Basement 280 Gallon Build:

[Seth81]

So I am still wrestling with the builder about that floor drain and what can be done. So I will have to wait a bit to finalize the fish room layout and tank dimensions.

I've been doing a lot of thinking about what I want to do differently this time around, and what lessons I learned from my current setup, what worked well and what didn't. So I thought I would take a second to write them down.

1. Automatic water changes probably saved my fish from my work schedule.
2. ATO only works well when you do not relay on level switches!
3. Install a drip tray under the sump and all external plumbing!
4. I feel that I wasted a lot of money on chemicals for coral growth
5. External pumps will leak, it's only a matter of time (reeflo hammerhead)
6. DIY LED fixtures was fun to build but not worth it in the end
7. No more tanks over 30" tall
8. Add fish and coral slowly to system
9. Sump design worked well: Always ensure there is enough surge capacity in the event the return pump fails and the overflow plus 1 or 2" from the tank fully drains into sump.
10. Had two outbreaks of Ich, not sure if the UV sterilizer helped slow the spread, but only lost 2 fish to Ich over 3 years.
11. Low iron (Starphire glass) scratches easily.
12. Need more flow! The turn over rate I had was 10x the tank volume an hour, but more/better power heads would have helped in my previous tank.
13. Went through a ton of GFO/Carbon, and had to change media more frequently then I would have liked. Planning on building an Algae turf scrubber and use two BRS jumbo carbon reactors.