New House New Tank - Starting to build

[AllanPritchard]

I have the opportunity to design my own house from scratch (I am an Architectural designer) Question is should I design a reef tank with the sump/fish room behind (as BRSTV Ryan has with the BRS360) or below the tank. Give me your reasons as well. Also what minimum dimensions would give yourself (designing huge rooms is easy, efficient rooms is an art) It will probably be a two storey house and I am considering a reef tank upstairs (unknown size as yet) and a fish only down stairs (400lt) connected to a common sump? or should I do separate systems?. Lastly I know BRSTV Ryan B has a very flash sump (which we can't get here in New Zealand) but what size sump would you create if you could. Working with clean slate. Either post or PM me if you are shy. Lastly how do you create a build thread?

 

[lapin]

I would go with separate systems since you have the ability to do so . If one has an issue it will not effect the other.
I have my tank with room in back. Anything below the tank is usually a challenge to work with, if your old (me) and not as bendable as those young kids.

My tank room is 8'x10' with the sump under the tank. All my equipment is external. Heaters and probes are in the sump. The tank is 5'x5'x3'tall. I liked the 2 side viewing option. The room could have been bigger but I was not able to work bigger into the house plans. 8'x12'or14' would have been great.
Not sure what size your tank is going to be.

 

[am3gross]

I would also do a room beside, unless the bottom room was a basement and it was allowed to be my mancave! but then I might consider putting the tank in the middle of the room, making it viewable on all sides and have the plumbing/electrical going thru the floor.

 

[lavoisier]

Proximity tends to increase efficiency so the fish room behind the tank works for me, although a tank in the middle of a room does have its charms.

 

[DC Reefer]

I have two tanks on my main floor with separate sumps in my basement. My preference would be the sump and fish room in an adjacent room. Main reasons is you can get return flow with smaller pump (less heat), it is much more convenient to stay on a single floor (for me less likely to not do something from being lazy ).

Separate systems vs single system is a tough one. The pros to a single system is maintaining parameters and equipment in a single sump - probably save some $$$ on equipment and power, additional stability of having a larger total water volume, less tests to perform etc... If the two tanks on a single system are 1 Reef and 1 Fish only, depending upon the type of fish in the fish only it may be difficult to maintain your parameters for the reef (for instance a predator tank)

For fish room, I figure out how much room you need for what you think your equipment needs will be and then add 20-50% more space for more QT, Frag capacity, more equipment, etc... I have never heard anyone say they had too much space in a fish room

 

[14 foot reef]

I have the opportunity to design my own house from scratch (I am an Architectural designer) Question is should I design a reef tank with the sump/fish room behind (as BRSTV Ryan has with the BRS360) or below the tank. Give me your reasons as well. Also what minimum dimensions would give yourself (designing huge rooms is easy, efficient rooms is an art) It will probably be a two storey house and I am considering a reef tank upstairs (unknown size as yet) and a fish only down stairs (400lt) connected to a common sump? or should I do separate systems?. Lastly I know BRSTV Ryan B has a very flash sump (which we can't get here in New Zealand) but what size sump would you create if you could. Working with clean slate. Either post or PM me if you are shy. Lastly how do you create a build thread?

Sump under tank limits almost everything in one way or another. Separate sump room limits almost nothing. Cost will be higher for sure separate, but in the long run you will be very happy you go with separate sump room. See below for examples of NO LIMITATIONS !!!!!!

 

[AllanPritchard]

OK, so far the consensus is fishroom behind (adjacent) the tank, which is interesting as I never thought I'd have the opportunity for a basement fishroom. I can see advantages of being able to work on the sump and not be too far from the display. My concern is storing water on the first floor, spills, lugging bags of salt up stairs. I suppose I could have the sump upstairs and RODI and salt mixing downstairs that is pumped up as needed.
I currently have a 450 lt self contained system that I will upgrade (move everything over) then I could use that as a fish only. One idea I have is to have the tank in wall and viewable from the living room and the library (not a real library, more of a sitting room we call the library) but the centre island sounds pretty good too.