1000 gallon tank for a beginner!
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SlowAndStupid
Community Member
Made a separate post on this but adding here as it hasn't gotten much in the way of replies and could use some opinions on this:
I am now ready to design out my filtration for my tank. With my odd and limited space I have decided to go with plywood tanks which will allow me to customize and maximize what space I have. I am modeling my design in Sketchup to ensure everything will fit within my space constraints. My idea is to have one long plywood sump on the floor where a large refugium and my returns will be located. Above it will be a small tank where filter floss and media will go. This will empty down and into the lower sump. Here is my mock up.
Though space will be tight it seems like the 2 sumps will fit. Next I'm trying to figure out what to do with my water storage. When this was a freshwater tank I had a much smaller sump in the form of a 50-gallon barrel and then used a second 50-gallon barrel for water storage that sat next to it on the floor. The space was tight but there was enough room for it all. Now with that floor space being taken up by the sump I have thought of 3 options:
Option 1: Place a 55 gallon vertical storage tank on top of the platform to the right. It is 18 inches wide which would necessitate building the platform out a little further to support the load. Something like this:
And it should really be two tanks, one for saltwater and the other for fresh water which will take up the majority of my space which I originally had planned for an external skimmer and eventually a calcium reactor and/or kalk stirrer.
I can't remove any of these cabinets to make more room as the one on the right is covering sauna equipment for the sauna located on the other side of the wall. The one to the left is covering and protecting the pvc for the overflows from the tank.
Option 2: Similar to option 1 but go with smaller 35-gallon storage tanks which is 15 inches wide and long. Still takes up the majority of my leftover space but not quite as much.
Finally, option 3: Move my mixing station up to my garage which is one floor up and a little less than 100 feet away. I would have to haul a hose downstairs for water changes though the excess water will drain into the floor drain within the fish room. This frees up more space within this small room but I lose the convenience of having it all nearby as my trade-off. I could also go larger on the tanks to store more water at one time. I do think I would still mount a single storage tank in the room for fresh water for an ATO. If I went this route what size storage tank would be best for fresh water storage within my room?
Hoping for some good input as I brainstorm on what would be best here? Any other ideas are welcome as well.
I am now ready to design out my filtration for my tank. With my odd and limited space I have decided to go with plywood tanks which will allow me to customize and maximize what space I have. I am modeling my design in Sketchup to ensure everything will fit within my space constraints. My idea is to have one long plywood sump on the floor where a large refugium and my returns will be located. Above it will be a small tank where filter floss and media will go. This will empty down and into the lower sump. Here is my mock up.
Though space will be tight it seems like the 2 sumps will fit. Next I'm trying to figure out what to do with my water storage. When this was a freshwater tank I had a much smaller sump in the form of a 50-gallon barrel and then used a second 50-gallon barrel for water storage that sat next to it on the floor. The space was tight but there was enough room for it all. Now with that floor space being taken up by the sump I have thought of 3 options:
Option 1: Place a 55 gallon vertical storage tank on top of the platform to the right. It is 18 inches wide which would necessitate building the platform out a little further to support the load. Something like this:
And it should really be two tanks, one for saltwater and the other for fresh water which will take up the majority of my space which I originally had planned for an external skimmer and eventually a calcium reactor and/or kalk stirrer.
I can't remove any of these cabinets to make more room as the one on the right is covering sauna equipment for the sauna located on the other side of the wall. The one to the left is covering and protecting the pvc for the overflows from the tank.
Option 2: Similar to option 1 but go with smaller 35-gallon storage tanks which is 15 inches wide and long. Still takes up the majority of my leftover space but not quite as much.
Finally, option 3: Move my mixing station up to my garage which is one floor up and a little less than 100 feet away. I would have to haul a hose downstairs for water changes though the excess water will drain into the floor drain within the fish room. This frees up more space within this small room but I lose the convenience of having it all nearby as my trade-off. I could also go larger on the tanks to store more water at one time. I do think I would still mount a single storage tank in the room for fresh water for an ATO. If I went this route what size storage tank would be best for fresh water storage within my room?
Hoping for some good input as I brainstorm on what would be best here? Any other ideas are welcome as well.
F i s h y
2nd In Command.
With a tank that size you will need the extra water. A 55 gallon or 35 gallon tank aren't big enough in my opinion. If the garage is free to use do that. On average I'd recommend have 25% of your volume available at a minimum for emergencies.Made a separate post on this but adding here as it hasn't gotten much in the way of replies and could use some opinions on this:
I am now ready to design out my filtration for my tank. With my odd and limited space I have decided to go with plywood tanks which will allow me to customize and maximize what space I have. I am modeling my design in Sketchup to ensure everything will fit within my space constraints. My idea is to have one long plywood sump on the floor where a large refugium and my returns will be located. Above it will be a small tank where filter floss and media will go. This will empty down and into the lower sump. Here is my mock up.
Though space will be tight it seems like the 2 sumps will fit. Next I'm trying to figure out what to do with my water storage. When this was a freshwater tank I had a much smaller sump in the form of a 50-gallon barrel and then used a second 50-gallon barrel for water storage that sat next to it on the floor. The space was tight but there was enough room for it all. Now with that floor space being taken up by the sump I have thought of 3 options:
Option 1: Place a 55 gallon vertical storage tank on top of the platform to the right. It is 18 inches wide which would necessitate building the platform out a little further to support the load. Something like this:
And it should really be two tanks, one for saltwater and the other for fresh water which will take up the majority of my space which I originally had planned for an external skimmer and eventually a calcium reactor and/or kalk stirrer.
I can't remove any of these cabinets to make more room as the one on the right is covering sauna equipment for the sauna located on the other side of the wall. The one to the left is covering and protecting the pvc for the overflows from the tank.
Option 2: Similar to option 1 but go with smaller 35-gallon storage tanks which is 15 inches wide and long. Still takes up the majority of my leftover space but not quite as much.
Finally, option 3: Move my mixing station up to my garage which is one floor up and a little less than 100 feet away. I would have to haul a hose downstairs for water changes though the excess water will drain into the floor drain within the fish room. This frees up more space within this small room but I lose the convenience of having it all nearby as my trade-off. I could also go larger on the tanks to store more water at one time. I do think I would still mount a single storage tank in the room for fresh water for an ATO. If I went this route what size storage tank would be best for fresh water storage within my room?
Hoping for some good input as I brainstorm on what would be best here? Any other ideas are welcome as well.
SlowAndStupid
Community Member
I'm leaning this way. I'll lose the convenience of having it in the same room but won'tose so much space.
If you were able to crawl under the D/T to add bracing, you probably have room to use a tank that you'd typically find in an RV.
That is a BIG tank. And, I can understand why it was included with the house; moving it is impossible! 
That tank is a lot of work and a big commitment with so much to consider. I mean, you'd probably have to snorkel in the tank to do maintenance!
I'd probably turn it into a terrarium with a few lizards, maybe a Boa.
That tank is a lot of work and a big commitment with so much to consider. I mean, you'd probably have to snorkel in the tank to do maintenance!
I'd probably turn it into a terrarium with a few lizards, maybe a Boa.
twentyleagues
Valuable Member
Nice setup! I would use the garage for your water "station". In my previous reef life I had my sump in my basement even so I had used most of the available space in that area so I had to put my water station on the other far side of the basement. I just hard plumbed everything to the sump. The mixing pump was enough to feed the sump in a water change. Waste water was gravity drained to my basement sump. I had room for a separate ato container near the sump and just used a t off the ro/di unit to fill the ato. I dont remember exactly how far it was probably under 100' probably closer to 50' but that was all on the same level. You said its one floor up so gravity will negate the need for a pump if you have a straight shot to plumb it. Or like you said a hose. It was very nice to have mine hard plumbed, open a valve, close the valve, open another valve, close that valve, water change done.
SlowAndStupid
Community Member
I wish I could hard plumb but there's no way to run it unseen without tearing up lots of drywall and having no access once repaired in case of any issue. So retractable hose would be the best option I believe. I do think I will put a smaller container of fresh water in the fish room for ATO. Thoughts on how big or small a fresh water tank for in room?
Yes, quite a large tank and you're right that I literally put on a snorkel and mask to climb in and clean. I have kept it running as a fresh water tank for 6 years though and never really thought of it as too large of a commitment. Terrarium isn't really my thing.That is a BIG tank. And, I can understand why it was included with the house; moving it is impossible!
That tank is a lot of work and a big commitment with so much to consider. I mean, you'd probably have to snorkel in the tank to do maintenance!
I'd probably turn it into a terrarium with a few lizards, maybe a Boa.
The space is too small with the spaced 2x6's on the periphery for support, I barely squeezed through. The extra bracing I added gives no significant room any more either. Finally, once the actual sump is placed there's no further access to that area in case of an issue.
twentyleagues
Valuable Member
I guess it depends on what your daily evap is. I like to have about a weeks worth available.
SlowAndStupid
Community Member
Hard to say until after the fact. I typically have acrylic covers of the tank openings itself. The evaporation was minimal from the open filtration I ran when I did my weekly water changes. I'm thinking a 35-gallon storage tank with a 15x15 inch footprint.
Jimbo327
Active Member
I would do the garage ATO and saltwater. Just have to run 2 lines, the saltwater line would be bigger, so that you can just pump in the fresh saltwater faster from the garage, and the old saltwater will drain.
FOWLR would be 10x less work. But a full mixed reef is way cooler. Just have to get the right lights that will work on such a deep tank and to get enough par for corals. Plus corals get knocked off all the time, you will have to get in there to do quite a bit of maintenance.
FOWLR would be 10x less work. But a full mixed reef is way cooler. Just have to get the right lights that will work on such a deep tank and to get enough par for corals. Plus corals get knocked off all the time, you will have to get in there to do quite a bit of maintenance.
SlowAndStupid
Community Member
I think I can fit a 35 gallon tank in the fish room for ATO for convenience. I would have larger fresh and saltwater tanks in the garage for mixing. I agree FOWLR would be easier but I want the beauty that comes with the corals! After 6 years of climbing in the tank I'm used to the maintenance though I try to minimize it where possible. I am looking at a collection of Orphek Amazonas 960 for my lights right now.
BigAsh
Active Member
Another vote for the mixing station in the garage with the advantage of space and being able to gravity feed to the tank or sump. You could use the fresh water reservoir to gravity feed ATO to the sump with a simple float valve. The Avast Marine Barrel Tender is worth a look to manage your fresh water reservoir without TDS creep. It might be good to consider a baffle in the sump for the return pump chamber for more sensitive ATO.
Before filling the tank, you may want to consider polishing the acrylic if it is scratched up.
Before filling the tank, you may want to consider polishing the acrylic if it is scratched up.
As mentioned before I would strongly recommend making sure that the rock work does not contain anything that will leach into the water thus making control of some critical parameters nearly impossible.
BigAsh
Active Member
Forgot to mention that one thing to consider is garage temperature for the mixing station. If the saltwater is too warm due to a hot garage, it complicates water changes unless they are done slowly. It would be nice to be able to do slow auto water changes but you will need to change 100 gallons a week or 14 gallons per day. If you want to do an auto water change in, say, 8 hours, you would need peristaltic pumps that can do 75 ml per minute continuosly. Maybe there's a way to use solenoids and float switches so you can use gravity instead of pumps.
SlowAndStupid
Community Member
I'm not sure how to do this other than an ICP test after the tank is filled. I don't think there's any way to remove the rockwork without damaging the tank though.
The garage has its own HVAC and is climate controlled year-round. I'm thinking of a manual water change once weekly where I bring a hose down and do it. There's no real way to plumb tubing and pipe down to the fish room conspicuously and will be a no-go from my wife.
twentyleagues
Valuable Member
I currently use 2 55g brute cans for my tanks in my basement, one is rodi the other salt. I have a jebao 4500 I use to transfer rodi to the mixing container and mix the salt. I also use this same pump to pump the saltwater to the tanks during a water change. I purchased a Flexzilla 3/4" 100' hose and it works great its also food safe so its safe to use for reefing I cut the brass ends off.
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