My New Tank: By Mike Paletta

[brandon429]

Lastly I must ask: the uglies phase of new tanking

Do you entertain that sort of phasing? Early nutrient control / gfo and biodiversity like microbes supported by miracle mud likely will compete well against potential stingers like invasive dinos etc cyano.

What about UV

huge tank seems rough to reclaim, higher allowance risk than small tanks. I'm going back to re read if you are using coralline-aged live rocks or not, guiding non biolined surfaces in a tank that big would be not as fun

I'm curious if you employ manual work and cleaning during early tank maturation, or if you use only offsets like grazers and water controls to guide your tank away from unintended plant dominance


*edit
after BigJohnnys quote I went back and read and noticed the quarantine approach as well, this build is just great it’s using all the current approaches designed to minimize losses from fish and common disease really sharp build. I see detritus removal pretty often, waste handling and access designs built in

.

 

[Recklessryan904]

Can’t wait for this from a legend !

 

[Fin]

Great write up! Thanks for sharing this build. I am kind of doing the same thing, on a smaller scale - planning my last tank. I am getting older now also and I find my build is taking forever. It will be a great opportunity for all of us to see this come together. Also love that with all of your knowledge and notoriety in the hobby, you are still humble enough to solicit opinions from others to help make your build better. Good luck on your project and it will be a pleasure to follow along!

 

[BigJohnny]

Are you going to run a deep sand bed

If not why, and if so why- if I might ask.

Sandbed deep/shallow/none I find to be of utmost importance in planning for longevity and with this cost/build/commitment it will be neat to see what guided your decision

Barebottom

 

[RtomKinMad]

Can’t wait to see the new tank

 

[Rakie]

This gives me nightmares lol

 

[glb]

Great article!

 

[AquamanE]

Following along!!

 

[Frogspawn Rob]

Great Read and amazing build project! Now that I am 61 and have been in the "hobby" or more, a "PASSION" since 1971, I am in the early stages of a new build for my office and need "NO LEAKS" to be a top priority. I just spoke to Karen at Exotic and have started a dialog and I truly appreciate your article and guidance which wasn't even possible back when we started with a simple 55 gal and a whole lot of blood sweat and tears! Looking forward to following you on this journey, Rock ON!

 

[AquamanE]

“ trace elements, but also strontium, iodine and Acro Power on a daily basis”

Why those elements?

 

[najer]

Great article / introduction.

 

[Bill Howard]

Following. I'm also in the build phase of my last tank, and can't wait to see your finished setup.

 

[Frogspawn Rob]

“ trace elements, but also strontium, iodine and Acro Power on a daily basis”

Why those elements?

Hi AquamanE:
I used to live in Parkland and was in the Coral Springs area for 41 years, but now live in Denver, NC Northwest of Charlotte on Lake Norman. Love it up here. I dealt with Brian Ellers, Rob and Edie and the Barrier Reef in Boca, along with swapping frags with Steve Tyree, Tubbs and others back in the mid 90's until I broke my tank down in 2005. It is the Bird Road store that I spoke with and waiting now on their quote. Hopefully I will meet you at an event in the future, thanks again for the good words on Bob and Karen, Keep Fraggin, Rob

 

[BradB]

Conventional wisdom is drilled tanks are much safer than external overflows, as a broken siphon is more likely than a crack or leak. Obviously you know this and feel otherwise, but I am surprised you'd go this route.

Without a canopy, aren't you worried about that much evaporation? I'd imagine you'd have humidity issues in the house as well as needing to run the ro almost constantly.

I have a 48 inch cube, and won't go with more than 24 inches front to back next time. The extra depth is nice, but makes it hard to work and easy for small corals to get irretrievably lost in the middle. Also hard to get enough flow, you can't put a power head in the center of the tank. My dream tank would be 30 inches high, 24 inches front to back, and as long as possible.

 

[Reef Dude]

Mike, I could ramble on... but thanks for sharing. Thanks for your contributions to this hobby. I’m so looking forward to this build. I hope Russ w/ American Reef is documenting some of this with video!

 

[jjflounder1]

Will you have a power lift system for the lights ?

 

[jjflounder1]

I like hearing your thoughts... And being to learn from you and your many years in the hobby ...
I would LOVE to see some of the build and transfer on YouTube ...
Tell Rus to set up a camera ..
Here's wishing you and the new tank well [emoji483]

 

[ReefInskeep]

Mike, two things. First: For the frag tanks, maybe use VCA random flow generators. No moving parts! Love them.

And, how will you use miracle mud in reactors without it tumbling or anything? I’m very interested in this idea.

Overall, a well thought out & enjoyable plan to follow. Thank you.

 

[Jim Fox]

This is going to be great watching you build this setup. I hope you make videos of the build process. I certainly have learned a lot from you and I'm sure we will learn even more with this build as well!

 

[siggy]

Hello Mike, you mentioned Dual euro-bracing top and bottom like your existing tank, Why not a heavier material? folowing