I may be shallow, but I'm bigger than you think..

[Sandbags]

Hey fellow reefers,
I've finally decided to get out of the nano only club. My past tanks have been 2, 5, 8, 16, 15, and 29 gallons. The only one left is my 16nuvo. Now that I'm stocking it with frags Im finally where I want with that tank.

I recently went to fellow reefers house and was able to see a larger tank for the first time. I fell in love with the tangs so I knew I had to start a another tank, but not another nano.. A large tank!

Between my father and I we have 2 tanks, a 65 and a 16. My dad loves LPS and zoas. While I love the colorful sticks. This tank will be mainly for the fish but will be a place I can throw some frags in there an grow them out. It won't have the normal frag tank look. There will be sand and live rock, just a bit of egg crate.

I've been drawing up some plans..

For either an 80g shallow or 90g shallow.



I haven't decided yet if I want to go with 16" or 18" height.
Also for the stability of the tank I will be eurobracing.
What thickness acrylic should I use? I was thinking 1/2" but have never made a tank this large before.





Hopefully I will be picking up the stand this week.

As equipment goes I'm don't have a set list of specific items. When the time comes I will probably look on here for them. But for now a guy can dream..

Return pump - Mag Drive 7
Skimmer - Bubble Magus Curve 5
Lighting - t5ho's or gu10 build
Flow - Jebo WP-40 or koralias w/(SmartWave)
Auto Top Off - DIY

I have a 15g I wi be using as a sump. Here's the design...


If I went gu10...


I saw this color with t5ho's and thought it was great.
Bulb setup for t5ho
2 ATI Blue +
1 ATI Purple +
1 KZ UVL Actinic

Well that's it for now.
Please let me know your thoughts and ideas, tips and tricks.. Etc.
This is will be my first 30+ gallon tank, and my first tank with a underneath sump that runs for more than 2 weeks

[fresh2120]

My 90 gallons glass but they used 1/2 glass on it. But its not eruo braced...

Also just a thought.
U might want to go with a bigger drain for ur over flow one inch cant handle that much flow. I would go with 1 1/2 inch drain.
Just my thoughts...

Over all tho ur plans look good.
Good luck with the build.

[jt_milstead]

I agree with 1 1/2" drains. Much more efficient, and quieter.

[Dugaru]

Oh yeah - I made the mistake of running the same size drain/return on my tank first time around. IT'S A TRAP!! The bigger you can go on the drain, the better. I prefer glass because acrylic scratches so easily, but I know people can make some nice stuff out of acrylic and take care of it. Gonna be a cool tank though.

[Sandbags]

Thanks guys! Yeah if i can find it easier to buy a tank than build it I will do that. I know there are some reefers on here that can drill glass.

Any other suggestions are welcomed!

[wholagan]

I agree with the others on the drain. I put a 1.5" on the new 120. It has a slight gurgle to it but I think I just need to tune the return extend the outlet below the waterline. I started the hobby with an Acrylic AIO which scratched w/in a week. Been glass ever since.

Love shallow tanks. Can't wait to see this built.

[Sandbags]

I think I know what you guys are saying.. 1" not going to have enough flow. With the 1.5" I should be good. If I can find glass with the right proportions.. I would do it. But right now DIY acrylic seems the way to go.

[DaveMorris]

If the tank is primarily for fish, I would make it at least 24" tall. 18" is way too short in my opinion, especially for a fish dominated tank. Also, why not just buy the tank? A glass tank that size will probably be only slightly more money than the pieces, but well worth the peace of mind that it won't end up leaking. I would also think that you could buy a glass tank that size cheaper than buying the acrylic to make it. On the other hand, I do understand the desire to DIY. Thats what I have done with my LED lighting on my 300g. Could have bought them assembled for just a little more money, but I wanted to build it myself.

[Sandbags]

The reason for 16" or 18" is because I like the more shallow tanks. This will be a frag tank/ display. I will probably keep one tang, maybe a couple anthias.. That's it. My 16g sps tank will probably run out of room in 6-8 months.. And I figure I can just keep some nicely trimmed colonies in there.. Then take the frags and grow them out in the 90.
The only reason I say shallow is because the acrylic is easier shorter instead of taller. If I can find a 48"x24"x24" at a steal.. Sounds good. But if not, its easier to brace shorter acrylic sides than taller ones.

[wholagan]

If I can find a 48"x24"x24" at a steal.. Sounds good. But if not, its easier to brace shorter acrylic sides than taller ones.

I scoured multiple forums and Craigslist for this exact tank. I got tired of looking and almost settled for a brand new setup until one popped up in here. They rear their ugly head every so often and if you're patient enough, one will surface. I got a Euro braced tank for a fraction of what I was about to pay.

[Sandbags]

I scoured multiple forums and Craigslist for this exact tank. I got tired of looking and almost settled for a brand new setup until one popped up in here. They rear their ugly head every so often and if you're patient enough, one will surface. I got a Euro braced tank for a fraction of what I was about to pay.

There's always some good deals on here too.

[jschnepf]

Designed correctly a 1" drain is way more than enough flow to accommodate a mag 7 pump. With no head loss the mag 7 pumps 700 gph. At a 24" drop a 1" drain can flow 1700 gph. I am running a reeflo dart (3600 gph) with a 1" drain, and it is perfectly silent. Of course after head loss and valves I am not getting 3600 gph returned to the display, but I am sure it is more than 700 gph.

With that said, if I were to do my drains again I might use 1.5 on my system. But there are quite a number of factors to be considered when choosing plumbing. Space was a major concern in my build so 1" was what I had to work with.

I would also never run a single drain! That leaves no fail safe and is a sure way to have a flood at some point. I have had snails, crabs, algae and a fish stuck in my drain at different times. If there is a clog I can audibly hear a difference in the drain sound on my tank. I have two fail safe drains, a durso and an open standpipe. Neither are in use under normal operation, but if there is a clog on the main drain I can hear that one of the two start flowing water and I have time to fix whatever is causing the problem.

Just my 2 cents.

[Sandbags]

An you explain the durso and standpipe more? I know nothing about those and how they work:/

[jschnepf]

Yeah, absolutely. I will find some good drawings, and take a couple pics of my drains.

[Aaron]

I completely agree with the dual drains. My next big tank will definitely have the dual overflows. I also agree with 1.5" drains. A lot tougher to get stuff clogged in there.

I like the durso drain over Maggie muffler personally. Here's a great YouTube video to help u up with the durso:

http://youtu.be/9PHxP2Oqe6U