The fresh start you've always wanted...now what...?

[AmatuerAuer]

I have the good/bad fortune of moving from Maryland to Atlanta. I am really excited to move, Atl is home...but...my 1.5 year old 120g system is not going to accompany me. I decided to take the wealth of knowledge I gained in my year of SPS/LPS/Softy success (I have an attached 40b frag tank) and to start fresh in Hotlanta. The home has a gigantic basement with plenty of room and this is going to be our 'forever' home so I dont want to set up a system and then regret not going bigger. I love this hobby and have had fish my entire life. No doubt I will continue well into the future. I know what equipment I would go with depending on my final decision but I would love to hear from you.

If you could start over, what size tank would you get and why? Starphire glass? What kind of overflow?

I will give some guidelines:
- Tank must be over 120g
- Tank cannot have a bottom drilled overflow system like the typically reef-ready corner/mid systems.
- I plan to have LPS and SPS only. I want to avoid softies because trying to keep the flow 'just right' for softies and LPS/SPS is too much and so I will set up a separate ZOA tank later...maybe.

I was thinking something like a 340g 10'x 2' x2' roughly. That way I could see the fish 'run' and would have lots of space for coral to grow out etc. I would likely have the tank custom built and the stand also custom built from metal rather than wood. The idea is to take my time, and do it right the first time.

 

[jsker]

You just ruled out most of the reefers here being to spicific. Myself the sapphire glass would be a must.

 

[AmatuerAuer]

Hmmm...ok I guess I was hoping those with larger tanks would chime in.

 

[Sabellafella]

Hmmm...ok I guess I was hoping those with larger tanks would chime in.

Your looking to keep the tank in the basement correct? 10 foot tanks are a beaut by the way, no holes drilled in the bottom? Depends on how you showcase the tank, i would go with a ghost overflow. 100% starphire atleast the front and side panes. Theres tons of tank manufacturers that will build a tank for you along with some wonderful reviews

 

[Kungpaoshizi]

If I had the room....
Probably 4 tanks, all acrylic, and no more than 20" high. Split lps, softies, and sps amongst the 3, then a frag tank. Have the lps and softies plumbed together. Sps and frags plumbed together. 2 sets of dosers...
Heck, maybe a 5th tank for puffers.

I feel very strongly about shallower tanks after so many times of getting my shoulder wet. lol

 

[Beardo]

I moved houses the latter part of last year and took the opportunity for a fresh start myself.
My previous tank was an 8'x2'x2' 240g acrylic tank. While I loved the length, I have always been drawn to tanks with greater depth. The aquascaping possibilities and the depth of field when viewing is what i was attracted me to deeper tanks. I also wanted to move away from acrylic due to the scratches I experienced as well as limited top access due to the top bracing which only left 2 smallish openings with no access in the middle.
I had always purchased used tanks before and was limited to what I could find for sale at the time and this time around decided to go custom, as you are considering, with the features I wanted.
For the new tank I went with a 6'x3'x2' 270g, starfire glass front and sides, euro braced with holes drilled in the euro bracing on the back corners for a return on one side and for cord access for the gyres on the other, external coast to coast overflow drilled for bean animal.
Another foot or 2 in length would have been nice but accessing the middle back portion of the tank would have been even more challenging. The starfire has great clarity and is worth the extra cost to me. The external overflow gives the tank a nice clean look and doesn't rob any internal tank space. The bean animal keeps the overflow quiet which was a must since it sits in my living room. I really like the euro bracing since there is no center brace now in the way and the euro brace keeps the water in the tank when I am working in the tank unlike the 50g rimless cube I set up for my son where I end up with water over the side anytime I am careless while cleaning.

Sorry for the long response but thought sharing my thought processes when I did my build might help.

Dale

 

[AmatuerAuer]

Update: I have my 40b set up at my lake house in barebones mode haha. It ain't pretty but seems to be working. The birdsnest and 2 SPS frags are struggling but the acans and zoa a seem to be doing well. The GSP, hammer, frogspawn and toadstool are well also.

Took a week of making RO/DI and salt after work to get a full water change done. Should see some increased health with the increased cleanliness and stability.

Dale - Love the post, thanks for that. I am definitely doing Starphire and bean animal. I don't know how you could possibly clean the back/bottom edge of a 3ft wide tank.. I had a bubble algae issue on my 4x2x2 so I am hyper sensitive to cleaning and quarantining going forward..

I have started looking up manufacturers for stands and tanks.. We close on our home at the end of May and then I'll be putting some planning together on the location for the tank and the financing..

Any tank manufacturer recommendations are welcome!

-AA