Colleen & Scotts 100g build

Brighteyes_13 · #1 11-07-2016, 12:13 AM

After 7 years of being tankless my hubby and i decided to start a new build together. This will be the first build ive been responsible for where ive had the time and money to do it exactly the way i want.

At first we were thinking of going with a 30-40 cube all in one setup, but i have always enjoyed having a larger tank. I like the idea of having room for my own choices on filtration and water management.

My previous setups have included a 60g that melted down due to shattered heater and no gfci protection, and a 90g shut down due to life situations.

So Following the trend this time we decided on a custom 48"l by 20"w by 24"t tank. External overflow on the end to allow for use as a peninsula or two long sided viewing.
After posting looking for information on where to shop here in Calgary i went to Concept and ordered tank, stand and sump.

So now while im waiting to have my tank built i've started my shopping and wishlist.

For lighting i am sold on a kessil ap700. I love the all in one controlability. with having a longer tank i think i am going to mount it slightly down toward the non overflow side.

For a return pump so far ive heard good things about Sicce syncra silent 4.0 or Eheim compact+ 5000. Both have a reputation of being quiet with great water moving capacity. and are cheap enough keeping an extra on hand for cleaning and backup is practical.

For in tank flow i like the looks and idea of the Maxspect Gyre XF230 or 250, suplimented with a smaller powerhead.

For skimmer i got a great deal on a bubble magus.

Scott is pretty handy with electronics and is planning on building a controller for the system with display for the hood.

So, any feedback is gladly accepted and appreciated.

maron6977 · #2 11-07-2016, 01:59 AM

I had concept build my peninsula tank . I built my stand & canopy . Only regret - should have paid the extra & had the 2 vertical glass corners polished. Don't get me wrong , it's a nice tank , but that would have finished it off really nice . Considering the rest of the glass edges are covered with wood trim.

Myka · #3 11-07-2016, 02:09 AM

Sounds like the start of an awesome tank! I love the dimensions! I have an Eheim Compact 3000 on my tank and love it. It's so quiet that I have to look for water flow when I turn it back on to see if it's running because I can't hear it start up.

I'm not a fan of LEDs though. Maybe you could be persuaded to T5?

Brighteyes_13 · #4 11-07-2016, 02:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maron6977

I had concept build my peninsula tank . I built my stand & canopy . Only regret - should have paid the extra & had the 2 vertical glass corners polished. Don't get me wrong , it's a nice tank , but that would have finished it off really nice . Considering the rest of the glass edges are covered with wood trim.

Funnily enough we did decide to get the 2 vertical edges polished. I'll have to post pics when we pick it up.

Brighteyes_13 · #5 11-07-2016, 02:15 AM

in the past ive run MH with t5 to supliment. I always liked the shimmer, and i never could get used to the flatness of the t5 only. i may again supliment with t5 if i dont find the light coverage to be enough. For the price of fixtures i really dont think i'll go straight t5 though.

maron6977 · #6 11-07-2016, 02:42 AM

I run Kessils with T5's . Works pretty good & still have the shimmer

Skimmer Juice · #7 11-07-2016, 06:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maron6977

I run Kessils with T5's . Works pretty good & still have the shimmer

same here I run 3 t5 bulbs and 3 a360we kessils . Best of both worlds and the pendants really made it easy to mount them with the t5's . Tank sounds awesome I have always loved the look of peninsula tanks cant wait for pics

tang daddy · #8 11-07-2016, 04:20 PM

I already had the shimmer of mh but not the pop so I recently added a couple a360 and it's looking great, you can't go wrong with a couple t5 and LEDs...

I am just wondering why you opted for a 24" gig tank instead of 24 wide?

A deeper dimension and lower tank is easier to work on and better to view scape wise....unless room was the issue.

The kessil ap400 looks like a decent light forsure, I've checked some of the reviews on you tube but I don't think one light is going to span 4'.

If I ever did it again and had a 48"x 24"x 20" tall I would run a 8 bulb dimmable ati with 2 kessils a360.

Looks like you're off to a great start...

Brighteyes_13 · #9 11-07-2016, 11:56 PM

With our current living space set up we were limited to 20" depth. Our original design was only 48x20x20. With the ap700 needing minimum 15-18" for light spread we were expecting a 18-20" hood. I thought that a 30" stand, topped with a 20" tank, topped with a 20" hood would look a bit off. I talked the Hubby into going 4" deeper. Personally i could have just gone with mounting brackets on the kessil but he insists on a hood. He hates the look of wires, and is planning to install a touchscreen for the controller in the hood.
I dont know exactly if it will make much difference in my viewing space, but im ok with my height.

you never know... i may hate it and redesign the stand or tank lol.

Myka · #10 11-08-2016, 02:15 AM

I like the dimensions. I prefer deeper tanks rather than wide and shallow. If you can get with deep and wide then that's the ultimate!

My tank is 21" high (21" wide), and I don't think I'd ever go shallower than this ever again. I preferred my previous tank's dimensions of 18" wide and 24" tall. I think yours being 20" wide will be even better.