150 Gallon Custom Build

Well here goes my first attempt at a DIY build. I have attached the first blueprint of the idea. The red lines will be emergency lines in case of power failure or if I have to drain the tank. The blue lines will be lines for the chiller. Next to the sump tank and pump is the calcium reactor and the phosphate remover. I think that gravity should bring water down no problem and the pump will be plenty to pump the water the distance back up. The pipes between the two tanks will be PVC and will have a screen because I do not want my species migrating from tank to tank. There is obviously a lot more to consider but this is the first blueprint I could create. Any and all constructive criticism will be GREATLY appreciated. I probably will end up changing a lot of this, but hopefully in the next few weeks with the help of the forum I can finalize my plans.

you really dont need a chiller. Just clip a desk fan to blow across the top of the tank, does an amazing job of keeping a tank cool. Plus chillers work by cooling the water, but they heat of the air temperature of the room, so unless you vent the chiller outside, its just going to make the temperature problem worse as you increase the temperature of the room, warming the tank, making the cooler work harder and keeps heating the room up. Its a vicious cycle . . .

Even as the temp gets to be high 90's in the summer months? I'm putting the tank in a room that generally stays pretty cool but if I don't plan for it, I'm afraid I'll regret it later. :shock:

Yep! I dont have ac in my apartment so my place was almost always 90-95 degs during the summer, but the fan kept my tank at a cool 79.

Awesome now I can take that money and go buy another tank :^:

The three tanks and their stands are on their way. I am already thanking myself for part of the reason why I chose to do it this way, I am not sure if I still want to run three tanks through one system. If I divide them up, I can put them on the second story and not have to worry about a lot of extra plumbing. If I run through the same system, I would probably have to put it downstairs because of all the weight in one area.

I'd rather not spam up the forums by creating a thread for each tank I own and work on, so I am going to post everything on one :p

Just added 3 turbo snails to my tank today, I put one in who ran quickly to the side of the tank, another hasn't moved since I put him in there, and the third one ran away and hid under some rock. Odd behavior indeed, but probably normal considering they are my first snails ever.