Hello
I’m a longtime freshwater enthusiast - I’ve kept aquatic turtles and koi in a rimless 125 and a small pond for the last decade. Got a smokin’ deal on a pair of used 180g acrylic tanks about 5 years ago and now that I’m remodeling my condo I’m finally setting up the saltwater tanks. Plan to use a single sump ina “half-pipe” shaped stand so the tanks are side by side (sort of like a butt I guess). One tank will be reef and the other will be mostly fish - trying to get the best of both worlds, so I can keep corals and fish that otherwise wouldn’t do well together. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
I’m accumulating the equipment now - have a new Apex controller, and have a 100g saltwater mixing tank and smaller ATO tank outside in a cabinet with my RO/DI, and will do daily water changes using a second apex DOS. Think I’ll get a calcium reactor so the second DOS is sufficient with only two dosing channels.
Hoping to automate the hell out of it since I’m a home automation enthusiast so I enjoy programming. Have a home surveillance system and wired two cameras to the tank area, one for keeping and eye on the sump remotely, and the other for an underwater camera for the fish aquarium. With the tanks and sump i expect to be right around 475 gallons so hopefully it’ll be a very chemically stable tank in coordinating with the automation.
Stand will be powder coated 304 grade Stainless Steel, with a pair of curved doors on each side (with slide out shelves for consumables), and a pair of flat doors in the middle that open to an unobstructed sump area (basically a heavy beam over that door section so there’s no post in the way) so the sump can slide out on a frame and fixed casters for maintenance.
Open questions:
1) how much evaporation can I expect from the two tanks (mostly enclosed tops) and an open top sump? Trying to estimate the size needed for ATO tank - though hopefully I can make rodi water frequently and only have to mix saltwater once a month or so with my 100 gallon brine tank.
2) Am considering the modular sump since I’ve got about 5’ x 2.5’ of sump space under the tank. The sump will sit on a cart that rolls out from the stand for easier access, but I want to make good use of this space and haven’t seen any sumps that are roughly 55” x 28” footprint so the modular would allow me to make a nice big sump that eliminates all risk of flooding. Any thoughts on that “seamless sump” product?
3) anything suggestions on this that I could be overlooking? I know this is a big project as only my second ever saltwater tank (the first being a small 60 gallon tank when I was in high school 25 years ago - but I’m trying to be methodical about it to have as few a hitches as possible and hoping the large size makes the chemistry a little more forgiving of errors.
Thanks for sharing all your knowledge on this incredible forum!
- Dan
I’m a longtime freshwater enthusiast - I’ve kept aquatic turtles and koi in a rimless 125 and a small pond for the last decade. Got a smokin’ deal on a pair of used 180g acrylic tanks about 5 years ago and now that I’m remodeling my condo I’m finally setting up the saltwater tanks. Plan to use a single sump ina “half-pipe” shaped stand so the tanks are side by side (sort of like a butt I guess). One tank will be reef and the other will be mostly fish - trying to get the best of both worlds, so I can keep corals and fish that otherwise wouldn’t do well together. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
I’m accumulating the equipment now - have a new Apex controller, and have a 100g saltwater mixing tank and smaller ATO tank outside in a cabinet with my RO/DI, and will do daily water changes using a second apex DOS. Think I’ll get a calcium reactor so the second DOS is sufficient with only two dosing channels.
Hoping to automate the hell out of it since I’m a home automation enthusiast so I enjoy programming. Have a home surveillance system and wired two cameras to the tank area, one for keeping and eye on the sump remotely, and the other for an underwater camera for the fish aquarium. With the tanks and sump i expect to be right around 475 gallons so hopefully it’ll be a very chemically stable tank in coordinating with the automation.
Stand will be powder coated 304 grade Stainless Steel, with a pair of curved doors on each side (with slide out shelves for consumables), and a pair of flat doors in the middle that open to an unobstructed sump area (basically a heavy beam over that door section so there’s no post in the way) so the sump can slide out on a frame and fixed casters for maintenance.
Open questions:
1) how much evaporation can I expect from the two tanks (mostly enclosed tops) and an open top sump? Trying to estimate the size needed for ATO tank - though hopefully I can make rodi water frequently and only have to mix saltwater once a month or so with my 100 gallon brine tank.
2) Am considering the modular sump since I’ve got about 5’ x 2.5’ of sump space under the tank. The sump will sit on a cart that rolls out from the stand for easier access, but I want to make good use of this space and haven’t seen any sumps that are roughly 55” x 28” footprint so the modular would allow me to make a nice big sump that eliminates all risk of flooding. Any thoughts on that “seamless sump” product?
3) anything suggestions on this that I could be overlooking? I know this is a big project as only my second ever saltwater tank (the first being a small 60 gallon tank when I was in high school 25 years ago - but I’m trying to be methodical about it to have as few a hitches as possible and hoping the large size makes the chemistry a little more forgiving of errors.
Thanks for sharing all your knowledge on this incredible forum!
- Dan
