new place = new tank ( ideas/thoughts/planning ) ;D

[liv]

Hey everyone 
I haven't been around here lately.. Been insanely busy with other projects.

finally moved.. been working on the new place like a mad man since spring.
now I'm thinking of my next tank he he. ( been watching everyone tank and talking to NJOY daily ).
tons of beautiful setups on the forums.

I do not want huge hydro bills like in the past.. so I have a few ideas to keep things within reason.

MY NEW RULES and some thoughts:

no metal halides ( had tons of them over the years.. loved it.. but hydro pigs, and replacing them every 6months.. heck no )

no t5ho's ( again.. had tons.. loved the last setups I had ( ati ) but bulbs are too expensive to replace yearly or less )

no wood stands..  ( my last 2 last tanks were steel and I loved it )... this next one I may build out of stainless Steel.. just for the added bonus of not having to deal with rust...The paint I used on the last stand still stands today ( reused the stand in the garage ). It was the corostop from Rona.. had sandblasted it, then acid washed it.. then painted.

Glass for sure; had a few acrylic tanks in the past.. hell no. My 2 last large tanks were glass and was super easy to clean, my last large one was Starphire on 3 sides and that was amazing.. so STARPHIRE or other low iron glass is a must for the next tank.

No closed loops... as much as I liked it on the 6x3x3 the equipment was too much and too much hydro too.. as well as soo many fittings that could leak with time. so just mp60's for the circulation.. and a set of mags for the sump return.

Also, no sump rooms that is far from the tank. I lost too much heat on the way.. ( my heaters ran 24/7 even in the summer ) the pipes ended up being big radiators.. lol.. even after insulating them. so either the sump goes under or under and at the back.. insulate the sump bottom and sides.. and maybe even over.. to limit the humidity as well as less heat loss.



THE  IF's / thoughts :
I run on geothermal heating.. so thinking of using its excess heat ( stored in a hot water tank thats unplugged ) with a closed loop pump .. i'd then run a titanium coil in the closed loop into the sump or in a special tank just for that. thinking I could save tons on hydro.. and have the closed loop pump run on a relay with a thermostat.. or hooked to a controller

run a controller.. possibly neptune apex

mp60's.... I loved my mp40w's ( which I didn't sell them ) the mp60's do have a few improvements like cooling and more power.. also quieter.

led's ( i'm still not a fan of led's because of the limited spectrum they offer.. but the technology is changing on a weekly basis lately.. so that may be fixed by the time I purchase them.. lol )   my other option is the new plasma ( with the new type 41 element which has a nicer spectrum )

I'm not sure i'd go Cube.. I loved my cube.. but it had limited room for larger tangs.. so I didn't put any large guys in my 220g cube.. only a kole.  thinking of going with the 4:2:1-1/2 ratio or close.. like 96'x48'x26" or a 5'x5' or 6x6 cube which would give me a 7' lenght for the 5x5 or 8.5' for the 6x6 for tangs to sprint. But thinking the long tank would be even nicer.. as a room divider.

the next dilemma, 1st floor or basement. from past experiences.. thinking basement is the best place
but would have been sweet to watch the fish from the dining/living room. Id enjoy them more on the 1st floor thats for sure but for safety reasons.. i think it would be smarter in the basement.

with a tank this size.. i'm always tempted to raise the height of the glass. I had a 6x3x3 tank in the past.. and swore I'd never have another one that deep.. i needed a snorkel to flip the clams that would tilt or frags that would fall etc.
my last large tank was 27" deep and I liked it. But I found that with the years I like watching the corals from above more then from the sides.. like when diving on reefs. so shallower might be fun to try.. was thinking 24" or even 20". Would give me super easy access to clean it, move & fix things.. but watching it from the sides not sure it would be too shallow. When I get to this step.. I'll make myself a wood jig ( i had done this on my 6x3x3 and my 48" cube.. makes it easier to visualize.  I had used wood forenz to trace the contours of the tank in 3d. so I could move it around as well.

I'd probebly build it myself as bringing a tank like this down stairs would be a nightmare even with a bunch of movers.

I love the look of rimless.. but I do have young kids.. not sure how they fair with kids around and the eurobracing did stop many fish jumps. also clear or black silicone. on a euro bracing Id go black.. and on a rimless i'd go clear.
thickness of the glass.. thinking 3/4" maybe even tempered glass to make it even safer for kids.

3 or 4 sides viewable ?... 4 sides means I need a pipe either in the middle of the tank or in a corner.
3 sides would offer an overflow on a smaller side of the tank.. would be easier and probebly safer too as if there is a leak in the overflow, you just stop the return pump and fix the leak.. if there is a leak in the 4 sides.. your SOL if its in the middle of the tank.. on the corner it could be easier if its sealed behind a wall.
if going with 3 sides, I'd like to back glass to be black.. not black paint but actually black glass if I can find some in the local shops.

for LR.. I'm not sure i'm going to put as much LR as previous tanks where I had over 850lbs of LR.. thinking only make islands in the tank.. some in the sump.. but use gfo and others.. maybe zeovit or the like to clean the water. or maybe refugiums etc. but less LR for sure.

less fish.. my 6x3x3 had 11 tangs ( real pigs ) along with another 20 other tiny fish. this one.. less fish.. and smaller ones too.. a few tangs for sure.. but not 11.

gfci with a titanium cable  in the tank and sump setup on diodes for safety and no stray noise contamination. Firm believer that grounding tanks makes the fish healthier. a few dedicated circuits.. possibly a large ups on car batteries.. maybe even a generator.. been looking at the generac entire home generators that run on propane.

might try to run less pumps this time.. just a few larger ones.. cheaper on hydro, cheaper to purchase and easier to maintain larger pumps. so run the skimmer, and other filters on a pump, return and sump recirc on one. and keep a new spare.

I think thats it..
thought & ideas welcome.. its a long term project.. so we got plenty of time to talk.. plan etc.

Cheers!!
./ LIV

[Hookup]

i love your thoughts so far...

if budget isn't an issue then there are some great DC motors that you could use for a CL that would keep costs down... ive been looking at blueEcco pumps myself.. but they are the Abyzz pumps re-branded...  (I've been told)

pretty cool...

looking fwd to this!

[zoom111]

Hey Liv glad to see you are ready for a new tank ! Your aquamedic T5 is still going strong and one of the original actinics finally burnt earlier this week lol (at least 1+ year old bulb)

As for the tank, I think a 3 sided, shallow, peninsula would be really sweet. Something like 7ft x 3ft x 22" would look really stellar as a slight divider in the basement.

[bt]

If you're looking at whole home generators, might as well aim for the "gold standard" - natural gas generator with auto-switchover and self testing.

[liv]

zoom111; hey bud ! glad its still working great!  loved those setups.

bt; ya. thats what i'm looking for.. but i'd get the propane setup with one of those large tanks.. I dont have natural gas.. i'm out of town a bit... so propane is an ok alternative.. more expensive..but probebly cheaper when you get those large tanks

hookup; for sure.. gotta look at dc pumps.. seen a few cool ones reviewed on RB's a few months ago. expensive.. yes but insanely efficient... I installed dc exhaust fans ( panasonic ) and they are insanely quiet and efficient.. like 11watts i think for 180cfm.

[bt]

Yeah, propane with a big tank (or two) is your best option if natural gas isn't available.

[liv]

Hi Bt,
i'm told the tanks are quite expensive to purchase.. must be re-hydroed every 5 or 7 years.
or I can rent them for something like 110$ a year. Im thinking even if I had natural gas.. the service/delivery fees would cost about the same as renting the tank anyway.. i think it was 9.95 for service fee and 8$ for transportation.. so like 19$ a month X12 thats 228$. But natural gas is cheaper to run with... so it probebly equals itself out in the end.

I'm thinking I could also run my bbq on an extension line ( like I did with natural gas on my previous bbq ) ?? never seen an extension for propane.. higher pressure then natural gas. or run the generator on 20lbs bottles.. lol not sure'd they'd last all that long.