Coming back.....

creefer · Oct 30, 2016

Well....

I've been gone for a long time. I've had some life changes (read divorce here, but don't feel sorry....it was the best thing that could have happened) and looking at a career move. As a result of some of the changes, I've purchased a house for me and the kids. Fortunately for me, the home has a built in tank. Unfortunately, it's not properly set up for my needs and is a bit larger than I'm able to financially manage currently.

So, I'm going to update this shortly with a pic of the current situation (please don't mind the mess as I'm still not yet settled and have lots of work to do) so you all can understand what I have to work with. When I update with pics I'll also update with my currently owned equipment. I'm looking for any and all suggestions for what to do. While I look forward to suggestions, I'll advise you all on the budget and hope that you have some recommendations that suit my desires.

That said, my desires are as follows:

SPS dominant system
Wrasse dominant system with the ultimate goal of housing various leopards. Stocking will have to be wisely chosen.
Automation will be key because I travel for work and have a crazy schedule with the kids and parenting time, etc. not including personal travel for me which is increasingly frequent (more on that later)
Aesthetics. Pics will help.

So, I welcome ideas. Pics coming in a few.

helen ann · Oct 30, 2016

Hello! Welcome Back!!!

creefer · Oct 30, 2016

Here's what I have in terms of equpiment.

Tank that's built in is a 6' 100g tank. It's a typical AGA type tank and it's not drilled. It was previously a FW tank so I don't know what is or is not tempered. I would love to know how to figure this out so I can determine what to do for an overflow or if I need to replace the tank. If I replace it, I would change it entirely. You'll soon see pics to understand what I'm getting at.
Apex lite - Need new probes so plan on making it a full Apex.
Trigger systems ruby 30E sump.
Mag 9.5 pump.

I'll need everything else to make this happen. I do have some salt to get me started. I previously used ESV and have enough to get the tank going.

The dimensions of the tank are not what I would prefer. So, if it is determined that this tank isn't going to work, I'd be replacing it with a 48" x 24" x 20" tank with a low iron front, likely custom made locally with a ghost style overflow.

Pics (please don't mind the mess.....still not entirely settled in at the new place):

This is the tank in its current location. It's a 6' 100g tank.

This is the view from the couch in the basement.

This is the back side in the utility / laundry room.

I have plenty of space to work with and easy access to remove humidity.

I'm concerned about water changes because I'm on a septic system and I'm not sure the impact of salt water on the septic system. Love some wisdom here. Never had to deal with this before. Benefit of the tank location is that I have 2 floor drains in the "fish room" and access to space for a mixing station and all my gear. There's plenty of space below the current tank for the sump and all equipment required. Additionally, I have a shallow growout tank that would be plumbed into this system.

As far as lighting goes, I'd love T-5 (had great luck with it in the past) but really like the idea of a T-5 / LED hybrid but don't have ATI money to spend. I'd have to go used or DIY, or full LED for cost purposes. As for the growout tank, I'd have to use similar lighting such that I maintain some consistency when I transfer livestock. I also have room for a QT, so that would be a 20g with a hang on filter which I think would be perfect given my situation.

So.....please.....help me with ideas, thoughts, concerns, etc. I'm in no hurry and have no issue with this taking several months to develop. As I mentioned, I'm not married to this tank's size and have no issue replacing it with one smaller in length. It actually would benefit me if it were so, but if I can use what I've got, it may make financial sense to do so.

Bring all ideas and thoughts.

Thanks in advance to the R2R community. You all have always had great ideas and I welcome them all.

I look forward to the responses and more forward to the ultimate build. In the interim, I'm going to focus on getting the balance of the Apex gear and will be getting the room ready.

DBR_Reef · Oct 31, 2016

My recommendations:
to tell if glass is tempered : Put a laptop behind the glass. Then using polarized glasses, rotate the glasses and the screen should black out. If it goes all crazy, you have tempered glass. http://www.salt-city.org/showthread.php?9542-How-to-tell-if-glass-is-tempered

Go T5 and LED- a T5 retrofit kit is cheap and so is a set of Chinese black boxes- or find a used set of kessils

Get rid of the 6' 100g- it is going to be a pain to aquascape and it's not what you want- you will have a heck of a time changing it out in the future. I would get a 6' 180 or 210/220 since you have the space, but that is just me.

There are all sorts of opinions on SW and septic tanks. Many dump SW down them with no problems, some people report problems, and most professionals seem to recommend against it. I kind of think it depends on 1) where your leach field is, you don't want to salt your lawn 2) how much SW you put down the drain 3) how much FW you put down the drain that will dilute the SW. Personally I would pump it somewhere you don't want plants growing- or use it as snow removal on your driveway

creefer · Oct 31, 2016

DBR_Reef said:
My recommendations:
to tell if glass is tempered : Put a laptop behind the glass. Then using polarized glasses, rotate the glasses and the screen should black out. If it goes all crazy, you have tempered glass. http://www.salt-city.org/showthread.php?9542-How-to-tell-if-glass-is-tempered

Go T5 and LED- a T5 retrofit kit is cheap and so is a set of Chinese black boxes- or find a used set of kessils

Get rid of the 6' 100g- it is going to be a pain to aquascape and it's not what you want- you will have a heck of a time changing it out in the future. I would get a 6' 180 or 210/220 since you have the space, but that is just me.

There are all sorts of opinions on SW and septic tanks. Many dump SW down them with no problems, some people report problems, and most professionals seem to recommend against it. I kind of think it depends on 1) where your leach field is, you don't want to salt your lawn 2) how much SW you put down the drain 3) how much FW you put down the drain that will dilute the SW. Personally I would pump it somewhere you don't want plants growing- or use it as snow removal on your driveway

Thanks for the insight DBR. I think I'm giong to have to pump the water to a location where I don't want grass to grow. I have the perfect location for that right outside the walkout, so that makes sense.

While I do have the space for a 180 or 220, I'm not planning on going that big on this tank. I'm only planning on being in this house for another 3-4 years max, so I don't want to establish a big system only to have to tear it down. Last night I spent some more time down there thinking about my options. I think I'm going to lower the opening that's in the current wall so I can go with another rimless set up. Likely a 48" x 24" footprint. Something that I can use as a sump with the larger system in the future and still be able to tie my growout to.

I agree on the T5 as well. Supplement with LED would be great.

Thanks for the words!

Salty1962 · Oct 31, 2016

Welcome back to the wet side

eatbreakfast · Oct 31, 2016

I have a client that's a plumber and he was on septic and we would do 50g water changes every week. He wasn't concerned about it. Really if you think about ot any of the cleaning chemicals that go down the drain are going to be harsher on the septic system.

If it's a standard aquarium in place only the bottom pane should be tempered.

Daniel@R2R · Nov 1, 2016

Cool build! Welcome back!

creefer · Nov 1, 2016

mdbannister said:
Cool build! Welcome back!

Thank you. It's been a long time coming. I'll be planning for a while and building the budget properly once I settle on the tank matter.

eatbreakfast said:
I have a client that's a plumber and he was on septic and we would do 50g water changes every week. He wasn't concerned about it. Really if you think about ot any of the cleaning chemicals that go down the drain are going to be harsher on the septic system.

If it's a standard aquarium in place only the bottom pane should be tempered.

Thanks.

I was concerned about the salt in the water killing the grass in the drain field more than harming the integrity of the septic system itself.

I like the idea of the inwall set up, but the existing tank isn't in the greatest shape and may not be worth keeping. Still undecided on direction.