New Tank Plans

mumra

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I'm not certain this is the right subsection so if it needs to be moved that's fine with me.

Here's the plan (so far). I currently have a 25gal but I am going to go big later this year. I'm thinking around 150gal +/-. I don't want anything lower than 125 and probably not bigger than 200 gal. The dimensions are my biggest qualifying factor. I don't want a super tall tank. Like the ones with a large top on them that are 30"+ deep. I would like to be able to reach the bottom or at least get pretty close if for some reason I ever need to grab something in there. Long and wide is the look and what I think is the best fit for the space that I want to put it in.

It will be a mixed reef tank with mostly LPS. I also want to bump up my fish a little bit. I only have 3 right now. 2 clowns and a blue damsel. I would also like to automate as much as possible. I'm also going to be putting in a water line behind the tank so I won't have to drag hoses or buckets around the house. Next to where I am putting it is a storage closet where I could put a 50gal drum or something to mix RO water.

I've only had my current tank a little over a year and while I've learned a lot there's even more that I don't know, especially when it comes to things like protein skimmers and auto-water changers.

As of now I'm thinking that I will just buy everything new unless I can get a great deal on a complete setup that I could basically plug and play. What I don't want is to run into having to make a bunch of custom or DIY stuff try and work together and end up with a mess of a rig. I was thinking that it might be best to figure out what all I will need and wait for Black Friday and see what kind of deal I can get buying everything at once from BRS. Regardless I won't be doing anything until about that time. Life is way to busy atm to dive (pun intended) into something like this right now.

Thoughts? Advice? Churlish remarks?

Thanks
 
If you are going as far as having plumbing done, then I'd recommend considering adding another circuit and extra receptacles where they could be helpful depending on what you plan to use. Also gfci's that have audible alarms are a nice touch. I prefer the Legrand Pass and Seymour ones. They sound louder to me. I would also consider backup power and power outages whether its a UPS, 12v car battery, powerbank, generator (standby or portable) etc. Also backup powerheads and aeration for power outages.

I also have about an 1 1/8" -1 1/4" between the wall and the rim of my tank. I wish I had made it more like 2" for accessibility, maintenance, frag racks and more. That could also affect you fitting a powerhead on the back glass.
 
That's fine. I just got the tank last summer and ended up doing some plumbing in a closet near by to make processing RO water easier.

I do have a single ecotech battery backup but I need to figure a way for a more powerful option that I can get a few hours out of since this is an old house and neighborhood power goes out frequently. I do have a big generator but it's no good if I'm not at home when it happens.
 
You could rig up a portable generator to be "standby". I havent done this before but with the tech this out here I can picture it. You would just need an ATS (automatic transfer switch), inlet, circuit, and a remote start/chicken switch for the generator
 
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