Any words of advice on the hobby, this build, or specific recommendations on custom tank designers (leaning towards Exotic Aquariums or Custom Aquariums) or any other equipment would be greatly appreciated. I look forward to years of interest and intrigue on here! Thank you
I am planning a large tank build after being absent from the hobby for about 5 years. I had a 29 gallon biocube running for 4 years before that. My family and I moved into a larger house last year and our basement is a perfect setup for a large scale build. Its a walkout that is half finished. I have been actively researching throughout those 5 years away from the hobby and I feel I know where I want my build to go. My grand plans are to install a 412 gallon (84"x42"x27") peninsula style reef tank. I would like it to largely mimic the structural build of Rico's new "Beast" aquarium. I plan to aquascape a Fore Reef zone below the reef crest with a cliff leading down to a valley between to rock formations with a rock island at the far end leading to a sand bed. I want the tank to mimic a little deeper zone with slightly less lighting and bluer tint. I am still trying to learn about the total plumbing system involved as I never had anything nearly as complex for my biocube. I am pretty set on an external bean-animal style coast to coast overflow with a large sump and refugium. General build schematic so far: I want to incorporate a protein skimmer, refugium with cheato and miracle mud (for pods), calcium reactor, dual return pumps (vectras or the like), radion G4s for lighting and automate as much as possible with ATO system, two large mixing tanks and a fully utlized APEX system. I am considering the Triton method as well. My concerns are several: I would be partially renovating my basement for this build and the logistics of getting everything timed out with builders, aquarium install, etc. is a little daunting. Secondly, I almost don't know exactly where to begin when it comes to arranging my sump system. The plumbing and how all aspects interact has me a little intimidated. Any words of advice on the hobby, this build, or specific recommendations on custom tank designers (leaning towards Exotic Aquariums or Custom Aquariums) or any other equipment would be greatly appreciated. I look forward to years of interest and intrigue on here! Thank you