New House, New Tank!!! 300 Begins

[allen00se]

Well guys, I have had my 46 bowfront up and running with minimal casualties for 1 year. Im getting married on Nov. 4th and I am building a house for me and my new bride, so when would be a better time than now to upgrade....
I'm considering a 60Lx36Wx31T in wall tank. I haven't yet decided whether I will go with glass or acrylic, and most of the equipment is still up for debate. So for those of you with big tank experience its time to pitch in and help me out.
The tank will be in wall between my family room and one of the future bedrooms. It will only be acessible from the back and one of the ends. I know, I know, it would be alot easier on maintenance if I had an access panel in the front but it's just not gonna happen.
As of right now I am thinking about 3 halides (watts ??) and a couple of VHO's (for thier actinics). Not a huge return pump, I will count on my closed loop, or powerheads to get the right flow in the tank. Sump will most likely go under the tank, and the refuge and all equipment will be located in the closet at the end of the tank, plumbed through the wall. This whole setup needs to be extremely clean to get the wifes OK.

I will definitely have some tangs (naso, regal...) a couple of anem's with clowns (out of my current 46) shrimps, I want a gobi shrimp pair. all other livestock is still undecided. I want to keep some sps, lps, but dont want to overstock.

Tell me any thoughts you might have, and here are some photos of what it will look like.

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c88/allen00se/TNKRM.jpg

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c88/allen00se/LIVNGRM.jpg

[allen00se]

Oh and one other crucial debate, wood vs. steel on the stand, im leaning toward steel but with the width and height of the stand it wouldnt be able to be fully assembled and still make it through the bedroom door, and im not too interested in welding and painting a stand in a brand new bedroom.

Also I will get some construction pics of the house as soon as I can, the walls are up, and the roof joists are going into place.

[Lostmind]

just want to say congrats!

[nyvp]

I'm getting married on Nov. 4th and I am building a house for me and my new bride,
>>>> congrats take care of that girl....

I'm considering a 60Lx36Wx31T in wall tank. I haven't yet decided whether I will go with glass or acrylic,
>>> Def glass all the way.
maintenance if I had an access panel in the front but it's just not gonna happen.
>>>why not you can make it real nice there is a lot of threads with it done.
As of right now I am thinking about 3 halides (watts ??)
>>>I went with 250w in lum III's with hamilton 14ks if your going to use antics go with 10k xm's
Pumps I love the darts and the idea of using both darts and tunzies are low on watts which is nice.

[thor32766]

wow going to look great!

[allen00se]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8254660#post8254660 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Lostmind
just want to say congrats!

Thanks for the kind words!

[allen00se]

WELL TO UPDATE THIS THREAD AND ADD SOME PICS, I THOUGHT ID THROW ON SOME CONSTRUCTION PICS OF THE HOUSE, and the nice little creek that runs through my property

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c88/allen00se/IMG_4362.jpg

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c88/allen00se/IMG_4379.jpg

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c88/allen00se/IMG_4389.jpg

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c88/allen00se/IMG_4399.jpg

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c88/allen00se/IMG_43372.jpg

and one of my boxer, "Bruce", and our wiener and the cute little mutt we just took in.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c88/allen00se/IMG_4416.jpg

[sleevasteve]

Congrats and good luck! Can't wait to see everything in a few months!

[H20ENG]

That creek is screaming "tank cooling tubing". Sweet.

[pennyguy23]

If you are going to be in this house for a while I would go AS BIG AS YOU CAN. I know 300 is big but you always want more:)

[allen00se]

I agree, bigger is better, but it was hard enough to get the wife's vote to let me punch a hole in the wall of a new house... We were at a LFS so i could show her an inwall tank to get her approval. It was going all to well, she really liked it because all of the equipment was hidden and all you could see was the front pane of glass. Then came the deal breaker, she said "I really like it but its way too big, yours will be like half that size, right?" Well the tank at the store was like a 125. It took me about a month to get her talked into a 300.
As for updates, I talked to glasscages about building the tank out of glass, 60*36*31 with low iron front and holes drilled for overflow worked out to be $1100, but because I want an outside overflow on the end I think I will probably end up going acrylic, it would also be easier to drill should i go with a closed loop.

[hawaiianwargod]

very cool project. I think 300g is a perfect size. Good luck!

[dogstar74]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8284815#post8284815 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by H20ENG
That creek is screaming "tank cooling tubing". Sweet.

:lol: :lol: That is exactly what I was thinking when he mentioned the creek! Not even a milisecond after reading that, I thought you could run a tube to that and have a nice chiller!
:lol:

[dogstar74]

I absolutely would go with a CL on this size set up. Also, you have an outside wall right there, could you punch a hole outside and keep the pumps out there under a waterproof shelter? That would really keep the noise level down. Come to think of it, if you could put the Ballasts for your lights outhere, you could really have a quiet system. The one thing that will put the kabosh on this whole plan, is noise! Trust me. My wife, loved the 90 gal we had, but when she heard the Overflow, she freaked! I had to quiet it down and I mean fast. Try to put the pumps and ballasts outside it will keep them cooler, and quieter. Just my .02

[allen00se]

How tough is it to clean acrylic, will a magnet be sufficient or scrub pad? I have to use a metal scraper to get the coraline off of my current tank, but i know that I have to be more delicate with an acrylic tank.