helpful ideas on building my 630 gallon system
 

o.k. so here it gos i just am wanting some ideas before i even start so here is my basic concept so far

220g DT

(2) 26g sumps bought off of ebay skimmers and all claims up to 450g

55g refugium

55g octopus tank

55g seahorse and pipefish tank

(4) 55g barrels for more water and filtration

i was mainly wondering what would you put in the barrels im thinking i mean can i just feel them with like base rock and have like 4 huge natural filters or what and info about any of this would be appreciated

If this is your first salt water tank then I advice you to stay with one tank for now then expand later. There is more than meet the eye when come to salt water tank. A lot of hidden problem you will encounter and without any experience you will have problem solving it.

o.k. well what would you suggest i start out with equipment wise on a 55g tank

You need to figure what type of system, you are going to attempt to keep.. You will have to research what type of equipment will support the livestock.

I would suggest you spend sometime looking into the commitment in time and money to accomplish your 55 gallon system...

Reef Central is a wealth of knowledge, some good some not so good. everybody has their own opinion on what works best with which type of system.

I would suggest purchasing all the equipment you will need for the tank size. Buy quality equipment, be it new or used. avoid cheap undersized equipment, that will need replacing down the road. It will save you time and money, along with headaches.

This can be a demanding, and rewarding hobby at the same time. Only you can decide which path your journey will take...

Happy Reefing

what i would recomend is to get a small nano tank and get that up and runnng first. then once that is running and stocked with a couple of fish and a few corals they slowly work on your bigger system. it takes alot of time and alot of money to purchase all the equiptment needed for a 220 g system. your going to need a fish room if you have plans for all those tanks. you will also have to look into humidity control for your house. with all that water you will have to have an air exchanger in there to keep the humidity down or your house will rot from the moisture buildup.
by setting up a nano tank and then researching the equiptment needed for a 220 you will be alot better off. the nano will give you something to look at and work with and keep you from jumping into a huge system that might totaly crash if your not prepared for all the things that can and will happen with it. on that list you have 2 of the hardest animals to take care of in a tank. sea horses and octopuses. i have been in the hobby for over 5 years and have a pretty good grasp of what it takes house an octopus. our local fish store even has a mimic octopus in stock right now. but i know it takes so much more to take care of that animal and make him happy so i dont buy him for that reason. there escape artists so your entire tank has to be sealed so well that he cant escape. there beautiful creatures but 90% of the reefers here are not expert enough to care for an octopus. start small and work your way into the big tank. then work on adding to it, after it has been up and stable for a year or two. this hobby is about beauty not speed. there is too many tanks there on that list to be installing and maintaning for some one so new to the hobby. each tank has its little problems and nightmares to deal with. if you have 4-5 tanks all set up at once you ant deal with all of them and do research about the hobby too. im still learning about the hobby. every day im researching new and interesting things that happen with this hobby. i live this hobby every day.
don't be discouraged by this. we are trying to save you thousands of dollars in lost fish and corals. let alone the thousands of dollars in equiptment. to start that 220 properly you wil need a minimum of $4000-$5000 in equiptment. if you look through the different threads here on reef cnetral you will see alot of big tanks that have some of the best equiptment money can buy. they have that super expensive equiptment beause the cheap junk is just that. junk. you can expect to spend up to $1000 for good lighting, $1000-$1500 for the skimmer, and $1000-$1500 for the circulation pumps. and that is just 3 areas of the tank equipment. i hevent even gotten to the water quality equipment or maintaince equipment yet.
start by making a list of what you want in your tank for fish and corals. then research the proper equiptment you will need to house those corals and fish. then go on a buying spreee and be prepared to sleep in the dog house for a couple of weeks while your wife gets mad at you for spending her shopping fund.

this list below was started for another tank here on reef central and i just copied it over to your thread. its a good list to start with and when its filled in you will have a good list to start with for your project. every system is different and there for the equiptment will be different but the main list is still about the same.





Main tank return Pump -

Powerheads/circulation pumps -

Lighting -

Protein Skimmer -

Carbon filtration -

Phosphate Removal -

Calcium Reactor-

Kalk Reactor -

UV Sterilizer -

Ozonizer -

RO/DI unit -

auto top off -

Dosing Pump -

Controller -

Chiller -

Heater -

Misc/Other Suggestions -

I hope your bank account is full...

Hey Spazz,

You have some pictures of your current/new system.. I looked in your gallery, but only found ads for skimmers...

Thanks, Rick

BTW [welcome]

What Spazz said is absolutely the truth. I started with a 10 gallon nano, had that for a couple of years, then a small cube, then on to a 220 and onward and upward. The Nano is really a great way to start, and if you want something a little bigger there are Nanos that are in the 24 - 30 gallon range, but even these tanks will cost you. A 30 Gallon Nano will end up costing you in the $1000 mark after you add rock, sand, salt, test kits, timers, and heater. That doesn’t even include fish or corals. I would also look into finding a local reef club and reading as much as you can here or RC (Both will be a wealth of info). Then when your ready look to buy what you can used, but like Spazz said buy the best you can, Quality is expensive for a reason.

Like what was mentioned before, please don't get discouraged, we are here to help.

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11519345#post11519345 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ricks [/i]
[B]Hey Spazz,

You have some pictures of your current/new system.. I looked in your gallery, but only found ads for skimmers...

Thanks, Rick [/B][/QUOTE]
i took my system down ans shipped all my corals and fish to st jude's hospital for there new 850 gallon tank. im inbetween tanks right now. i hope to start me new 300g tank one of these days. im so busy right now i dont have the spare time to work on a new system.

spazz thanks for the help i am going to do the best of my ability to buy the beast i can and u guys have convinced me to probably go with a 29 gallon nano for now but i am still wondering i founf alot of live rock/base rock/ reef rock idea in the 55 gallon barrel with maybe some sand and stuff for like a huge biological filter i mean i relize that a couple thousand but would it be worth it?

bump

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11525348#post11525348 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by j.p. harrington [/i]
[B]spazz thanks for the help i am going to do the best of my ability to buy the beast i can and u guys have convinced me to probably go with a 29 gallon nano for now but i am still wondering i founf alot of live rock/base rock/ reef rock idea in the 55 gallon barrel with maybe some sand and stuff for like a huge biological filter i mean i relize that a couple thousand but would it be worth it? [/B][/QUOTE]

please explain what you want to do better . im not quite understanding what you idea is right now.

Like everyone said there are many opinions on here, so take what you can from everyone, and then decide whats best for your situation. and lastly, the best way to learn is by doing :)

I would throw an alternate opinion out there and suggest something a little bigger, like a 75g, for a first tank. Its easier to get and keep everything stable, and the bigger a tank, the more forgiving it is to mistakes. Whatever size you go, if you are planning to go bigger eventually, Id get a reef-ready tank with an overflow and do a sump. At least for me, the plumbing was daunting at first, but once I did it, I realized it is very easy. But I wouldnt have been able to do the planning for my 225, if I hadnt learned by plumbing the sump in my 125. Just my two cents. Welcome to a very addicting hobby.

yea thanks for the advice and i went to a couple of the lfs today and found a fairly reasonble 65 gallon RR tank with and overflow and sump came with also for like around 6 i think let me explain my intentions i want to grow sps corral and i like all the little critters i like fish but i find more interest in the critters that you can have in a sw tank so with that said can anyone offer anymore help?

Man I was all excited to see 630 gallons, but a 220 display? hmmm I like the old days when we talked about our display volume and didnt really care about what wasn't seen ;)
C