calvin415 Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 I need your help guys, I'm considering doing a really long nano... 144x18x20, just think of it as 8, 30 gallon cubes placed end to end to end Anyway, at 12 ft long you can't just slap a vortec on each end and call it good. I need a way to rig up some serious and random flow, but want it as hidden as possible. In addition, I need some ideas on over flows... Should I do internal, or external and where? I plan on doing it out of glass, I'm sick of being careful on acrylic and want to be able to use a magnet again. I'm just now begining construction on my basement, so I've got lots of time to perfect the idea or even scrap the idea, but wanted some feed back. Drawing are certainly welcome, I'm usually pretty innovative, but I'm at a loss on this one. Not sure if I should go with another OM setup, or just be cheap and place MJ PH's all over. Here's how the basement is layed out and in blue are my thoughts on where I could put a tank... The ones against the walls is the 144" tank idea still not sure on placement, the one in the middle of the room (84x36x24) is what I originally planed until I thought of this idea... I know it's not really a nano, but I truely value your opinions and really enjoy this forum. Thanks! Link to comment
Izzue Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 Sup Calvin Thats the 1st thing that comes to mind to me is a Ocean motions setup... Ive seen some big tanks (long) setup real nice with an 8 way or 4 way... Their web site has a forum with some cool setups.. You could make all the pluming come over the top of tank then Y those for more coverage... only thing is you would need a large custom hood to hide all the pluming......Ive even seen these drilled in the bottom if it is not tempered glass 0.02 Izzue Link to comment
neanderthalman Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 I'd suggest running two, maybe three separate closed loops throughout the length, with a wavemaker. Each would require five bulkheads - one intake, and four outlets. You could also do some sort of spraybar from some of the outlets. You could do this with a single pump, where all three intakes feed into the pump, the from the pump to the squirt, then each of the four outlets of the squirt tee out to three separate inlets along the length of the tank. I'd do a single corner overflow at one end to the sump/fuge, with the return line at the far end - that way you'll get a small overall flow from one end to the other. It won't increase the flow for the corals, but it will make sure that you don't wind up with one end being well filtered, while the other end is almost isolated from the sump. If you do this, it will be one sexy tank, the kind that you see featured as TOTM. Any considerations on lighting? Three 150W MH? Four of them maybe? EDIT - on second thought, you'd really only need one inlet to the closed loop pump somewhere. Link to comment
danskim Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 Ooh. I like the placement in the middle! Wider tanks are better! With the middle placement you'd be able to view it from all sides. There was an awesome tank on RC that I saw. It was a large volume, shallow cube with an excellent DIY stand. I think his name was sonofgaladriel or something. Go for 400w HQIs I found the thread. It's a long read, but it has great pictures! http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=571308 Now I want a huge tank like this too! Link to comment
calvin415 Posted March 30, 2006 Author Share Posted March 30, 2006 Sup CalvinThats the 1st thing that comes to mind to me is a Ocean motions setup... Ive seen some big tanks (long) setup real nice with an 8 way or 4 way... Their web site has a forum with some cool setups.. You could make all the pluming come over the top of tank then Y those for more coverage... only thing is you would need a large custom hood to hide all the pluming......Ive even seen these drilled in the bottom if it is not tempered glass 0.02 Izzue That was my first thought, I just hate the idea of all those holes... Oh well, so maybe I'll go with a Dart (3600 gph) w/ a 4-way and Y each of the ports and try to hide it with some creative rock work... Thanks for the thoughts! I'd suggest running two, maybe three separate closed loops throughout the length, with a wavemaker. Each would require five bulkheads - one intake, and four outlets. You could also do some sort of spraybar from some of the outlets. You could do this with a single pump, where all three intakes feed into the pump, the from the pump to the squirt, then each of the four outlets of the squirt tee out to three separate inlets along the length of the tank. I'd do a single corner overflow at one end to the sump/fuge, with the return line at the far end - that way you'll get a small overall flow from one end to the other. It won't increase the flow for the corals, but it will make sure that you don't wind up with one end being well filtered, while the other end is almost isolated from the sump. If you do this, it will be one sexy tank, the kind that you see featured as TOTM. Any considerations on lighting? Three 150W MH? Four of them maybe? EDIT - on second thought, you'd really only need one inlet to the closed loop pump somewhere. I'm not sure a single corner overflow would be sufficent surface skimming for a 12ft tank. I'm tossing around the idea of having both ends being overflows with external boxes and make the tank only viewable from 1 side... Not sure how the returns would work, but I can figure that out later. As for lighting I'll probably go with 5 or 6 250w MH's. Thanks! Ooh. I like the placement in the middle!Wider tanks are better! With the middle placement you'd be able to view it from all sides. There was an awesome tank on RC that I saw. It was a large volume, shallow cube with an excellent DIY stand. I think his name was sonofgaladriel or something. Go for 400w HQIs I found the thread. It's a long read, but it has great pictures! http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=571308 Now I want a huge tank like this too! 400 HQI would be a waste, the tank will be 2' or under so 250 is more than enough. I'm still torn on which tank to pursue because each have their own "cool factor". As for somofgaladriel's 240 it's a cool thank, but I'm not sure I want to do what everyone else is doing, and I really want more swimming room than normal... I think it would be sweet to see a school of something going from one end of the tank/room to the other and it taking more than 2 seconds to reach it. Keep the ideas coming guys, I really appreciate your thoughts and opinions. Link to comment
danskim Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 I agree 400w HQI would be overkill, but it just sounds cool. "Yeah, I have 4x400w HQIs over this baby." I agree, you don't see many tanks in the shape of the long ones you are considering. And I guess they're relatively narrower in width, but not really that narrow... Link to comment
calvin415 Posted March 30, 2006 Author Share Posted March 30, 2006 I agree 400w HQI would be overkill, but it just sounds cool. "Yeah, I have 4x400w HQIs over this baby."I agree, you don't see many tanks in the shape of the long ones you are considering. And I guess they're relatively narrower in width, but not really that narrow... It's be even cooler to say, I can afford to run 4x400 HQI's. LOL! It's definately not too narrow, it's actually closer to 3 75 gallon tanks end to end. I know general rule of thumb is 1 MH for every 2 ft of tank, but if I were to keep them high enough anyone think I could go for less lighting? Say 1 HQI every 3 ft instead? So far I'm thinking: 2 Dart pumps, one CL and one Return (7200 gph - headloss) 32x turn over 1 OM 4-way 1 G5 ASM skimmer 4 250w HQI pendants (unless this will not cover) A lot of PC fans! Sump 75 gallon AGA Refugium 55 gallon AGA Dual 250w Titanium Heater Lots of lumber And of course 63 sqft of 1/2" glass plus overflows and plumbing. Link to comment
calvin415 Posted March 30, 2006 Author Share Posted March 30, 2006 Anyone else have any thoughts? I'd rather not drill the 12' sections of the tank if I can avoid it... The two ends I have no problem drilling, if they crack they can be replaced really cheaply. Link to comment
andykee Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 can you get 1 continuous piece of glass that will be 12' long, or is the plan for there to be seams in there somewhere??? i guess more importantly - can you afford 3 of these! Link to comment
neanderthalman Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 I'm assuming you'd be haiving this made custom - get them to drill it during assembly. Glass thick enough not to bow at 12' long won't crack from a bulkhead..... I've got four 3/4" bulkheads in a 10g AGA.....you won't have problems with cracking, no way. Link to comment
MJD Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 Awesome Plan!! I hope you will go through with it. Will be following this one all the way. MJD Link to comment
calvin415 Posted March 30, 2006 Author Share Posted March 30, 2006 can you get 1 continuous piece of glass that will be 12' long, or is the plan for there to be seams in there somewhere??? i guess more importantly - can you afford 3 of these! Glass isn't like acrylic (8x4 standards) you can get these as big as you can imagine... I've already gotten quotes and yes I can afford 3 of them. The tank is the cheap part, I'm more concerned with the 4-6 metal halides I need to get along with filtration for it. Can I afford 3 pieces of glass? Please... I'm assuming you'd be haiving this made custom - get them to drill it during assembly. Glass thick enough not to bow at 12' long won't crack from a bulkhead..... I've got four 3/4" bulkheads in a 10g AGA.....you won't have problems with cracking, no way. Actually I plan on building it myself (no other way to get the tank into the basement) and probably drilling it myself, I would just rather work with a 18x20 piece than a 144x20. Awesome Plan!! I hope you will go through with it.Will be following this one all the way. MJD Thanks! We'll see what actually get's built. Thanks guy's any other ideas on how to get 12' of tank circulation without drilling the back or bottom panels? Link to comment
neanderthalman Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 How about a closed loop with an intake in the end witha single return. Inside the tank, from the bulkhead, run plumbing all the way along with outlets here and there - like a spraybar, but with holes much less often and much longer. You'll need a big pump....... Link to comment
calvin415 Posted March 31, 2006 Author Share Posted March 31, 2006 How about a closed loop with an intake in the end witha single return. Inside the tank, from the bulkhead, run plumbing all the way along with outlets here and there - like a spraybar, but with holes much less often and much longer. You'll need a big pump....... Not bad... Depending on how much flow I get out of 1 dart, I could setup one on each end. 2 holes per side, one drain, one return and T off it to create my Y lines... I wouldn't be able to turn them off and on like on an OM, but if the Dart pump can be turned off and on I could rig up a pair to rotate giving it some random flow. The wheels are starting to turn!!! Link to comment
jeremai Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 What about a Wave2k setup? One on each end, one in the middle... they're low profile, and if you alternate them... I'm out of my league here, just thinking out loud Link to comment
calvin415 Posted March 31, 2006 Author Share Posted March 31, 2006 What about a Wave2k setup? One on each end, one in the middle... they're low profile, and if you alternate them... I'm out of my league here, just thinking out loud Definately something to consider and a lot easier to install than anything else... I just don't know how many Center Units I will need or where to mount them. Would I get two and put one on each end, or would I get 3 or 4 of them and mount them along the back wall? Both ends and 1 or 2 along the back wall? Definately a contender! Thanks jeremai! Link to comment
calvin415 Posted March 31, 2006 Author Share Posted March 31, 2006 Anyone else have any ideas I might be overlooking? So far I think the Wave2K would give me the most random flow at the cheapest price without drilling any holes... I just have to hope that one on each end would be sufficient for some SPS. Link to comment
calvin415 Posted March 31, 2006 Author Share Posted March 31, 2006 Here's what I think, from the way they describe things on their website... one in each corner, plus two (maybe three) spaced evenly along the back of the tank. I don't know if you can cycle them (like powerheads on a wavemaker), but even having the intake/output a little off for each one would create random flow. The ones in the corners, while more expensive, don't push as much water based on the tank size rating... I think it would be better to stick the bigger ones. I could try one on each end and add more along the back wall as needed... At 220 each it's not cheap by any means, but certainly less than an OM 4-way with a Dart, plus drilling and bulkheads. I'm just not sure about having the overflow behind the wave box... I was wanting to have an external overflow on each end spaning the width of the tank. Hmmm... Link to comment
jeremai Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 The ones in the corners, while more expensive, don't push as much water based on the tank size rating... I think it would be better to stick the bigger ones. I could try one on each end and add more along the back wall as needed... At 220 each it's not cheap by any means, but certainly less than an OM 4-way with a Dart, plus drilling and bulkheads. I'm just not sure about having the overflow behind the wave box... I was wanting to have an external overflow on each end spaning the width of the tank. Hmmm... The Wave2k's actually create waves in the surface of the water... how well is that going to work with an overflow box? Seems like it would be a lot of random sloshing. Link to comment
calvin415 Posted March 31, 2006 Author Share Posted March 31, 2006 The Wave2k's actually create waves in the surface of the water... how well is that going to work with an overflow box? Seems like it would be a lot of random sloshing. With a large enough sump it should balance out just fine... I'm thinking instead of placing them on the ends of the tank, I could just place them on the back wall and call it good. It might take 3 to do it, but that's still cheaper than a 4-way and Dart, and less hassle drilling. I'm just trying to find some more info on reliability of them. So far it sounds like they have great service and stand behind their product and have done so for the last 4-5 years. The wave box (Tunze) is another option, but I can't justify shelling out 450 bucks for one wave box... Still considering other options. Should I go down to 10 feet and have a fish room? Link to comment
neanderthalman Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 I've always wanted to have a fish room - you could set up a prop tank or two in there..... Would make it easier to keep everything looking clean. You could run plumbing over the back lip of the tank and it would not be intrusive with an in-wall setup. The extra width will make it easier to aquascape too. You can also do an external overflow without it looking unsightly. Personally, I'd drill it for the über-clean look........ Link to comment
calvin415 Posted March 31, 2006 Author Share Posted March 31, 2006 Okay, if I go with the fish room idea, I think drilling would be a more realistic possibility because I could monitor the condition of the glass much easier... So is the vote for an OM and pump again? Think this would be better than 3 wave2k's along the back wall? And just to put the basement ideas on page 2, here they are again... Link to comment
neanderthalman Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 I say the OM and pump. Take each of the four outputs of the OM and "tee" them out to three or four outputs each - so you'll have 12-16 nozzles throughout the length of the tank. Forgive me if I live vicariously through your tank Another advantage of the fishroom is that if you need to, you can isolate that room from the rest of the house. You can run an extra air conditioner in the window to keep it cool, a dehumidifier to keep it dry, without changing the conditions in the rest of the house. Link to comment
calvin415 Posted March 31, 2006 Author Share Posted March 31, 2006 I say the OM and pump. Take each of the four outputs of the OM and "tee" them out to three or four outputs each - so you'll have 12-16 nozzles throughout the length of the tank. Forgive me if I live vicariously through your tank Another advantage of the fishroom is that if you need to, you can isolate that room from the rest of the house. You can run an extra air conditioner in the window to keep it cool, a dehumidifier to keep it dry, without changing the conditions in the rest of the house. Not sure I want nozzels all over, but definately something to consider... As for the fishroom climate, I live in Colorado which mean that the basement stays cool year round, and humidity is never an issue as lots of people here run house humidifiers since it's so dry... Regardless if I do a fish room it will have a window to the outside to help exchange air if needed. Thanks for your input, now I have to run the fish room idea by my wife and see if I have to put my foot down. LOL! If I'm missing any other options or if anyone thinks differently please speak up... I want to get as much feed back as possible so I either have 100% buy in, or I can look at pros and cons to each idea and discuss further. There are tons of views on this, but only a few people responding... Does everyone think a 10' tank w/ fish room is the best idea or is a 12' tank w/out a room better? Or should I stick with a peninsula tank as a room divider? Link to comment
danskim Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 Ooh, I must say fish rooms are awesome. (And wider is better!) Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.