360 Gallon FOWLR start up

[JC1977]

Hey everybody I’m new to the forum so I’d like to say hello. A little on me I’ve been in the hobby off and on for about 15 years. I tried keeping corals for awhile and it was fun and somewhat rewarding however I always found myself gravitating back to the fish. Specifically the kind that get frowned upon in reef tanks such as large angels and puffers etc. So I eventually ditched the corals in my 180 gallon tank and went strictly FOWLR. So once I decided that was the direction I wanted to go I immediately started making plans to upgrade because I already knew a 180 gallon wouldn’t suffice for the angels and other fish I wanted to keep long term. So fast forward and I’m now in the process of setting up a 96x36x24 tank. Here’s some pics of the tank after it was delivered. I ordered it from Fish Tanks Direct but the brand is Tsunami . Scott the builder was really easy to work with and their prices were far better than what I was being quoted by my LFS for the same size tank. The tank has two trapezoid overflows with 2x1” drains and 1x3/4” return in each box. I plan on running the herbie method for the drains. Anyhow I’ll add more post showing what I have for filtration so far and what my plans are moving forward as I try to get this system set up and running.

 

[Devaji]

wow so nice! i wanted the same size tank for my up and coming FOWLR. but I settled on a 200 as it's going above a basement.

I was looking at that tank.
what thickness of acrylic is it?
hows the over all build quality?
what was the main reason you went acrylic over glass?
hows the stand?
did you go with there sump or get a different one?

fallowing for sure. please keep us updated.

 

[JC1977]

Here’s the sump. I had it custom built from Tsunami as well it’s 72x24x14. I wanted the drains split to avoid having long horizontal runs of pipe so I drew up a design that moved the return chamber to the center. I’m pretty happy with how it came out and again their pricing was very competitive compared to other options plus I was able to talk to Scott directly about what I wanted to do.

 

[Devaji]

Here’s the sump. I had it custom built from Tsunami as well it’s 72x24x14. I wanted the drains split to avoid having long horizontal runs of pipe so I drew up a design that moved the return chamber to the center. I’m pretty happy with how it came out and again their pricing was very competitive compared to other options plus I was able to talk to Scott directly about what I wanted to do.

wow that is a nice looking sump. great idea on middle return section.

another question.
did you get an canopy?

ugg now I am 2nd guessing my tank choice... should of gone bigger. haha

if you dont mind can you share or PM me the ball park price with shipping?

 

[JC1977]

wow so nice! i wanted the same size tank for my up and coming FOWLR. but I settled on a 200 as it's going above a basement.

I was looking at that tank.
what thickness of acrylic is it?
hows the over all build quality?
what was the main reason you went acrylic over glass?
hows the stand?
did you go with there sump or get a different one?

fallowing for sure. please keep us updated.

Tank is 1/2” acrylic all sides. Quality seems good. I went acrylic mainly for the weight. I just felt safer going acrylic with such a big tank plus I don’t know if I could have afforded all the beer and pizza it would cost me to move a 360 gallon glass tank

 

[Devaji]

Tank is 1/2” acrylic all sides. Quality seems good. I went acrylic mainly for the weight. I just felt safer going acrylic with such a big tank plus I don’t know if I could have afforded all the beer and pizza it would cost me to move a 360 gallon glass tank

yeah moving in large glass tanks are a chore for sure. how many guy did it take for this one?

 

[JC1977]

wow that is a nice looking sump. great idea on middle return section.

another question.
did you get an canopy?

ugg now I am 2nd guessing my tank choice... should of gone bigger. haha

if you dont mind can you share or PM me the ball park price with shipping?

Unlike a lot of manufacturers if you go to fish tanks direct website it will actually give you the prices for the size tank you want with a menu to add options like stand overflows etc. I know their prices have gone up since purchase but not by much. I believe I paid 4500$ for tank and stand.

 

[klc]

That's very nice. I have a liking for FOWLR too.

 

[Devaji]

Unlike a lot of manufacturers if you go to fish tanks direct website it will actually give you the prices for the size tank you want with a menu to add options like stand overflows etc. I know their prices have gone up since purchase but not by much. I believe I paid 4500$ for tank and stand.

yeah I was just on there site. that's not a bad price at all.
i went with a max of 200 gal. as my floor is already supported and it's very hard to find workers in my area to do well anything on the house we have been on the plumbers lidt for over 3 months for a leaking drain. 5+ months for a tile guy...so I did not want to deal with it.
but now I am kinda wishing i went bigger.
love the weight of arcylic tanks but I am afraid of scratching the heck out of it.

 

[JC1977]

And by far my favorite part of this 360 gallon build is my custom life reef skimmer that Jeff built me. I absolutely love this thing it’s the coolest piece of equipment I’ve ever owned and can’t wait to see it in action!

 

[JC1977]

yeah I was just on there site. that's not a bad price at all.
i went with a max of 200 gal. as my floor is already supported and it's very hard to find workers in my area to do well anything on the house we have been on the plumbers lidt for over 3 months for a leaking drain. 5+ months for a tile guy...so I did not want to deal with it.
but now I am kinda wishing i went bigger.
love the weight of arcylic tanks but I am afraid of scratching the heck out of it.

I know you say acrylic tank nowadays and people get bitter beer face but honestly when you get into these size tanks acrylic just makes more sense to me I mean yeah they absolutely can scratch easier than glass you just have to be more diligent when cleaning. I don’t plan on running sand in this set up so it should help that’s one of the big reasons acrylic tanks get scratched.

 

[Devaji]

And by far my favorite part of this 360 gallon build is my custom life reef skimmer that Jeff built me. I absolutely love this thing it’s the coolest piece of equipment I’ve ever owned and can’t wait to see it in action!

Dude your killing me...I have wanted a live reef skimmer for ever. Jeff is the man.
I am excited to see how it runs for you. is that the SV24 or 36" model?
what pump are you gonna run with it?

OK now I am officially a bit jelly of your build.

 

[JC1977]

And by far my favorite part of this 360 gallon build is my custom life reef skimmer that Jeff built me. I absolutely love this thing it’s the coolest piece of equipment I’ve ever owned and can’t wait to see it in action!

Some more pics from from Jeff before he shipped to me

 

[Devaji]

I know you say acrylic tank nowadays and people get bitter beer face but honestly when you get into these size tanks acrylic just makes more sense to me I mean yeah they absolutely can scratch easier than glass you just have to be more diligent when cleaning. I don’t plan on running sand in this set up so it should help that’s one of the big reasons acrylic tanks get scratched.

"better beer face" I am totally stealing this!
yes there is a ton of hate for acrylic tank out there. I once had around 12+ years ago a glass cages 240 acrylic 2 guys to move it in. never noticed scrached but I was really green on fish keeping so who know.

going BB will help out too. I though about that, but I love the look of sand feels more peaceful and happy to me.

anyway I am excited to see this beat come together. do doubt to will have all my favorite fish too. lol

 

[JC1977]

Dude your killing me...I have wanted a live reef skimmer for ever. Jeff is the man.
I am excited to see how it runs for you. is that the SV24 or 36" model?
what pump are you gonna run with it?

OK now I am officially a bit jelly of your build.

Lol thanks man I appreciate it I’ve been wanting to do this for years and it’s finally coming together! Anyhow the skimmer is a custom build its 12” diameter chamber with dual mazzei Venturis. Right now I’m planning on using two mag drive 18 pumps and see how they perform the beauty of Jeff’s design you can always change pumps later!

 

[Devaji]

Lol thanks man I appreciate it I’ve been wanting to do this for years and it’s finally coming together! Anyhow the skimmer is a custom build its 12” diameter chamber with dual mazzei Venturis. Right now I’m planning on using two mag drive 18 pumps and see how they perform the beauty of Jeff’s design you can always change pumps later!

yes love that you can use any pumps you like. the mag drive are energy hogs. alot of people witch over to DC pumps. but am am sure the mags will do the trick just fine. + they will add a bit of heat...if you need it.

not a ton of Tsunami tanks around. that I know of anyway. so good to see this build thread. post a link of the FOWLR section? so other FOWLR peeps can fallow along.

 

[JC1977]

yes love that you can use any pumps you like. the mag drive are energy hogs. alot of people witch over to DC pumps. but am am sure the mags will do the trick just fine. + they will add a bit of heat...if you need it.

not a ton of Tsunami tanks around. that I know of anyway. so good to see this build thread. post a link of the FOWLR section? so other FOWLR peeps can fallow along.

Yeah I’m still trying to figure out how to post stuff and navigate the site I’m not real tech savvy lol I don’t really do social media but that’s a great idea kind of the reason I joined so I could share stuff with people like us that are more inclined to fish than coral

 

[exnisstech]

Nice. I've shopped but never bought the tsunami brand. Nice to actually see one. Is the stand from fish tanks direct also?

 

[JC1977]

Nice. I've shopped but never bought the tsunami brand. Nice to actually see one. Is the stand from fish tanks direct also?

Yes tank and stand are both tsunami

 

[quentin17110]

Hey everybody I’m new to the forum so I’d like to say hello. A little on me I’ve been in the hobby off and on for about 15 years. I tried keeping corals for awhile and it was fun and somewhat rewarding however I always found myself gravitating back to the fish. Specifically the kind that get frowned upon in reef tanks such as large angels and puffers etc. So I eventually ditched the corals in my 180 gallon tank and went strictly FOWLR. So once I decided that was the direction I wanted to go I immediately started making plans to upgrade because I already knew a 180 gallon wouldn’t suffice for the angels and other fish I wanted to keep long term. So fast forward and I’m now in the process of setting up a 96x36x24 tank. Here’s some pics of the tank after it was delivered. I ordered it from Fish Tanks Direct but the brand is Tsunami . Scott the builder was really easy to work with and their prices were far better than what I was being quoted by my LFS for the same size tank. The tank has two trapezoid overflows with 2x1” drains and 1x3/4” return in each box. I plan on running the herbie method for the drains. Anyhow I’ll add more post showing what I have for filtration so far and what my plans are moving forward as I try to get this system set up and running.

So big