Dream Tank Exploration

[outdrsyguy1]

well you guys have been around a lot longer than I for sure. I obviously will have to scale back as I'm not really prepared to spend $25k at this point. I think I will continue down the rabbit trail to see where it ends in building an estimate.

 

[jbdreefs]

Maybe you should look at the big deep dimension tanks. I think the Aviarium has one on display.

 

[outdrsyguy1]

Okay, so I took a deeper dive and redid the estimate. I'm still no where near 20k+ and pretty much everything is brand new. Please let me know if you see something missing or something woefully short. I did cut out building the fish room for now, i'll just have everything on the back side of the wall till we finish out the basement.
Changes: Added more LED lights, added T5's, added additional pumps, added a reactor, looked up wood pricing for stand and canopy.

5,000 Tank, glass, starphire front and sides 610g
http://www.glasscages.com/?sAction=ViewCat&lCatID=47">http://www.glasscages.com/?sAction=ViewCat&lCatID=47</a>
700 skimmer (Reef Octopus 12" Regal 300INT Internal Protein Skimmer
[IMG]http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/reef-octopus-12-regal-300int-internal-protein-skimmer.html#tab-full-details">http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/reef-octopus-12-regal-300int-internal-protein-skimmer.html#tab-full-details</a>
480 hammerhead 5000 gpm @7' head, 322 watts
[IMG]http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_viewitem.aspx?idproduct=MM2143&child=MM2347&utm_source=adwordsfroogle&utm_medium=cse&utm_campaign=adwordsfroogle&utm_content=MM2347&gclid=CILvpM3x9MUCFY8vgQodHaAAdA">http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_viewitem.aspx?idproduct=MM2143&child=MM2347&utm_source=adwordsfroogle&utm_medium=cse&utm_campaign=adwordsfroogle&utm_content=MM2347&gclid=CILvpM3x9MUCFY8vgQodHaAAdA</a>
391 Sump (DIY 100G long (72x18x17)
[IMG]http://www.glasscages.com/?sAction=ViewCat&lCatID=2">http://www.glasscages.com/?sAction=ViewCat&lCatID=2</a>
25 Silicone + glass for sump (ace hardware cut)
300 wood stand built in place DIY
300 wood to build stand enclosure and canopy (minimal, frame wrap)
500 PVC fittings and electrical DIY circuits (per acroholic's build thread)
250 Salt (1000G 50/200 *5)
790 Lights (LED for 10' tank = 5*158) Ocean Revive
[IMG]http://oceanrevivellc.com/goods.php?id=19">http://oceanrevivellc.com/goods.php?id=19</a>
676 Lights (T5 8 - 4' 54w fixtures + bulbs)
[IMG]http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/4-ft-let-lighting-miro-4-t5-high-output-retrofit-kit.html">http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/4-ft-let-lighting-miro-4-t5-high-output-retrofit-kit.html</a>
210 sand approx 1", 250# @ 130 x 36, $35/40# bags
650 marco rock ~300 pounds
[IMG]http://www.marcorocks.com/dry-rock/150-pounds-key-largo-rockfree-shipping-in-the-contiguous-us/?page_context=category&faceted_search=0">http://www.marcorocks.com/dry-rock/150-pounds-key-largo-rockfree-shipping-in-the-contiguous-us/?page_context=category&faceted_search=0</a>
600 moving tank into place help
200 brute mixing station 2 - 55 gallon brutes
2 part dosers (already own)
Apex controller (already own)
Internal pumps (2 gyre, 2 tunze 6105, 2 wp -25 already owned)
400 2 - 1000W heaters
[IMG]http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/titanium-heating-system-with-jbj-true-temp-digital-controller.html">http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/titanium-heating-system-with-jbj-true-temp-digital-controller.html</a>
200 Carbon Reactor Vertex Rx-U 2.5L Universal Media Reactor
[IMG]http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/vertex-rx-u-2-5l-universal-media-reactor.html#tab-full-details">http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/vertex-rx-u-2-5l-universal-media-reactor.html#tab-full-details</a>
500 additional pumps budget
400 Lighting rails guess (hopefully movable rails to slide out of the way or raise up)

12,572 Total

 

[outdrsyguy1]

forgot the chiller. 1 HP chiller add $1,000 gets it up to $13,572 total.

 

[crew]

This looks better. Misc stuff will probably take you up to $15,000, but I think it's doable. Can't wait to see more!

 

[dawgface]

keep in mind that skimmer I use on my 90 gallon reef. Manufacturer skimmer ratings typically are overstated. personally my bare minimum if I was going super reef octopus would be a 5000. ideally much much bigger however.
Also it doesn't look like yet again you are adding any redundancies to any the system i.e. extra heaters, pumps, generator in case of powed outage. . Which i think is a mistake. while some of these things add overall cost to build in the grand scheme of things are cheap insurance policies to ensure your overall livestock investment is protected.

With the list I'd selectively get into softies and lps and see how they manage. I'm not sure lighting or flow would be enough yet for sps... unsure honestly. Last, dosing this tank will wreck your pocket book. Calcium reactor and kalk are the only viable options.

 

[dawgface]

I see the additional pumps budget... missed that.

 

[crew]

I agree with Jesse on the skimmer.. my 120 has a skimmer rated at 300 gallons. Not saying you need to go 3x, but looking in the 800-1000 gallon range might be a good idea.

 

[nickh06]

You can probably save money on things like moving tank help and brute trash cans (always someone getting rid of theirs). Also, if your basement stays cool enough you shouldn't need a chiller if you are running led's. My 180 stays cool in my basement under leds and t5's but I have a few small fans hooked up in the canopy that kick on if it gets above 78.6, works well.

If you are going to run ocean revives with t5s I would just go with black box led's, you can get more of them for the same amount of $$ or get the same amount and save a couple hundred. Can also DIY your own lighting rails with 80/20 for under $100. Little things like that can help you balance out any unplanned costs.

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with!

 

[bcavalli]

DawgFace;1036467 wrote: keep in mind that skimmer I use on my 90 gallon reef. Manufacturer skimmer ratings typically are overstated. personally my bare minimum if I was going super reef octopus would be a 5000. ideally much much bigger however.
Also it doesn't look like yet again you are adding any redundancies to any the system i.e. extra heaters, pumps, generator in case of powed outage. . Which i think is a mistake. while some of these things add overall cost to build in the grand scheme of things are cheap insurance policies to ensure your overall livestock investment is protected.

With the list I'd selectively get into softies and lps and see how they manage. I'm not sure lighting or flow would be enough yet for sps... unsure honestly. Last, dosing this tank will wreck your pocket book. Calcium reactor and kalk are the only viable options.

Those small things in the grand scheme of things are really absolute necessities. Great points Jesse!

 

[dawgface]

At the end of the day Rusty its all customizable to each their own. One of the main components of this hobby is the seemingly endless options in bringing a system together. Which being one of the main attractions to this hobby. Whether your a gadget guy, complexity, automation, best of the best or the diy king success can still be found. It's yours and it's up to you to do what you want with it.

Personally speaking however I'm probably not the right person to talk to based on going with the cheapest, DIY options. While I'm not a person who likes or loves to spend money. I have never practiced fugalty with regards to life support systems on my reef tanks. Essentially I've entered in knowing I wanted specifics x or better, buying barely used at the least. On a fowlr tank very early on I learned the hard lesson fast of buy right buy once.

On the flipside there's nothing wrong with any other types or options of reefer. Im just trying to be honest with you about who I am and that my perspective may come from a very different platform that your after.

In the end it's important to consider everything everybody has to say and make your own choice. Either way let's get this outline and budget out of the way so we can see and follow the build thread!

Good luck I'll be following.

 

[dawgface]

outdrsyguy1;1036405 wrote: forgot the chiller. 1 HP chiller add $1,000 gets it up to $13,572 total.

Last, budget it in but I would not buy until you know you l. This way if you don't which based on your lay out that is likely, youll have your first bit of funds for the livestock.

 

[outdrsyguy1]

Thanks so much for all the input everyone, super, super helpful! I eased my wife into it tonight and she's cool so i'm totally going to start moving forward. I think I want to flush out the budget a little more so I can see how much room I have. Probably put most of the money possible into tank and life support. Thanks again for everyones' suggestions, really helps. Once I get the budget fairly tight i'm going to paste in my current list of tips/tricks/gotcha's i've been making a list of from reading other folks posts day to day and make sure 90%+ of those are taken care of.
So a few follow up questions from the great suggestions above:

Generator - Power here's pretty rock solid, but still ice storm in the next 20 years could definitely put me out for a couple days. I'll have to check on that, anyone have one they like?

Plastic barrels - anyone know who sells or where to buy? I assume the are food grade and dont' leech?

Skimmer - i just picked the biggest I could find online, anyone got a link to something bigger or would I need to consider getting 2 - 400 gallon ones?

Thanks andy for the rock suggestion! that's like 25% cheaper (though they are out of sand right now, but still cheaper)

Nick, can you post a link of the diy lights? or the "blackbox"? I built 2 diy LED lights already (66 LED's per light) so I'm pretty familiar with that, but they were INSANE expensive from reefledlights.com. I only picked ocean revive because I know of a guy on R2R that has AMAZING sps corals growing solely under them (no t5's even). I'd definitely want to make sure I could find a few folks that had grown things for minimum 6 months (preferably 12) on them.
Also, got a link to the 80/20 lighting rails? never heard of it.

 

[rdnelson]

I believe your budget for PVC and Electrical is low. With the system you are talking about, I would not go DIY on the electrical. Spending a small fortune on life support and cutting corners on what keeps all that running is like putting bald tires on your brand new car.

Also, the wall you are talking about is a baring wall. Although there is an arch above it, the weight of the entire house above that portion o the house is spread across the entire length of that wall. Yes an opening can be cut in it but if not done properly you are putting the entire house at risk.

 

[jbdreefs]

Look up My Reef Creation. They are local and do great work. They make some serious skimmers.

 

[crew]

MRC is a great company. If you don't go with them, I've had a great experience with Skimz. Here is the skimmer I'd recommend for your tank.

Rated up to 1050 gallons

 

[hiimsean]

I'd skip on Glasscages as the tank manufacturer. I've heard too many bad stories to consider them to build a custom tank for me.

 

[outdrsyguy1]

rdnelson99;1036610 wrote: I believe your budget for PVC and Electrical is low. With the system you are talking about, I would not go DIY on the electrical. Spending a small fortune on life support and cutting corners on what keeps all that running is like putting bald tires on your brand new car.

Also, the wall you are talking about is a baring wall. Although there is an arch above it, the weight of the entire house above that portion o the house is spread across the entire length of that wall. Yes an opening can be cut in it but if not done properly you are putting the entire house at risk.

Thanks for the input, I figured I would run the circuits and outlets and have the professional tie it in or do a subpanel if necessary. For the structural I was thinking a small wooden beam would do the job and maybe beef up the supports on the end which are underneath the columns at the sides of the arch where the load falls anyways.
Anyone have any engineers/contractors they would recommend for the wall modification?

 

[rdnelson]

I would talk to Grouper Therapy about the structural. As for a professional on the electrical side I might be able to recommend someone. ;-). Hehehehe

 

[crew]

HiImSean;1036634 wrote: I'd skip on Glasscages as the tank manufacturer. I've heard too many bad stories to consider them to build a custom tank for me.

I've heard bad things, but it's always related to customer service and not build quality. As far as I know, their tanks are top notch, but it might be a hassle getting it.