Building new home

[Sam SD]

Hello everyone,

I've been lurking a bit trying to catch up with the latest and greatest in reefing. Nearly 10 years ago, I kept a reef tank at work, and I've been waiting for another opportunity to start another one.

We are in the early process of building a new custom home, and one of my must-haves was an integrated space for a reef aquarium. My builder is pretty exited about it, and we selected a great spot where it will be built into the wall, but the access will be through my pantry. We will install a water-seal door between the pantry and the tank room.

My first set of questions is ensuring we have the foundation for a good, yet compact setup. The tank wall opening is going to be roughly 4 ft wide. The tank "room" is going to be about 4 ft by 3 ft. My questions are:

1. How tall of a tank is reasonable for keeping an maintaining coral? I want to go as tall as possible, while still being able to maintain the tank (even if I have to use a ladder).
2. When considering vertical placement, the tank will be seated in a wall that is 10 feet tall, but looks 9 feet after moulding and baseboards. For maximum visual appeal from both a seated postion 15 feet away, and a standing position directly in front of the tank, at what height would you place the base of the tank?
3. I'm installing a whole home softener and RO filter. Do I need to add another RO filter at the water source in the tank room?
4. If another RO filter is not needed, should the filter come after the softener?
5. Is 4 x 3 a large enough space to have a good sump/refugium, as well as any other equipment needed for the tank?
6. Will I have a moisture problem in my pantry?
7. Besides a tap, a drain, and electrical outlets, are there any other considerations that would be good to ensure are built in?
8. Should I have a bathroom fan/vent in the tank room?

I'm looking forward to advice!

Thanks!

 

[SPR1968]

Hi Sam and welcome to R2R!

On the tank size it’s all personal preference but on the height, you need to be able to reach in for maintenance. It’s not vital to touch the bottom with your hands as you can use tongs, but it helps. I can just touch the bottom of my tank with finger tips at full stretch which is fine

One of the very basics of reef keeping is good water so you need a RODI system producing 0 TDS water for topping up after evaporation and making clean new saltwater.

On the sump just go as big as you can within what space you have. It will soon fill up with all the equipment

I don’t have any real issues with moisture from my tank, nothing really noticeable but it will depend on your ventilation etc.

You might find this useful as well, and anything else just ask

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-supreme-guide-to-setting-up-a-saltwater-reef-aquarium.138750/

 

[NY_Caveman]

Welcome to R2R!

I am no expert on a large sump system, so I will leave those questions for others to answer. As far as the RO water, a home RO system is good for drinking, but RO/DI water is best for your tank. DI is a Deionization stage. You could add this alone to your RO system and T off between drinking water and water going to the additional DI unit. You want the TDS of the water in the tank to be 0. TDS is Total Dissolved Solids.

 

[JustAnt]

Regarding the height of the tank I don’t think you want a tank so tall that you cannot reach the bottom. It would make it difficult to aquascape or retrieve a coral and difficult to clean the glass. At least in my case sometimes I need to reach in the bottom of glass to scrape stubborn algae.

 

[theblackpearl]

I have a 24" tall tank and I think that is the perfect height for a balance of visual appeal and maintenance. The bottom of my tank is 36" off the floor which makes for a good look when sitting at my couch and walking by the tank

I suggest you use an RODI system dedicated to the tank. You can use the waste water to water your yard if you like. Good clean water is #1 Priority. You can store this water in your basement or garage. There are many good storage solutions on REEF2REEF

4x3 foot area can get you a nice sump with internal skimmer. You can then wall mount media reactors and hang shelfs for supplies.

You should have a dedicated electrical circuit and maybe a backup generator if you loose power longer than 4 hours. A utility sink would be very handy which could supply your water for RODI and be your drain.

Lastly, I would use a humidity sensing bathroom vent fan in your filtration room. These are effective and can be ran off your dedicated electrical circuit for the system. Make sure to paint the walls in this room with a Kilz type moisture resistant paint to seal the room up. Caulk every seam in the room and tile the floor to hold the water until it can be cleaned up.

 

[lapin]

+1 on all of the above
Moisture is a problem. A bathroom fan rated for continuous duty will work. Heat and or humidity sensor would be a nice addition. I would also have them install a heater/ air conditioning vent with a plastic cover. The room might get hot or cold depending on what time of year. Electric plugs high on wall for lights.
Make the room as big as you can. You need room for that 6' ladder, buckets of salt, ato fresh water container. Oh and that salt mixing container ect....

 

[Jay Z]

Electrical/dedicated breakers
Drainage/floor drain/utility tub
Water/rodi
Water storage
Ventilation/Can’t exhaust without air coming in/ac/heat/maybe dehumidifier depending on ventilation.

Cover those and your golden.

 

[Peace River]

Thanks for joining R2R!!! A ladder will help you get to the top of the outside of the tank, but you will still need to aquascape, clean, and do other maintenance in the tank so be intentional if you decide to go much taller than 24-30 inches. As others have said, moisture is always a concern so have a plan to deal with humidity. I would still recommend a dedicated RODI. Good luck!

 

[TK_KW]

-Dedicated rodi for fish closet/room

-dedicated large cfm bathroom fan. You can just put on digital decora light switch or what not. Helps control any humidity. My goes off for 1hr run time. Three separate times in 24hrs

-dedicated electrical for the tank and equipment. Or have electrical pull small load item off same circuits.

-depth, mine is 30", and I can reach bottom. But like mentioned it's more of your preference. Bigger viewing area is why I went with 30" tall.

-like mentioned above aswell, biggest sump you can fit, and you could always build it.

-strongly consider a make up water station. Or at least allocating some room for it. I've come to realize having water on hand and always ready. Is a massive help.

Read through my build, might give you more ideas for what you can do behind a inwall. Also start a build thread.

Good Luck