Some Feedback on My Tank Design Please

[Canadian]

Hey folks! I'm finally finishing up my masters in physiotherapy and now that I'll be back in the working world and have a little more time on my hands I'd like to get back into the hobby after a long hiatus - prior to which I was pretty heavily involved with reefkeeping. While doing some preliminary research I happened across this site and I'm happy I did!

 

I've decided to set up a small reef tank and after looking at the all-in-one tanks out there I think I'd be happier with a custom tank.

 

So now I'm in the process of planning out the construction of the tank and would really appreciate some feedback on the tank design as I've always plumbed my tanks with a sump and this is the first false wall tank I've built. I've attached a couple of schematics below. The tank dimensions are 24" x 24" and 18" tall with the false wall being 6" from the back of the tank. The tank will be frameless and I'd like to run it open-topped.

 

A couple things to keep in mind when looking at the pics: I plan on putting two Hydor Rotating Water Deflectors on the two holes in the false wall which will run off a Y'd return pump. I'm also leaning toward putting a Hydor Koralia-2 on the right side of the tank about midway down the false wall.

 

For lighting I really like the Clip-on Coralife Aqualight Advanced that looks kind of like a desk lamp. While I'm not a big fan of Coralife products this seems to be a better option than the JBJ equivalent. I plan on running a 20,000k 150W HQI. I'd also like to put a Tunze 9002 Nano DOC Protein Skimmer in the back compartment.

 

My main questions are:

 

1) What would you recommend for a return pump? (assuming the tank will be a mixed softie, LPS, and low light demanding SPS)

2) Anyone with any experience with the Tunze Nano skimmer know what kind of water depth I need to run the back compartment at?

3) Any suggestions on a better way to lay out the back compartments? (I plan on stacking some foam and ChemiPure in the overflow section)

4) Any concerns with the tank design? I was thinking 3/8" glass but I'm not sure what the requirements are for a tank like this that is fairly wide with a reasonable height and no frame or brace (I intend to have the tank built by a local aquarium builder)

 

 

Sorry about the stupidly long first post!

 

I also attached a pic of a 20g nano I had back in 1999 with 300W of VHO.

 

[seabass]

Your 20 gallon was nice; I remember that pinkish light from VHOs.

 

Sounds like you have a good idea already. I don’t have much for suggestions and haven’t used the Tunze Nano skimmer before; however, here’s a friendly welcome back and bump ttt.

[sweevo]

I'm planning on getting the Tunze Nano Skimmer too.

 

I can't tell you much about it from personal experience but here's a link for the manual (pdf) which should tell you all you need to know.

 

http://www.tunze.com/fileadmin/gebrauchsan.../x9002.8888.pdf

 

 

HTH

[formerly icyuodd/icyoud2]

1. mag 9.5 (950g)

2. 3.???to11"

[Canadian]

seabass, thanks for the bump and the compliment on the old tank. The thing I miss the most from that tank is the 6" Yellow Fiji Leather (not in the picture but was absolutely the most vivid yellow I've ever seen. I really hope I'm able to find another one when I set this tank up.

 

Thanks for the link to the user manual sweevo!

 

formerly icyuodd/icyoud2, I had initially thought of using a Mag pump (because it was what I used in the past) but I'm hesitant to use these pumps now because I know how much heat they dump into the water and I want to try to avoid the use of a chiller if at all possible by making wise choices on high efficiency pumps (low wattage but maintaining good output).

[formerly icyuodd/icyoud2]

the heat issues must be hit or miss. i use a 5 and 9.5 in my system and have never noticed heat issues (my aquarium is always 78*) i even ran the pump externally for a short period of time.

 

i hear peeps rag on mag's but why i have no idea. i still own every mag pump i've ever purchased (5,7,7,9.5,12.5) all run flawlessly, no noise,heat or start up problems. some of the pumps are a few years old.

 

the mag 12 got left outside in a frozen pond for an entire canadian winter. its still in the same pond this year and still works like a charm.