new tank help.

[e46er]

So I will be upgrading my tank in the very near future here. Im thinking of a typical 220 (72"Lx24"Dx30"T)

I emailed concepts for a ballpark shipping quote to Vancouver which turned out much much lower than expected. so It looks like ill be getting it from them.

tank will be visible from the front and right side the left side will be roughly a foot off the wall just for cleaning purposes
so my initial thoughts are:

a bean animal drain

what size holes? 1.5"? for 1" piping or 2" and run 1.5" piping?

returns will go over the top. I want one hole in the back glass somewhere to hookup to a hose so I just open a valve and water drains. My current tank is drilled for CL and this works well for WC even tho I don't use the CL anymore.

current sump is a 40 breeder but I think a 75 would be a better choice. more volume and still shallow. I will obviously need to order another light since my 48" evergrow IT2012 wont have enough spread, so probably the 16" controllable one.

the rest of my equipment will just transfer over.
apex, dosing pumps, top off pump, vertex in 280, snapper running GFO and carbon once in a while, and powerheads

internal or external overflow? my only concern with an external overflow is fitting it through doorways......currently where I live my sliding door is 10' so not an issue but I dont plan on being here forever.

either way I would prefer the bulkheads out the back as opposed to the bottom.


Im thinking just regular glass since Ive never complained about my current tank and I didnt get a price for starphire but from what I gather its quite a bit more expensive.

i have a canopy so I dont see the point in paying for eurobracing over regular trim since its hidden anyway.


any comments, ideas or advice? it will be an SPS tank

if anyone from concepts happens to see this whats the typical lead time required? i forgot to ask this in my email :sad:

[Fishy!]

So I will be upgrading my tank in the very near future here. Im thinking of a typical 220 (72"Lx24"Dx30"T)

I emailed concepts for a ballpark shipping quote to Vancouver which turned out much much lower than expected. so It looks like ill be getting it from them.

tank will be visible from the front and right side the left side will be roughly a foot off the wall just for cleaning purposes
so my initial thoughts are:

a bean animal drain

what size holes? 1.5"? for 1" piping or 2" and run 1.5" piping?

returns will go over the top. I want one hole in the back glass somewhere to hookup to a hose so I just open a valve and water drains. My current tank is drilled for CL and this works well for WC even tho I don't use the CL anymore.

current sump is a 40 breeder but I think a 75 would be a better choice. more volume and still shallow. I will obviously need to order another light since my 48" evergrow IT2012 wont have enough spread, so probably the 16" controllable one.

the rest of my equipment will just transfer over.
apex, dosing pumps, top off pump, vertex in 280, snapper running GFO and carbon once in a while, and powerheads

internal or external overflow? my only concern with an external overflow is fitting it through doorways......currently where I live my sliding door is 10' so not an issue but I dont plan on being here forever.

either way I would prefer the bulkheads out the back as opposed to the bottom.


Im thinking just regular glass since Ive never complained about my current tank and I didnt get a price for starphire but from what I gather its quite a bit more expensive.

i have a canopy so I dont see the point in paying for eurobracing over regular trim since its hidden anyway.


any comments, ideas or advice? it will be an SPS tank

if anyone from concepts happens to see this whats the typical lead time required? i forgot to ask this in my email :sad:
Get Dave or Matt to quote you on the starfire. It might be cheaper than u think. I just put a deposit down on a new tank for myself and it was under 20% to go 3 sides starfire. I was just going to go float glass too, but when I saw it was like $85 to go starfire I jumped on the bandwagon. Keep in mind my tank is 1/4 the size of yours.

[smokinreefer]

If I remember correctly, it should be no more than a month to get to you.

When are you planning for your tank?
I'm doing one similar, but won't need it until next summer.

While I initially wanted starfire since this would be my long term "dream tank"
It's also been mentioned that starfire scratches easier than regular, and for a long term focal point, not sure if that's the way to go.

But on the flip side, it's gonna be a peninsula room divider, so maybe the extra clarity will be worth it?

Kinda hard to say, you'd pretty much need side by side comparison to really know what visual difference there may be.

Cheers!

[e46er]

It's not a peninsula. It will basically be in a corner of the living room.

[Fishy!]

http://m.kijiji.ca/fish-for-sale/regina/240-gal-aquarium-rear-overflow-box-and-4x4x2/v?adId=1128912477&ck=CK&from=Search&ts=1451608892489

[e46er]

Thanks but 4x4 would stick out to far in my living room.

[Myka]

So I will be upgrading my tank in the very near future here. Im thinking of a typical 220 (72"Lx24"Dx30"T) Welcome to the wet armpit crowd. Have you considered flopping it sideways so it's 30" wide and 24" tall?

so my initial thoughts are:

a bean animal drain I don't see the point in drilling an extra hole and doing extra piping. I've never even heard of a Herbie overflowing so IMO a Bean Animal is a waste of time, effort, and supplies. :)

what size holes? 1.5"? for 1" piping or 2" and run 1.5" piping? I'd do two 1.5" drains (bulkhead and piping) for Herbie, and 1" return.

current sump is a 40 breeder but I think a 75 would be a better choice. Agreed.

the rest of my equipment will just transfer over.
apex, dosing pumps, top off pump, vertex in 280, snapper running GFO and carbon once in a while, and powerheads I'd get a bigger/better skimmer, JMHO.

internal or external overflow? my only concern with an external overflow is fitting it through doorways......currently where I live my sliding door is 10' so not an issue but I dont plan on being here forever.Have you considered false wall where it's an internal overflow, but it spans the full height/width of the end?

either way I would prefer the bulkheads out the back as opposed to the bottom. Really? That just makes you use more elbows in the plumbing.

i have a canopy so I dont see the point in paying for eurobracing over regular trim since its hidden anyway. Sometimes eurobracing is cheaper because it allows the builder to use thinner glass. I'd ask for a price each way. The nice thing about eurobracing (or trim) is that when you use a magnet glass cleaner you don't splash water where trimless you splash water easily. Drives me bonkers.

any comments, ideas or advice? it will be an SPS tank Nice. :D Therefore, I want to push even more for you to upgrade skimmer. :)

[e46er]

So I will be upgrading my tank in the very near future here. Im thinking of a typical 220 (72"Lx24"Dx30"T) Welcome to the wet armpit crowd. Have you considered flopping it sideways so it's 30" wide and 24" tall?

not a huge deal for me. yes id considered it but its going to start to intrude into the room a lot.
so my initial thoughts are:

a bean animal drain I don't see the point in drilling an extra hole and doing extra piping. I've never even heard of a Herbie overflowing so IMO a Bean Animal is a waste of time, effort, and supplies. :)

concern wasnt about overflowing it was adjusting the herbie. if you keep a small trickle in the 2nd standpipe it will account for fluctuations. i suppose you really dont NEED the 3rd hole because your main drain is restricted and doesnt overflow.

what size holes? 1.5"? for 1" piping or 2" and run 1.5" piping? I'd do two 1.5" drains (bulkhead and piping) for Herbie, and 1" return.
1.5" is what I was thinking as well.

current sump is a 40 breeder but I think a 75 would be a better choice. Agreed.

the rest of my equipment will just transfer over.
apex, dosing pumps, top off pump, vertex in 280, snapper running GFO and carbon once in a while, and powerheads I'd get a bigger/better skimmer, JMHO.
i currently have a vertex in 180..... it pulls tons of crap out. what actually makes a skimmer 'better' than a different one apart from the price and longevity of the pump? I dont really plan on much more livestock than I currently have but figure if Im buying a new tank might as well go bigger.

internal or external overflow? my only concern with an external overflow is fitting it through doorways......currently where I live my sliding door is 10' so not an issue but I dont plan on being here forever.Have you considered false wall where it's an internal overflow, but it spans the full height/width of the end?
no I had not, I dont think Id like it since it would need to be quite wide to get my arm down to the bottom, for whatever reason.
either way I would prefer the bulkheads out the back as opposed to the bottom. Really? That just makes you use more elbows in the plumbing.

couple bucks and not a big deal on restriction on the drain since its going to have a gate valve anyway. at the end of the day the flow will be what it will be regardless if the restriction comes from a few extra elbows or a slightly more restricted gate valve. bulkheads out the bottom are hard to tighten, hard to move a tank, since you cant set it down without removing the bulkheads, and hard to clean to apply fresh silicone, out the back is much more practical for future moves.
the return is basically the same idea since my snapper is running a manifold tee back into the sump so not much different than a valve on the outlet side either.extra work is negligble, Im a gas fitter and spent the last 10 years running steel gas lines PVC is a walk in the park.

i have a canopy so I dont see the point in paying for eurobracing over regular trim since its hidden anyway. Sometimes eurobracing is cheaper because it allows the builder to use thinner glass. I'd ask for a price each way. The nice thing about eurobracing (or trim) is that when you use a magnet glass cleaner you don't splash water where trimless you splash water easily. Drives me bonkers.

never thought of that, I was going with just regular black trim but the euro brace does look much nicer. but that concerns me about fish landing on it...... I will ask I was quoted on 12mm front and sides and 15 mm bottom which i thought was on the small side but they build aquariums Im just a gas fitter. I wouldnt buy a tank that size any thinner glass.

any comments, ideas or advice? it will be an SPS tank Nice. :D Therefore, I want to push even more for you to upgrade skimmer. :)

possibly in the future if I find the vertex isnt keeping up. but my downhill bike has 3 whistler bike park seasons on it so shes a tired, abused old gal. the new carbon model last year was $10500 plus tax so Im trying my hardest to leave the CC at home when I pass the bike shop, but I will have a new bike before i have a $1000+ skimmer.

[mrhasan]

My only 2 cents would be to go to a much much MUCH bigger skimmer than vertex in-280. You should aim for something that is "hypothetically rated" for something like a 500 gallon tank to the least.

Will look forward to your build :)

[e46er]

^ Im aware with the vertex in280 its 'undersized' but its currently what i can afford. too many hobbies not enough $$ :sad:
I always thought skimmers were more about your bioload size than anything else but they used tank size as an average reference.
so without any intentions of adding more fish from my 120 to the new tank It should/hopefully suffice until I can afford a bigger one.

I could be out to lunch as well on the subject. except being poor Im sure about that.

[Myka]

I hear you. I used to love downhill mtn biking when I lived in the West Kootenays. There was a whole group of us that our bikes were worth significantly more than our vehicles. :lol:

Maybe you could do the happy medium and get a big bad pump for the skimmer? The skimmer body can handle a lot more than the puny pump that's on it.

Sent from my SM-G870W using Tapatalk

[e46er]

I hear you. I used to love downhill mtn biking when I lived in the West Kootenays. There was a whole group of us that our bikes were worth significantly more than our vehicles. :lol:

Maybe you could do the happy medium and get a big bad pump for the skimmer? The skimmer body can handle a lot more than the puny pump that's on it.

Sent from my SM-G870W using Tapatalk

That's realistically what will happen. My in180 wasn't anything special until I replaced the pump now it works fantastic, but for the life of me I can't remember what I replaced it with...... I'll have to look DEEP into my email for the receipt lol

[gmann]

Reef octopus or a bubble mag? Im doin a similar build and weent with a reef octopus cause it didnt hurt the wallet as much

[e46er]

Honestly I can't remember it was like 2 years ago and I've been out of town for 2 weeks so I can't even check.
Neither rings a bell, but good to know! Are you happy with the performance out of the RO compared to the stock pump?