Jc_ellis
Community Member
That wasn't my issue...the angles of the glass panes themselves do not deflect the waves properly to create the random no dead spot flow you want in an aquarium.
New&Inexperienced
- Thread starter Goomie
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That wasn't my issue...the angles of the glass panes themselves do not deflect the waves properly to create the random no dead spot flow you want in an aquarium.
Goomie
Community Member
Well this is all for the experience 
we will figure out a way to help the flow of the aquarium. This is a looooong way out anyway, the sheets of acrylic are going to be very expensive and we have no idea what size the tank will be at this point.
we will figure out a way to help the flow of the aquarium. This is a looooong way out anyway, the sheets of acrylic are going to be very expensive and we have no idea what size the tank will be at this point.
Jc_ellis
Community Member
Good luck with it, it will be a learning experience.
BTW, you mentioned using silicone to seal the tank in a previous post and now you are staring the material will be acrylic. Silicone is used to seal glass tanks and weld-on, or similar product, is used to fuse acrylic
BTW, you mentioned using silicone to seal the tank in a previous post and now you are staring the material will be acrylic. Silicone is used to seal glass tanks and weld-on, or similar product, is used to fuse acrylic
Goomie
Community Member
Yes yes, sorry it was like 4 am when I responded to the post lol. We will use the appropriate glue for the acrylic tank. Since it will be quite large we decided acrylic was the way to go.
shornik
Well-Known Member
I have to disagree with the few comments pointing you away from your lfs. I'm not talking about the big box stores. But look for local saltwater retailers around. Just go there, look at their display tank, look at their fish, their coral. Just look, if any customers are there, listen to any exchanges taking place. You can get a very good feel for whether or not that particular lfs is somewhere you can turn for advice - in addition to these forums. But in my opinion the best thing you can do is get a lot of opinions and they will usually be 180 degrees different from each other, just as I'm suggesting you use the expertise of lfs while others in this thread have said not to. Ultimately you need to take all these opinions and make the decision(s) you are most comfortable with.
In addition to the various forums, and look through lots of them not just the New to Saltwater... one. Looks at some of the vendor's forums - I very much enjoy reading the postings by Unique Corals for ideas (and just plain sanity checks).
Lastly, to be a bit contrarian again to some of the suggestions already posted I would suggest going as big as you can. In my opinion some of the "problems" that can occur like algae build up can be controlled much better if you have a tank that will allow you to purchase a tang or two to help keep algae under control. With a smaller tank you're left to various cuc and other remedies that might not be as effective. But again, it all depends on what you want the tank for (fish, corals, both?), and how much you can afford.
Good luck.
In addition to the various forums, and look through lots of them not just the New to Saltwater... one. Looks at some of the vendor's forums - I very much enjoy reading the postings by Unique Corals for ideas (and just plain sanity checks).
Lastly, to be a bit contrarian again to some of the suggestions already posted I would suggest going as big as you can. In my opinion some of the "problems" that can occur like algae build up can be controlled much better if you have a tank that will allow you to purchase a tang or two to help keep algae under control. With a smaller tank you're left to various cuc and other remedies that might not be as effective. But again, it all depends on what you want the tank for (fish, corals, both?), and how much you can afford.
Good luck.
Goomie
Community Member
Thank you for the advice. We have seen a lot of forums which state that larger is better, and we definitely want to have a reef tank teeming with fish and life. At this point the tank we would like to build will probably be 200+ gallons. We are going to start of building it with 3/4" thick 48" x 96" sheets (roughly 4' x 8'). Do you guys think 3/4" is too thin?
It will be about 24" tall and 48" deep from face into the corner... as far as how wide it will be, we haven't measured the area we will renovate yet.
It will be about 24" tall and 48" deep from face into the corner... as far as how wide it will be, we haven't measured the area we will renovate yet.
just wanted to jump in and say welcome to the forum. My advice is to read, read, and read as much information as you can. Forums are a great place to read on various topics and also various opinions. Your background in freshwater will definitely help you in the salt side of the hobby. I'm also of the opinion that not all fish stores are bad - I have a LFS that I go to regularly and have developed a good relationship with. I have come to generally trust this place so don't automatically dismiss finding a reputable and honest local store. They do exist!
Welcome to the hobby and it sounds like you are definitely going all in in terms of DIY!
Welcome to the hobby and it sounds like you are definitely going all in in terms of DIY!
tyler1503
2500 Club Member
Agreed. There are some gems out there. I was speaking more generally. I've been burned before by horrible LFS advice. Shop around and get a feel for a few places. Ask a few questions you already know the answers to to feel out how well the bloke knows his stuff. If he gives you more than one basic answer, he may be worth talking to.
Unique corals threads are gold. Full of knowledge, information and very entertaining. Definitely look into some of his posts.
NobleSun27
Community Member
Yeah If your planning on a 100g you will def want a quarantine tank, also the larger the tank the more coral you will end up with which means more alkalinity, calcium and magnesium you are going to need to supplement the tank. Another item that is needed for larger tanks I a ATO (automatic top off system) which adds freshwater to the tank when evaporation occurs. A couple other items would be a protein skimmer which is the heart of your filtration, a sump for sure to add extra filtration and to house all the ugly equipment, a dosing pump to add supplements (this is optional but useful in a reef tank) and you cant forget a RO/DI water filtration system and a large Rubbermaid brute trashcan to hold the freshwater your RO/DI system produces. If you didn't know you cant use tap water for your reef tank the corals just wont be happy and it can cause algae blooms this is why you need the RO/DI unit, tap water adds unwanted elements and things you just don't want and with a larger tank it will save you money instead of having to go back and fourth to the LFS to get your water (which I did for about six months before I made the investment and its a very good investment). All this I know can be very over whelming but its all worth it in the end just keep doing research and ask lots of questions. And be cautious with your local fish store, ofcouse ask them questions but research it before making a final decision. Also if you are handy with tools a lot of things (like the sump) can be made a lot cheaper than buying them so always look at do it yourself (DIY) videos on youtube and online they can be very vey helpful when trying to save a little money. I know the guys up top said start small, but my motto is go big or go home so I think if you have the space for it get that 100g and build it up slowly like you said also the larger the volume of water the easier it is to keep all your water parameters inline but like anything there are pros and cons and the larger the tank the more money will be spent for example you will need a larger heater a larger protein skimmer a larger sump and a lot more live rock which can get pretty expensive. And on the live rock, buy a few pieces of established live rock and then a bunch of dry rock that will save a lot no need to buy all established live rock. Good luck guys and when you have a question just ask here on the forum and someone will always try to help. this is a wonderful hobby and remember always try to get aquacultured coral and fish to help save the oceans.
Goomie
Community Member
Thank you all for the input! We have big big big plans.. we now want to make the tank 24"x48"x36" (so roughly 4 foot long, 3 feet high, and since it is a pentagonal shape there will be two 2 foot slants in the tank... this equates to approximately 314 gallons!). We have been pricing goodies from all the LFS and have plans to mushroom pick this winter to help pay for the extra costs
Living in Oregon has its advantages sometimes lol, like a wondrous amount of forestry that provides rare and expensive mushrooms which can be picked and sold at a high price per pound. With that extra income the start up of this gigantic tank will be a cinch!
We have also talked about not completely having the tank in the corner, and building cabinetry which will cover the space behind the tank (which the back and bottom of the tank will be made with black acrylic being as it it cheaper than clear), and with space behind the tank we will have room to hide quarantine tanks, the sump, any plumbing we do for it, so on and so forth. This will be a floor to ceiling display with at least 3 feet of the it all being tank-display, plus the tank would reach back where we would put our overflow in the back corner and hide it with the reef rock and coral.
This is a lot of planning and forethought... and arguing because he wants a triangular tank and I want the pentagonal tank.
In theory, if we did a triangular tank, the viewing face would be somewhere around 6 foot...
Thoughts on triangle vs. pentagonal?
Living in Oregon has its advantages sometimes lol, like a wondrous amount of forestry that provides rare and expensive mushrooms which can be picked and sold at a high price per pound. With that extra income the start up of this gigantic tank will be a cinch!
We have also talked about not completely having the tank in the corner, and building cabinetry which will cover the space behind the tank (which the back and bottom of the tank will be made with black acrylic being as it it cheaper than clear), and with space behind the tank we will have room to hide quarantine tanks, the sump, any plumbing we do for it, so on and so forth. This will be a floor to ceiling display with at least 3 feet of the it all being tank-display, plus the tank would reach back where we would put our overflow in the back corner and hide it with the reef rock and coral.
This is a lot of planning and forethought... and arguing because he wants a triangular tank and I want the pentagonal tank.
In theory, if we did a triangular tank, the viewing face would be somewhere around 6 foot...
Thoughts on triangle vs. pentagonal?
NobleSun27
Community Member
Wow that's a lot of planning. Sounds Awesome though. Make sure when you are planning it all out you think about how your going to clean everything, you don't want It to be a nightmare to clean and you don't want to make it hard to get to your plumbing and sump. Just saying.
And the triangle vs pentagonal thing, mmm... well I would say pentagonal just because of water flow, if you can get the flow in your tank to circulate around the tank and not just flowing into a wall you will be better off. You will be less likely to have dead spots of low oxygen (not good) and you will be able keep more coral happy in more places. Water flow is one of the most important aspects of keeping your tank healthy and if you just have your water flowing into the wall you will in the end just end up adding more pumps and making the tank less efficient and more costly.
I think if your going to go all out like that you should think about having an area to culture your own phytoplankton, copepods, and Mysis shrimp. it will keep your tank healthier and save money on buying so much fish food. You guys are going to have a sweet set up I can already tell. keep us posted
And the triangle vs pentagonal thing, mmm... well I would say pentagonal just because of water flow, if you can get the flow in your tank to circulate around the tank and not just flowing into a wall you will be better off. You will be less likely to have dead spots of low oxygen (not good) and you will be able keep more coral happy in more places. Water flow is one of the most important aspects of keeping your tank healthy and if you just have your water flowing into the wall you will in the end just end up adding more pumps and making the tank less efficient and more costly.
I think if your going to go all out like that you should think about having an area to culture your own phytoplankton, copepods, and Mysis shrimp. it will keep your tank healthier and save money on buying so much fish food. You guys are going to have a sweet set up I can already tell. keep us posted
Goomie
Community Member
I started a discussion in the DIY section under here:
https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/do-yourself-diy/167021-300-gallon-tank-build.html
https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/do-yourself-diy/167021-300-gallon-tank-build.html
tyler1503
2500 Club Member
Wow, that's going to be an impressive amount of planning to get this one up and going. But with all the help available here on R2R it will be an incredible tank. I look forward to watching this one grow. As mentioned above the first big issue that comes to mind is how accessible the sump and plumbing will be for cleaning, maintenance etc.
I have never had a pentagonal or triangle shaped tank, so this is just me speculating, but I imagine the pentagonal shape would be better. You wouldn't get as much of a detritus build up in the corners and flow would be a lot easy to sort out I would think.
I have never had a pentagonal or triangle shaped tank, so this is just me speculating, but I imagine the pentagonal shape would be better. You wouldn't get as much of a detritus build up in the corners and flow would be a lot easy to sort out I would think.
