Decisions, decisions....

[goody]

Been in our new house now for 6 months and have been contemplating my comeback. I have received a tank quote from SCA for a 60x30x24, but not even sure if these are the dims. I want or builder for that matter. Also considering 48x36x24 or 30. Also, with MAX just around the corner and MACMA coming here, do I wait and possibly get a better deal at these events. Only ever bought coral at MAX and never been to MACNA. Thoughts?

One thing for sure is the placement of the tank. The planned area for the tank is 11'x6.5'. Currently, my kids use it as a handball court and soccer goal, so they won't be happy when this comeback happens. On the other side of the 11' wall is a garage that houses our bikes and kid toys, no cars. I would love to keep all equipment in there but not sure if this is feasible. No vents and I don't believe it is insulated, so worried I would have temp and humidity issues. Working on uploading some photos of these spaces. Thoughts?

Also was highly looking in to having an AWC system on this tank, but recently been reading about Triton method. Thoughts?

I didn't post in members tank section because I think I am a little ways away from a build thread, but hoping some of your thoughts can help me get it going.

[davocean]

Well first off I LOVE my SCA, a very quality build regardless of price, but price being a second neato thing about SCA, especially since they are all starfire glass.
My only gripe on mine is how it was drilled, one drain, one return, and I wish the drain was bigger, and wish there were two so I could have a backup/emergency, but from what I've been reading is they have made some corrections or you can at least request these improvements.
The build of glass itself is near perfect, great silicone job, nice edges, super clean.
I would not hesitate a second on going through SCA

Waiting for deals at shows, good luck w/ that, especially getting exactly what you want, would not be my choice.

Vents and insulation, probably can be added fairly easy, pics will determine that.

[jschnepf]

Brian, I can't comment on the tank itself but the plumbing/ (garage fish area) is exactly what I have going on. My garage is not insulated and no vents. During the summer months I do adjust my garage door so it remains open about 4" to allow for some air exchange as the temp gets pretty high. I am positive that my electricity costs suffer from this setup but it is well worth it to have the extra room for maintenance and water volume. My currents system is a 100 gallon display tank in the house, 90 gallon sump, 60 gallon refugium, and 10 gallon frag tank all located in the garage. My tank temp stays very stable with a 800 watt heater on a stand alone controller and 500 watt heater on my apex, along with a 1/3 or 1/4 hp (can't remember which) drop in chiller for summer months.

Having the equipment in the garage also keep almost all of the noisy, and stinky stuff out of the house. And allows for many more features like an awc system to be implemented much easier than if the entire system was in a area away from a water, and drainage source.

My opinion is obviously skewed, as I can't imagine having my filtration crammed into a stand after having this setup.

You are always welcome to stop by and checkout my setup and brainstorm for ideas for your own system.

[goody]

Thanks Dave and Jon for your input. I'll take you up on that offer to check out your setup. My laundry room and wash sink is upstairs, so I'm not even sure if I can run rodi lines the distance to garage. Also, I think there's no drainage in garage, so AWC system may be out. Here are some shots of my space and the garage-notice the small alcove for a AWC or sump/frag tank/fuge area. Would I have to worry about my bikes getting rusty if I do have filtration equipment in garage?

[jada1]

Cool i knew you couldn't be without a tank lol

[CGsReef]

Stop messing around Brian. You know what you really want. Just get it.

[unbereefable]

I've got a Q. If the area for tank is 11'x6.5', why is the tank so much smaller? Looks like you need a 8'x36"!

[goody]

Cool i knew you couldn't be without a tank lol

It's just taking longer than I expected, but I'm trying. Suggestions on a tank builder?

Stop messing around Brian. You know what you really want. Just get it.

I don't. I need your input that's why I didn't stop by to see your tank when you were out of town.

I've got a Q. If the area for tank is 11'x6.5', why is the tank so much smaller? Looks like you need a 8'x36"!

Hmm...I agree with, but my wife doesn't.

[jada1]

B go with the new leemar the tank cornel got looked good or get an elos 160xl buddy go all out man that would be sick.

[davocean]

Is Leemar still making tanks?
Last I heard they lost their main builder and had a lot of unhappy people w/ poor/sloppy work, and I thought they quit.

Brian, hard to tell from pics where the back wall to garage is exactly, but it sure would be nice to have sump room there

[goody]

B go with the new leemar the tank cornel got looked good or get an elos 160xl buddy go all out man that would be sick.

Love the elos 160xl, but they don't sell just the tank do they?

Is Leemar still making tanks?
Last I heard they lost their main builder and had a lot of unhappy people w/ poor/sloppy work, and I thought they quit.

Brian, hard to tell from pics where the back wall to garage is exactly, but it sure would be nice to have sump room there

I think Danny is referring to Crystal Dynamics. The red x is the 11ft wall with garage right on other side. The blue x has two walls off of that post. These two walls form that triangular cutout in the garage. In garage photo above this cutout has water jugs, calcium reactor, and shipping boxes.

[h20poloman]

Hey Brian, congrats on the new house. Are you still in Carlsbad? Depending on how far you are from the coast, if you run AC and how ventilated your garage is should also factor in to whether or not you use the garage for filtration. If you have solar or plan on it then it also wouldn't likely matter as much but if the garage runs hot you could really see a crazy increase in your electricity bill. Maybe put a temp guage in your garage for a bit and see how it's running compared to the outside temp. We run our AC a lot in the summer so I didn't have to worry about a chiller on my 248g but I also had electricity bills north of $600-700 a month and that was before they have hiked rates again. My bill dropped about $300-400/month since being tankless. I love a deeper tank but it's a bit more challenging and expensive to figure out a lighting solution when you get to 36" deep so keep that in mind. If you plan on sticking with T'5s you'll likely want at least an 8 bulb up to 30" deep and you could possibly stretch it to 32" deep depending on your aquascape and coral selection. LED's don't seem to have the spread as T5's so even more challenging to figure out a solution on a deeper tank. Halides are awesome but you know the issues with electricity cost and heat they produce. If you go with the ATI T5/LED fixture or any other similar ones you probably are still looking at 30-32" deep max for light coverage.

As for MACNA, not sure what kind of deals you can get on actual tanks there but it's possible. If you wanted a Reef Savvy tank though you could possibly save on shipping they will be attending and I know some other hobbyists have had them made and delivered at MACNA (display tank you could take home after the show...they don't fill it). It would still be pricey no doubt but IMO they are the best tank manufacturer however, the price deters most. There will be some other tank manufacturers there and I'm sure they would prefer to sell their show tanks at a deal then ship or transport them home.

Either way, looking forward to having you back in the hobby. My travel is going to be nuts for a while so my build is going but slow as well since there is no urgency to get it wet yet.

[CGsReef]

I'm home all weekend. Call if you want to stop by.

[davocean]

Dude that wall is right where you want it and it is so convenient to have all your mess in garage, just hole saw a couple openings for plumbing, easy peasy.

[bsme]

Brian, sent you a pm.