Maddlesrain
Valuable Member
Because of school, and my family's frequent moves, I'm going to be breaking down the 180 gallon in the coming year, however, I'd like to keep a toe in the hobby, even if with just a small desk-top type aquarium. I have quite a large time-frame for the sale of the old tank and the beginning of the new build, as I won't even begin the sale of the current aquarium until the summer when I have more free time. However, I'd like to start planning out the new build now, and make sure it's all done correctly, rather than the plunge first, fix later approach I took with my previous aquarium. Not that it didn't work out, but I feel this will create less stress and room for error. I'd also like to get a sense of what this new build will cost so I can keep that in mind when budgeting myself in these coming months.
I will be starting nearly completely from scratch, only maybe keeping a few fish from the current set-up if this new build is up and running in time.
This is the aquarium I'm VERY interested in:
https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/n...0-gallon-drop-off-aquarium-innovative-marine/
I really like the drop-off look and design, and the clean, rimless, look. I also like that there's built-in overflows. The only reservation I have is wether or not I can drill holes in the tank area that the overflows are in and run pipes down to a sump/refugium, as I would like to run this along with an auto top off underneath the display. I don't feel I'd be comfortable drilling myself, however, maybe I could put in a request to the innovative marine company and have them drill the appropriately sized holes for me?
The tank is designed to accommodate a ghost skimmer with the designed baffles and what not, but I feel by drilling and having an in-stand sump skimmer I can incorporate better equipment and just have more room in general to work with.
Does this sound like a bad idea to buy/have a tank like this modified?
Stand wise, I'll be searching for a piece of furniture which can accommodate the tank and a sump. I want to find something unique and refurbish it. I'd like to use either a 20 gallon long or 40 breeder and make the baffles myself for the sump. The size will depend purely on what I use as a stand, but larger couldn't hurt I figure.
Next up:
1. protein skimmer
2. lighting - this will be a reef. I would like to grow a mix of corals, so lighting appropriate for softies up to sps will be required.
3. Flow - I have vortechs on the 180g. I like them, but is there something else you'd recommend?
This is going to be a long time in the making, so please throw as many ideas at me as possible. I want the most seamless design I can create. Treat me as a noob, as I haven't started a reef from scratch, and really don't know what I'm doing.
Thank you as always for your guidance!!
I will be starting nearly completely from scratch, only maybe keeping a few fish from the current set-up if this new build is up and running in time.
This is the aquarium I'm VERY interested in:
https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/n...0-gallon-drop-off-aquarium-innovative-marine/
I really like the drop-off look and design, and the clean, rimless, look. I also like that there's built-in overflows. The only reservation I have is wether or not I can drill holes in the tank area that the overflows are in and run pipes down to a sump/refugium, as I would like to run this along with an auto top off underneath the display. I don't feel I'd be comfortable drilling myself, however, maybe I could put in a request to the innovative marine company and have them drill the appropriately sized holes for me?
The tank is designed to accommodate a ghost skimmer with the designed baffles and what not, but I feel by drilling and having an in-stand sump skimmer I can incorporate better equipment and just have more room in general to work with.
Does this sound like a bad idea to buy/have a tank like this modified?
Stand wise, I'll be searching for a piece of furniture which can accommodate the tank and a sump. I want to find something unique and refurbish it. I'd like to use either a 20 gallon long or 40 breeder and make the baffles myself for the sump. The size will depend purely on what I use as a stand, but larger couldn't hurt I figure.
Next up:
1. protein skimmer
2. lighting - this will be a reef. I would like to grow a mix of corals, so lighting appropriate for softies up to sps will be required.
3. Flow - I have vortechs on the 180g. I like them, but is there something else you'd recommend?
This is going to be a long time in the making, so please throw as many ideas at me as possible. I want the most seamless design I can create. Treat me as a noob, as I haven't started a reef from scratch, and really don't know what I'm doing.
Thank you as always for your guidance!!
