question about setting up tank / water supply

joec · 02/14/2008, 01:54 PM

hello all

ok this is a very random and very basic question - but ill throw it out there anyway.

after reading for nearly two years, i am finally ready to begin planning my setup. i already know exactly what i want, i just have some doubts whether my house can facilitate the space i need. let me explain:

i want a 75g with stand and canopy plus a 20g sump in the stand. thats the easy part - plenty of room for that in my dining room. what i'm concerned about is this - i have very little storage space in my house, especially for things like a ro/di unit, a brute container for storing water, extra gear, etc, etc...

are any of you space-challenged? how do you handle all your water-quality supplies? i'm considering just buying pre-mixed water from my lfs but i can see that getting old after a few water changes. plus i know its cheaper and easier to mix and store your own.

i would love to hear any and all thoughts on my dilemma - i'm determined to make this happen and would like to get ideas from people who may have been in a similar situation before. if you have pictures to go along with it, that would be even better!!

thanks for your help!!

SteveNMegz · 02/14/2008, 02:06 PM

don't know if this helps or not, but we have our sump located in a nearby closet where we keep our 5G jugs of water and salt, this gives us extra room to work with(do water changes, etc.) the sump. it also give you sll of the rooms under the stand

Don't know if you would have that option though.

HumanIMDB · 02/14/2008, 02:29 PM

We are just setting up our big tank and are space challenged as well; in an apartment.

Till now we've been buying RO water from the grocery story and making water in a small (10g) rubbermaid container when needed.

For the big tank, we're planning on having a "mobile" RO/DI unit that can be connected to the kitchen sink faucet. We'll then use a Brute to mix the water and then pump it into the tank after pumping some out.

The tank will be in the dining room just off the kitchen and all of the mixing gear will be stored in our storage locker down the hall when not in use.

I'll be posting lots of pictures once everything gets going.

joec · 02/14/2008, 03:08 PM

i like the idea of a mobile ro/di unit - and i DO have an outdoor storage area in my carport that is closed off. i could possibly have a plumber set a water line going into there. i would even have room for a brute, and i could possibly get one of the wheel attachments for easy transport into the house. hmmm..... definitely a step in the right direction.

thanks for the tips, humanIMDB! if you do get pics, i would love to see them!

anyone else have suggestions for the members of the "spatially challenged reefers association"??

HumanIMDB · 02/14/2008, 03:18 PM

I'm thinking I will mount it on a piece of plywood so that it can stand up on the counter beside the sink. I'm not sure if we're going to get a Wheeled Container or the Brute with the wheeled base...we're looking to do 25% water changes every 2 to 4 weeks, so need to be able to make up at least 25 gallons.

For mixing the water and transfering it to/from the tank, we're looking at the Mag-Drive 7 with about 20' of tubing.

The end of March is our planned start up date. I'll be posting to our build thread as things progress.

joec · 02/14/2008, 04:40 PM

excellent! i will be subscribing to your thread now.

thanks again!!

...still open to other suggestions and ideas from other people...!

THANKS!

02/14/2008, 01:54 PM	#1
joec Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Orlando, Florida Posts: 91	question about setting up tank / water supply hello all ok this is a very random and very basic question - but ill throw it out there anyway. after reading for nearly two years, i am finally ready to begin planning my setup. i already know exactly what i want, i just have some doubts whether my house can facilitate the space i need. let me explain: i want a 75g with stand and canopy plus a 20g sump in the stand. thats the easy part - plenty of room for that in my dining room. what i'm concerned about is this - i have very little storage space in my house, especially for things like a ro/di unit, a brute container for storing water, extra gear, etc, etc... are any of you space-challenged? how do you handle all your water-quality supplies? i'm considering just buying pre-mixed water from my lfs but i can see that getting old after a few water changes. plus i know its cheaper and easier to mix and store your own. i would love to hear any and all thoughts on my dilemma - i'm determined to make this happen and would like to get ideas from people who may have been in a similar situation before. if you have pictures to go along with it, that would be even better!! thanks for your help!! __________________ - Joe C.

02/14/2008, 02:06 PM	#2
SteveNMegz Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Port Colborne Posts: 1,140	don't know if this helps or not, but we have our sump located in a nearby closet where we keep our 5G jugs of water and salt, this gives us extra room to work with(do water changes, etc.) the sump. it also give you sll of the rooms under the stand Don't know if you would have that option though. __________________ Steve and Megz Current Tank Info: 55G Shallow Reef (30x30x14) - Equip: Ecotech Radion XR30 G3 Pro, 2 Tunze 6055, Vertex Omega 130 Skimmer, Ecotech Vectra M1 return, Vertex Rx1.5 Zeovit Reactor

02/14/2008, 02:29 PM	#3
HumanIMDB Premium Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Winnipeg, MB Posts: 1,556	We are just setting up our big tank and are space challenged as well; in an apartment. Till now we've been buying RO water from the grocery story and making water in a small (10g) rubbermaid container when needed. For the big tank, we're planning on having a "mobile" RO/DI unit that can be connected to the kitchen sink faucet. We'll then use a Brute to mix the water and then pump it into the tank after pumping some out. The tank will be in the dining room just off the kitchen and all of the mixing gear will be stored in our storage locker down the hall when not in use. I'll be posting lots of pictures once everything gets going. __________________ Chris Rivers Will do computer support for frags. :) Click on the Red House to see our AGA92 Corner Reef Tank Build thread. Current Tank Info: 10 Gal (Aqualight 96W Quad 50/50, AquaClear Power Filter 70 with Chaeto lit by 6500K Bulb, AquaClear Power Head 20, 50w Tronic Heater), 92 Gal All-Glass Corner (Cycling)

02/14/2008, 03:08 PM	#4
joec Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Orlando, Florida Posts: 91	i like the idea of a mobile ro/di unit - and i DO have an outdoor storage area in my carport that is closed off. i could possibly have a plumber set a water line going into there. i would even have room for a brute, and i could possibly get one of the wheel attachments for easy transport into the house. hmmm..... definitely a step in the right direction. thanks for the tips, humanIMDB! if you do get pics, i would love to see them! anyone else have suggestions for the members of the "spatially challenged reefers association"?? __________________ - Joe C.

02/14/2008, 03:18 PM	#5
HumanIMDB Premium Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Winnipeg, MB Posts: 1,556	I'm thinking I will mount it on a piece of plywood so that it can stand up on the counter beside the sink. I'm not sure if we're going to get a Wheeled Container or the Brute with the wheeled base...we're looking to do 25% water changes every 2 to 4 weeks, so need to be able to make up at least 25 gallons. For mixing the water and transfering it to/from the tank, we're looking at the Mag-Drive 7 with about 20' of tubing. The end of March is our planned start up date. I'll be posting to our build thread as things progress. __________________ Chris Rivers Will do computer support for frags. :) Click on the Red House to see our AGA92 Corner Reef Tank Build thread. Current Tank Info: 10 Gal (Aqualight 96W Quad 50/50, AquaClear Power Filter 70 with Chaeto lit by 6500K Bulb, AquaClear Power Head 20, 50w Tronic Heater), 92 Gal All-Glass Corner (Cycling)

02/14/2008, 04:40 PM	#6
joec Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Orlando, Florida Posts: 91	excellent! i will be subscribing to your thread now. thanks again!! ...still open to other suggestions and ideas from other people...! THANKS! __________________ - Joe C.