Chaloupa's 10 foot build

[Chaloupa]

I have a 150g 5 foot tank right now that is a nice looking SPS and LPS reef. In that tank I have an Achilles Tang (and other tangs). After seeing Marie's "Doofus" and reading quite a bit on them, I knew that an upgrade to a longer tank would make for better "tang ownership". So after a plea sent out that I wanted a longer tank, I got a PM regarding one for sale, THANK YOU Christy!!

We picked up the tank in Victoria where it was being used as a FW tank with a closed loop and undergravel system. The plan, or should I say the agreed upon plan with my husband was that we would run it fresh at our store, and invest in another tank for our SW pets at a later date . Boohoo for me. Well, needless to say after filling it, cycling it for FW with a truckload of Hagen "Cycle" and getting ready to add fish.....I WIN! My husband decided that maybe we should set it up salt water...I mean WHAT A FREAKIN WASTE OF A 10 FOOT LONG TANK..........so he emptied it! Removed the 6 buckets of JUST WASHED gravel and cleaned it out.

Now on to the project...we did have to have this tank put on a pedestal as the stand that it came with was really short...had we planned it better we would have just replaced the stand and made a new TALL one to accommodate sumps and skimmers...but we didn't and will now just have to deal with it. Also, the closed loop was run very oddly with 4 drains spaced evenly in the centre of the tank and a return in "back" corners. 2 drains are returned by a pump for each return. We couldn't do a box or anything around the drains either as they would REALLY stick out. If I were to do it over again, yep I would have just done a new stand, figured out a way to have the drains done, but I figured I wouldn't push it once my husband saw the light! hee hee.....

So here's the start. We have put it in front of a "treated" set of windows that don't get a blast of sunlight...but we wanted it to be seen from the outside and inside. (Luckily we have a TINY staff member that actually fits between the window and the tank) Our plan is to run 2 Deltec MCE600 skimmers, possibly a calcium reactor that will be plumbed outside the tank, a pellet reactor and .... well that's most likely it ...... We will be putting all the cords along the back into a black hose so they are all hidden and just follow along the black tank trim. We will have a Wavebox from our home tank, a Vortech MP40 and a few other wave makers in the tank.

Our goal is to have a visually pleasing LPS and SPS, easy to maintain AWESOME Tang home! We don't have our lighting figured out yet, as it's 10 freaking feet long with 3 cross braces...but......We would like to incorporate our existing lighting into it....which is a 4 foot Hamilton with 2x400w and supplemental T12...our thoughts were to place that over the centre of the tank, then to have a 3 foot 6 bulb T5 fixture on each end...then it will still be centred looking and have enough light without having to purchase a whack more lighting. I would like a bit of input if possible.

I know, when you look at what could have been achieved and what I am making work you may shake your head........but my husband does NOT share the reefing addiction quite like I do! He changes water...and plumbs the odd tank....that's it.......

Here's a pic...the stand pedestal is not finished yet...it will match the upper half to a certain extent.....and it will look good, it will I say!

[Chaloupa]

To date we have;

filled with sand, added 1 LARGE bag of live sand, added 300ish gallons of aged salt water from our other tanks, added a small amount of live rock that is all cured, put in some Hagen Cycle (never done it with a SW tank before...what's the harm??) and put in a prawn to rot.

So 2 weeks in and all levels test normal. HUH? No really, we had an ammonia spike and such at first so I left the tank alone figuring I would check it out in a couple weeks to see if we hit the nitrite part of the cycle...and it appears our cycle is over? We had a nice diatom bloom which is also ... over..... Soooooo have added some Chromis to the tank...which are doing fabulously, and must think they are back in the ocean! Not sure what to make of the quick cycle other than I won't be adding anything else until it looks like it truly is stable...and maybe by then I will have my lighting figured out.

When it is up and running well, my own rock with corals aplenty attached will come down to this tank and slowly my 150g will be emptied.

Fish list/wish list;

ALREADY HAVE
5 Chromis
Spawning pair of Spotted Mandarins
Trio of Picasso Clownfish
Golden Dwarf Moray Eel
Achilles Tang
Chevron Tang
Hybrid Tang
Mimic Tang

WISH LIST
Orange Shoulder Tang
4-5 small yellow tangs
School of Anthias
A few gobies....

Probably that's it.....I will be on the lookout for some nice brain corals for the sand bed, and of course Zoa's as that is my biggest SW addiction....but otherwise it will be fairly stocked with what I already own...we do plan on keeping it lighter on LR so there is a ton of swimming room...we'll see though!

[lockrookie]

lucky you wow this is going to be a great build im excited for you and will be watching in anticipation.

[Chaloupa]

Originally Posted by lockrookie

lucky you wow this is going to be a great build im excited for you and will be watching in anticipation.

thank you! There are several things I know I will regret later that I didn't do...but I wanted simple and quiet.....and working with what I had available!

[lockrookie]

if you are worried about skimmer and sump make the skimmer external cut a hole in bottom of stand w/overflow tub made out of a wash basin may work for you and give you a bit more height for skimmer. just a thought. i wish my stand was higher as well and may be cutting out the bottom to add a deeper sump slowly getting tired of daily adding fresh water

[Skimmerking]

Sarah right on ,however you dont need the shrimp in there since you put in the hagen cycle..

[marie]

Doofus and I are jealous

[fishoholic]

Congrats, 10 feet WOOOOHOOO!!!! Very exciting

[Lance]

Very nice Sarah! I know you had been looking for a larger tank for some time. Very happy for you. With your skills I know this tank will be terrific just like all your others.

[christyf5]

Woohoo!! *jumpy claps*

This is so awesome!! It looks great so far, you just need a couple of low chairs so people can pull up to the tank to have a good look. Can't wait to see it full of fishy goodness!!