# Future Tank Build 225 Gallon



## Dustmaster (Oct 15, 2013)

My family will be building a house later on this year and we are planning to put a tank in it on the second floor in a dividing wall(visible from both sides). Its going to be a saltwater setup with rocks only to begin with and possibly corals later on. I want it to be as easy as possible to maintain but not be too expensive. I still have a few months to go but I started doing my research and got a quote for everything besides livestock. I wanted to see what people think so any opinions/advice would be appreciated.

-Glass Tank - 72 Long x 24 Deep x 30 High (225 Gallon). Custom made since overflow needed to be on the side.
-Reef Keeper Lite
-Eheim Compact Pump
-Jager Aquarium Heater
-Ecotech Radion XR30W PRO LED Light x 3
-Real Reef Rock 150 lbs
-Tunze Turbelle Stream TS48 Pump Kit 
-Vertex Alpha Cone 200
-Custom Sump

Tank with corner overflow and plumbing will be about $2100 (before tax)
Everything else including a few other smaller things totals to about $7500 (before tax)
I have 9 feet of length space available but cant do more than 2 feet in depth so I was wondering if anyone has an idea of how much more it would be to move to 8 feet.
Let me know what you guys think.


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## Clownloachlover (Apr 21, 2010)

well you may want to talk to your builder about placing a tank of that size and more importantly weight on the second floor... you may require some custom engineering. You have to consider that you are going to be looking at well over 1500 pounds just in water alone...8 pounds per gallon, then there is the weight of the tank itself, the gravel, some of which displaces water...and all of the associated gear including the weight of your sump...if you have the space and the budget go for an 96 X 24 X 32....that is a really nice sized divider wall!


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## DBam (Aug 9, 2010)

+1 on double checking the engineering. That much weight within the 6x2 footprint will exceed the load limit for 2x10 floor joists, this is a fact. I think it exceeds the sheer limit too, but not sure. I can't speak to any further structural specs or plans but can confidently say you'll need more than regular floor joists to support that tank. What a great project though .


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## Dustmaster (Oct 15, 2013)

We are still in the planning stages right now but I did tell the engineer to build for 3500lbs. I would love to have 96 long as long as it doesn't cost a lot more than 72. Don't really want to go past $10k un equipment


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## smccleme (Aug 20, 2012)

You're doing something like this? 220 Gallon, Room Divider Aquarium in Living Room - YouTube


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## Dustmaster (Oct 15, 2013)

More like this http://www.homedesignwallpaper.com/wp-content/uploads/Wall-aquarium-designs.jpg just not as tall. Havent decided if I should have drywall on one side and cabinetry on the other or cabinetry on both.

Any comments on the equipment? Swap something for a different company, better model, etc.


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## tony1928 (Apr 22, 2010)

Awesome looking project. One thing that you should think of given that you have every option available to you right now is to make sure you have water and drainage plumbed into your sump area. Also build in as much space as you can for equipment to make maintenance as easy as possible 

Sent from my gigantic Samsung Note 2


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## Dustmaster (Oct 15, 2013)

I want to put a drain near the sump somewhere and I was thinking about running some plumbing to the laundry room so I could mix the saltwater and pump it upstairs into the tank. Would 3 feet of space under the tank be enough for all the equipment and easy access?


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## tony1928 (Apr 22, 2010)

Hmm, that's hard to say. You'd have to design your sump and plumbing first. That being said, if you have a true 36" space under the tank to work with, that would be a lot more than most people have. Having some kind of access from both sides of the tank (given your set up) would really help as well. Also, good clear access is important. So when you frame up the bottom, frame it so that its as wide open as possible.


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

Going with some very high end (i.e. expensive equipment). Your wavemaker/powerheads will set you back $2000 incl. tax and the skimmer over a $1000.

Not sure if you have your heart set on those items from those companies.

A huge number of reefers nowadays are replacing their Tunzes & MP40s with Jebao WP series of controllable wavemakers. Each WP40 or Wp60 would cost $100 or less and can be hooked up to your contoller. (4 Jebaos would cost under $400, leaving you $1600 extra for livestock). Heck at that price you could buy 4 spares and still have over $1200 extra in your livestock budget.

The Vertex Alpha Cone 200 may actually be a bit underpowered if you have a heavily stocked tank or be at its limit.

Heard some good things (great reviews) about this skimmer: AquaMaxx EcoMaxx In-Sump Protein Skimmer

Again, fraction of the cost. Vertex are very beautiful skimmers that work great but if you go with one size up (Cone 250), that's going to set you back about $1400.

Your equipment choices are excellent, but they come with very high price premiums. German engineering is expensive I'm sure you'll get great performance from your original equipment choices, but thought I'd just post here about some much less alternatives in case you were wondering.

For your fish room, make sure there is room for a 50 gallon barrel or two, which you make your water changes very fast and painless.

Anthony


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## Dustmaster (Oct 15, 2013)

I'm not set on any of those companies but they are some of the ones I have heard good things about. If there are cheaper options that perform the same and last long then of course I will buy those. I hadn't heard of either of those until now. That protein skimmer would save me $600 which sounds amazing. Does anyone know how it compares to the vertex skimmer?

Are the koralias not a good choice?

Would the apex controller be the better choice?

Also, has anyone ever dealt with or heard of the installation/maintenance company Shiny Fish?


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## tony1928 (Apr 22, 2010)

Apex would be by far the better controller especially for salt water applications. It's been a proven solid performer for years.


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## Steve (Mar 27, 2013)

I love my koralias and they put out great flow, but it's fairly dispersed compared to other types of power heads and they are supposedly "cheaper" in terms of make and what not and will be noisier after a while but I haven't owned mine long enough to know


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