Required items and budget for a 180 gal reef

acrylic is very nice good choice you should do like the poster said above and check out rimless at glass cages they have some nice rimless tank.

But price wise big tank = Big money

Ready for your build thread!!

<< If I spent 10k at once on my tank id be looking for a new wife she loves the tank but not that much lmao

 

Good feedback, thanks guys. Glass is definitely an option and sounds like it may save me ~$1K or so. I can apparently save another $80 by eliminating the ATO and probably another buck or two on an RO/DI unit.

So.... the next questions is where does the law of diminishing returns come in to play? Is it worth the extra $500 or so to get the Bubble King skimmer? Are all protein reactors/pumps/chillers created equal? I guess it comes down to what's critical vs. what's sexy and cool... Where can skimping on something a bit less high-end potentially cause the most harm?

Thanks again for the input gang.

--EW

 

You can prob get a 180 packed with corals n fish off Craigslist or a local reef club for around 2gs. It's worth the extra 8gs imo.

 

i would get a glass tank from glass cages and customize it. they will build you a stand for 500 they will drill it give you a sump.

 

I customized a 180 wide from GlassCages and this is what I got:
Base: $668 [72"x24"x25" 180g glass tank]
Reef-Ready: +$150 [Comes standard with 2 Glass Wall Overflows (located on back panel of aquarium) with 2 holes for EACH overflow]
Starphire Front Panel: +$144 [Put starphire glass on the front panel]
Hinged Glass Top: +$50 [Add hinged glass tops ,Comes with plastic section that can be notched out for extra hoses.]
Bulk Heads (x4): +$60 [Ordering from us will give you the proper bulkheads for each hole that we have predrilled.]
Custom Sump: +$305 [Add a 45 Long Acrylic Aquarium Customized Sump Tank]
Oak Stand: +$500 (+$50) [Add 72 x 24 x 30 Tall Oak Stand and extra side door to allow insertion of sump tank.]
TOTAL: $1927 (before S&H which runs ~$200)
That should get you most things you need/want for the base of your tank and will still cost about the same as your earlier estimate of the tank alone, with the luxury of Starphire glass, professionally done stand and sump (no DIY mess-ups), and a pre-drilled tank with custom fitting bulkheads. Protein skimmers/filters/chillers are not all made the same, and those would be best to get top of the line as they are the most important mechanical aspect of a reef (along with heaters and testing kits). Good luck with the project!

And about CL, I wouldn't, there's nothing like starting from scratch and making sure everything is how you want it. It may be more expensive and time consuming but it is definitely worth it in my (beginner) opinion. Plus, you never know if there are sick fish/coral or diseases or anything of the sort in there, remember, CL = NO warranty/guarantee and no new equipment.

 

You will need a chiller larger than 1/5HP. I have a 1/5HP JBJ on my 150G and it just does it with a 7G sump. You have a 220G system, so you will want no less than 1/4HP, preferably 1/3HP, unless you want the chiller to be running for 5 hours or more to drop 2º.

 

100% agree.. a guy on mine is selling a heavily stocked sps dominant 150 for 1000$.. high end equipment, the works

 

Yea thats where I got my tank and all the stuff. But I also ended up replacing almost all the equipment due to it not being what was needed for that size of tank. But it works good. CL can be good and bad but for me its the fun of setting it up so dont think id do that again but hey go with what ya know.

Either way sounds like it will be a great tank! ;D

 

Get your rock from reefcleaners and you will save 180.00ish

 

Notes below:

- 180 gal. acrylic aquarium - $1900

I would definitely go glass if you can. Acrylic scratches much more easily. Additionally, I've seen numerous people recommend Glass Cages. I am a huge fan of theirs for smaller acrylic tanks for sumps, breeders, etc. I am not a fan for display tanks. They are a low-medium quality provider and for the $$ you're putting into the system, you want a high quality display tank. You should be able to get a new 180 for anywhere from $900 (AGA) to $1600 (top of the line). Alternately, if you're patient, you should be able to find one on Craigslist for a fraction of that. 180s are fairly common.

- Materials for tank stand - $500 (DIY)

Totally dependent on the type/quality of stand you want to build. Probably a little high, but not out of the ballpark.


- Materials for 40 gal. sump/refugium - $200 (DIY)

Way too small for a 180. This is one where you can definitely scour Craigslist for a used acrylic tank. I bought my 125g acrylic tank I use for a fuge for $125.


- Bubble King Supermarin 200 Protein Skimmer - $1565

Excellent skimmer and definitely top of the line. I have the 300 and love it. You can also go a much more cost effective route and still have a great skimmer with a CoralVue Reef Octopus Cone skimmer and save about $1000.


- GEO Calcium Reactor 624 w/ Panworld 30PX – $525

A Calcium Reactor in a first aquarium can be something that is tough to set up and keep going. After 35ish years in the hobby I still don't use one. I use kalk instead with a kalk ractor.


- Digital Aquatics ReefKeeper Elite w/Net - $475

Also look at the Neptune Apex. I love mine. About the same price.


- 75 GPD RO/DI 6 Stage Chloramines Deluxe System - $280

This is probably overkill. You should be able to get a good 4-stage unit for about $150.


- UF-20 Universal Media Reactor - $110

Good.


- Ozotech Poseidon Ozone Generator 200 mg/hr (variable output) - $240

I wouldn't use Ozone as a new aquarist. Put this one off.


- ReeFlo Hammerhead 5800 GPH - $400

Not that it will save you much money, but the Hammerhead is likely way overkill on flow. Unless you've got a remote sump with a ton of head pressure between the pump and the tank you don't need this pump. The Dart would be a better way to go.


- 6' 3x250W HQI / 4x39W T5 Maristar Ballast / Bracket / Bulb Package - $1230

If you are doing DIY stand, why not canopy/lights too?

Get one of each (Marine Depot prices below):

CoralVue 250w ballast $120
Any number of good reflectors $55 - $140
Socket/Cord $35
Radium 20k Bulb (my fav) $85

That would be a total of about $300 per MH and you could supplement with a couple T5s or LEDs


- 4x Tunze Nanostream 6045 powerheads - $345

Tunzes are great pumps, but if you are going to keep SPS you might need a little more flow.


- LiterMeter 3 Peristaltic Dosing Pump - $340

What are you using this for?


- 40 Watt (260 Gallon) Emperor Aquatics Smart UV - $340

I would pull this off the list to start. Decide if you need it later. It will help a little with free floating algae, but that's about it. It won't help with parasites.


- JBJ MINI Arctica Chiller 1/5 HP - $575

Good.


- Finnex 300W Submersible Digital Heater (x3) - $75

Good, but depending on how cold your house is during winter you may need more.


- JBJ ATO system - $80

Good.


- 200 lbs. Reef Saver Eco Dry Live Rock @2.49/lb - $500

Could be a little much. Try subtracting 50 lbs, you can always add more


- Live Sand - 200 lbs. - $520

If you're going with dry rock, you are going to need to seed the tank anyway so why not start with non-live sand too? You should be able to get it for just over $1 per pound.


- Misc. supplies for quarantine tank - $300
- Misc. plumbing/valves, etc… - $250

Probably about right.

Add in:

- $99 starter pack from Indo Pacific Sea Farms - get some pods, sand stirrers, live sand activator, wondermud, hermits and other stuff to seed the tank.