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.

looks like a nice project.
i recommend deeper sand bed. maybe 4"... will look nice too.
thanks

im not really a fan of deep sand bed, i guess ill start out with 2 and see how i like it. i can always add more if need be.

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

AWESOME!

I can't wait to see this bad boy!

Wonderful looking rendition. Tagging along for the build.

When do you take delivery of the tank?

thanks nip, this means alot!


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


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


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

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

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.

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.

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.

i just gotta worry about the price..haha.

gotta see how much i need to add if i switch to 250W

how does 8X39W T5HO with quality reflector sound for a 100gal tank?

Sounds better. 30" is a lot of depth for T5 though.

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

or this


-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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

woot woot, tank is gonna get delivered next friday....which mean i have the whole weekend to have it plumbed and filled. cant wait.

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

heres the finally resting place, doors on


doors off


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


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


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




bracing for the tank

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

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

bubble plate

venturi

the adjustment for the output




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.

Wow this is incredible. That's one of the best looking stands I've seen around. I almost missed it because its not in the member forum!! Can't wait to see some more of it

i was debating whether i should have it here, or in the member forum...chose to do my build here cuz i rarely get a chance to =)

huh nice. forgot you were in hk. thats a pretty interesting brace

The tank and stand are looking great! Do you have it filled yet?

this tank is sooooo slick!

WOW, that seems like it is well built. very nice millwork on it. this is going to look great. i see now about the tallness of the tank and how its actually shorter but you want 24" of viewable space. i hate having tall tanks after have a 24" tall tank its really sucks having to put your arm in so deep. im excited to see this thing get wet.

Just our of curiosity, what is the thickness of your glass?

i agree on you. its weird how the brace wraps around the overflow and that part isnt really strengthening anything. BUT these guys have been making takes for god knows how long and i trust them on the design.


thanks, nope i still need to get plumbing supplies and test fill the tank then run RO/DI water for 2-3 days just to fill it up. and plus i was busy with midterms (grad school) so putting it of for now. but i cant wait to tackle it asap. sucks to have a tank tempting you while you need to study.


thanks =)



i actually didnt want it that tall, but after checking out tanks at the shops and seeing how nice it looked fully stocked, we pretty much copied the design of that tank. just added 4 inches to the length to make 40". it would be interesting stocking it and doing aquascaping. probably lots of time on the stool with my whole arm inside the tank. (my arm is around 2ft long


its 3/8"

i also forgot to mention my lighting. in my previous posts, and in the lighting forum, i was thinking of using 2x 250W MH for the tank, but after debating on the idea, trying to find the right reflector to fit in my hood, and putting the electrical bill in the equation, ive decided to ditch the MH idea and go full T5HO.

initially i wanted to go with 8xt5ho just to be safe, but soon realized the icecap reflectors are 2.5" wide, i wouldnt have enough room for 8 bulbs, 7 bulbs is the most i can fit. i also calculated the actually water volume that is going to be inside the tank and it was around 75gal without the rocks, so probably less when i add 80lb or so of rocks in. this put me at ease a little, dont have to worry about not having enough light for the tank. but if infact the tank isnt getting enough light. i can always use icecap 660 ballast and overdrive some of the bulbs to give me some extra light.

Awesome tank.

Best of luck in your build.

thanks i cant wait to get it plumbed this weekend

on the other hand, reefgeek wants $100 in shipping for 8 ATI reflectors

i think ill stick with icecap reflectors. got a quote of $369 for 7 icecap reflectors, 4 ATI blue+, 2 ATI bluespecial,1 KZ fji purple, 3 philips ballast.

each ballast can only run 2 bulbs, so i need to either find a ballast that runs 3 or more bulbs or just get 2 ballast capable of running 4 bulbs.

also i need to get end caps and build the frame and wiring for the lights. im pretty sure i can get this whole light built for under 400 bucks.

the prices add up fast. i want to get an ati powermodule for my next build which will be long down the road.

i would like to get the ATI powermodule as well, but i cant justify the price. for half the price of the powermodule i can come up with an equivalent performance light.

wouldnt look as nice, but i have a canopy to hide it. but if its a rimless tank, them maybe i would consider it.

sorry for the lack of updates, but been busy with grad school and stuff...but finally gonna get this thing plumbed this weekend. gotta find time to go buy the lights so i cant start doing that as well.

i am not looking forward in cleaning the sand. i have 3 20kg bags to clean. my hands are gonna be blue after im done with it (cold water)

wow, that looks awesome.

so after a few overs over the weekend, i managed to get the plumbing 90% done. i just got to button up a few things, and figure my return nozzles

all in all im quite happy about the tank finally plumbed and running with fresh water. but not quite happy about the return pipe sizing. for the flow rate my pump is pumping out, they should of at least give me a 1" or 25mm return size. but instead, they went with 3/4" or 20mm which IMO is kind of small. it restricts the flow quite a bit. theres still decent amount of flow, but i think it can be improved on.

anyways, on with the pics

this is how i plumbed my return


sump, water overflowing over the glass is smooth as butter


crappy shots of the "filter sock" or filter floss/pad tray.



note the surface of the water in the sump as the system is running, theres basically no agitation. since this area was is going to be for frags, i had a crazy idea of putting an MP10 in there or something. that would be crazy



i see a potential problem here. the water fall creates so much bubbles it will turn into a skimmer if salt water is added, i think i need to a pipe to raise the water level. the bottom will be filled with detris tho, guess i need to suck out the waste once in a while


finally overall shot

wow...no one likes a plumbed and wet tank? haha

anyways, another dilemma...im not happy with the return plumbing. it restrict flow too much. using RC's head loss calculator, i got an estimated of 500gph flow rate through my tank with a sicce return pump rated ataround 950gph.

i have around 5 90* elbow in the tank. if i eliminate 2 of them, it will only bump my flow rate by a 30-40gph. if i switch to 1" return piping and only 3 elbows, i get around 650+gph.

im wondering if i should upgrade to 1" pipe, or just leave it as is. i dont think my pump likes to operate at around 50% flowrate. its making some noise

Very nice!

thanks

anyone wanna shed some light on my return plumbing?

I really, really like this setup!

thanks =) gonna work on it more this weekend. i might be able to get some rocks this weekend. someone is selling 100lb for 130 bucks

sweet deal....

the seller is pretty much unresponsive tho. this deal might fall through if he doesnt reply or get back to me.

theres another vender that is selling 50lb for 70 bucks so i might go with him if else fails...

Damn this tank is amazing. The quality of the stand and glass is incredible. Tagging along for this one. This is gonna be as sweet as your other tank

thanks for the support sammy, i only hope this is as good as my last one. didnt realize the amount of work needed for a large tank

video of my sump from my phone...just want to show you the noise
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsHVqXOe4tY