[jamielocke]

Everyone;

I've been going through the process of putting in two new tanks into a new house that I'm in the process of building - 64"x36"x42" tall, one of each side of the fireplace. The fireplace is fully insulated from heat, temperature adjusted and shouldn't be an issue according to any vendors that I've had out to look at it. Now, for a list of questions. I've had 3 different companies come out to take a look at the location (in framing stage currently) and they all have different ideas about what to put in.

1) Glass vs. acrylic - This seems to be a religious war. I understand that once scratched that's it for glass, there's nothing you can do but look at it and curse under your breath. With acrylic you can buff out any scratches but that means that you have to drain (all the way??) the tank to repair. Acrylic is also a softer material so it scratches easier. One of the vendors that I'm talking to has a beautiful FO tank in his showroom that's glass of about the size of one of my tanks and it has approximately a 20" scratch, obviously from a magnet during cleaning. I think I would cry... Anyways, for those of you that have had each, what was your take on glass vs. acrylic and why?

2) Bioballs vs. Refugium - I'm seeing two different types of filtration concepts come back on bids. What are the pros and cons of each type of system? I'm leaning towards refugium currently but that's probably a matter of my just liking that vendor a little more than the others. I'll be putting in a dedicated room in my basement directly below the tanks to house all equipment so I can really do anything that I'd like, I'm not space constrained in the aquarium support room.

3) Cabinets - cleaning, access and humidity control - these tanks will both be fully-encased in cabinetry. I'm currently looking at building fans to vent everything outside in both tanks. Does anyone have experience in how/where to do the air intakes, outside vents and what special precautions need to be taken by my cabinet guys to make sure that the tanks don't ruin the cabinets that house them within a few years and also don't put unnecessary chemicals into the water?

4) Preparing for Overfeeding in the FO tank - I've got three girls that are very, very excited to start feeding the fish when the house is done. I know that overfeeding is going to be something that I need to deal with, any suggestions?

5) Expected maintenance costs - No one has given me an exact price on what maintenance on these tanks will look like going forward. I intend to spend a couple of hours/week max on maintenance. Does anyone out there have any real-world information on what they spend to keep the tanks maintained? I will have chillers, calcium reactors, auto-water change system, etc on the tanks to try and minimize required maintenance upfront.

6) Internet surveillance, video, etc - Has anyone hooked up a feed from their webcam or home security system to their tank so they can watch it from work? What systems did you use for video and also for monitoring of water readings?

Ok, that's what I've got on my mind today. Thanks in advance for your kind comments.

jamie

[pogodzib]

Originally Posted by jamielocke

1) Glass vs. acrylic - This seems to be a religious war. I understand that once scratched that's it for glass, there's nothing you can do but look at it and curse under your breath. With acrylic you can buff out any scratches but that means that you have to drain (all the way??) the tank to repair. Acrylic is also a softer material so it scratches easier. One of the vendors that I'm talking to has a beautiful FO tank in his showroom that's glass of about the size of one of my tanks and it has approximately a 20" scratch, obviously from a magnet during cleaning. I think I would cry... Anyways, for those of you that have had each, what was your take on glass vs. acrylic and why?

Many people chose acrylic for larger tanks for various reasons, the main being much lighter so it is easier to move. Plus acrylic is more clear than glass which makes a difference when you get into the thicker glass dimensions that larger tanks require. One exception is "Starfire" (lead free, low iron) glass since it is very clear as well. Personally, I'd not a big fan of acrylic because the glass does scratch so easily while cleaning and emptying a full, large reef tank to buffer out the scratches is a pain. If you need to do that, it is almost as easy to replace a glass tank since the tank needs to be drained either way. If I were you and custom tanks were going to be made, I'd highly recommend looking into getting a glass tank with "Starfire" glass on both sides. However, if the tank is assembled somewhere else, you will probably need 8 guys to get it moved and into place. There may be someone locally that will assemble the tank panels in place so it makes the move easier.

Originally Posted by jamielocke

2) Bioballs vs. Refugium - I'm seeing two different types of filtration concepts come back on bids. What are the pros and cons of each type of system? I'm leaning towards refugium currently but that's probably a matter of my just liking that vendor a little more than the others. I'll be putting in a dedicated room in my basement directly below the tanks to house all equipment so I can really do anything that I'd like, I'm not space constrained in the aquarium support room.

Without a doubt, refugium. In my mind, there is a big difference when being used on a reef tank. If the tank wouldn't hold corals, then a bioballs may be the better choice. Bioballs do a great job at converting ammonia and nitrite down to nitrate, but it stops there. Also, bioballs accumulate detritus if not regularly cleaned. Refugiums not only help eliminate ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate, the macroalgae also removes other bad chemicals such as phosphates to it is easier to keep a tank algae free and with no nitrates.

Originally Posted by jamielocke

3) Cabinets - cleaning, access and humidity control - these tanks will both be fully-encased in cabinetry. I'm currently looking at building fans to vent everything outside in both tanks. Does anyone have experience in how/where to do the air intakes, outside vents and what special precautions need to be taken by my cabinet guys to make sure that the tanks don't ruin the cabinets that house them within a few years and also don't put unnecessary chemicals into the water?

You can get marine paint or exterior stain/clear coat to put on your cabinets to prevent water damage. For the area inside the cabinets over the tank, I'd recommend using a white paint to help reflect residual lighting back into the tank. For humidity control, you can use fans to either suck the air out of push the air out. If the humid, salty air get sucked out through the fan, you will want to make sure you get a fan with minimal metal components since it will cause the fan to wear out prematurely. If you can suck air into the hood area and get the air to get pushed out of the fixture, you can extend the fan life. Depending how the canopy area of your tank is set up, this may be easier said than done though and many people opt to just suck the air out and replace the fan as needed. My previous fish room had a "CAP Air-1 Temperature/Humidity controller" that kicked a fan on when either the humidity or temperature rose above my set points. Here's a like to one of many sites that sell it if you think it may be handy for your fish room. Amazon.com: AIR-1 Temperature/Humidity Control: Kitchen & Dining

Originally Posted by jamielocke

4) Preparing for Overfeeding in the FO tank - I've got three girls that are very, very excited to start feeding the fish when the house is done. I know that overfeeding is going to be something that I need to deal with, any suggestions?

Feed only once per day max. and only enough that the fish can eat in 5 minutes. Having a large refugium, understocked tank, plenty of Live Rock (1-2 Lbs/gallon) and Live Sand, having a good skimmer, and doing routine maintenance/water changes will all help a lot.

Originally Posted by jamielocke

5) Expected maintenance costs - No one has given me an exact price on what maintenance on these tanks will look like going forward. I intend to spend a couple of hours/week max on maintenance. Does anyone out there have any real-world information on what they spend to keep the tanks maintained? I will have chillers, calcium reactors, auto-water change system, etc on the tanks to try and minimize required maintenance upfront.

Maintenance costs vary greatly depending on equipment and livestock. The light bulbs will need to get replaced every 9-18 month depending on how long the lights are on per day, monitoring probes generally get replaced every 9-12 months, RO/DI unit filters get replaced as needed, which varies depending on your tap water quality, salt costs for water changes vary depending on how much water volume you change out every month. For my 300 gallon system, I probably spend about $60+/month on maintenance items (bulbs, salt, probes, phosban, carbon, RO/DI membranes, etc...), plus additional costs for chemical additives (which is minimal since I dose very little), electricity, and stocking my system.

Originally Posted by jamielocke

6) Internet surveillance, video, etc - Has anyone hooked up a feed from their webcam or home security system to their tank so they can watch it from work? What systems did you use for video and also for monitoring of water readings?

I haven't done this yet, but there are members of my local reef club that have. Some of the controllers available allow you to go over the internet to view your tank parameters instantly or will sent you a message if a parameter is off. I have many high end pieces of equipment, but I've chosen to not get one of these higher end controllers because of the additional maintenance cost for replacing and cleaning/recalibrating probes. If I every need to go out of town for more than a few days, I have a local reef keeper come over and check on my tank even though I should be able to leave it unattended for at least a week with having to worry about anything.

[REEFMASTER]

Originally Posted by jamielocke

Everyone;

I've been going through the process of putting in two new tanks into a new house that I'm in the process of building - 64"x36"x42" tall, one of each side of the fireplace. The fireplace is fully insulated from heat, temperature adjusted and shouldn't be an issue according to any vendors that I've had out to look at it. Now, for a list of questions. I've had 3 different companies come out to take a look at the location (in framing stage currently) and they all have different ideas about what to put in.

1) Glass vs. acrylic - This seems to be a religious war. I understand that once scratched that's it for glass, there's nothing you can do but look at it and curse under your breath. With acrylic you can buff out any scratches but that means that you have to drain (all the way??) the tank to repair. Acrylic is also a softer material so it scratches easier. One of the vendors that I'm talking to has a beautiful FO tank in his showroom that's glass of about the size of one of my tanks and it has approximately a 20" scratch, obviously from a magnet during cleaning. I think I would cry... Anyways, for those of you that have had each, what was your take on glass vs. acrylic and why?

2) Bioballs vs. Refugium - I'm seeing two different types of filtration concepts come back on bids. What are the pros and cons of each type of system? I'm leaning towards refugium currently but that's probably a matter of my just liking that vendor a little more than the others. I'll be putting in a dedicated room in my basement directly below the tanks to house all equipment so I can really do anything that I'd like, I'm not space constrained in the aquarium support room.

3) Cabinets - cleaning, access and humidity control - these tanks will both be fully-encased in cabinetry. I'm currently looking at building fans to vent everything outside in both tanks. Does anyone have experience in how/where to do the air intakes, outside vents and what special precautions need to be taken by my cabinet guys to make sure that the tanks don't ruin the cabinets that house them within a few years and also don't put unnecessary chemicals into the water?

4) Preparing for Overfeeding in the FO tank - I've got three girls that are very, very excited to start feeding the fish when the house is done. I know that overfeeding is going to be something that I need to deal with, any suggestions?

5) Expected maintenance costs - No one has given me an exact price on what maintenance on these tanks will look like going forward. I intend to spend a couple of hours/week max on maintenance. Does anyone out there have any real-world information on what they spend to keep the tanks maintained? I will have chillers, calcium reactors, auto-water change system, etc on the tanks to try and minimize required maintenance upfront.

6) Internet surveillance, video, etc - Has anyone hooked up a feed from their webcam or home security system to their tank so they can watch it from work? What systems did you use for video and also for monitoring of water readings?

Ok, that's what I've got on my mind today. Thanks in advance for your kind comments.

jamie

Pogo answered it like a true ReefMaster!

[REEFMASTER]

Be prepared to spend a lot of time getting this thing straight. As you will NEVER get it right. ASK A LOT OF QUESTIONS. there is a lot of people here that can help. some one WILL have the answer.
And take your time. These creatures are very delicate and they depend on you for their survival. We do not know the exact science of reefkeeping and some of these corals are not meant to be kept. They look pretty and all, but some are just not meant to be taken from the ocean. You spend $75 for this small piece of frag and it last 1 month in your tank because it starved to death.
I am not trying to Disway you, just wanting you to think your coral/fish purchases over, STUDY B4 U BUY. In the long run you will have a successful reef tank with minimal loss and heartache.
HAPPY REEFING AND ENJOY.