Tropical to marine after disaster

[shepe]

Hi All,

I’ve kept tropical fish pretty much all my life and 4 years ago bought my dream tank. It was an African Malawi tank at 96” x 30” x24”

Unfortunately without warning the other evening the seal between the bottom and back panel catastrophically failed and dumped 1000 litres through my house and to add more salt into the wound I caught all the fish I could and put them into the sump.
Unfortunately the mass amount of water killed my inkbird to a point it didn’t shut off so the fish I had in the sump were also all killed by the time I came back from work.

Tbh this broke me I’d had some of these fish 10 years and I was 99.9% sure I was done with the hobby and was going to ditch everything.

Having spoke to the people that built the tank whilst I’m out of warranty with them they have offered me a pretty strong deal on a new tank which I’m weighing up atm.
I feel I’ve done everything I want to with freshwater and am not really interested in starting another freshwater tank.

Currently I have the below equipment and curious what else I need to add to setup a reef of this size

Fluval marine 3.0 59w x2 (seems these aren’t actually very good in a marine setting?)
Maxspect gyre xf350 x2
Icv6 controller for maxspect
Sicce Syncra SDC 9.0
2 x DD schego 650w heaters
Shadow box v2 overflow

Immediate things I see missing are a skimmer (any advise for a tank of this size?)

Additional lighting as will be looking to keep corals though tbh got a lot of research to do first.

Roller filter (seems like nice to have)

Rodi system (what are people with tanks this size doing? Am I naive but it seems like a lot of work to make 1000+ litres of rodi

Automatic top up unit seems sensible and reasonably easy to setup

My current sump is full of Alfagrog which has been great for freshwater does it work the same in reef world or do I need sump blocks etc?

Anything else I’m not thinking about here or need to research?

 

[Kooma]

Sounds like you’ve got most of it. You could keep some LPS with those lights in all honesty, but more lighting is great depending on your coral goals.

Don’t need to start with a skimmer, but I like reef octopus. Just find one suitable for your gallons and sump space.

Rodi I use a spectrapure 90gpd, any 4-5 stage rodi system will work. Get the auto shutoff with float kit and flush kit. All can be bought from bulk reef supply.

Ato I use tunze. Lots of good options, and everyone will have an opinion theirs is the best.

For rock, buy lots of live rock. You can have a sump full of rock for bio filtering and that will work great.

There’s a thousand ways to skin this cat, but basics are live rock, sand, salt and Rodi.

 

[marktmills]

Hi All,

I’ve kept tropical fish pretty much all my life and 4 years ago bought my dream tank. It was an African Malawi tank at 96” x 30” x24”

Unfortunately without warning the other evening the seal between the bottom and back panel catastrophically failed and dumped 1000 litres through my house and to add more salt into the wound I caught all the fish I could and put them into the sump.
Unfortunately the mass amount of water killed my inkbird to a point it didn’t shut off so the fish I had in the sump were also all killed by the time I came back from work.

Tbh this broke me I’d had some of these fish 10 years and I was 99.9% sure I was done with the hobby and was going to ditch everything.

Having spoke to the people that built the tank whilst I’m out of warranty with them they have offered me a pretty strong deal on a new tank which I’m weighing up atm.
I feel I’ve done everything I want to with freshwater and am not really interested in starting another freshwater tank.

Currently I have the below equipment and curious what else I need to add to setup a reef of this size

Fluval marine 3.0 59w x2 (seems these aren’t actually very good in a marine setting?)
Maxspect gyre xf350 x2
Icv6 controller for maxspect
Sicce Syncra SDC 9.0
2 x DD schego 650w heaters
Shadow box v2 overflow

Immediate things I see missing are a skimmer (any advise for a tank of this size?)

Additional lighting as will be looking to keep corals though tbh got a lot of research to do first.

Roller filter (seems like nice to have)

Rodi system (what are people with tanks this size doing? Am I naive but it seems like a lot of work to make 1000+ litres of rodi

Automatic top up unit seems sensible and reasonably easy to setup

My current sump is full of Alfagrog which has been great for freshwater does it work the same in reef world or do I need sump blocks etc?

Anything else I’m not thinking about here or need to research?
My neighbour has same setup at his company gouttieredrummondville.ca i would get some info from him and will update you about it.

Your equipment list looks good, but here are a few thoughts. For filtration, definitely get a skimmer. A Reef Octopus or Bubble Magus rated for your tank size will help with nutrient control. In terms of lighting, the Fluval 3.0 is okay for soft corals and LPS, but if you plan to keep SPS, you’ll want something more powerful like Radions or AI Hydras. For your RODI system, look for something in the 150-200 GPD range; I’ve had good results with SpectraPure. For sump media, Alfagrog can work, but adding MarinePure or LifeRock will give you extra biological filtration. Lastly, an ATO system is a must Tunze Osmolator is a reliable choice, but there are other reliable options as well.

 

[Bruttall]

8ft long tanks are THE BOMB FOR REEFS!!! I am biased I have one, check My Tank Thread, button under my name, I am sure you will get a TON of Ideas for your build, not to brag, but I have one of the nicest, most cluttered, Fish Rooms i have seen behind my tank.

I go over a lot of subjects but you should pay attention to my Skimmer Posts, you will be dealing with enough water volume most Store Bought skimmers will not be enough to keep up with your bio load. Especially if you like Fish as much as I suspect you do. I kept African Cichlids for a while before converting to Salt.

The best advice I can give you, is do not Skimp to save to "see if the item will work for you" If you make the commitment to add a piece of equipment, Get the best piece you can afford, otherwise you end up buying those items 2 or 3 or 4 times and it is a huge waste of money that could be spent on Corals.

Good Luck to you!!

 

[shepe]

Thanks all, I’ve just sent the email confirming to the tank company I’d like to take them up on their offer so in the next month or so I’ll have a new tank.

The current issue is sorting out the existing one and moving it somewhere sensible, current thoughts are to cut the panels out and deconstruct it one panel at a time. Seems a shame as it’s optiwhite glass that’s likely gonna be in my garage now forever more, unless one day I get brave enough to try and rebuild it.

I’ve also decided I’m not taking any risks and ordered a new steel built tank stand from the same place to replace my wooden one that’s been soaked through, it’s probably fine but the Mrs would go ballistic if this new tank does the same so covering all bases.

Going to be taking this slowly as tbh firstly I’m in no rush and secondly I’ve a lot to learn.

I’ve currently got 100kg of Dolomite fine gravel in the existing tank but doesn’t seem like this is a great marine substrate, keen for people to chime in with what they use.

From what I can work out I’m gonna be spending a small fortune on live rock to build up a aquascape for, gonna need a bit more thought than my Malawi haps and peacocks tank as they were mainly free swimmers so wanted open water.

I’ll also be starting with an appropriate sized skimmer.

I’d be interested in seeing others sump layouts as that also seems like a massive difference from what I’ve been used to at times my water clarity in my tropical tank wasn’t where I wanted it so keen to pick up any tips.

Sounds like the alfagrog is more suited to tropical and the sump real estate could be better used!

Guess I’m equally excited and nervous but looking forward to seeing where this goes!

 

[ajmckay]

Sounds like a good plan - new stand, good equipment, etc. Watch your local used marketplace for deals on rock - people taking tanks down and selling rock, etc.

Sorry about your other tank - that would really suck. I do have a question though as I've only kept smaller tanks. Is 4yrs a normal life expectancy for 8ft tanks? I imagine there's a good deal of stress on that span but 4 years just doesn't seem like much. Maybe add some additional bracing to the new one?

 

[shepe]

Sounds like a good plan - new stand, good equipment, etc. Watch your local used marketplace for deals on rock - people taking tanks down and selling rock, etc.

Sorry about your other tank - that would really suck. I do have a question though as I've only kept smaller tanks. Is 4yrs a normal life expectancy for 8ft tanks? I imagine there's a good deal of stress on that span but 4 years just doesn't seem like much. Maybe add some additional bracing to the new one?

Tbh it’s the biggest tank I’ve ever had and my expectation was it would have lasted a lot longer, the tank builders in fairness to them didn’t have to do anything as I was out of warranty but as they have I won’t name them. But yeah the new tank has steel bracing around it so hopefully an extra layer of defence.

I’ll be putting a detailed build thread together once it arrives and will go from there

 

[Lucas Savioli]

A 1000 litres throughout the house sounds like a nightmare, especially cleaning and sorting out damaged furniture...
But, it seems that you have a great plan for your new aquarium. As someone who has kept many freshwater aquarium throughout my life, I can say marine aquarium are also very nice to keep, is a different but good experience!

 

[shepe]

A 1000 litres throughout the house sounds like a nightmare, especially cleaning and sorting out damaged furniture...
But, it seems that you have a great plan for your new aquarium. As someone who has kept many freshwater aquarium throughout my life, I can say marine aquarium are also very nice to keep, is a different but good experience!

A nightmare is one way of putting it, got lucky overall and only needed to replace the flooring in the living room which I’ve done with laminate. Think the only reason it wasn’t a lot worse is because I was sat next to it when it happened so spent the next 3 hours with a broom and wet vac getting as much out as I could, if it’d have happened when no one was home then I suspect damage would have been a lot more. As it is cost me a new floor in the living room and got away with the rest

 

[Lucas Savioli]

A nightmare is one way of putting it, got lucky overall and only needed to replace the flooring in the living room which I’ve done with laminate. Think the only reason it wasn’t a lot worse is because I was sat next to it when it happened so spent the next 3 hours with a broom and wet vac getting as much out as I could, if it’d have happened when no one was home then I suspect damage would have been a lot more. As it is cost me a new floor in the living room and got away with the rest

Probably. Once when I was still living in a "ground" house the water tank float broke while we were traveling. It was 2-3 days of flooding: damaged wood flooring, furniture, books, and the water bill

 

[ajmckay]

Tbh it’s the biggest tank I’ve ever had and my expectation was it would have lasted a lot longer, the tank builders in fairness to them didn’t have to do anything as I was out of warranty but as they have I won’t name them. But yeah the new tank has steel bracing around it so hopefully an extra layer of defence.

I’ll be putting a detailed build thread together once it arrives and will go from there

Awesome! Myself, I would also be spending a lot of time making sure the stand is extremely level.

While I'll likely never have the ability to set up an 8ft tank I did get a 12 gallon 36" wide tank. rimless and low iron glass even. When I'm ready to set that up the scape inspiration will likely come from these 8ft tanks. Will look forward to the build.

 

[gbroadbridge]

Tbh it’s the biggest tank I’ve ever had and my expectation was it would have lasted a lot longer, the tank builders in fairness to them didn’t have to do anything as I was out of warranty but as they have I won’t name them. But yeah the new tank has steel bracing around it so hopefully an extra layer of defence.

I’ll be putting a detailed build thread together once it arrives and will go from there

Some folks here will probably think that I'm nuts, but I give a new tank a life of 5 years, then I replace it.

I've walked the same path as you in respect to a tank failure - mine was freshwater too - and I simply do not want to tread that same path with Saltwater.

Next tank replace for me is next year, but at that time I'm probably going to do permanent shutdown as I'm getting old ... lol.