180 fowlr build

[jon1985]

So I got the go ahead from my fiancee to setup a 180 fowlr in our new house. All I had to do was show her a few of the nice angels and she was sold.

Equipment
180 tank-no idea on oveflows yet, like bean animal, dont like c2c. I would like as much flow as possible
home built stand and canopy
80 gallon sump/fugereturn pump-going to start with a 1600gph pump I have but may have to upgrade to a larger pump
2 koralia 1450 to start, will add 4 more once I add more fish
skimmer-vertex 280IN, rated for 280 gallons total system will be less than 240 by the time rock, sand and equipment is in the system
lights-I have a 4 bulb 48" t5 fixture that should be fine for the btas and certainly enough for the fish
In time I will add a few reactors to keep the water clear


The Plan,

Once the tank is running and stable (shouldnt take long, will be using rock from a currently running system) I will move my gsm clowns and 3 btas into the tank. The nems will be high and central as I dont want to over do the lighting. I have a 48" 4 bulb t5 fixture that I will start with.

Livestock (c-confirmed,w-want)
c-pair of gsm clowns in bta
w-saddle back butterfly
w-pakistan butterfly (read they can be hard to keep)
w-blue spotted puffer
w-dogface puffer (if compatable with blue spot)
w-orange shoulder tang
w-clown or piccasso trigger (depending on research)
w-maybe some smaller fish to add colour and movement but it will depend on the temperment of the tank when stocked.
w-biggest sand sifting goby can find to keep the sand clean

because of the livestock a CUC will be tough, I will be trying several blue hermits added at night and hope they learn to stay hidden during the day, and have read that conches seem to do ok aswell.

So now the questions:

what kind of over flow does everyone use? I like the look of the bean animal overflow but dont want a coast to coast over flow. Is it possible to use the bean animal system with a full depth corner over flow?

thoughts on live stock list? to much? compatability issues?


The live stock list is far from concrete. These are just fish I like the look of but I have done very little research into practicality.


I already have the stand and a tank with a cracked bottom. I will be pulling the tank apart, cleaning all the joints, buying glass for a new bottom (at wholesale sue to connections) and rebuilding the tank. Im sure I wont be looking at water for 5-6 weeks.


Thoughts? comments?

[geaux xman]

kinda bait and switched her huh? show her the angels, but not get any?

[rnscross]

bean animal works without the coast to coast, the principle is in the durso/siphon/backup not the over flow, however the greater the surface skimming (esp with predatory fish) the better as the organic rich water is at the surface level.

from all the research i've done on the clown trigger, they will snap and kill everything else in the tank, there are a few sticky threads at the top of this forum about the clown triggers.

GL

[NewJerseyreef]

Gonna be hard to keep a bta with that crowd. Puffers and triggers are tasters and will pick at mostly everything in you tank

[jon1985]

She hasnt settled on an angel yet. She is leaning towards a few dwarf angels opposed to a single large angel.

As for the overflow, I may go with an angled c2c as it will take up less space but Im not sure if it can handle the flow.

Im on the fence about the btas. I was hoping the clowns would help defend it. I figure if the btas move away from eachother I will remove the 2 smaller ones and hope the clowns can defend the larger one. I was more worried about the lighting and water quality.

When it comes to the fish list, I havent done all my research yet as I am likely atleast 2 months away from adding anything other then the clowns. But from the reading I have done the clown trigger is probably out.

[jon1985]

Think Im going to use BRS Eco Rock. With free shipping and $2.80/lb on 100lb orders its hard to beat.

[gwenda]

Hello about a year ago I purchased my first tank for salt water, have both fish and softies. I had spent several weeks searching for the perfect tank, and purchased a 70 gallon. Within 2 months I realized I knew nothing about this hobby and my tank was to small, since that time I have become obsessed with reading articles on the net about salt water everything, I have been grateful and at times overwhelmed by the amount of information available. So it's a year later and I think i have read enough to purchase another tank without making the same mistakes. I decide my next tank would be 180 glass with bean animal; an external coast to coast overflow. Until I received a price quote. So then I decide on an internal C2C with Bean Animal. My LFS experts (that's 6 within 250 miles) tell me C2C is not necessary, with the constant water movement of the tank and two small "inky boxes" is more than enough. Toothless weir, not necessary, doesn't inhibit water flow,doesn't increase noise. Bean animal, overkill, old school, never heard of it, two sand pipes with John Guest Tubing adjusted correctly is quite and when properly plumb will not flood. I am told drilling 4 holes in the tank (as close as in Bean Animal picture) will weaken the glass, drilling any additional holes in the tank voids the 5 year warranty, and special order almost triples the price. So now I am totally confused and frustrated. Simplest decision would be to go with the LFS experts my current tank doesn't have a sump, fuge, or overflow, it isn't drilled, so I have no idea how noisy the overflow can be. I am looking for opinions from those who have experienced both the bean animal and the overflows described above. Is installing a Bean Animal worth voiding the warranty and weakening the glass? Is it overkill? What about C2C waste of space, when "inky boxes" are just as efficient? If you were going to purchase a 135g for fish and reef which would you choose, 24t X 18D X 72 or 18T X 24Dx72L? Thank you for your opinions.