1000 gallon tank for a beginner!

SlowAndStupid

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I am the lucky owner of a 1000 gallon in-wall aquarium through the purchase of its house and for the past 6 years have been running a large frontosa freshwater tank. Unfortunately during a recent and significant winter snap in the south I lost all of my fish (and learned that I need more automation to prevent such an incident again). I am currently in the process of completely breaking down everything for a deep clean, and it seemed an appropriate time to consider transitioning to a saltwater tank.

About me: I have only ever cared for 1 aquarium in my lifetime, this 1000 gallon one. No prior experience before jumping headfirst into it. It was an empty eyesore that I turned into something I was quite proud of. When I first began I, rightfully so, deemed a saltwater tank too complicated for an absolute beginner to jump into at such a large scale. But with plenty of time and research my first tank was a success. In some ways the large tank may have made things easier as there were no quick swings in water parameters at such a large volume. I understand that changing to saltwater is much more complex compared to the tank I have been running.

I am hoping that with plenty of time and planning I can create another successful tank. I expect the planning stage to take months to gather the appropriate materials and gear and to spread out the cost of doing so over time. By posting here I am hoping to receive advice that will help move this in the proper direction. I also have a lot of material and gear that cannot be reused but I am hoping some may be.

The tank:

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The acrylic is 1.25 inches thick and measures 8 feet long x 4 feet deep x 5 feet high. Three overflow weirs empty down the back of tank with three returns drilled into the bottom of each (one 2-inch and two ¾ inch pipes). Two 2-inch return pipes feed water back to the tank which empties into the top of the aquarium.

The tank is accessible through an aquarium maintenance room behind it. Unfortunately space is pretty tight in there. I have about 26.5" x 25.5" of room to the side of the tank. I have looked at adding a sump below the main tank but the supporting beams would prevent placing anything of significant size under it and there is very little room to crawl under there to service it anyways. There is hot and cold water plumbed to the maintenance room in the form of a laundry washer hook up and there is a drain on the floor as well.

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For filtration, I currently have a 50-gallon drum acting as a DIY sump. It normally sits half-full with the remainder of the space available for overflow should I lose power or need to turn off the pumps. It is plumbed to empty into the floor drain in a controlled manner. For mechanical filtration the water passes through a 5-gallon bucket-sized pain strainer mesh disposable bags and then into quilt batting. The water is then pumped through an Ultima 1000 filter for biological filtration and then back to the tank. I’m not sure that the stand-alone ultima filter is even compatible with salt water and may have to go.

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Is there anything with my freshwater filtration system that can remain or does it need a complete overhaul? The relatively tight space here makes it a little tough to design around.

I have space along the backwall of my maintenance room where I typically house two small quarantine tanks. I suppose I could take that space and place your typical sump there instead and plumb it back to the main tank from there. I would just lose my quarantine tanks.

I currently have the incoming water passing through a 2-stage filter and know I will have to add on or convert to RO/DI.
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Thanks for reading. As I said above, I am currently in the process of breaking down the aquarium to clean it up. The current sand and rockwork has to go in place for salt-water appropriate replacements. I know a lot of planning will be required to convert such a large tank to the more complex salt water but I am excited at the prospect of doing so. I look forward to some good advice. Thank you.
 

spotsplace

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The part I was dreading the most is now complete: the clean up. All water, sand, rocks, and wood have been removed from the old freshwater scape and I have deep cleaned the tank. It is now a clean slate.

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Next up is breaking down and cleaning the maintenance room.
What is the inside brick made out of? looks awesome
 
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SlowAndStupid

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What is the inside brick made out of? looks awesome
Frankly, I don't know. This tank was set up this way when I purchased the house. It looks like typical stonework and mortar. There's no getting it out of there the way it was placed. There are things I would certainly do differently if I could! I know it's done fine the past 6 years with my freshwater set up.
 

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I think this can be a really cool tank with that height! Are you planning to do fish and corals?

In my opinion I'd keep a close eye on the water parameters with that stone/mortar. I would probably run an ICP test after it has cycled (before inverts/corals, personally I'd do it before fish too) to make sure it isn't leeching anything toxic to corals/inverts into the water.
 
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SlowAndStupid

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Are you planning to do fish and corals?

In my opinion I'd keep a close eye on the water parameters with that stone/mortar. I would probably run an ICP test after it has cycled (before inverts/corals, personally I'd do it before fish too) to make sure it isn't leeching anything toxic to corals/inverts into the water.

Yes, I'd like to do both fish and corals. I agree with the ICP test. I plan on doing that once set up and going.
 

vandy

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I think trying to retrofit your current filtration will cause more headaches in the long run. I think it would turn into a nitrate and phosphate factory. You also lose a lot of real estate in your already cramped closet that you’ll need for your skimmer etc. I suggest finding a sump that fits In that space and going with that route. Looking forward to the build!
 
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SlowAndStupid

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I think trying to retrofit your current filtration will cause more headaches in the long run. I think it would turn into a nitrate and phosphate factory. You also lose a lot of real estate in your already cramped closet that you’ll need for your skimmer etc. I suggest finding a sump that fits In that space and going with that route. Looking forward to the build!
I have pulled everything out. I had some mold at the bottom of the drywall in the corner from some water mishaps previously. I demo'd the corner and replaced that. The next steps will be stripping the paint from the concrete and covering with 2 part epoxy on the floor along with placement of frp on the walls for future waterproofing.

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I agree with the old filtration needing to go. A 75 gallon tank will fit longways on the ground. I am planning on that with a 30 gallon tank above it in the corner on a 80/20 stand emptying down into the 75 for more space as well.
 

vandy

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I have pulled everything out. I had some mold at the bottom of the drywall in the corner from some water mishaps previously. I demo'd the corner and replaced that. The next steps will be stripping the paint from the concrete and covering with 2 part epoxy on the floor along with placement of frp on the walls for future waterproofing.

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I agree with the old filtration needing to go. A 75 gallon tank will fit longways on the ground. I am planning on that with a 30 gallon tank above it in the corner on a 80/20 stand emptying down into the 75 for more space as well.
Sounds like you have a good plan going forward! I think that is the right choice. I've heard some people wrapping their walls in PVC board to help reduce moisture damage as well. Just some food for thought
 

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“The acrylic is 1.25 inches thick and measures 8 feet long x 4 feet deep x 5 feet high “…

If these #s are correct, it is a 1200g tank!
 

Fred A.

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The rockwork that sits along the side walls and back wall takes up a good bit of space so I'm guesstimating about 1000 gallons.
I went from a 60g freshwater tank directly to a 500g saltwater tank. It really wasn't that big a change in terms of manageability. I would stay away from live corals unless you really want to make a big commitment to the hobby. A FOWLR tank is WAY WAY easier to manage. You should probably consult a pro regarding what size return pumps, size of wet/dry sump, UV sterilizer and other equipment necessary, but you need way less complicated equipment if you stay away from corals. I have a dedicated RO unit that automatically tops off the aquarium as water evaporates making it effortless. You'll need a nearby water line and drain line to do that. If you need a Chiller consider a split system; the heat exchanger sits right next to the tank but the noisy, large compressor sits outside or in your garage. The installer will run the refrigerant lines from the garage to the tank via attic space. It sounds complicated but really isn't and is the best way imo to run a Chiller for such a big tank, assuming you need one.
 

Fred A.

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In the maintenance room behind the tank is a water line, drain, and a 240v chiller installed. I've never used the chiller since I moved in but it's there.
That's great. A simple RO unit can be installed to automatically add water to the aquarium, likely via the sump, as water evaporates. If you're updating your overall filtration system the heat from the pumps/ lighting may require the Chiller. If you have one that hasn't been used in years I have to believe it will need to be serviced before you can use it. Also, now you'll need room to make your own saltwater for water changes. It's easy to do, but takes up space. If you do, say, a 20% water change that means you need a place to hold 200 gallons of RO water, add the salt, wait a day for everything to "normalize " and then drain 200 gallons of old and pump in the new. You can't merely run a line from a water tap through a filter directly to the tank like you could for freshwater.
 

Katrina71

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I may have missed it, but does that tank have a skylight above it?
 

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