View Single Post
Unread 03/11/2012, 09:46 AM   #2
DHyslop
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: RI
Posts: 1,085
I'm definitely tagging along for this one.

I hope you don't find the long skinny tank difficult to aquascape after having that nice deep cube. Either way, Deep Sea tanks are top-notch so I think you'll be very happy with it.

The big rubbermaid stock tanks work well as large low-cost sumps (especially if you have a big operation and need a lot of them) but I think there are several advantages to having a traditional glass/acrylic tank as a sump if you have the budget for it. Plumbing is easier because the sides are square and you can see your equipment/refugium/frags inside. It's also harder to see how much grime/algae/detritus has accumulated on a black surface so you might not clean it as often as a transparent sump. Either way, elevate your sumps off the floor to make it easy to siphon into a bucket when you do need to clean.

There's a lot of personal preference when it comes to pumps. If most of your flow will be coming from Vortechs I would just go with an Iwaki or Pan-world pump for circulation. Since the tank is literally right next to the sump you don't need that much oompf. Will you be mounting the MP60s on the ends of the tank exposed to the dining room? I would consider getting more Vortechs and putting them on the back of the tank. It's a lot less efficient than having them on the ends and obviously costs much more but you keep the pristine look of the tank.

If it were my garage I probably would frame out the fish room--it wouldn't cost much and would allow you to put electrical where you need it. If you ever sold the place you'd just put up shelves and make it into a storage closet. You could even set up your RO bins on the garage side of the fish room to save space. You wouldn't want a chiller in a room that small either so you'd need to mount it remotely or come up with another creative solution.

Good luck!


DHyslop is offline   Reply With Quote