# New set up for me



## target (Apr 21, 2010)

So just picked up my new (to me) tank today. It's a 220g, 72"x24"x30", reef ready. Total cost to me: FREE!!! Well, some gas money to a friend to pick it up and bring it home.










After discussing with my wife, the plan is to make this tank into a salt water set up. It will eventually be a full reef set up. It also will be providing me with numerous projects to complete and a lot of learning to do. Never done a SW set up before.

Projects:

Build an acrylic sump
DIY LED lighting
New stand and canopy
Plumb the tank
Change the reef ready system into a bean animal overflow

And that's just the start. I am sure there will be many, many others. I know this is going to be a long start up and even longer before it is fully stocked and the reef is complete. I am starting this thread as a place where I can ask all the questions I need and get some tips and tricks. I also know this is a large tank to start with but when the opportunity to get it came up I had to jump on it.


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## Chappy (Apr 21, 2010)

Oooooohhhhh - NICE score, Daniel! Can't wait to see what you do with it


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## Claudia (Apr 21, 2010)

Cant wait for updates


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Nice. Congrats Daniel. I had forgotten about this project.


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

If you ever want to learn about sw setups, come on over for a visit and I'll show you how I've set mine up. There's lots of different ways to do a sw tank successfully, so seeing different setups will help you figure out which system works for you, your budget & your time availability.

Anthony


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

Thanks guys. Can't wait to get going on it. And Anthony, I will definitely be stopping by to see your set ups. No better way to learn than to see it in person.


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## bigfry (Apr 21, 2010)

Nice Christmas present fron your friend...so envious.


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## jobber (May 14, 2010)

That is one heck of a score Daniel. A great xmas present


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## crazy72 (Apr 22, 2010)

Wow, that's exciting. Looking forward to the developments.


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## gklaw (May 31, 2010)

Nice Daniel. Now I am jeelous  5ft seems to be my limit until I get my wife out of "MY" basement 

Save-up for the livestocks


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## Victor (Apr 21, 2010)

Nice tank. I know where this tank is from lol.


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## cichlid (Jul 30, 2010)

Nice! Another SW newbie, Im going to be following this thread for sure!


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## zhasan (Oct 28, 2010)

I'm hopping on the SW newbie boat as well!! That tank is very nice.. looking forward to see the progress!!


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## thefishwife (Apr 21, 2010)

Congrats Daniel looking fwd to your progress on it.


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## April (Apr 21, 2010)

Well there goes another discus person to salt. Lol.
Sounds fun..
Can't wait to see the in progress reports. Do a journal also.

---
I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=49.275003,-122.835627


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

April said:


> Well there goes another discus person to salt. Lol.
> Sounds fun..
> Can't wait to see the in progress reports. Do a journal also.


I tried April, but he wouldn't do discus in it. I told him he could have 25 wilds in there!


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## April (Apr 21, 2010)

Salt will be good and too big of a tank for wcs with discus. Salt is more costly though I believe.

---
I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=49.275063,-122.835553


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## discuspaul (Jul 2, 2010)

That's going to be a super reef set-up in that size of tank, Daniel.
My last reef tank was at least 9 or 10 years ago, and the sw system technology developed since then has undoubtedly made projects like yours somewhat easier and more successful.
Best of luck - looking forward to seeing the finished product !


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## MELLO (Apr 21, 2010)

Nice score Daniel! I just gave up salt fews months back to come back to discus. You'll love salt your tank is perfect. Bigger is better with salt. Watch out for guys shutting down you can buy their liverocks and sand cheaper than buying from LFS. If you can, start with good quality equipment might be expensive at first but it will payoff in the long run.


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

gklaw said:


> Nice Daniel. Now I am jeelous  5ft seems to be my limit until I get my wife out of "MY" basement
> 
> Save-up for the livestocks


HAHA, yeah. Gotta save up for sure. And my wife was the one who really wanted to do the salt when I gave her that as an option for the tank.



April said:


> Well there goes another discus person to salt. Lol.
> Sounds fun..
> Can't wait to see the in progress reports. Do a journal also.
> 
> ...


I will definitely keep a journal. And there is going to be discus in my place as well. My wife loves them so much she wants a tank of them still, so I will keeping both.



MELLO said:


> Nice score Daniel! I just gave up salt fews months back to come back to discus. You'll love salt your tank is perfect. Bigger is better with salt. Watch out for guys shutting down you can buy their liverocks and sand cheaper than buying from LFS. If you can, start with good quality equipment might be expensive at first but it will payoff in the long run.


Yeah, I will be keeping an eye out for some deals for sure.


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

Now the thought that is running through my head is whether the floor will be strong enough or not. I will be checking to see how the floor joists run in that area. Where I want to put it is against a load bearing wall which will help. But I might have to drop the ceiling below and sister the joists to make sure the load is supported properly. I am already imagining my wife's reaction when I tell her I have to rip open the ceiling on the floor below. Ideally I would put the tank in the basement room, but we spend all our time on the upper level and that is where we want the tank to be positioned. My uncle does construction, and I work for an engineering firm so once I know how the floor is framed I can work out whether it will be strong enough. Here's hoping I don't have to open the ceiling.


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

Bring the wife (or family) over when you come since she is the one wanting to go salt.


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

Good plan Anthony. It will give her some more ideas of what she will want our tank to look like. She hasn't seen the new tank in person yet, so I can't wait to see her response when she sees just how big it actually is. I measured it out on the floor in my place to show her, but its much deifferent seeing it in person.


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## gklaw (May 31, 2010)

target said:


> Now the thought that is running through my head is whether the floor will be strong enough or not. ... My uncle does construction, and I work for an engineering firm so once I know how the floor is framed I can work out whether it will be strong enough. Here's hoping I don't have to open the ceiling.


It will be wise to look at that carefully. My 75g is sitting one edge on a bearing wall, the floor does move. It is running parallel and sitting right above two joists. I had my wife cleaned up her shop couple years ago ready to rip open the ceiling to jack the floor back up and to add a bearing wall under the tank. Have not done it yet 

Curious which engineering firm you work with.

Gordon


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

April said:


> Salt will be good and too big of a tank for wcs with discus. Salt is more costly though I believe.


Dang, never thought I'd hear anyone say a tank is TOO BIG on BCA.


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

Yeah, I will be looking into that carefully before I get the tank in place. I work for a company called Hatch. We do mining predominantly, but there are structural engineers here who can help me work it out. Also, where I want to place the tank is where my 90g is sitting right now and I haven't noticed any movement in the floor at all. Different ball game with a 220 though.


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

2wheelsx2 said:


> Dang, never thought I'd hear anyone say a tank is TOO BIG on BCA.


LOL, me neither. But April did say too big for WC's, not too big overall


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## gklaw (May 31, 2010)

target said:


> Hatch.


Hatch McDonald - big boy, small world. I spent 3.5 years with SNC on Canada Line 

Heard of them and competed with them, may even recognize a few names.


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

gklaw said:


> Hatch McDonald - big boy, small world. I spent 3.5 years with SNC on Canada Line
> 
> Heard of them and competed with them, may even recognize a few names.


haha, small world for sure. This is how I met Gary (2wheelsx2) as well. He knew someone in my office.


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

Awesome tank Daniel , looking forward to seeing it with some life in it.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

target said:


> LOL, me neither. But April did say too big for WC's, not too big overall


Nothing is too big if you set up that auto water changer. Talk to gklaw about trenching your floor. 

Although you probably won't need that for a reef tank.


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

Diztrbd1 said:


> Awesome tank Daniel , looking forward to seeing it with some life in it.


Me too. Might be a long while though if I have to reinforce the floor. I won't be pulling down the ceiling before I reno my place. Hoping it won't be necessary.



2wheelsx2 said:


> Nothing is too big if you set up that auto water changer. Talk to gklaw about trenching your floor.
> 
> Although you probably won't need that for a reef tank.


HAHA, yeah I can just imagine my wife's response when I tell her I want to trench the floor. Not needed for SW though.


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## gklaw (May 31, 2010)

2wheelsx2 said:


> Talk to gklaw about trenching your floor.


2nd Floor, no trenching required. Piece of cake hehe - if tank is parallel to the joists  Even easier if you are going to rip out the ceiling below 

I actually did trench the floor to put an underslab drain inside the foundation to install a sump pump to solve some house drainage issue. That is where I quick drain my SW sump into


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

Might have to look into adding a drain line if/when I open the ceiling below where the tank will go. I looked at the area again, and the wall where the tank will be sitting is load bearing. There is also a partition wall in the basement less than 6' from the load bearing one. So at most I will have to open less than 6' feet of ceiling and reinforce that area. I thought I was going to have to open the ceiling over a 20' span. This is much nicer. I just need to find my stud finder to confirm which way the joists are running.


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

Started a new thread in the equipment section with some questions I have:

http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/equipment-talk-section-14/equipment-questions-23232/#post188062


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## gklaw (May 31, 2010)

target said:


> Might have to look into adding a drain line if/when I open the ceiling below where the tank will go. I looked at the area again, and the wall where the tank will be sitting is load bearing. There is also a partition wall in the basement less than 6' from the load bearing one. So at most I will have to open less than 6' feet of ceiling and reinforce that area. I thought I was going to have to open the ceiling over a 20' span. This is much nicer. I just need to find my stud finder to confirm which way the joists are running.


Not meant to scare you, the partition wall cannot be relied on too much, especially if it is sitting between two joists, for a large tank but better than nothing.

If you can open the wall to shim the wall tight to the floor and double up the studs, that will help.

If you cannot find your stud finder, I should have 1 handy and a couple buried 

Ever thought about turning the 6ft room below into a filter room


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

I had thought of opening the walls and reinforcing the partition wall as well. Will probably have to do that as well. It would be great to turn that room into the filter room. However, it's the half bath for the basement and the laundry room so no chance of doing that right now. Don't have anywhere else for the laundry at this time. When we reno I want to see if I can move the laundry upstairs where the bedrooms are and then I would be able to use part of that room for a filter room. Then I'd be able to put in a huge sump and refugium as well as water change barrels.


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

Damn it Gordon, now you have me thinking of plumbing the sump downstairs. It would have to be in my garage, however it would definitely allow more freedom with the sump size and also leave the underside of my stand empty. Decisions, decisions.


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## gklaw (May 31, 2010)

Hahaha, you will thank me later  The only reason I still have my SW is the convenience of WC and place to put all the gears, RO, auto top off, etc ... Also think electrical  Where to get power to feed also the power heads and light. They do add up and could blow if share the same 15A circuit with something else 

I still have my big 100g acrylic sump and a 4'x2' steel stand (except I won't use a steel stand for SW) 

Also give you the opportunity to link the 220g to say a 120g before hitting the sump. Awesome !!!! :lol:


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

this is sounding like it's going to become one project after another, although the final project i'm sure is going to look amazing. 
Great grab on the freebie, why don't any of my freinds give away 200gal tanks! 

Cant wait to see more updates!


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

gklaw said:


> Hahaha, you will thank me later  The only reason I still have my SW is the convenience of WC and place to put all the gears, RO, auto top off, etc ... Also think electrical  Where to get power to feed also the power heads and light. They do add up and could blow if share the same 15A circuit with something else
> 
> I still have my big 100g acrylic sump and a 4'x2' steel stand (except I won't use a steel stand for SW)
> 
> Also give you the opportunity to link the 220g to say a 120g before hitting the sump. Awesome !!!! :lol:


The sump would be right near the power for my place as well if it was in the garage. I doubt I could convince my wife to add a second tank to the SW system. I will have to see how viable it would be.



monkE said:


> this is sounding like it's going to become one project after another, although the final project i'm sure is going to look amazing.
> Great grab on the freebie, why don't any of my freinds give away 200gal tanks!
> 
> Cant wait to see more updates!


HAHA yeah it is. I am also looking forward to having something to report. And the tank was a nice freebie. Can't wait to see it filled.


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## cichlid (Jul 30, 2010)

Only on BCaquaria would you find " fish related " projects that would make Mike Homes angry! Lol


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## gklaw (May 31, 2010)

target said:


> I doubt I could convince my wife to add a second tank to the SW system.


Do that at night while she is sleeping. My woman cannot tell if there is just one more tank in or around the house :lol: If she notice, tell her it is part of the filtration 

Seriously, if it is in the same footprint of the sump, why not? Even just to use it to harvest algae as a natural nutrient export. I ran 96W 24/7 over my 33g and brought algae to JL to subsidize the hobby, or hydro bill  until the pond goldfish took over the tank that is.


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## gklaw (May 31, 2010)

cichlid said:


> Only on BCaquaria would you find " fish related " projects that would make Mike Homes angry! Lol


Mike Holmes ? The drama king of home reno


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

cichlid said:


> Only on BCaquaria would you find " fish related " projects that would make Mike Homes angry! Lol


Haha, just a couple of holes in the floors and walls, no big deal. LOL



gklaw said:


> Do that at night while she is sleeping. My woman cannot tell if there is just one more tank in or around the house :lol: If she notice, tell her it is part of the filtration
> 
> Seriously, if it is in the same footprint of the sump, why not? Even just to use it to harvest algae as a natural nutrient export. I ran 96W 24/7 over my 33g and brought algae to JL to subsidize the hobby, or hydro bill  until the pond goldfish took over the tank that is.


Hmm, you make a good point. It might be worth adding an extra, but that could always be a project for later on. And my wife would notice the extra tank since I only have one in my place right now. Will have to see how this all could work.


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## davej (Apr 28, 2010)

Daniel we will have to talk.
I have some stuff you can probably use, 








2 garbage cans full of carib sea aragonite








Acrylic sump








110 lbs of base rock.

Plus more, 
Pm me and I'll cut you a great deal


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

Sweet, thanks Dave.


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

Spend some time at Anthony's today taking reefs. Love your tanks. Got some good ideas. Looks like it will definitely be a sump in my garage plumbed to the display tank in the house. This opens up a whole new world of options.

I can build the sump as large as I want. I am thinking of doing a plywood tank, without viewing panel, and insulating the outside of it. I will line the inside either with pond liner, or the rubber used for plywood builds. I am going to plan the sump to have a large refugium, some frag racks, and enough volume so I can do large water changes without having to turn the pump off.

Got a lot of ideas for the plumbing and how to make everything easy. Going to have a couple big barrels of SW ready to go at all times, plus a large barrel of fresh water to feed the auto top off. Now I just need to start finding the pieces I will need and decide what to build first.


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

That was fun. Come over again and bring the family. As long as my work schedule is not crazy, I enjoy visits from fellow reefers or those thinking of joining the dark side. Always good to brainstorm before building anything.


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

Definitely have to bring the family. My boys will love the fish. And yeah, always good to talk through all the ideas first. Got some good ideas from you for the DIY top up.


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