so first off my apologies for how long this will be, of late i've been gathering a mass of information and i figure more detailed is better than less.
i currently have two freshwater tanks, 1 125 gallon with 1 red devil 7" 2 tigar oscars 5 & 6" 2 jaguar cichlids ( both 6") and one unknown cichlid 7"
55 gallon has somewhere in the vicinity of 25 convict cichlids, they keep breeding so everytime i turn around there's more.. but they're adorable.
i love freshwater.. but since she's been able to walk my daughter has had an obscene fascination with clown fish, she is only 1 1/2 years old and has never seen finding nemo. but anytime we go to our LFS she immediately runs to their tank, sits on the ground and watches them happy as can be, so daddy is building her a big tank to have her own. and i figure once she does see finding nemo, the rest of the crew will be wanted.. so i'm planning ahead.
So i intend on building a new marine tank that my family can enjoy. It is going to be 8ft long (243.84cm) 18 inches wide (45.72cm) and 30 inches high (76.2 cm) which puts it at a modest 849 liters (224.28 Gallons). I'm building it out of 15mm thick glass for all sides except the front, which will be 19.04 mm (3/4") starphire glass. now that part is simple for me, i've got most of the information and doing it will be a blast. but after that is where i start getting confused. I've never built a marine tank before and i'm truly unsure of everything that i'm going to need. My intent is to make it a FOWLR tank for about the first year or possibly longer and eventually get it to conditions where i can also raise anemones. not a real reef tank, because all i want living plant wise in there are anemones, though i'm sure i'll end up with a few other cool things.
in addition to the display tank, i will be using a glass 75 gal long tank for a sump.
i know i'll need a good protein skimmer (recommendations are extremely welcome as this will be my first marine tank and i am not truly familiar with all of the brands reliability, water flow and so forth.
i am torn on whether i want to add a canister filter to the tank, i've heard both good and bad opinions on the idea.
i'm also purchasing a Coralife Pure-Flo II R/O 100 gpd seeing as water quality is so much more important in a marine tank.
now.. for the questions off the top of my head:
water circulation, for what i'm intending this tank for.. what should my circulation be around? i was thinking about 7,500gph but idk if thats too much or possibly not enough
recommended lighting? anyone.. i'm all ears for this one.. i have been reading non stop but still to no avail of making any kind of educated decision.
things i'm missing.. fill me in.. i'm sure theres alot.
as a side note: this is a project, i am definitely taking my time. I'm currently deployed and intend to use these next six months for pure research.. just trying to nail down exactly what i want and need. once i get back to the states, then i intend to happily take my time, starting with putting together my tank, drilling it, and then getting everything i need equipment wise for it. after that.. i'll start cycling.. and one day hopefully get some fish in there.
speaking of building.. any tips? i have a general idea for what i wanna do.. but i keep reading about a closed loop system that comes from under the tank, no idea what that is, but it sounds helpful. I have searched and searched and searched for more details on building the water system for my tank much to no avail. mostly everything just references some system or another and i can never find any form of clarification. My wife is mailing me as many books as she can find back home and as soon as they arrive i intend to dive into them. mostly i'm just looking for as much starting advice as i can recieve. i'm in research mode and i'm trying to utilize everything. thank you so much for any help you can offer.
i've composed a list of the fish i want to put in the tank. just for an idea of what i'm into .. idk if it'll help or not.. but.. details details.
clown fish : true percula, saddleback, ocellaris
tangs: orange bar, Naso , pacific blue, and yellow belly regal blue
wrasse: ornate, blue flasher, eight line, carpenters flasher, scotts fairy, and a longfin fairy.
i would love to be able to put 1 bird wrasse in as well.. but it would require alot of searching to find a mild tempered one. until then i'm not settling on one because i dont want him to eat my other fish.. but i think they're soo fascinating.
i'm open to any ideas, budget isnt really an issue, however space is. one of my main reasons for not wanting to make this into a legitimate reef tank is the space of all the extras needed. with my tank i am building a 2 1/2 foot tall stand and im hoping to have everything that attaches to this tank fit inside of it. i may be willing to go up to 3 ft tall if necessary but i'd like to try and stay at 30 inches to keep the tank at perfect eye level for my little one as she gets bigger.
i know it'd be easier to just have the tank made for me, but if possible i'd really like to do as much of it as i can by myself or with friends.. i think the hands on will make the tank just that much better
i currently have two freshwater tanks, 1 125 gallon with 1 red devil 7" 2 tigar oscars 5 & 6" 2 jaguar cichlids ( both 6") and one unknown cichlid 7"
55 gallon has somewhere in the vicinity of 25 convict cichlids, they keep breeding so everytime i turn around there's more.. but they're adorable.
i love freshwater.. but since she's been able to walk my daughter has had an obscene fascination with clown fish, she is only 1 1/2 years old and has never seen finding nemo. but anytime we go to our LFS she immediately runs to their tank, sits on the ground and watches them happy as can be, so daddy is building her a big tank to have her own. and i figure once she does see finding nemo, the rest of the crew will be wanted.. so i'm planning ahead.
So i intend on building a new marine tank that my family can enjoy. It is going to be 8ft long (243.84cm) 18 inches wide (45.72cm) and 30 inches high (76.2 cm) which puts it at a modest 849 liters (224.28 Gallons). I'm building it out of 15mm thick glass for all sides except the front, which will be 19.04 mm (3/4") starphire glass. now that part is simple for me, i've got most of the information and doing it will be a blast. but after that is where i start getting confused. I've never built a marine tank before and i'm truly unsure of everything that i'm going to need. My intent is to make it a FOWLR tank for about the first year or possibly longer and eventually get it to conditions where i can also raise anemones. not a real reef tank, because all i want living plant wise in there are anemones, though i'm sure i'll end up with a few other cool things.
in addition to the display tank, i will be using a glass 75 gal long tank for a sump.
i know i'll need a good protein skimmer (recommendations are extremely welcome as this will be my first marine tank and i am not truly familiar with all of the brands reliability, water flow and so forth.
i am torn on whether i want to add a canister filter to the tank, i've heard both good and bad opinions on the idea.
i'm also purchasing a Coralife Pure-Flo II R/O 100 gpd seeing as water quality is so much more important in a marine tank.
now.. for the questions off the top of my head:
water circulation, for what i'm intending this tank for.. what should my circulation be around? i was thinking about 7,500gph but idk if thats too much or possibly not enough
recommended lighting? anyone.. i'm all ears for this one.. i have been reading non stop but still to no avail of making any kind of educated decision.
things i'm missing.. fill me in.. i'm sure theres alot.
as a side note: this is a project, i am definitely taking my time. I'm currently deployed and intend to use these next six months for pure research.. just trying to nail down exactly what i want and need. once i get back to the states, then i intend to happily take my time, starting with putting together my tank, drilling it, and then getting everything i need equipment wise for it. after that.. i'll start cycling.. and one day hopefully get some fish in there.
speaking of building.. any tips? i have a general idea for what i wanna do.. but i keep reading about a closed loop system that comes from under the tank, no idea what that is, but it sounds helpful. I have searched and searched and searched for more details on building the water system for my tank much to no avail. mostly everything just references some system or another and i can never find any form of clarification. My wife is mailing me as many books as she can find back home and as soon as they arrive i intend to dive into them. mostly i'm just looking for as much starting advice as i can recieve. i'm in research mode and i'm trying to utilize everything. thank you so much for any help you can offer.
i've composed a list of the fish i want to put in the tank. just for an idea of what i'm into .. idk if it'll help or not.. but.. details details.
clown fish : true percula, saddleback, ocellaris
tangs: orange bar, Naso , pacific blue, and yellow belly regal blue
wrasse: ornate, blue flasher, eight line, carpenters flasher, scotts fairy, and a longfin fairy.
i would love to be able to put 1 bird wrasse in as well.. but it would require alot of searching to find a mild tempered one. until then i'm not settling on one because i dont want him to eat my other fish.. but i think they're soo fascinating.
i'm open to any ideas, budget isnt really an issue, however space is. one of my main reasons for not wanting to make this into a legitimate reef tank is the space of all the extras needed. with my tank i am building a 2 1/2 foot tall stand and im hoping to have everything that attaches to this tank fit inside of it. i may be willing to go up to 3 ft tall if necessary but i'd like to try and stay at 30 inches to keep the tank at perfect eye level for my little one as she gets bigger.
i know it'd be easier to just have the tank made for me, but if possible i'd really like to do as much of it as i can by myself or with friends.. i think the hands on will make the tank just that much better
