So this is the idea...

[MissT]

So, I'm in the planning stages for my new reef tank. It will be a 55 tub (36 x 18 x 20) and just wanted to share my thought process. I'm still undecided on the light fixture but I am thinking 250w Ushio or Radium bulbs; probably 20K and retro'ed actinics. Anyway, here's my rendering so far:
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a391/SmokeStew20/tank.jpg

[MissT]

So far decided on the system to go with:
Eshopp's Advance series sump/fuge combo
EuroReef RS 100 skimmer
ReeFlo Snapper for closed loop with ball valve so I can dial down the 2400 gph
Mag 7 for sump return
Not totally committed/decided on:
Ocean's Motion 4-drum
halide light pendant

Any advice, questions, or suggestions for a pendant would be gladly accepted and considered. Thanks

[apedroza]

If your only doing 1 pendant I would look into the lumenarc reflectors. They really are awesome

[erikharrison]

Get HQI (Double Ended) as they last longerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr :)

[brewercm]

Be careful drilling that many holes into the bottom of the tank also. That is where the most stress is already.

[MissT]

Due to the stress factor, another idea would be to put the closed loop drain and rear return in the back glass instead of in the bottom, as y'all can probably tell, I am trying to eliminate the need for power heads and other equipment that would be visible in the tank. Hopefully using a ball valve with the snapper I can dial in the gph for maximum flow without having sand blowing everywhere. They are rated to be dialed anywhere from 300-full 2400 gph of pressure.

[Bill S]

Also, many/most tanks have tempered bottoms, so unless you order it that way...

You might want to consider putting the returns at the top.

If you are growing SPS AND you are going to supplement with actinic, I'm not sure I'd go with a 20K.

[MissT]

I am going to get the tank drilled from the manufacturer, and most likely will have the drain and rear return for the closed loop system put into the lower back glass.
Hopefully that would alleviate some of the stress on the bottom glass but still keep the circulation patterns I am trying to plan the plumbing and aquascape around...

[matt]

Actually I'd rethink the whole flow system. First, I would not use a mag pump as a return. I'd use an external, like an iwaki or panworld. If you must use a submerged return pump, consider an eheim. Mag pumps suck IMO, and eventually you'll probably agree if you're depending on it for return. Second, I'd use tunze nanostreams instead of the closed loop. Yes, they are in the tank, but the flow patterns are MUCH better than water exiting a closed loop nozzle. They also use basically no power, add no heat, no noise, and you can position them anywhere. They solve alot of problems in tanks this size, and tunze now makes a nanostream rock to hide them.

Third, if you do decide to drill for closed loop, I would drill all the holes up near the top of the tank, and I'd only drill two; one for tank drain, one for closed loop drain, then run all the return lines from the sump and the closed loop up over the top of the tank. This way, if/when something leaks, your whole tank won't drain onto your floor. You might consider having a look at various "calfo" style overflows and return manifolds. One thing Calfo really understands is engineering tank flow systems.

The lumenarcs are great reflectors, and they do make a DE pendent if you want to go that route. Your tank is a "double cube" shape, so two reflectors will give you perfect even light dispersal. One lumenarc in the middle will give you bright light in the center with some shadows on the sides, which might be exactly what you want. The thing to remember about them is that the light pattern is almost a perfect square; they really contain and focus the light. That's why they are so great.

You haven't yet mentioned anything about auto-top off and calcium/alkalinity supplementation. IMO those two issues should be planned into the tank build. A good, easy way to get started is to use an osmolator or one of the many dosing pumps for top off using KW in your reservoire rather than plain water. (It will fry the osmolator pump at some point, but they're only $25.) Or, you could use the osmolator or dosing pump to push water through a kalkreactor, which is neater and a little more convenient, but means you have to buy the kalkreactor. If you get a dosing pump instead of the osmolator, it will easily handle the KW.

That at least gets you going for initial Ca/Alk supplements and solves the auto top off issue. As your corals grow, you can manually add 2 part (like B-ionic or the popular DIY "Randy's recipe") and eventually get another dosing pump to automate it. It's easy, I've been doing exactly that for a couple of years. I finally just set up a Calcium reactor (I have a really high calcium demand and I make reactors) and I already sort of regret it. In theory, Ca reactors are totally self sufficient, but it takes alot of fiddling to get them that way. And money! Plus, your tank is pretty small.

Have fun, sorry about the long post! I am fairly confident that you'll regret drilling six holes in the bottom of your tank, though, so definitely rethink that.

[greenmako]

If you don't care about growth and want some crazy colors radiums would be the way to go and stick with SE bulbs. Love my closed loop and if you go with a 4 way you will love it also. The squirt (http://www.oceansmotions.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=39&osCsid=607565d07ec3a4c29e8657b028a81c48) is pretty cool too.

Keep us posted

[MissT]

The radiums definately look the best but what I will probably end up doing is using something around 10k for the first round of bulbs to get everything going and growing. Maybe even outfit one of the T5's I'm going to use for actinics with a 6700 I can leave on for 3-4 hours a day to help promote rapid growth. Once everything has grown in nicely and been settled, I can switch over to something more geared towards aestheitcs.:lightbulb:

[Bill S]

NOW you're thinking! I like that idea.

[greenmako]

The radiums definately look the best but what I will probably end up doing is using something around 10k for the first round of bulbs to get everything going and growing. Maybe even outfit one of the T5's I'm going to use for actinics with a 6700 I can leave on for 3-4 hours a day to help promote rapid growth. Once everything has grown in nicely and been settled, I can switch over to something more geared towards aestheitcs.:lightbulb:

thats been my plan, I'm letting my tank grow for another 6-9 months at that point I will see if it is where I want it and if it is I will be switching to radiums.

[Headless_donkey]

May I make a suggestion?
A HO T5 set-up would allow you to mix in lower Kelvin bulbs and still get the color temp you want. I know TONS of people get absolutely fantastic results with MH, but changing bulb color temps is an expensive experiment.
I just thought I would plug T5 lighting for a second.
Here is the current tank I am putting together. (http://www.austinreefclub.com/blog/headless_donkey/index.php?)
It has 3000K and 6500K bulbs mixed and I will get a 14000K look with relatively a par.
I like your plan for the CL. It is going to give a real clean look.

BTW-Brian, you might want to leave the "growth" bulbs in for a little longer. I mean most of your "frags" were tiny. I could barely find the bird's nest. LOL
http://greenmako.smugmug.com/photos/120892006-O.jpg

[MissT]

I have narrowed down my lighting options and have decided to build myself a European style light box to hang over the tank and lay it out like:
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a391/SmokeStew20/untitled-1.jpg

[MissT]

I really like the look of the Euro syle light boxes... sorta like a floating canopy. I'm going to go with the Lumen Max 2 pendant to mount in the middle, 4 strips of T5's and some blue LED lights.

Oh and Brian, when I get this done, I really need to get some of that "BJ's edition" birdsnest! :shades: Thanks for bringing those frags up to the store, it's really awesome stuff!

[MissT]

Oh, and James, thank you for your advice and the tank looks like it's coming along great! :thumbs_up::thumbs_up:

[MissT]

Quick update:
Carlos gave me a sweet deal on a 36" x 18" x 16" sump/fuge combo, and two of my HO T5 retro kits came in. I've decided on a Mag 9.5 for my sump return and the LumenMax2 250w mogul pendant. Originally I was going to get the Galaxy Electronic ballast, but after talking to the rep, will probably go with the Coralvue 250w dimmable.
I'll probaby start working on my lightbox this weekend, so I'll try to get some pictures so that this thread wont be totally useless. LOL

[apedroza]

Do you have thetank already??? Pics of your progress would be great!!!

[greenmako]

Your welcome to frags anytime!

[MissT]

I'm still struggling with how I want the tank drilled and exactly what I'm going for, so I've been slowly ordering and gathering the equipment I know I'll need...
I'm definately over-planning this thing, but if it's rushed and not right, I'll never be happy with it so....
I'm pretty sure the tank will be an Oceanview because they are so accomodating with doing stuff custom. BUT, DSA just came out with the 90 gallon that measures 36" x 24" x 24" and it is making my decision so much harder.

Thanks, Brian for the offer, I'll definately take you up on that! I need to come by sometime and shop!:wink_smile:

[lhoy]

If you haven't ordered the pump yet, I would definitely recommend what Matt said, go EHEIM!!! I have used both Mag and Eheim and will go Eheim in any application before them. Very quiet, great output, etc.

Lee

[MissT]

I already have a used Mag 9.5 in my garage, so I'll set the tank up with it and if I'm under impressed, I can always just order something else and switch them out. It's hard to stray from something as tried and true as the good ol' mag drives.

[sawarf]

Misti,

Congrats on the tank build! It looks like you have given it a lot of thought and planning. This is just one of the things I love about this hobby.

I strongly agree that inline, not submerged, is the BEST way to go for return if you are still in the planning stages. It keeps the pump and a lot of the heat out of the water. I have had the salt water crack and corrode through the rubber power cords before also... Granted, it was a cheap Rio pump that had been in the sump for three years, but why submerge the pump if you don't have to.

I love my Eheim and I run it inline. I can still feel the heat coming off it though and I am glad it is not sitting in my sump heating the water up even more than necessary. I also have a lot of left over pvc pipe, fittings, and stuff you are welcome to when you are ready. No charge, just come n get it.

Although I am extremely jealous of your job, you are also welcome to any of my frags when you are ready.

Sean =-) J

[MissT]

Definately appreciate the offer Sean, and I do love my job!

[sawarf]

Definately appreciate the offer Sean, and I do love my job!

Misti,

I am sooooooo jealous of you!:blushing: =-) Although, I would probably spend even more than I do now. Can I just get my paycheck in fish, that way there is no taxes! I need food and I really don't want to eat my :sick:fish, shrimp, and crabs... They wouldn't last very long. I do love :heart:seafood though!:wub: