About to take the plunge...130 gal. Need expert advice

[Tupps11]

Ok guys. I have been into this hobby for a couple years now, and i still consider myself to be a novice. I was about to convert my (fish only) 65 gallon tank into a reef tank by drilling, adding an overflow and MH lighting. Suddenly i realized that the amount of time and money being spent can easily go towards a new custom tank thats double the size.

So...i decided to keep my 65 gallon as a hospital/quarantine tank. It will be moved from my room to our game/billiard room and have nothing but fish. Should be easy enough to take care of since ive done it before and i can add copper if needed since there will be no live rock or inverts.

Any new (fish) specimens can be placed in the tank for the proper quarantine period before i transfer them into the larger tank which i will have sitting in my room:D

So far...this is what ive got in terms of design. 137 Gallons (160cm long x 60cm deep x 65cm high). An arcadia 3 series pendant light which has 3 x 250watt metal halide bulbs and 2 x 160cm (64 inch) actinics. Its a pretty cool light actually. Has timers built in for both the MH and actinics. Check it out here...
http://www.arcadia-uk.info/product.php?pid=5&mid=11&lan=en&sub=&id=4

The overflow will have a 1.25 inch drain pipe that will empty into the sump below. The sump will be the same basic design everyone else has. Sump->fuge->return pump. I plan on placing my Aqua Medic Turboflotor skimmer in the sump as well as the heater.

The flooring of the aquarium will have 2 bulkheads for my Eheim mechanical filter. It has 2 ins which will be sucking in water from those bulkheads and 1 out. Its big enough for a 500 gallon tank so my 130 gallon should be fine. There will be 2 returns coming back to the tank. One from the sump and the other from the mechanical filter.

After extensive research, ive come to the conclusion that i wont need a wet/dry since all the rock in the tank will be special ordered live rock.

Well...thats pretty much it. Ill post pics as my project develops. But i had a couple questions for the experts out there. I plan on having a super diverse reef ecosystem. Something worthy of "tank of the month". Im obviously not getting my hopes that high, but id like to see a true reef come to life in my room. I dont know much about corals, but ive read that they will need certain equipment to survive. One of which is a de-nitrator and calcium reactor?

1. Is that true?

2. Anything else you guys can suggest? Id rather get it all done or at least prepare for it before im done building the tank. Id hate to reach a point where i regret not incorporating something necessary when i had the chance.

Thanks a lot guys:beer:

Here is a crappy sketch of my design. Its not to scale so play with the pic and critique all you like

http://tuppsm3.com/images/Fish%20Tank/Design.JPG

[Tupps11]

Here is a better pic of what i had in mind. Sorry for the first one

http://tuppsm3.com/images/Fish%20Tank/Design%201.JPG

[tripsied]

Alot of the tank design issues are going to be based on what you wish to keep and your experience level. The initial design you have looks pretty solid and should work well for soft and LPS (large polyp stoney) corals, though for SPS (small polyp stoney) you may want to consider a bit more flow throughout the tank.

As far as all the reactors and equipment go, there is no hard and fast rule that says you absolutely HAVE to have them in your system. Tanks have been running just fine without them for years. Personally, I would build the system without them in place at first (but with a solid upgrade paths so they can be added later) and add each one slowly as you get better and really get to know your system. This gives you the opportunity to learn "Zen and the Art of Reeftank Maintenance" from the ground up.

Along the way there a going to be issues with the tank, it's just the way it is. Everyone makes mistakes (myself probably more than others) and we learn from each of them. Adding the reactors slowly overtime gives you the time to "get the feel" of how your tank is progressing. Working with corals is a bit different than dealing with just fish. You probably think I'm kidding but I'm not :lol: It also provides the benefit of lessening the initial financial burden.

Like I said, the initial setup you have will work pretty well for most stuff you could throw at it and with a few tweaks to the flow you can put pretty much anything you want in there.

Your biggest job now, is to figure out what corals you like best and design the system around that. I, personally, am an LPS freak...fuzzy sticks rule! :rollface: :rollface: :rollface: So my system is designed to handle them well, though I have softies and several SPS in the tank as well.

HTH

Tom

[Tupps11]

Thanks for the advice. Guess i need to do a little more research in regards to what kind of corals i wanna keep. As far as my design is concerned...i have a good amount of space underneath the tank that i can use to expand in the future. Thats why i was asking about upgradeability. Will things like a calcium reactor or denitfrification have to be added in the tank, or can i just expand the system underneath the tank to house them? Of coarse we are talking down the line after enough experience.

[Tupps11]

Wow...4 pages of posts and nobody commented on my tank ideas? I must have the perfect design locked down:D