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My obsession - 450g reef


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dude you tank is crazy nice... question: how does the LED lights faor with coral growth? is it really worth selling the farm to get one of those?

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I feel safe in answering your question, now that the corals have been under the light for a few weeks. I NEVER got this kind of growth from the Outer Orbit. I suspect that some of it is probably the more stable water conditions, the temp rarely varies more than one degree in a 24 hour period. I have lower light corals on the bottom, mainly mushrooms, and they are thriving and thinking about growing out across the sand!

 

OK! For the new 360g tank, here is what we have so far:

IMG_0934.jpg

 

The legs are 4x4's, with the supporting piece sitting on top of the two legs. In the bottom of each leg, I fastened a piece of 1/4" steel, and I have a 1/2" bolt running up through the steel, into the leg. These are used for leveling everything to exactness. The bottom frame is 2x4's and they keep the legs firmly in an upright position. Tomorrow night, we'll level the legs and get them to the correct height so the top of the 360g stand exactly matches the height of the 450g stand. There will be a space between the corners that we're still considering ideas for filling in. We'll probably hang a curtain to seal the area between the two stands.

 

The top will be two layers. First layer will consist of two 2x10's and one 2x8, laying flat on the legs, glued, and tight against each other. Then I'll fasten the planks and legs together with steel angle braces. We'll then glue on a piece of 3/4" plywood that has a nice oak vaneer finish on top of the planks. The tank will sit on a piece of 3/4" stryofoam on top of the plywood.

 

There are two 1" holes in the bottom of the tank, on the right/bottom. All the other holes are in the left end panel for the drain to the sump and the returns from the sump. The 2" hole to feed the CL is in that end panel, along with two 1" return holes.

 

IMG_0935.jpg

 

This is the view from the couch and love seat, looking at the corner where the two tanks will meet.

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WOW!!! You have come a long way. I've been off the site for a while and haven't kept up. I just read through your updates since my last visit to your thread, awesome job!

 

You are adding a 360...wow...whew...yikes...

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Thanks Ziggy!

 

Yeah, we're kind of using the 360 as a room divider in a large room in the basement. I'll have my office/work space on one side of the 360. The other side is our aquarium room, with a couch, love seat, and a view of the 450 and the 360. :biggrin:

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Thanks Ziggy!

 

Yeah, we're kind of using the 360 as a room divider in a large room in the basement. I'll have my office/work space on one side of the 360. The other side is our aquarium room, with a couch, love seat, and a view of the 450 and the 360. :biggrin:

Are your two tanks going to be connected? ie sharing the same sump? Or will you have a seperate topoff, skimmer, etc?

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I have a 300g sump system that includes a 100g skimmer tub, 100g fuge (drilled to hold 50g though), and a 150g sump, which runs with about 80g in it. After I get past the install of the 360g predator tank, I'm going to upgrade my 44g trash cans, one for collecting fresh RO/DI water, another for mixing saltwater. I'm going to get two 150g enclosed containers and plumb those up to make water changes much easier. I had everything working as far as auto top-offs and automatic water changes, then my old sump container sprung a leak. When I ripped it out to replace it with the 150g sump tub, I lost those capabilities and I've been so busy getting ready for the 360 that I haven't had time to get it all back up and running.

 

Hopefully, next weekend I'll have the time to do all that. :)

 

And after all that, to answer your question, both tanks will be plumbed into the same sump system. The predator tank will have glass tops on it too, to keep the eels inside the tank and off of the floor. We lost one of our snowflakes a while ago so the predator tank stays locked up tight. That should help keep the evaporation down too.

 

The 450g reef is open top, as are the sump tubs.

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The plywood has been glued on, sand piled on top to make a nice, tight seal, and the stand will be ready for the tank tomorrow morning.

IMG_0936.jpg

 

Nice, Oak vaneer plywood. We'll stain it to match the 450g stand.

IMG_0937.jpg

 

Another view from the corner. The salt is here and ready to be added to the 360g too.

IMG_0938.jpg

 

And an updated FTS of the 450. Sunset had started to set in already though.

IMG_0939.jpg

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(edited)

Terry, did Patti say OK to the macro lens? :)

 

 

I am also still working on getting that composite photo printed. Still haven't found a printer that will do it. I just might have to create one image by stacking the two images on top of each other and then print it that way. Then when I get it, I can take it to Ritz where they have a large paper cutter and separate them.

Edited by EricBrian
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Actually, Patti is the one who really wants the macro lense now, thanks to you. :lol2:

 

I know she would love to have the time to sit and play with the camera. We did get the remote shutter release and that does help with better quality pictures. We've just been killing ourselves getting everything ready for the 360g tank. After tomorrow, things will really quiet down and we'll actually be able to sit and enjoy our piece of the ocean. :)

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Why not just make all four walls tanks.

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Why not just make all four walls tanks.

 

 

 

We have to have a place to sit! :lol2:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What skimmer is going to power this system again? Its gotta handle around 1000 gallons right?

 

 

 

Two Euro-Reef RS-250's sitting in a 100g skimmer tub. That tub drains into a 150g sump. So far I only have one of them up and running. When I plumb the 360g, and move everything from the 150 into it, then I can eliminate the pipe that is in the way of the 2nd skimmer. I'll have them both up and running then.

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Do you really think two of the Euro-Reef RS-250s are going to be enough for that much water volume?? Every site I see has one of them rated for 250 gallons. You're going to have around 1000 gallons of total volume. Are you worried about under skimming? Especially if you plan on having the new tank as a large predator tank. Those large predators put out ALOT of waste. If you're having both tanks plumbed into one system, all that waste from the predator tank will eventually affect the water quality for the reef tank, especially if you only have 500 gallons worth of skimming power for 1000 gallons of water. Do you have plans on getting a larger skimmer?

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(edited)

Maybe, I don't know yet. I have around 800g in the system now and with just the one skimmer running, my nitrates stay between 10 and 20. And I'm only doing a 40g water change per week.

 

All the predators going into the 360 are already in a 150g, which is plumbed into the whole system. The 150 is going away after the 360 is setup and running. They needed more room though, they're starting to get big. The only thing we plan on adding to the 360g predator tank is either a queen triggerfish or a queen angel.

 

If the nitrates don't stay in check, I can easily replace the 250's with a much bigger, inline skimmer. The corals all seem to be loving life though, including the acros and clams. So far, that is.

Edited by tbittner
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Sounds good. One note though. My first saltwater tank was a 125 gallon I started back in 2000. I had a clown trigger, two niger triggers, lunar wrasse, undulated trigger, huma huma trigger, porcupine puffer, and a panther grouper. The last fish I wanted to add was a Queen Trigger, and couldn't find one for at least 6 months. I finally found one up at the Aquarium Center (now Aquarium Depot) in Randallstown, MD. It was by far the smallest fish in the tank when it went in. Within a couple months time, there were only two fish left: the Queen Trigger and the Panther Grouper. The only reason the grouper wasn't eaten was because of his size. I loved that fish, and I will definitely have a Queen again sometime in the future, but it'll have its own tank. Not sure if I had the Hannibal Lectur of Queen triggers, just wanted to share my experience.

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(edited)

I bought pieces and parts from Automatted Aquariums and wrote my own program to monitor and control everything. I still have a good bit to do with it but I just haven't had the time to spend on it.

 

The legs are 29 2/3" on centers. We got the tank, put it on a trailer, brought it home, managed to get it through the door and up on the stand. No scratches or knicks in the tank. Can't say the same about all the help we had though. Man, that thing is HEAVY!!!

 

One side of the tank:

IMG_0940.jpg

 

Other side of the tank, looking towards the 450:

IMG_0941.jpg

 

Corner view from the couch:

IMG_0942.jpg

 

On the stand!

IMG_0943.jpg

 

Looking along the 450, towards the 360 predator tank:

IMG_0944.jpg

 

I couldn't have done it without Gary and Dougs help. THANKS GARY and DOUG!!! And thank you for the frags, Doug! I got them placed and they actually look pretty happy now. :)

 

And I need to mention Glass Cages too. The tank is IMACULATE! Holes are exactly where I wanted them, the drilling is extremely clean, the seams all look fantastic, they installed a TON of extra bracing. This tank is built like, well, a TANK! :lol:

Edited by tbittner
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Well, being that it's Fathers day, I got to do what I wanted today. :biggrin:

 

Lets see, the toilet in the master bath started leaking so we went to Lowes and bought a new one. I spent the afternoon installing that.

 

And the LITTLE bit of the day where I got to do what I wanted to do, we went to Mr. Corals and we picked out a bunch of really nice corals. I've lost one of the little Zoa frags though. It came off of the plug and has disappeared in the rocks or sand. I'm hoping that it will open up and I'll be able to find it that way. All the rest of the corals all look fantastic though. We actually have some life on the right side of the tank now. :)

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I think you're the first person in wamas to have the PFO Solaris lighting. I can't wait to see what kind of growth you get out of your corals with this unit. Do you have the I4 series? With energy costs the way they are, these lights should save you a decent amount of money. If the bulbs truly last for the 50,000 hours promised, even at 12 hours a day, it will last for 11.5 years. Think about the energy savings from the light, not running a chiller, not running the house AC as much, not changing MH bulbs and/or T5/VHO. Its alot of money upfront, but definitely a savings in the long run. Hopefully by the time I have a house to setup a tank like yours, the price will have come a little too :biggrin:

 

edit:

I just did the math on comparing the 48" unit vs a dual 250watt MH and T5 setup. You'd save at least $2000 on MH and T5 bulbs in the 11.5 years, with even accounting for the other energy savings. Not too shabby.

 

 

 

 

 

Now lets see this predator tank with some fishies in it!

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James, I'm getting really good growth from the corals. I think it's a combination of things. Really stable water temps tops my list. The water ranges from 77.5 and 78.3 in a 24 hour period. Even during those really hot days we've had.

 

It's also interesting to note, we lost electric today around 3 pm. I got home around 4 pm. I switched everything over to the generator, including the lights, and started the generator. It handled everything perfectly! And it's only a 6200 watt portable generator. I seriously doubt if I could have done that if I was using 400w MH's instead of the LEDs. The tanks didn't miss a beat. All pumps were running too. And I even had enough power left over to run the TV. :lol2:

 

As far as the electric bill goes, I'll have to see what happens over the course of a year. It's hard to compare to last June because last June wan't anywhere near as hot as this June has been. I know I'm using a lot less electric, and the room temp stays nice and stable too. The controller they built into the Solaris is worth a lot too. And another benefit, I can change the K rating with the push of a button. I don't need to buy new bulbs. :biggrin:

 

Thanks gmubeach. Stop over and check it out in person sometime. :)

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(edited)

Things are looking pretty awesome! I sense a WAMAS meeting at your place in the near future to gawk over your tanks.

 

What do you have your 360 stand sitting on? IT looks like bolts extending to the tile floor???

 

BTW...you can donate your 150 to my fish room. lol :cheers:

Edited by Ziggy953
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Yes, they are bolts. I got the idea from the stand for the 450. The builder installed leveling feet using the pound in inserts and had 3/8" bolts that can be adjusted in order to level the stand. It worked fantastic! So we bought a 1/4" steel plate at Home Depot and I cut them into 3" lengths. Drilled a hole in them for a 1/2" bolt, embedded a nut into the foot of each leg, fastend the plate to the bottom of the leg, installed 1/2" bolts through the steel and now I could meticulously level the stand. I have an 8 foot level and the bubble is dead center in every direction. It beats the heck out of shims! :lol2:

 

I stopped by BRK on my way home yesterday afternoon and bought the locline fittings I was missing. I got the plumbing inside the tank done so I started to fill the tank last night. So far we have around 80g in the tank. I also dumped in 240 lbs of sand I had left over from the 450 build. I'm not sure that will be enough though. I'll have to wait for the cloud to settle so I can see. I'm continuing to fill the tank, 40g at a time. I'm able to add between 80 and 120g a day so in a few days, it will be ready to move the animals from the 150 into their new larger home. :)

 

Patti and I are looking forward to hosting a tank tour. It will probably be another month or two though until we get the stand skinned and have everything cleaned up. :)

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