DeepBlue45's 265g DT build w/fish room and frag tank

[DeepBlue45]

Hi All,

 

I'm fairly new to this forum but thought I would start a thread for new display system I'm assembling in a recently finished basement.  After much negotiation with the wife I managed to carve out an 8x10ft dedicated fish room space where the tank and support system will be located, along with 45g frag tank, RO/DI system, storage tanks and the other associated gear.  The front panel of the tank will be in-wall and visible from the main seating area.....I have several sketch-up renderings that I'll post shortly.

 

From progress perspective I currently have a Marineland 265g (84 x 24 x 30) non-reef ready version sitting in the garage that I plan to drill for two low-profile overflows, probably 16" Synergy Reef or similar.  All of my current livestock (mostly LPS with a few SPS and zoas plus a couple small reef safe fish) are crammed into a 48 x 18 x 12 shallow tank that will eventually be the frag/grow-out system mentioned above.  Space is getting tight but everything is doing pretty well.

 

I'll make another post shortly with current design specs for the DT and planned equipment list but as a preview I'm planning this to be my first full Zeovit tank.  I started dosing some KZ products about 6 months ago and very happy with the results.  The current system has been running biopellets since it was started so I'm a fan of ultra low nutrient approach + supplementation and I like that Zeovit has a formal system to follow with a large user community.  I'd be especially interested to hear from anyone local to DC area with KZ/Zeovit experience.

 

I just wanted to end this first post with a question around tank size and manufacturer.  When I originally spec'd out the Marineland tanks I was back and forth on the non-reef 265 vs. 300 Deep Dimension that only comes reef ready with corner overflows.  I love tanks with front-back depth in the 30-36" range or greater because of the aquascaping potential and there really is another dimension when viewing them.  However I went with the 265 because I wanted more length than the 300DD (72") and I'm not a fan of the corner overflows.  Does anyone have experience with either of these tanks, or want to comment on how much I might miss the 36" depth of the 300DD? 

 

​I also received custom tank quotes from all the usual suspects for an 84 x 30 x 30 and they're running in the 4-6K range.  From a quality perspective can anyone comment on whether it's worth the extra $ for this type of application to go custom at 3-4 times what the 265 cost me?  With the tank located in a fish room I'm not really concerned about aesthetics like rimless, phantom bottoms, special silicone etc......just want a reliable, leak free tank.

 

Any comments and followers are much appreciated!

 

Jay

Edited September 8, 2016 by DeepBlue45

[khh27]

Well you might miss paddling a canoe around from a Seam seal leaking or busting......to many horror stories on DD's for me.... but man Thier sweet I also like 265s alot also looks like a wall your looking at...

 

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

Edited September 8, 2016 by khh27

[DeepBlue45]

Yeah, that's exactly what I'm worried about.....I've heard the stories about the 300DD seals, partly why I just went with a standard 265 non-reef ready.  But honestly I'm a measure twice, cut once type of guy so if there's a good reason I'll drop the extra $ on custom tank to avoid a leak in 5 years when I have way more than that invested in livestock.

[DeepBlue45]

​Quick update on status of the tank and equipment, plus first official pics.  After a lot more deliberating and speaking with several custom tank manufacturers I finally decided to give up on the Marineland 265, it's already on it's way to a new home.  When I considered the total amount I'll probably end up investing to build the fish room, value of livestock I already have in my current tank, plus how long I would like this tank to be up I decided it was worth the investment to go custom. So on Wed I sent a deposit to Chris Walker at Coast to Coast Aquariums for a 325 gallon....I guess I need to update the title of this post now!

 

The tank will be 84" x 30" x 30", all 3/4" glass with starfire front panel and single 24" external box on the rear drilled for 3 x 1.5" bulkheads for beananimal-style overflow.  I'm also going with one of their steel stands.

 

I also picked up my sump from Jeff at Pimped Out Aquariums, see pics below.  It was originally built for a customer who changed his mind part way through so he gave me a good deal.  The sump is 60" x 25" x 25" made from 1/2" acrylic and depending on water height should hold around 75 gallons.  The first chamber was designed with two sequential stages of filter socks so will hold up to 8 x 4" mesh or felt socks which seemed like a bit of overkill but I'll see how it works practically.  There is also a second chamber drilled for 1.5in bulkhead that I plan to use for return line from my skimmer, including two additional filter socks.  What I really liked was that the remaining 40% of the sump is the return chamber with plenty of room for Zeovit and Media reactors.  It's probably large enough that I'll be able to do water changes without having to shut off the return pump. 

 

Next post will include equipment list and hopefully some renderings of the fish room.

 

J

 

 

[epleeds]

Chris does some amazing work. You should be very happy with the tank.

 

And that is a lot of filter socks. What are the other two sock holes for?

[DeepBlue45]

Thanks, good to hear.  Tank should be ready for pick-up around mid-end November.

 

I'm honestly not sure why the sock holders where added to the second chamber.  It has the single hole drilled but I'm not sure what the person who originally had it built was intending to connect here.  I'll most likely plumb the return from my skimmer here so I guess a set of mesh socks could serve as a bubble trap but I don't think for a sump this size it will be necessary.  I may just leave them out and use this a fuge section if I want to experiment with that......not really needed for Zeovit tank though.

 

My other idea was to possibly remove the second set of 4 sock holders in the first chamber and use the space for in-sump skimmer but the acrylic work is really good and it's built like a tank so I hate to go cutting into it.  If I leave all the sock holders maybe the first set would be mesh to remove large stuff (and easier to just rinse clean), then second stage of felt socks for particulates. 

 

I don't tend to stock my tanks too heavily...or overfeed so probably not making a huge difference either way.

Edited September 16, 2016 by DeepBlue45