Ideas for my 8 ft long tank

[Mr_Cool]

It's one of the tanks that Louis had in the back corner of his shop. The tank measures 96" x 14.5" x 16" (L x W x H) and it's made from 1/2 inch glass. Using the inside dimensions, I get just over 86 gallons. It's drilled in both back corners and there's acrylic overflows installed. I also picked up a glass 55 gallon and an acrylic 75 gallon to use as sumps/fuge. I plan to move everything from my current tank into this one and then sell the old one. (I'll be posting something for that in the future.)

Here are my thoughts. Let me know what you all think.

I want each of the drains to flow into separate chambers so that I can continue using a modified Hyatt system. Each drain will have to empty into a chamber where the water will flow underneath and then up through the carbon. Then, the water from both drains will meet in another chamber of the 55 where it will be pumped back to the display tank. I was thinking of splitting one of the drains and using a ball valve to control the flow into a fuge compartment of the 75. Then, I could drill another hole in the acrylic and let the water flow from the 75 to the 55.

If I do it this way, I should be able to hold about 65-70 gallons in the 75, and 30-40 gallons (maybe more ) in the 55. I should also have room for a skimmer in the 55. Am I missing anything with the plumbing here?

Since the tank is not very tall, I'm going to go with t-5's. I was thinking about 4 4 footers to start, and then maybe add 2 more if I need them. I'm not planning any SPS right now. (I don't have any now, and don't know if I want to deal with all the other "hassles" associated with them. :unsure Please don't kill me for saying that. But, if I do decided to try, I'll probably need the extra 108 watts, right? I don't know, though. It's only 16 inches tall.)

I need to build a stand for the tank. That should not be a problem. I really love the 'In-Wall" look, but don't have a room where I could do this. (My wife's been looking at moving lately, and I've already told her that a fish room with In-Wall capabilities is a must.) Anyway, I may just to a false wall and put doors and tank access for feeding & such.

I'll post some pics of the 8 footer as well as the 55 and 75 so you can get an idea of what I'm talking about. Someone please let me know what you use to draw the diagrams I've seen. If I can diagram something, what I wrote earlier may make more sense.

Please let me know if you think I'm missing something. I'm also open for suggestions on numbers and types of fish to keep and such. I have some zoos, xenia, kenya tree, mushrooms, green button polyps, and clove polyps. I also have a coral banded shrimp, a cleaner shrimp, a serpent star, a couple of tiger tail cucumbers, some blue leg hermits and some snails. Finally, I have a medium-large atlantic blue tang, a humbug damsel, one green chromis, and a pair of ocellaris clowns, a teardrop maxima clam (5") and 2 bubble tips (one green and one rose). I'd like to get some more green chromises (sp?) and a couple of other tangs. But, how many is too many? (Louis says no more than 3 full grown tangs, but it will take years to get to that.) What do you all think?

[Mr_Cool]

I want each of the drains to flow into separate chambers so that I can continue using a modified Hyatt system. Each drain will have to empty into a chamber where the water will flow underneath and then up through the carbon. Then, the water from both drains will meet in another chamber of the 55 where it will be pumped back to the display tank. I was thinking of splitting one of the drains and using a ball valve to control the flow into a fuge compartment of the 75. Then, I could drill another hole in the acrylic and let the water flow from the 75 to the 55.

If I do it this way, I should be able to hold about 65-70 gallons in the 75, and 30-40 gallons (maybe more ) in the 55. I should also have room for a skimmer in the 55. Am I missing anything with the plumbing here?


I came up with a diagram.....

[Mr_Cool]

O'kay. I finally got some pictures. Maybe this will help with the ideas?

First I need to build the stand. I have some 4x4's I'd like to use, but since the 75 gallon sump/fuge is 15.5" wide, I'll have to have the stand about 22.5" wide to fit everything inside. I really don't want it that far off the wall because I'm thinking of a built-in look. (ie: There really won't be a cabinet with sides. Just one long front panel with doors that will go between the two walls at the ends of the tank. I should have just under 2 ft between the tank and the walls on either side of the tank.)

My problem is that I need to support the tank all the way around and have some supports along the 8 ft lengths. I just don't see how to do this without going the 22.5" wide. Please help!

[hobogato]

looks great so far! cant wait to see your progress :)

[caferacermike]

Looks interesting. I saw you had your sumps connecting hole kind of high up, just make sure to leave enough insurance room for a bit of back siphon in the event of power failure.

[Mr_Cool]

I don't think I need to worry about back siphoning. I'm going to have my return pump submerged in the glass 55 gallon. It's tempered, so I can't drill it. The water from the acrylic sump will flow through a couple of bulkheads and then down though some PVC into a the glass tank like an overflow. It won't siphon back into the acylic tank if the water level in the acrylic tank is at the bulkhead, right?

I'm going to cover the curent holes and drill new ones in the end of the acrylic sump. This way, I won't need any extra room behind the sump, between the sump and the wall, for PVC return pipes. My return lines will have to run from the short end of the tank across to the middle where I can split it in opposite directions.

[caferacermike]

The main tank will continue to back siphon the into the sump through the submersed pump until the intake end is exposed.

[Mr_Cool]

Oh, yea! I'm going to use a modified Hiatt system. The main tank will drain into compartements in the sump where I will have the carbon. Water will flow up from underneath the carbon, and then over a baffle into the main sump area with the return pump. So, the return lines will be above (or right at) the waterline in the maintank to ensure a good oxygen exchange.

I thought you meant there would be siphoning from the 55 to the 75.

[Mr_Cool]

I'm still working on building the stand. I hope to finish it this weekend so that I can put the tank on it and get it cleaned up a bit. :roll

I've really been thinking about new livestock, though. I really want some more activity than my current tank has in it. I plan to transfer my current livestock (I have an Atlantic Blue tang, a Humbug damsel, a green chromis, and a pair of Ocellaris clowns. I also have a coulple of shrimp and a serpent star as well as a couple of anemones.) I pretty sure I want to add some more green chromises to make a nice little school. I also want to add some more tangs of different species. But, I'm not sure how many of each type to add. I'm sure I could add a ton of chromises without a problem. But, how many tangs is too many?

Since the tank is a not a standard size, I don't know what to think. The number of gallons in the tank itself will be about 85. But, the swimming area of the tank is 95.5" by 13.5" (and 15.5" tall). I'm not so sure that the recommendations for number fish/minimum tank size applies anymore. Certainly, there is plenty of swimming room for more than a couple of tangs. Of course, if I get some small ones, they will "grow up" together, and most likely learn to get along just fine. I know I can always move a couple out if the need arises when they get full grown.

Anyone have any thoughts here? I need a little motivation to get working on this. (Actually, I need the school year to end so that I have time for it!)

[Mr_Cool]

O'kay. School is out. Other projects around the house (not all, but some) have been completed. I got the new tank up and running earlier this week. Funny how you THINK you think of everything, but in the end, something is overlooked. I did that about 5 times, and all but one problem has been reconciled.

Of course, I need to skin the stand itself, and then build the canopy so that I can put some better lighting up. Right now I have only one normal output flourescent lamp running (40 watts) and a small PC bulb in the gooseneck lamp. I'm just trying to spotlight my RBTA with that. The only real high light animals that I have in there are the BTA's (I have a green one, too), and a teardrop maxima. But, the green BTA and clam are on the left side of the tank, and they get some pretty good light from the sun through the front windows. They seem pretty happy for the past 3-4 days.

[Mr_Cool]

More pics. (How do I post more than 3 at a time?!?)

** See picture discriptions for details. **

[LoneStar]

More pics. (How do I post more than 3 at a time?!?)


Go to www.photobucket.com and open a free account. From there you can upload photos to their site and then link them to maast using the code Photobucket actually creates the code for you after the picture is uploaded to their site ;)

The tank is coming along pretty good. Lots of swimming room!

[Mr_Cool]

** See picture discriptions for details. **

[Headless_donkey]

Dude I like that alot. Keep us posted. Looks like a real fun tank. Almost like a GIANT 20 long.