Getting a 550 gallon tank next week...

[ChiPerf]

Here are a couple pics from the bottom of the tank. The white tube is simply just PVC with no threads or anything and goes to the top of the tank and flush with it for seemingly no reason at all. Maybe for the light cords to go through the center? Only thing I can think of.

 

[sazhar]

After looking at the photos I think you are right about the wiring for lighting. Is the back of the tank clear? I think I remeber seeing this tank on CL and it was in the center of the room so they probably wanted to hide the wires.

 

[Kyle_91]

Just read the whole progress of this thread and so far updates are comin along nice!
- With the substrate..., I'd go for pea gravel. Not as fine as sand but not as rocky as regular gravel. Or you could mix the two and have a very nice substrate for the bottom of your tank.

Keep us updated with pics! Im really curious how this is going to turn out, best of luck!

 

[ChiPerf]

This tank was on CL for probably a day or less. I called about it, took a look at it because it was close to my work, and we agreed on a price, and it was done. It was in the center of the room, so there is no back. Now that I think about it, there was no way for wiring to go anywhere else, so that must be it. They also have the drains and refill tubes at 1 inch diameter tubing. Does that seem small for this size tank?

Thanks Kyle. This really should be a good thread to read, going from a complete newb to fish keeping, to an owner of a ridiculous tank with sump. Hopefully I don't screw anything up.

Even though the old stand didn't have foam underneath the tank, I just got some I'm gonna use after seeing everybody else use some.

 

[Kyle_91]

This tank was on CL for probably a day or less. I called about it, took a look at it because it was close to my work, and we agreed on a price, and it was done. It was in the center of the room, so there is no back. Now that I think about it, there was no way for wiring to go anywhere else, so that must be it. They also have the drains and refill tubes at 1 inch diameter tubing. Does that seem small for this size tank?

Thanks Kyle. This really should be a good thread to read, going from a complete newb to fish keeping, to an owner of a ridiculous tank with sump. Hopefully I don't screw anything up.

Even though the old stand didn't have foam underneath the tank, I just got some I'm gonna use after seeing everybody else use some.

Its always great to get into something so amusing and time-taking because once your completed and every time you look at it your gonna feel success and proud about it
How long you been in the hobby?

 

[ChiPerf]

Oh yeah, it's gonna be awesome once it's done. I was into it pretty heavy about 20 years ago, holy crap, more like 25. I didn't know any of this stuff back then, just kept fish and would buy more if they died. lol I want to do it right and I want some cool fish once everything is set. My kid is digging it too, so I see myself being into this for quite a while now.

 

[Kyle_91]

Yeah it can defiantly benefit to the family

- What kind of biotope/stocking ideas do you have so far?

 

[sazhar]

The size of the drains could be okay depending on the size of your pump. The gravity fed flow rate of 1" pvc is 600gph . So four of those would give you 2400 gph. Which would turn over the water the water in the tank 4 times which is a little low depending on your planned stock list. Of course this also depends on how you plumb the tank. How big is the pump you are running? You should be able to find the gph rating for the pump, and then calculate the head pressure loss to get the true gph reaching your tank. Here are some calculators that might help.

http://www.reefcentral.com/calc/drain.php
http://www.reefcentral.com/index.php/head-loss-calculator

 

[ChiPerf]

Yeah it can defiantly benefit to the family

- What kind of biotope/stocking ideas do you have so far?

I am planning on all my cichlids in there eventually, which presently are a Bocourti, 2 severums, Midas, Flowerhorn, Buttikoferi, Convict, Jack Dempsey, Firemouth, Regani, Jaguar, Pleco, and 2 Clown Loaches. They are in a 55 gallon tank right now, getting along very well surprisingly. If I have aggression issues in the future, I have a 125 also I'm setting up just in case.

The size of the drains could be okay depending on the size of your pump. The gravity fed flow rate of 1" pvc is 600gph . So four of those would give you 2400 gph. Which would turn over the water the water in the tank 4 times which is a little low depending on your planned stock list. Of course this also depends on how you plumb the tank. How big is the pump you are running? You should be able to find the gph rating for the pump, and then calculate the head pressure loss to get the true gph reaching your tank. Here are some calculators that might help.

http://www.reefcentral.com/calc/drain.php
http://www.reefcentral.com/index.php/head-loss-calculator

It is a Reeflo Marlin pump, and it is about 2000 gallons per hour I think? I only have 2 drains, and 2 holes to refill water up to also, so that is only 1200 gph right? Good enough, or should I do something different? The bulkheads look much larger, and they have the drains and upfills (whatever you call them) sized down to only 1" Maybe I should totally redo this setup with the largest size PVC I can use huh? What do you think?

 

[sazhar]

It all depends on what you are going to put in the tank. The bigger and messier the fish the more flow you want. You need to make sure that you have enough room to enlarge the holes. If you make the acrylic too thin between the holes it could crack and then you would have an entire new set of issues.
You could also think about adding a canister filter along with the sump. What kind of fish were you planning on stocking the tank with?