Setting up my 190gal (still a newbie)

[MikeP]

Couple questions for you: Where will the tank be located, does everything have to fit under the stand, how tall is the stand, what are the dimensions of the tank.[/quote]

Thanks for the replies Rory. The tank will be set up in our den along one of the main walls that supports the house (at least I think it does). The dimensions of the tank are 60 inches long, 30 inches tall and 24 inches deep. The stand is just slightly bigger length and width wize and I'm guessing 36 inches tall. It would be nice to fit everything under the stand. The stand is basically a metal frame with wood covering. One of the things I'm doing is recovering the stand and I plan to make everything accessible from the front maybe the whole front will come off or it will have large doors. I plan to reinstall the brace and resilicone the tank or have it done by someone here in Calgary (suggestions?). The tank has a corner overflow, a hole drilled in the center along the back and a valve like one used for a garden hose at the bottom right/front corner. As far as lighting, I have to see what my dad has but from what I can remember when the tank was set up the lights are not 'strip type' they were two separate lampshade looking units that hung over top (if that makes any sense). The tank will have live rock, some soft corrals and fish of course. One of my concerns is on tank placement like I said it will be along one of the main walls of the house but how do I make sure it won't end up in my basement? I think it will weigh 2000-2500 pounds when I'm done. I remember my dad reinforceing the floor at his house but the tank was placed along an 'outside' wall and not a wall in the middle of the house.

[TheReefGeek]

Ok, good to hear the tank is drilled, so you don't have to mess around with an overflow box.

If you are going to have soft corals, make sure you don't pick fish that will pick at them. Try to find out what kind of lighting your dad had running, if you can find any ballasts or anything, post the info and we can help identify. Pictures would be even better, along with any stats you see.

Is your basement finished? If not, you can usually tell a load bearing wall from a non-load bearing wall by hitting the 2x4s with your fist, and seeing how much they flex. The load bearing 2x4s will be much more rigid. If your basement is unfinished you can pretty easily add some 2x6s and teleposts to support the floor.

That said, I had a 110 gallon tank (6ft though, so weight was spread out along more wall) on the main level of an apartment build in the 50's.

Check if the tank is going to run along the supporting beams, or across them, hopefully you are running across them. One tip is to put a large board under the stand. This way the weight is spread out across a larger surface area, instead of just at the points where the stand touches the floor. (or at least the weight will be more eve)

Don't try to push too much flow through your sump, if you have 2 holes in the overflow I would use them both as drains (instead of traditionally 1 drain, 1 return) and just push as much water as 1 drain can handle, then in case of a drain line failure your other drain line will be able to handle the flow.

You could use the hole at the back of the tank for a closed loop manifold for water flow if you want. I have a sequence baraccuda on a closed loop manifold and am happy with it, I have 7 1/2" loc line nozzles I can point anywhere to customize my flow. Tunze streams would be awesome, or seio's for cheaper but not as good.

I would put as big of a sump as you can fit, and put a refugium in it, and buy the best skimmer you can afford. If you can't afford a good skimmer, don't start the tank until you can. I use an ASM, they are cheap but good IMO. A G4X would be awesome on your setup, especially if you are going to get some larger fish that eat a lot and waste a lot. http://www.asmskimmer.com/catalog/pr...products_id=33

Euroreef, bubble king, and deltec are others that are great skimmers, but for me they are cost prohibative.

[TheReefGeek]

Do you have a budget in mind?

Also seeing as you already want some soft corals, that could very quickly escalate into LPS, then SPS, clams, anemonies, etc. So I would plan your setup thinking that you will go full reef in the future, especially water flow.

[MikeP]

Don't really have a budget in mind I just want to make sure I waste as little money as possible. I will be setting up in stages to aviod draining my bank account all at once. After the tank is safe to fill again what should my first step be? I know I will likely never be able to afford MH lights for a tank this size. What kind of lighting do I need for soft corals? or is that lighting just as expensive as reef lights?

[OCDP]

Originally Posted by MikeP

Don't really have a budget in mind I just want to make sure I waste as little money as possible. I will be setting up in stages to aviod draining my bank account all at once. After the tank is safe to fill again what should my first step be? I know I will likely never be able to afford MH lights for a tank this size. What kind of lighting do I need for soft corals? or is that lighting just as expensive as reef lights?

I bet you in a year or so you'll have halides over that tank anyways

[TheReefGeek]

Halides don't have to be expensive if you build yourself a lighting hood to mount some spider reflectors in.

If you want to do cheap halides, buy 2 x 400w halides. They cover 24" each, so that means the ends of your tank will be slightly dim, just leave 6" where you don't put corals. You can buy basic m58 ballasts in cheap enclosures from a lighting wholesale store for cheap, or post here for used one. Then buy 20K XM bulbs from www.jlaquatics.com for $85 each, and a set of 12" spider reflectors with mogul sockets. You can do this for around $400 - $450. Then your bulb replacement cost each year is $170. You can build the lighting hood out of pine or similar for cheap, and you will need some fans for cooling. So say $750 for the hood, lighting, and fans. It would be better to go with 3 x 400w or 3 x 250w for better coverage, but you can start with 2, see how it looks, and add in a 3rd any time later easily. This way you could keep anything you want in your tank, and halides look awesome.

For soft corals in a deep tank you should use PC lights, but they aren't cheap either, better to go with halides from the start IMO, save you money in the long run.

Once your tank is safe and tested, then you need to cycle your rock to establish the bacteria levels, then you can add livestock but you will need lighting (nothing fancy for fish only though) and then a skimmer, etc. Oh but of course you need to have your sump plumbed and ready to go first. You might want to look at an auto top off system too. For long term success an RODI unit such as Aquasafe are great, but I am told Calgary water is better than Edmontons because Edmonton uses chloramine, Calgary doesn't.

You will need test kits, (good ones, salifert of Seachem, not Hagen) a hydrometer or better yet a refractometer, etc. Along with your sump I would plan the refugium from the beginning. And of course you have to decide if you are going with a sand bottom or not, and what size grains, and how deep. etc. etc.

[MikeP]

Well, I will be at my dads on the weekend and check everything he has. I can use my 55gal as a sump but can I build the fuge into it? Do I have to use a tank as a sump? I wouldn't mind selling it to help finance the 190. I thought I read a post about a guy that uses a rubbermaid container as a sump. Then I could use my old 10 gal as a fuge? or should the sump and fuge be together? I will take pics of the 190 and post them after the weekend.

[reeferaddict]

Originally Posted by TheReefGeek

Do you have a budget in mind?

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHA!!!

*Rolling on the floor - tears streaming down my cheeks*