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Innovative Marine Aquariums

Disaster's 80gal + 15gal SPS Reef Tank


disaster999

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never thought i would be posting here. but im going to have my large tank very soon! just placed an order for a 100gal tank, 40"x20"x30" custom made tank, stand and canopy. total water volume should be under 120gal water level would be around 24" with 2" sand bed. sump is going to be very simple with 3 compartment, one with skimmer, one for return, and the rest for growing frags. the chiller is inside the stand with a hole cut at the back for ventilation. the doors are removable via magnets and have louvers for ventilation. corner above the chiller is made into a shelf for the food, testers and other fish stuff.

equipment is as follows

  • 4000L Sicce return pump
  • Bubble magus NAC6A skimmer
  • 2X150W MH with 2x39W T5HO actinics
  • Hailea 1/4hp chiller for 800L
  • Probably MP40W in the future, but kaoralia 4s for now.

 

1.jpg
2%5D.jpg
3.jpg

 

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your tanks are generally pretty fantastic so I have high expectations for this one as well

thanks nip, this means alot!

 

AWESOME! clap.gif

 

I can't wait to see this bad boy!

same here, i really cant wait till this is made and delivered

 

Wonderful looking rendition. Tagging along for the build.

thanks, this is part of solidworks package. its not the best, but it gets the job done

 

When do you take delivery of the tank?

my bday is end of this month so im hoping it will get here before that, or after china's bday on oct 1st.

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ok, so ive decided having the chiller inside the cabinet isnt the best idea. i would have the tank pretty close to the wall so the opening for the exhaust air is pretty much useless and would just bounce back into the cabinet and heating up the water. this would prematurely damage the chiller as well. despite not being the most aesthetically pleasing, i will have the chiller sit outside the stand. this would leave me plenty of room for the sump. any ideas on how to set up the sump? i would have around 36-38 inches to work with.

 

This is what i have in mind so far...

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_7TuDjp3b3FI/Sq-ApdZ-...Kw4NuTuU8/5.jpg

 

overall length is 37" baffles have 1/2" between them. let me know what you think

Edited by disaster999
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Build a separate cabinet for the chiller with large openings. You can cover the openings with inexpensive louvers or cover it black screen like large speaker towers get covered with.

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that could be a solution, but for now ill have it sit outside and decide later on of i need to conceal it or not.

 

now i got a question in my mind....is 2x150W MH + 2x39W T5HO going to be enough for my tank? I guess i can retro fit 2 more 39W T5HO and run a mix of ATI blue+ and blue special for more light if its not enough.

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Tank's a bit tall for 150W MH. Adding two more T5s won't make up for 200W of MH.

+1 for a tank that tall you should get a pair of 250s. You've got the chiller so you shouldn't worry as much about overheating.

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according to ATI, an 8Xt5ho would be ehough for a 110gal mix tank and 85gal SPS tank.

 

im trying to decide which route would be more economical.

 

right now 2x150 is out of the question. cant really see it being enough unless i have SPS right under where the lights are and relatively close to the top.

 

im thinking 2 250w pendant with reflectors similar to this

150wMH.jpg

or this

LumenMax2.jpg

 

-OR-

 

one large diamond shaped 400W pendant to light the entire tank. local reefers suggested that to me. this would be the cheapest to set up as they said it would take less than $150 to buy the reflector, ballast, bulb and mounting hardware. but the only problem is the height of the reflector not fitting inside the canopy

 

-OR-

 

or retrofit 8xt5ho with icecap reflectors and philips standard T5HO ballasts.

 

im thinking if i can find similar 250W mh reflectors for cheap, i can have a MH setup pretty cheap (less than $300)

 

the most expensive would be T5HO, reflectors and bulbs alone would probably cost me $350, not including the ballasts and the time it takes to make the whole thing myself. BUT with only 312W it is the most energy efficient (200W less than MH) which would be pretty significant on the energy bill.

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Not to bash or anything, what made you decide to go taller rather then making a bigger foot print? was it a space or aesthetic choice?

 

I loved the last tank that I saw of yours, So i would love to see how this one turns out.

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its more aesthetics reasons. the tank is 30 inches, but 1 inch from the bottom is going to be covered by the stand. the brace for the tank is going to be around 3-4 inches down from the top of the tank. the hood would cover the brace and the top of the water line. so around 5 inches would be covered by the hood. essentially the viewable space of the tank is 24".

 

the shop where i had the tank made have a similar setup. i modeled my tank after his.

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heres an update on my tank.

 

called the shop and they told me some lame ass excuse saying the 3 workers working on cabinetry all injured their hand on a "job" and couldnt make the deadline. they have tones of orders backed up and my tank wont be due till mid oct. ah well. i still havent sort out my lighting situation yet so doesnt really affect me.

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went and did some walking around some LFS today and i think ive found the light im doing to use. a shop is selling 250W MH diamond reflectors, kit for180. comes with a 18.5x18.5x7.5 diamond reflector, polished aluminum, electronic ballast and bulb of my choice, 10,000k 14,000k and 20,000k. i didnt really catch what brand they were, but he said something about one being german, one is XM bulb, and forgot the other. im leaning towards this route. get 2 250w kits and should provide enough light to keep anything and give me good coverage.

 

the only concern i have is the height. i might have to put this light pretty close to the water due to the height of the canopy. i would have to ask if its too late to add a few more inches to the hood.

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  • 4 weeks later...

after waiting an extra month longer for my tank, its fianlly here!

 

heres the finally resting place, doors on

DSC_3151.JPG

 

doors off

DSC_3177.JPG

 

sump, dont know if i like this design or not, but i guess it will do for now

DSC_3154.JPG

 

storage for test kits, food and equipment. im surprised they turned it into a drawer. wasnt in the plans

DSC_3172.JPG

 

rest of the stuff, bubble magus nac6a skimmer, hailea hc-300a chiller, sicce 4000l/h pump, 90lb of sand, and bulk heads

DSC_3157.JPG

 

 

 

bracing for the tank

DSC_3182.JPG

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shots of the skimmer. really nicely built, good pump. nicely designed. all for 100 bucks USD

DSC_3162.JPG

bubble plate

DSC_3167.JPG

venturi

DSC_3168.JPG

the adjustment for the output

DSC_3169.JPG

 

WOW! I love it! Who made the stand/tank for you??? It's beautiful!!!

 

basically all the tanks from hong kong are sent to this one factory in china which makes the stand and tanks at a really low low price. basically find a shop you like in hk that does custom tank design. tell them the general dimensions of the tank. and they will tell you the price. then how many holes you want to drill, how you want your sump to be, color, door design, black or clear silicone...pretty much all customizable to your liking and no extra charge.

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