Office Aquarium system build - in over my head maybe?

[illdoya]

Happy weekend reefers!

So, the owner of the company I work for proposed putting 2 large aquariums in our office He doesnt have any aquariums and doesn't really know where to begin.

A coworker and I, being the office reefers, immediately signed on to put together the proposals. We are starting with 1 system for the lobby.

the only input we got so far from him was that it should be 4-6ft wide. so this will definitely be monstrously bigger than anything I've ever done.

So I was hoping for some advice from the pros here with larger systems

basic questions to start:
package deals - is it reasonable to contact LFS's and see what kind of package we would be able to get (lighting, hardware, livestock) for our budget? is that even a good idea?
system set-up - best way to set up a larger system? links to your builds?
aside from sump, fuge and skimmer - what other major hardware would be required? reactors? ATO system?
budget is about 3k - enough for EVERYTHING??
for a tank 4-6ft long - most favorable designs? gallon size? am I off in thinking 80-120g?
common missteps in setting up these larger systems?

This is for my company and will be a major source of personal pride if I can pull this off. I'm hoping to learn alot and am starting research on larger systems. Once I get the specifics & a proposal together the build will start pretty quickly. I will starting a build thread once that stage happens but I was hoping to use this thread to help get the proposal started. I will be posting a list of everything I can think of that we'll need and I'm hoping you guys can help me where I'm lacking!

thanks in advance for all the help! I would have made it to this point without this site and all of you!

P

 

[wysiwyg]

my advice Dr foster and smith sells package deals for a fair pirce check there catalog. a 4 to 6 foot tank is 90 to 180 gallons

 

[illdoya]

So I checked Drs F&S - they do have some packages but I think I'm just going to have to call. But its a good place to start and I'm going to look around for other reef packages. thx wysiwyg!

anyone else?

 

[Timfish]

Who's going to be maintaining it? 3K for a complete system sounds a little low if you are having a company come in and set it up. The real cost though is the maintenance labor. If you are being paid your usual wages to take care of it that will reduce the cost for the company but if your other responsabilities keep you from doing consistant maintenance and you have problems with the system how is that going to impact your boss's opinion of the system and of you? I would definitely go with glass over acryllic as cleaning is much quicker. Acrylic can be maintained without scratching but it takes a great deal more care than glass. My issue with package deals is you end up with stuff that is either not needed or is of inferior design so research carefully. Take into account shipping costs and having to send broken stuff back, stuff off the internet are not always the wisest way to buy.

 

[gmoney243]

IMO you shouldnt be doing this unless you know what you are doing. would be different if its your home tank. now that being said and since your probly not gooing to listen to me lol. this should be a fish only tank untill its super stable and clean and youve got it all down. also a reef tank cost a lot more to maintain and buy livestock for. And 3k just really isnt feasable for a reeftank that big. also if u spend budget on bigger tank and better equipment then later when ur boss loves how its going he might give you budget to upgrade to reef. if you try to do to much and fail it will look bad on you and your boss will probly change his mind on the whole deal since its costing money and maybe not apealing if it goes bad. you dont wanna loose a lot of $ on corals and trust me you def will loose coral and fish.

So a nice FOWLR tank is where i would start in the 120-180 range. a RR 180 can be bought for around $800-$900 i believe. then you need a stand either DIY or bought. but DIY would help your budget. get a 40b tank for sump put a couple simple baffles in it no need for bubble traps and the like. filter sock holder with 7" filter socks. this will keep your water clear looking since it needs to be pristine in a company where customers can see this. a good skimmer like a Reef Octopus NWB200 is well priced and works well. a media reactor from AtomicReef.com with 1000ml of Ecobak WM biopellets. a decent return pump in the 1200-1500gph range is good for a 180g 900-1200gph for a 120g is fine. u want about 5x tank volume turnover in your sump for more effective skimming and shouldnt have any microbubble problems either. and the pumps are still strong enough to run your carbon/biopellet reactors. i would run all reactors off the same return pump. Also i would use a bacteria starter product to help with cycle. but by no means does this mean i would add a buncha fish but should allow you to add a couple decent fish so it doesnt look empty while you wait for the tank and rock to become fully cycled. you also need to figure out QT. if you cant QT fish your just going to have problems eventually that cost to much money and time. its cheap to set up a 20g QT tank to keep fish in till you treat and are sure they are pest free and eating well. QT also helps fish acclimate to aquarium environment without losts of stress. your goal should be to build this easiest to maintain and fix if you guys are going to be in charge of doing it. And please go slow and dont dump a buncha fish in at once you will loose a lot and have tons of problems. dont be afraid to explain to your boss that going slow saves money and helps ensure success. hope this helps feel free to PM me if you have any more questions.

 

[Bry]

Excellent advice and write up gmoney!

 

[gmoney243]

Excellent advice and write up gmoney!

thx. exept i just realized i forgot to mention adding a heater lol a 300w heater should be fine and is what i use on my 180. and for FOWLR lighting i would add something like a couple reefbrite strips.

 

[ddinox64]

I'd let the boss handle it if he wanted a tank. As a repeat of above and suggested by your own post. You are in over your head. By stepping out, you remove yourself from any consequences to come about in the future thus saving your job. At least your reputation if you have one. Especially if you gave him the impression you know what you're doing and it falls short of his expectations you gave him with his money. He may doubt your ability to do your normal job.

 

[tinctorus]

reeflo blowhole pump 4 the main pump. cheap, reliable abd 'LOADS of out

 

[OurReef]

I wouldn't run a single heater, I run two on my 180. One slightly larger than the other. I agree with most that 3k isn't going to cut it for a budget for a tank that big.

Tank $900
Lights $1200
Skimmer $500
Sand $250
Rock $300 for dry rock
Return pump $500
Power heads $150

Now you still need a sump, live stock, all the plumbing, heaters, a lot of little things that add up. 5k minimum to start fresh for a large tank.

Put it in perspective, we spent $4k just upgrading from a 75 to a 180. And we had a lot of the stuff already. Plus some really good deals on other items from the Lfs.

Pm me if you have questions. You might want to start looking on here for used parts, local cl would also be a good place to look..

 

[illdoya]

thank you for the reality check everyone! Validated my mounting anxiety..

I've thought long and hard about how challenging this will be, how failure may look in the eyes of my bosses and how if I don't succeed it could end poorly. BUT - so what?? I love this hobby, and I have an opportunity to learn and experience more than I thought possible. I'm going for it. Would you not?

I really appreciate the concern - for me, my job and the livestock I genuinely want the advice and will listen.

Who's going to be maintaining it?

it will be myself and 2 other reefers

3K for a complete system sounds a little low if you are having a company come in and set it up.

heard that, got some quotes and a bigger budget to work with

The real cost though is the maintenance labor. If you are being paid your usual wages to take care of it that will reduce the cost for the company but if your other responsabilities keep you from doing consistant maintenance and you have problems with the system how is that going to impact your boss's opinion of the system and of you?

we were looking at it like a project, the maintenance on off-hours (live 1 mile away). But I mentioned the idea of pro upkeep if necessary to protect the investment and Boss agreed.

I would definitely go with glass over acryllic as cleaning is much quicker. Acrylic can be maintained without scratching but it takes a great deal more care than glass. My issue with package deals is you end up with stuff that is either not needed or is of inferior design so research carefully. Take into account shipping costs and having to send broken stuff back, stuff off the internet are not always the wisest way to buy.

going glass, never had acrylic, no shipping, getting tank thru LFS

IMO you shouldnt be doing this unless you know what you are doing.

i hear ya. Its not that I don't know what I'm doing or have no experience that being said, I agree with you. I've been talking with a LFS for a package buy including installation. as mentioned earlier, pro maintenance can/will be set up if necessary through LFS.

this should be a fish only tank untill its super stable and clean and youve got it all down.

I had thought that once system stabilized w/ LR only we would add corals then fish. but you are saying it should be the opposite - so we should go fish first, stabilize, then corals?

also a reef tank cost a lot more to maintain and buy livestock for. And 3k just really isnt feasable for a reeftank that big. also if u spend budget on bigger tank and better equipment then later when ur boss loves how its going he might give you budget to upgrade to reef. if you try to do to much and fail it will look bad on you and your boss will probly change his mind on the whole deal since its costing money and maybe not apealing if it goes bad. you dont wanna loose a lot of $ on corals and trust me you def will loose coral and fish.

He wants 2 tanks - smaller one will be reef, larger will be planted FW. reef looks like it will be 40b, planted FW 80g. I thought it was the best way to work with the budget.

you also need to figure out QT. if you cant QT fish your just going to have problems eventually that cost to much money and time. its cheap to set up a 20g QT tank to keep fish in till you treat and are sure they are pest free and eating well. QT also helps fish acclimate to aquarium environment without losts of stress.

i have an old 20g set up for QT that I was going to donate for the project

your goal should be to build this easiest to maintain and fix if you guys are going to be in charge of doing it. And please go slow and dont dump a buncha fish in at once you will loose a lot and have tons of problems. dont be afraid to explain to your boss that going slow saves money and helps ensure success. hope this helps feel free to PM me if you have any more questions.

this is definitely the goal. I've learned from home to go slow and steady. We know this isnt happening over night and I really do want to provide an awesome aquarium for the office.

thanks again for the help! I'll definitely be PM'ing

 

[illdoya]

I'd let the boss handle it if he wanted a tank. As a repeat of above and suggested by your own post. You are in over your head. By stepping out, you remove yourself from any consequences to come about in the future thus saving your job. At least your reputation if you have one. Especially if you gave him the impression you know what you're doing and it falls short of his expectations you gave him with his money. He may doubt your ability to do your normal job.

Like I said above - I'm going for it. Worst case scenario, my job isn't in question here - its not that kind of situation. Myself and the others involved were very clear on our levels of experience and what we were capable of so there arent any surprises there later. this is also very far removed from the actual duties of my job. I could be the worst reefer on the planet, it wouldn't reflect on my day job.

I love the hobby too much to not have a hand in creating these aquariums. I'll be working closely with an LFS to make sure we don't screw up too badly thank you for the warning though!

 

[illdoya]

I wouldn't run a single heater, I run two on my 180. One slightly larger than the other. I agree with most that 3k isn't going to cut it for a budget for a tank that big.

Tank $900
Lights $1200
Skimmer $500
Sand $250
Rock $300 for dry rock
Return pump $500
Power heads $150

Now you still need a sump, live stock, all the plumbing, heaters, a lot of little things that add up. 5k minimum to start fresh for a large tank.

Put it in perspective, we spent $4k just upgrading from a 75 to a 180. And we had a lot of the stuff already. Plus some really good deals on other items from the Lfs.

Pm me if you have questions. You might want to start looking on here for used parts, local cl would also be a good place to look..

Bay Area CL is pretty active so we have been keeping our eyes out. was thinking of the tank/stand from CL, maybe lighting if something good shows up. for filtration & plumbing i thought best to buy new right?

thinking the reef will be 40b now with a larger planted FW. that way dont have to skimp on anything and still have an awesome set up

again, I'll be PM'ing thanks for the help

 

[SeahorseKeeper]

Good with the builds!! It sounds like you are really thinking everything through.

 

[OurReef]

40b should be a great reef, that's my qt tank. Easy to light, we have a marine land fixture with two 250 w hqi and two t5s. Decent price of around $300, however I think normal price is a bit higher. That's if your looking for the shimmer if not six t5 lights should be more than enough to cover it.

 

[illdoya]

So I spoke with the Boss yesterday about this. I mentioned the idea that we could find a full system set-up on craigslist here for a fraction of the cost of a brand new set up. Also, going to LFS today for some quotes on system packages.

for craigslist if I was going to purchase a large system - anything in particular to pay attention to? common pitfalls? should we try and get all brand new?

 

[illdoya]

40b should be a great reef, that's my qt tank. Easy to light, we have a marine land fixture with two 250 w hqi and two t5s. Decent price of around $300, however I think normal price is a bit higher. That's if your looking for the shimmer if not six t5 lights should be more than enough to cover it.

the 40b im hoping to turn into a great reef system! but with CL, we might be able to go bigger if the price is right.

for all the lighting - I was hoping to go LED... the question is which fixture..? the LFS recommended the Kessel (sp?) but they are pricey... Im gonna talk to the LFS today about options.

will post when I get back from Neptunes this afternoon

 

[gmoney243]

So I spoke with the Boss yesterday about this. I mentioned the idea that we could find a full system set-up on craigslist here for a fraction of the cost of a brand new set up. Also, going to LFS today for some quotes on system packages.

for craigslist if I was going to purchase a large system - anything in particular to pay attention to? common pitfalls? should we try and get all brand new?

Look for cracks and check all seems carefully for bad silicone. If u buy used ask if it has water in it or if u can leak test before buying it. Most people will fill it with tap to show it doesn't leak.

Sent from my Vortex using Tapatalk 2

 

[OurReef]

^x1000

 

[OurReef]

Any updates?